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Anyway - having wandered down the realms of - an apocolyptic stretch of the imagination
- physical....physical event - a natural disaster - the likes of which have never been seen before

Lets have a look at what - TPTB are - shouting from the rooftops
- a cyber jobby
- and an EMP grid/chip components ....take down
(Courtessy of course - of a ...natural...sun flare/solar coronal ejection/storm)

Yes it's no computers, no phones, no computer controlled electric systems, and possibly - just no elecricity ...full stop !!

That's.... no pumped water, heating, no computer controlled/electrity run refinery produced fuel, no fuel to move it or... the food ....and other life essentials
- in fact pretty much.... no everything really.





Incidentally - the U.S is having a - Grid Take Down - Drill
- this autumn

Drills in progress and ...London7/7 & US9/11 :o)

Well the sun really has got it's hat on (hip hip hip hooray)

Following on from the US -vs- Russia proxy war in the middle east as....
- the opening act of perhaps the headline show stopper - WWIII

Our pleasant thoughts from - from our Russian prima donna Astronomer/Phycisist

And the niceties of outgoing Judge Nap - cyber/natural events - the likes of which we have never seen before

The good news on the financial outlook

From 60 year market veteren.....Ron Rosen

He cautions that what is coming as
- a “major and historic transition.”
He also stated that this transition will make the chaos which took place in the 1970s
- pale by comparison.

This is a major transition, so people around the world should... be emotionally prepared
- for some very bad news, bad experiences,
- a dramatic increase in gold and silver, and
- a dramatic decrease..... in the general stock market averages.
Again, it will be a staggering ......66% from the top to the bottom in the Dow.

This will be a very, very difficult time in history. Just by looking at the daily news you can see......... we have barely scratched the surface.
- The real carnage the world will have to face is still to come.

All of this started with
- the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.

The devastation in stocks which took place in the 1970s
- will be seen as minor compared to what is coming.
But all of my work points to the fact that the world is about to go through a major transition, and it will be
- like a tidal wave tearing through the global markets.

We will only be able to compare.... what is coming
- to the terrible events that transpired during the Great Depression.
- People losing 2/3 of their investments... in general stocks ....will be devastating.

BUT - gold and silver will be heading dramatically higher into much of 2014.
- Gold and silver will be making new all-time highs by early next year,
- but silver......... will be outperforming gold during this time frame.

................................................................................................................

Well that's the voice of experience - from someone who has actually lived the experience
- of 60yrs.....in the game .

Bring back the man with the ukulele
- we need some "Turned out nice again"
And they all lived - Happily ever after".. endings again.

Lets catch up on some silver news

Thomson Reuters GFMS analyst Sudheesh Nambiath,
- estimates that
- India�s
- total silver imports
- have more than..... doubled from last year,
reaching nearly 3,000 tonnes in the first half of 2013 ......compared with 1,900 tonnes....... in the whole of 2012,
according to the Financial Times.

EU trade data show silver exports to India from the UK
� traditionally the country�s top supplier
� were 1,415 tonnes in the.... quarter to June,
more than..... triple..... the previous year�s level and
.... the highest quarterly total since 2008.

The U.S. Mint�s sales of silver coins
- are heading for.... a record again..... this year,
- with sales of 33 million ounces (1,026 tonnes) to late August
(already matching the level of...... the whole of 2012).

Canadian Mint....second quarter of 2013.
- over the same period last year and a ...60% surge.... in the the sale of Silver Maple Leaf coins to 6.4 million ounces from 4.0 million.

If one combines,
- Silver Maple and Silver Eagle sales, they look like they may be... more than 68 million oz in 2013.
- This demand from retail and high net worth store of wealth buyers,
- from ....just two mints,
- represents...... more than 10% .....of total world silver production
(of 787 million ounces in 2012).

China
-
There are also some positive signs from increasingly important China.
(Chinese investors demand for silver helped ...push prices to ...31-year highs in 2011).

Inventories of silver on the Shanghai Futures Exchange .....have fallen sharply,
- down 60%..... since mid-February.
And... silver trading volumes ...( on the Shanghai Gold Exchange SGE)
- in the first half of the year were...... 36% higher ....even than the first half of 2011.


And from a totally bozo laymans point of view.....if the orange line - shorts
- drop to the previously shown bottom levels
- then check the white silver price line levels (correspondingly above each orange line...low points)


On that really legendary analysis .......$35 ish ??


How about silver performance over the - last month

Syria - Pres Assad's Birthday on Monday
- wonder what O'Barmy could send him.... as a prezzie this .....9/11


In the meantime - a chart fest... of gold

FIFTY - "in yer face charts" - that all "seem" to paint.... a particular picture :0)

Chartbook Incrementum - The Gold Bull and Debt Bear

12 Mins - Suggesting - money in the bank is - not safe
- makes a strong case
(& summarises concisely - much of what has bee posted)






Incidentally when the BIS first published total derivatives exposure
- the 1.4 quadrillion figure - caused a stampede for .....clean underwear
- so
- the BIS..(Bless 'em) - revised the ....method of calculation
- and the figure down by about....500..Trillion
- to the figure mentioned in the video

The leveraged assets of some TBTF banks (at Book - not market value) - in red
- vs - their home coutry's - total... annual GDP - in blue

Think there is much chance - their home country/ or depositor guarantee scheme

stands a - snowball's chance in hell.....of bailing them out


http://boombustblog.com/blog/item/9058-the-next-leg-of-that-counterparty-led-european-bank-run-has-put-on-its-running-shoe

(about 2/3rds way down)

I don't dont keep links, and around 3 more cribs than that (zero) on my desktop.

But this is a crib I kept on my desktop since late 2012
- it was published way, way back in OCT 2012

The SYRIA WWIII..... Script

If you recollect back them - everything was being - parked off IRAN
- and all commentator - talking heads - were talking...Iran....going...hot

This guy
- nailed it ....10 months ago>.....it would - all start....in ...SYRIA
- even down to the ....FalsieFlaggy....ChemWeps !!


................................................................................


While the eyes of most Americans watched the political made for TV series �Presidential Debate 2012�,
- the trailer for the biggest James-Bondsonian type of screenplay ever produced,

�Middle East, on the road to Armageddon�
- just showed in a theatre near you.
- A well-connected source just secreted me...... a copy of the script,
- and if it plays out as currently written,
- it�s guaranteed to be a horrible, horrible ending� for the lemmings.

�United Globalista�s Studios� who�ve underwritten this production want to keep a tight rein on the script because they don�t want the twists of the plot and subplots leaked before the big premiere.

If the script proceeds as written,
- the entire geopolitical world and balance of power could, and most likely will, change with this next curtain call.
- No one will be left untouched by the coming events.

WW III will not �START� with Iran (Not even �SORT� of)

Maintaining the screenplay metaphor, like Bond, we will transit the world before the climactic final scene on that high cliff; but for now,
- the prelude takes place in and around.... Syria,
(not Iran or even Israel.

It is Syria and Russia ......VS the U.S. and NATO

THE BENGHAZI PRELUDE

It appears that Mr. Stevens might not have initially entered Libya to stop the flow of weapons, but....
- to help funnel them under the direction of higher ups in the Obama regime.

- He was tasked with coordinating, overseeing and facilitating
- the movement of the rebel fighters from across North Africa through eastern Libya.

The troops were armed with weapons from... Gaddafi�s extensive hidden arsenals and spirited to staging areas in the Syrian refugee camps in Turkey.
- If this administration had needed to go to Congress over the last year and ask for money and troops
- to start a war with Russia, on Syrian soil
- do you think they would have gotten it?
- Not a chance, the electorate would never have put up with it,
- but, this administration�s handlers didn�t need to.
They just got creative.

Does ....Iran-Contra.... come to mind, anyone?

At this exact moment, we, the American People, are
- already directly engaged ........in an all-out proxy war with Russia!

(NB this was written in ....Autumn 2012)


FALSE FLAGS IN THE WIND

For several months now the U.S. and NATO aligned nations have been ratcheting up the hyperbole of
- the threat of Assad�s .......Chemical weapons stockpile.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton have threatened repeatedly that
- if WMDs from Syria�s arsenal are used
- or their security threatened
(in other words, if it looked like the rebel good guy/bad guys might capture a chemical weapons site from Assad�s forces),
- it would result in
- an immediate need for extensive....... UN intervention.

In other words, this administration is telling Mr. Assad
- �heads we win, tails you lose,�

No matter what happens we will find a reason
- to bring the UN and Western troops into Syria.
Might just as well accept the inevitable and give up!

Russia...

Mr. Putin is making it very clear to the west that
- �we have drawn a �deep red line in the sand� in Syria.�
- If the U.S. and NATO should choose to cross it,

�WW III will start in Syria�.

President Putin is convinced
- that the next act of this screenplay
- will contain some variation of a..... �false flag� event

- involving chemical weapons.

All that is needed now is...... for a dutiful media to present

- one image,

a video,
- or some other �proof� that Assad..... or someone else is using,
- or has their hands on, .....unconventional weapons.

This will provide the necessary pretext for the U.S. and NATO,
- to intervene and ramp up the war against Assad.

The UN will assist, and...... the red line will then ....have been crossed.

Consider what Mr. Obama has done,
- at the behest of his Sunni Muslim handlers,
- facilitating �change� in the complexion of North Africa and all of the Middle East.

Now visualize what the geopolitical landscape will look like should President Obama�s handlers continue to push their Pan-Arab, United States of Muslim�s agenda.
We can�t fight what we refuse
- to see,
- or understand what we we refuse to accept..... even exists.

Though the Lemming lie was exposed long ago,
- the tale was so well told,
- that even today,
- the vast majority of our fellow citizens..... still believe it.
- The voice and words are still ringing in my ears:

�remain seated, we will be..... on the ground shortly.�
- The sounds and narration lull us.... to acquiescence.

The camera�s shots are well planned and the lighting and focus precise,
- to date

- we�ve only seen directly and indirectly
- the subtleties the directors and editors...... wanted us to see.

(NB this was written in ....Autumn 2012)

................................................................................

Would have probably draw a - LOL
- Un-named "A well-connected source"
- load of twaddle .....comment at the time

With a bit of super sleuth work from poster Beefeater (hat tip)....he has
- re-aquainted me with
- the source - I got the article from

Will check for....further opinion....From - "The Source"

Cheers Gaz, Great links and posts.
The last one is pretty remarkable......

Snurkle - cheers - will read and pop an update on, as to any insights from the same guy in the next day or two.

Time to spend a week readying the garden for winter, together with house exterior repairs and servicing the cars etc.
Then a "good reason" for a couple of weeks pre winter step off the world break in the sunshine (No TV , No Computers, No Newspapers or Radio, and switched off mobile...heaven).

Will give you a wave :o)

Talking of waves .......IF - there is a Napolitano - Grid goes down

Bear this in mind ....this is what TPTB admit to




Imagine what they have ...actually got....floating around on satellites

The following is
- from the same "source" as my last but one post
- & whilst un-named - as can be seen above ......he nailed current events to - the letter
- last...OCTOBER (2012)
- when all mainstream and talking heads - were all discussing the hardware parked off/and around...Iran ......& Iran....going hot



He concludes his end of Aug 2013 warning with
- people are just not thinking - BIG ENOUGH


So I will preface the salient clips from his Aug 2013 update with this extract from a
- J Edgar F^B^I HOOVER Speech

- perhaps he was in a position - to both understand - Joe Public
- and what...and just - how big - and how muti-generational
- what goes on - behind the veil......actually is

....................................................................................................................

The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with..... a conspiracy so monstrous....... he cannot believe .....it exists.

The American mind
- simply has not come.... to a realization
- of the evil which has been introduced into our midst.
- It rejects even the assumption that human creatures
- could espouse a philosophy which must ultimately destroy all that is good and decent.

......................................................................................................................

Clips of end Aug 2013 update

“We’re in the most dangerous time in modern world history and here’s why,
- here’s what’s happening,”

“We’re seeing a combination of a nine-percent overall approval rating for intervention in Syria,
- or the.... absence of public support ........for the globalist plans
-. When have we seen this before,
- and what does history tell us?
The increased likelihood of a false flag event larger and causing more public outrage than the alleged chemical weapons attacks.”

“think Gulf of Tonkin, the Lusitania, even Pearl Harbor,
- use those as your......... historical guides
- for what we’re seeing today.

Make no mistake, the global agenda has not changed,

”He emphasized.
“When their primary plan ...backfires or meets resistance,
- they have alternate plans.

In the coming days or weeks, we could see an event that will be.....
- horrendous enough to change that nine-percent backing.
- Also, time is not on their side,
( they need to act within a short window as the anti-Assad ‘rebels’ are being beaten badly...... without Western assistance.)

“Look at all of the military assets being moved into that region. I told you last October, and you reported it,
- that we are engaged in a proxy war against Russia and China.
- Both countries have a huge stake in Syria, militarily and economically, especially Russia.
- As I said before, any action will not be in a vacuum or without a tit-for-tat response,”

“Launching cruise missiles into Syria will likely fall
- not only upon innocent civilians,
- but on Iranian forces,
- Russian forces - Russia has over 100,000 ‘military advisors there..... now,
- and perhaps even some Chinese assets.

What do you think their response will be?” he asked rhetorically.
- “This is asymmetrical warfare on steroids.

The response might not be what everyone expects. In fact, we should be looking for the unexpected, as we are about to be blindsided.”

“Do you think that telegraphing our target list and stating that strikes will be brief and limited by the incompetence of the regime,
- or by design?
- It’s by design,”
( this will provide the opportunity to the Russians and other essential assets to get out of the way)

“And therein lies the ‘flash-bang, pyrotechnic display of the magic show ......I’ve been talking about,
- that is intended to divert everyone’s attention

- from what’s really about to happen,”

“This is not a ‘zero sum game’ confined to Syria.

Again,
- this is about setting up .....the globalist takeover of the world’s economic system,
- killing off the U.S. dollar
- to have it replaced by a basket of currencies, or SDRs,
- and controlling all transactional activity .......everywhere on the planet
- under one mechanism.

It will be done
- by using Syria as the trigger,
- oil as a weapon,
- and striking at the weakest aspect of American power
— the U.S. dollar,
which has been the target all along.”

“What better way to accomplish this
- by blaming..... the economic ‘collapse’
- on the ‘unfortunate and... unseen’ consequences
- of a ‘humanitarian mission’,
- saving the Syrians from a dictator who used chemical weapons on his own people?

It’s all a lie, and we’re being played as fools.
- This is an international bankers’ war
- that will result in heavy causalities.”

Removal of Assad
- will result in the wholesale slaughter of the diverse religious sects.
- Responsible estimates from those familiar with the geopolitics of Syria estimate
- that 20% of a population of twenty-million will be killed
- that's a total of..... 4 million people.

Watch for a false flag

“The globalists are financing all sides of this conflict
- to assure the accomplishments of .....their objectives.

When things go hot in Syria and the Middle East,
- we could see something very bad happen
- in Saudi Arabia,
- or something to affect the production or free flow of oil,
- the single factor that is keeping the U.S. dollar relevant.
- We could see something happen to threaten, hinder
- or even temporarily halt........ oil shipments across the globe.

Also, with the U.S. preoccupied, China could well move on the Japanese Senkaku islands, North Korea will ramp up their mischief,
- and other areas will gradually become unglued.

It’s all one big transfer of power, transfer of wealth, and a global economic reset.”

“Understand this: the globalist objectives have not changed.
- The absence of popular support just makes this whole situation much more dangerous,
- and raises the possibility of ‘false flag events’
- of similar historical precedent .......to change public opinion.

Something much bigger than we’ve seen to date.

People...... are just not thinking..... big enough.”

.......................................................................................................................

Perhaps this quote is pertinent - again from a man - who knows full well
- what goes on .........behind the veil

Henry Kissinger speaking at the annual Bilderberger meeting, May 21, 1992

"People of privilege will always risk....... their complete destruction
- rather than surrender .....any material part ....of their advantage."

And 4 mins of advice on that aspect...which applies to - me....and you !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0

....................................................................................................................

NB - if you have doubts - that the elite - have rolling muti-generational plans
- to achieve control of.....a one world government
- look up late film director - Aaron Rousso's
- first hand account - of his conversations with TPTB David Rockerchappie himself.
- it's on youT with that man - Jones

....................................................................................................................

Make of it - what you will
FWIW basis

Mark Twain said of the ...two most important days in your life
- The First....is the day you are born
- The Second.....is the day you find out ....why !

....................................................................................................................

Catch Y'all in 3 weeks

Hope Mabel & the silent readers .....keep the board ticking over

Until myself, Snurkle & Sahara get back & into full swing :o)

May the world remain a safe place.

Gaz, thanks for all your input.
On my jollies now, getting ready for what's ahead.
Have a great time away yourself.

Waves were awesome today.

Silver having a breather. Can see it being propelled further north in the not too distant future.

Fingers crossed I'm right

Breaking News

In a stunning development,..... two JP Morgan whistleblowers
- have confessed that...... the bank manipulates the gold and silver markets.

This is truly a shocking admission by the courageous JP Morgan whistleblowers.
- London metals trader Andrew Maguire days that the two JP Morgan employees came directly to him with... hard evidence
- that the bank was actively manipulating the gold and silver markets.

This is a truly catastrophic event for JP Morgan, which up to now has denied manipulating these markets.
- Maguire led the two JP Morgan employees to turn over the evidence to a law firm which specializes in high profile whistleblowers,
- and also to the CFTC.

According to Maguire, the CFTC has virtually buried this information.

Is this a cover up, or the next LIBOR scandal about to be exposed.


Since the original CFTC Silver Manipulation Investigation Meeting,
- I’ve provided a very large amount of..... detailed evidence to the agency.

And what.... isn’t known, however,..... up until now,
- is during that time I was also contacted..... by two JP Morgan employees
- who told me they had a large amount of .......documented evidence
- of market trading abuses in gold and silver by their bank (JP Morgan).

Now, it was my understanding that this covered the same time period of metals abuses that I had prepared in my submissions. And for their own protection...
- I directed them to a law firm specializing in whistle blowers
- so they could formally provide this evidence under the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provision directly to the CFTC.

This would provide them the necessary protections which they would need if they were going to make such a submission.

Now, this was..... actually done in early June, 2012.
(Not June, 2013, but June of 2012)
- which is staggering.

Now, I didn’t want to hinder any investigation,
- so I kept this information ‘under wraps,’ until now.
To date, as far as I’m aware, these JP Morgan whistleblowers
- have not ....received any meaningful response to their evidence (from the CFTC),
- nor have we seen any formal charges laid against this bank.

But needless to say, there is a lot of evidence on the table. And ....
- you cannot have a multi-year investigation relating.... to abuses in the metals markets
- without there being.... an obvious .....and evermore embarrassing... problem
- .....for this agency (the CFTC).

We now know the LIBOR scandal flew under the radar.... for 15 to 20 years,
- and it was only when the famous Bollinger email was leaked and published
- that a formal investigation and charges were laid against these banks.
- This (LIBOR) investigation has resulted in some charges and it’s actually still going on today.

The point I am trying to make,
- is it amazes me ......what a little publicity will do to get some action.
- Now, we as traders all knew the bullion banks’ manipulations were going on,
- but they were never reported by the mainstream media.

So obviously many people were skeptical, and once the evidence became mainstream........,
- all hell broke loose.
KWN

...................................................................................................................

The Above - is - more than......"a little publicity"
- so it should....."get - some action"

- will "all hell break loose" ????

Here's one that I found interestin - from Consortiumnews.

mabel


How War on Syria Lost Its Way
September 14, 2013
Exclusive: What looked like another U.S. march to war in the Mideast has turned toward a peaceful accord that carries hope of getting Syria to relinquish its chemical weapons and achieving a cease-fire, maybe even an end to the civil war. But some want to resume the drive toward a U.S. attack, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern says.


By Ray McGovern

The just announced U.S.-Russia agreement in Geneva on a “joint determination to ensure the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons (CW) program in the soonest and safest manner” sounds the death knell to an attempt by Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to get the U.S. into the war in Syria.

Equally important, it greatly increases the prospect of further U.S.-Russia cooperation to tamp down escalating violence in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. That the two sides were able to hammer out in three days a detailed agreement on such highly delicate, complicated issues is little short of a miracle. I cannot remember seeing the likes of it in 50 years in Washington.


resident Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, in the Oval Office, Sept. 13, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Just two short weeks ago, the prospect of a U.S. military strike against Syria looked like a done deal with Official Washington abuzz with excitement about cruise missiles being launched from American warships in the Mediterranean, flying low toward their targets and lighting up the night sky of Damascus like the “shock and awe” pyrotechnics did to Baghdad in 2003.

On Aug. 30, Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to seal the deal with an impassioned address that declared some 35 times that “we know” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had crossed President Barack Obama’s “red line” against using chemical weapons with an Aug. 21 attack and needed to be punished.

Along with Kerry’s speech, the White House released a four-page “Government Assessment” declaring with “high confidence” that Assad’s regime was guilty of the attack on a Damascus suburb that killed precisely “1,429” people and “at least 426 children.” Though the white paper included not a single verifiable fact establishing Assad’s guilt – nor did it explain where its casualty figures came from – the assessment was accepted as true by most of the mainstream U.S. news media.

At that moment, Israel and its many backers had every reason to believe they had won the day and that at least the first stage of the retribution would be delivered before President Barack Obama flew off on Sept. 3 to Europe and to the G-20 summit. But then came a series of disappointments for them, beginning with Obama’s abrupt Aug. 31 decision to seek congressional authorization.

Still, the prevailing attitude was that the Israel Lobby would simply get to work whipping members of Congress into line with a variety of arguments (and a mix of threats and inducements) to ensure that a use-of-force resolution was passed and sent to the President’s desk.

The confidence was so high that there was no need to disguise what was afoot. Usually the mainstream media avoids mentioning the extraordinary influence of the Israel Lobby on Congress, but this time the New York Times displayed unusual candor describing who was egging on the march to war.

An 800-Pound Gorilla

In an article posted online Sept. 2, the Times reported, “Administration officials said the influential pro-Israel lobby group Aipac was already at work pressing for military action against the government of Mr. Assad. … One administration official, who, like others, declined to be identified discussing White House strategy, called Aipac ‘the 800-pound gorilla in the room,’ and said its allies in Congress had to be saying, ‘If the White House is not capable of enforcing this red line’ against the catastrophic use of chemical weapons, ‘we’re in trouble.’”

This warning about “loss of credibility” is a familiar one, artfully promoted in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal in an article by Leon Aron titled “America, Syria and the World.” Aron quotes a long list of Israel loyalists like Brookings Saban Center’s Kenneth M. Pollack, who warn that foreigners may come to view us as wimps if strong action is not taken against Syria.

A contrary point of view was expressed by former U.S. Ambassador Chas Freeman, who commented: “There is another possibility, however. And that is that they have come to see us as bullies, prone to resort to force rather than diplomacy when problems arise. The latter possibility puts a whole different face on Obama’s hesitation to go to war with Syria.”

In any case, to the surprise of many Washington insiders, the dreams of U.S. bombs raining down on another Mideast country began to slip away as many members of Congress listened to their constituents speaking out against war, and some even disbelieving the administration’s assessment because no hard, checkable evidence was being revealed to the American people.

Morose at CNN

As the march toward war began meandering off in unexpected directions, I was lucky enough to observe, up-close and personal, the angry reaction of some of Israel’s top American supporters on Monday evening. That was after Russia drew Obama a new map for how to reach the desired destination of removing chemical weapons from Assad’s arsenal without going to war.

After doing an interview on CNN International, I opened the studio door and almost knocked over a small fellow named Paul Wolfowitz, President George W. Bush’s former under-secretary of defense who in 2002-2003 had helped craft the fraudulent case for invading Iraq. And there standing next to him was former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the neocon from Connecticut who was a leading advocate for the Iraq War and pretty much every other potential war in the Middle East.

Finding myself in the same room with two gentlemen responsible for so much misery in the world, I fell back on my recent training in non-violence, as we watched Piers Morgan try earnestly to spin the day’s astounding events. On the tube earlier, Anderson Cooper sought counsel from Ari Fleischer, former spokesman for George W. Bush, and David Gergen, long-time White House PR guru.

Fleischer and Gergen were alternately downright furious over the Russian initiative to give peace a chance and disconsolate at seeing the prospect for U.S. military involvement in Syria disappear when we were oh so close. After some caustic and condescending outbursts, an almost surreally disconsolate mood set in. It looked like these fellas were not going to get their war.

Later remarks by Lieberman and Wolfowitz reflected a distinctly funereal atmosphere. I felt I had come to a wake with somberly dressed folks (no pastel ties this time) grieving for a recently, dearly-departed war.

Among Lieberman’s vapid comments was the hope-against-hope assertion that President Obama, of course, could still commit troops to war without congressional authorization. I thought to myself, wow, here’s a fellow who was a senator for 24 years and almost our vice president, and he does not remember that the Founders gave Congress the sole power to declare war in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.

So I dug into my back pocket, pulled out my little copy of the Constitution, and carefully tore out Article 1. Then I lurked in the ornate elevator waiting area for Joe and Paul to come out. After the usual pleasantries (all politicians feel compelled to “remember” you once you say your name as though they should), I said, “Joe, I couldn’t believe what you said about the President not being required to get the approval of Congress before attacking a country like Syria. So, here; I tore out Article 1 of the Constitution for you; I have another copy, so you can keep it. Go home, read it, and see if what you just said is correct.”

It was a bad evening for war and for those pundits who like to joke about “giving war a chance.” For those of us who think war is not such a good idea – and truly should only be considered as an absolutely last resort – it was an uncommon day for rejoicing at the failure of the warmongers to again send young men and women to kill folks who pose no threat to us.

Salt in the Wounds

As sad as the war proponents were – including the cable news channels cheated out of some great video of flashing bombs illuminating the shattered buildings of ancient Damascus – they would face another humiliation in reading Thursday’s New York Times, which published an op-ed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He made sensible points about the value of international law prohibiting one country from attacking another except in self-defense or with approval of the United Nations Security Council.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and an Israeli favorite, spoke for many Washington insiders by saying, “I was at dinner, and I almost wanted to vomit.” [For more on this topic, see Consortiumnews.com’s “Rewarding ‘Group Think’ on Syria.”]

Menendez had just cobbled together and forced through his committee a resolution, 10-to-7, to authorize the President to strike Syria with enough force to degrade Assad’s military. Now, at Obama’s request, the resolution was being put on the shelf.

Events were now moving swiftly away from a U.S. missile strike. Obama dispatched Kerry to Geneva to work out an agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. But the hope for war still was not fully extinguished.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was still rooting for a chance to revive the military option and – like Lieberman – suggesting that the President didn’t really need congressional approval and shouldn’t be deterred by popular opposition either.

At a breakfast session with reporters on Sept. 11, Levin said, “I just don’t think you can be guided, when it comes to this kind of an issue, by public opinion polls. … It would not be a surprise at all to me, even if there were no congressional authority, that he [Obama] would use his Article 2 authority” as commander in chief. (Not incidentally, Levin has been the recipient of more money from AIPAC-related organizations than any other member of Congress.)

At this point, Israel and its lobby had every reason to be disappointed in another longtime close friend, John Kerry. He had succeeded in driving the war, which was to be fought over Obama’s “red line,” into what football fans might call the “red zone” but Kerry was unable to push the plan for missile strikes over the goal line.

Instead, Kerry clearly is under new orders from President Obama to figure out a way in cooperation with Minister Lavrov to defuse the crisis. Putin, Obama, Lavrov and Kerry have just won some laurels from the people around the world hoping to advance the cause of peace. But they won’t have the luxury of resting on them, while so many others in and around Syria have powerful incentives to reverse the progress made.

One still has to wonder what might revive prospects for U.S. missile strikes. Some in the Middle East are worried about the possibility that radical jihadists among the Syrian rebels might try to derail peace talks by launching a chemical weapons attack against Israeli targets with the hope that the provocation will be blamed on the Assad regime and set off a rush to retaliate.

Whether likely or not, it is a threat that the cooler heads in the Obama administration should anticipate and be ready to head off.

Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He served as an Army Infantry/Intelligence officer prior to working for 27 years as a CIA analyst. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

Great article Mabel. Thanks for posting.

Just catching up with posts.

Things moving fast - will all chem wps be found, handed in/destroyed by mid 2014 or is this all just hogwash & a solar flare decides?

Int er est ing.

Posted by Traderabc in another place, this really, really is a MUST watch.

It's more than likely that more than 90% of the people of both this country and America have no idea what is being done and has already been done in their name. It is shameful.

Please don't be put off because it is 55mins long, every minute is worth watching.

mabel





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NIOthWsjk&feature=player_embedded#t=112

Sorry, it hasn't worked. Will try again.

mabel

No good, can't get it to work.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NIOthWsjk&feature=player_embedded#t=112

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NIOthWsjk&feature=player_embedded#t=112

Working now mabel.

On the chain icon above at side of U underline, FIRSTLY make sure you scrub out ......


http:// in that box, THEN enter your link address.

cheers GF.