Tag Archives: Syria

Oct 18 2023

Israel v Palestine – Military Power


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Let me begin by stating that Palestine does not have a military. The terrorist group Hamas contains between 30,000 and 40,000 fighters, but only a few hundred are believed to have received proper training. Hamas does not have an air force or any naval power. In contrast, Israel has one of the most advanced defense forces in the world.

International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) Military Balance 2023 states that Israel has 169,500 active duty military members, with another 465,000 in the reserve forces. Every adult in the nation has received proper basic military training. Israel has over 2,000 main battle tanks and 615 heavy infantry fighting vehicles, while Hamas currently has 0. Their impressive air force has 196 F-16 fighter planes, 83 F-15, 36 F-35, 140 military helicopters, and 43 Apache attack helicopters. They also have five submarines and 49 battleships. Then there is the once-thought-to-be impenetrable Iron Dome and, most importantly, nuclear weapons.

Israel has a defense budget of around $23.6 billion. America and other nations have been funding Israel’s military, with America alone providing $118 billion since 1949. The Biden Administration has pledged an additional $2 billion in supplementary funding, and other Western nations will follow.

The US Navy has been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. Are we sending extremely advanced technology to defeat a few hundred barely trained ground soldiers? The US sent two carriers to an enemy that has no carriers or aircrafts aside from some paragliders who have managed to bypass the Iron Dome. Again, Palestine does not have a military – at all. Hamas uses the people of Palestine as human shields and that is its main defense system.

We are preparing for World War III. The players are entering the arena for something much larger than Israel v Palestine. The Neocons across the globe are moving in full force to promote this war. This is precisely what our cycle had predicted for 2023, with a spike in violence in the Middle East. Those who read “The Next Jihad” know that the worst is sadly yet to come.

Oct 18 2023

Jordan and Egypt Cancel Summit With Joe Biden


Posted originally on the CTH on October 17, 2023 | Sundance

Joe Biden was literally in the air, flying toward the region when Jordan’s King Abdullah just cancelled the summit between Egyptian President al-Sisi, Abdullah and Biden. This is more than a little sunlight on who Abdullah was talking about earlier when he said, “the usual suspects were trying to create Defacto issues on the ground.”

(Reuters) Jordan has cancelled a summit it was to host in Amman on Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and the Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to discuss Gaza, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said. (link)

Now tell me again, why Joe Biden is going to Israel?   What strategic value is within this visit?

Yesterday I provided some of my own thoughts on the motives.  “The people behind Joe Biden are sending him to Israel for (1) part of a rebranding effort; and (2) to impede Netanyahu and buy time for Hamas.”

Today, Caroline Glick affirms my perspective and also gives some troubling information about: (a) the White House demanding an invitation; and (b) Anthony Blinken threatening Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to hold back the ground invasion or the U.S. will not allow munitions and bombs Israel needs for resupply.   WATCH:

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Oct 18 2023

PERFECT – Absolutely Perfect, King Abdullah II of Jordan Lays Down the Hammer, No Palestinian Refugees in Jordan or Egypt


Posted originally on the CTH on October 17, 2023 | Sundance

Oh man, this is going to make the leftist/globalists go nuts.  Keep in mind, King Abdullah of Jordan is speaking directly, forcefully and without pretending on the eve of Barack Obama and Joe Biden launching an effort to use the Gaza crisis to stir up regional trouble.

This video snippet is absolutely perfect, from the position of those pragmatic nationalists who want a long-term solution that applies pressure on the Palestinian people to solve their own problems.  They want Hamas; they have Hamas.  King Abdullah, along with Egyptian President al-Sisi, are not going to be pawns in the refugee games Obama and Biden intend on playing.

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz had requested Jordan take in Palestinian refugees; Abdullah shut that down immediately and without equivocation.  King Abdullah, speaking on behalf of President al-Sisi, just crushed Scholz in front of the international media and draws a red line.  WATCH: 

[Also, eff the AFP who have blocked CTH from their video segments.]

You will not see these remarks by King Abdullah II shared widely on Western media, because it just doesn’t fit the Palestinian refugee narrative.

Ed Morrissey nails this one.

[…] “Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has already rejected this idea, and with even more reason. As I wrote last week, Hamas sprang out of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood wants al-Sisi dead. Why in the world would anyone think that al-Sisi would allow tens of thousands of potential Muslim Brotherhood foot soldiers into his country now? If Germany or any of the other leaders in the West took even a moment to consider the precarious nature of both regimes, they’d be embarrassed to even have floated this idea.

The only country that should give refuge to the Gazans at the moment is Iran. They authored the present misery of the Gazans through their proxy Hamas. Iran won’t take them in either, though, even apart from the logistics of that kind of relocation. For one thing, the Persian Shi’ite mullahs could care less about the mainly Sunni Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank, but also they can’t afford their destabilizing presence either. They already have a restive population that the IRGC can barely contain, and that population hates the Palestinians and the way that the mullahs exploit their cause to justify their oppression.

Abdullah is right about the solution to the Palestinian issue, too. “This is a situation that has to be handled within Gaza and the West Bank,” he declared. The answer lies with the Palestinians, and it always has. Had they accepted the 1948 partition, they would never have had to live for eight decades in camps. Had they chosen to pursue peace and engagement with Israel as a final outcome, they would have had their own state decades ago, along with tons of Western investment. Instead, the Palestinians have insisted on annihilating Israel and seizing the land “from the river to the sea,” and keep adding to their misery.” (more)

Oct 17 2023

War is Coming


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Thank you for your analysis of the Israel incident. We have to wonder what took place. Nothing makes sense.

REPLY:  Israel did not respond to the attack for many hours. This is not realistically possible. This appears to be a setup to expand the war against Russia, assuming they will support Iran, Syria, and Hamas. There is no way that 1,000 people could breach the Gaza defense in 15 places, and nobody knew. The technology there will be triggered if a cat touches the fence. They have killer drones that will shoot directly at anything that breaches the fence. Claiming Iran hacked that security is not plausible. None of the private communications in that area were impacted.

Some see that this has been a covert action that sacrificed Israelis to achieve the end goal of trying to force Russia to defend the Middle East, all to create war BEFORE the 2024 election. As I have been warning, our computer has projected World War III unfolding post-2024. This is all be orchestrated.

Oct 17 2023

The Coming Middle East War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Middle East Re-Posted Oct 16, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Why does Biden never discuss Iran, and the Democrats keep handing money back to Iran to fund their terror against Israelis and Sunnis? Are they trying to creat World War III?

FG

ANSWER: Look, there is much more going on behind the curtain than mainstream media reports. On August 3, 2023, a feud with Iran against Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is in play because they announced they had “exclusive ownership” of the natural resources in the disputed Durra offshore gas field. Iran said it will pursue its rights over the Durra-Arash gas field. Back in July, the dispute between Kuwait and Iran began to escalate as Kuwait condemned purported Iranian drilling plans for the field.

Kuwait and Iran once had longstanding historical ties spanning hundreds of years before oil arrived. The religious Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s broke the tight bond between Iran and Kuwait. There was speculation that some religious groups supported Iran after the revolution. Shia Islam still constitutes about 36.5% of the Kuwaiti citizen population. There is behind-the-scene support for Iran, which some say was the real reason for Husein’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.

Nobody wants to talk too much about that since the conquest of Iraq strengthened Iran and unleashed religious terrorism. Blair apologized but still put out the nonsense that had Husein remained in power, he would have threatened world peace when, in fact, he was the only major threat to Iran. This has long left a bad taste in the mouths of many as to why the West has removed Iran’s threats; some believe it has been the desire to create a Middle East War. Hamas knows it is dividing the world and is praying for massive civilian casualties in the wake of an Israeli Response. They are already dividing Northern Africa as some governments have refrained from condemning Hamas’ attacks on civilians.

In urging the evacuation, Israel’s military is trying to minimize Hamas exploiting the death of civilians in Gaza. The IDF said it planned to target underground Hamas hideouts around Gaza City—areas that civilians cannot access. Meanwhile, the Hamas terrorist group has vowed to fight to the last drop of blood and told residents to stay as they try to use civilians for propaganda and shields.

As expected, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters attacked Israeli army posts and a northern border on Sunday. Israel retaliated with strikes in Lebanon. Border clashes are now escalating. Hezbollah intends to open a second front with Israel. We should expect this all to escalate by the first quarter of 2025 on a significant scale.

These people do not understand that such acts by Hamas create the image that all Arabs are the same.  These attacks NEVER accomplish concessions. All they do is promote a vicious cycle of violence with no end. This is why so many Palestinians do not support Hamas, for they see this as making their lives worse – not better. To live in fear of violence is not beneficial to either side. The ONLY solution is negotiation. The same applies in Ukraine; there, too, we have Zelensky refusing to negotiate. Up to 10 million Ukrainians have fled because of Zelensky; at the end of the day, he is destroying Ukraine, and no victory is ever possible. This is the same crisis we have with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. What do they honestly expect? Do all Jews leave the Middle East?

Oct 17 2023

Mexico Protects its Civilians Abroad


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 16, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Mexico’s Air Force is entering an active warzone to bring home their citizens. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that up to 300 Mexican citizens have registered to flee Israel amid the war, and Mexico’s military will bring them home. “It was decided to send a plane that departs today in the morning, and another one is being prepared to leave in the afternoon, and we are looking for the protection of all our nationals,” said Lopez Obrador.

Not many other countries can say the same. Joe Biden has absolutely zero effort to rescue the American citizens trapped in the Middle East. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) stated that he is personally working to evacuate 32 American nationals from Israel without the support of the White House. Mills said that this is “the second time doing the Biden administration’s work, because they have no plan, they have no strategy to get these Americans out who are trapped and these church groups that had been left behind.” He continued, “I went in and was very thankful to be able to get — for the second time by the way, I’ll just add, helping the Biden administration — who has failed to do their job. The first time I did it was in 2021, when I conducted the very first successful overland rescue of Americans, but here it is, the second time doing the Biden administration’s work, because they have no plan, they have no strategy to get these Americans out who are trapped and these church groups that had been left behind.”

Now, let us not forget Biden wanted to provide $6 billion to Iran, a known enemy with nuclear powers, in exchange for five Americans nationals. At least, that was the excuse provided. Biden also released a notorious arms dealer back to Russia in exchange for a female basketball player who broke the law by bringing drugs into a foreign country. Griner openly hated America and refused to stand for the national anthem since she thought she was oppressed until she lived in a Russian prison. And yet, now Russia has one of their top gun lords back because Biden wanted to score woke ESG points by rescuing a black lesbian female athlete. In that same exchange, Biden left behind Paul Whelan, a US veteran who served and loved his country. Most people do not know the name Paul Whelan, but Brittney Griner is a household name in America because the media gave her 24/7 coverage.

Mexico does not want to be involved in the conflict. They went, got their people, and left. “We are in favor of peace. We do not consider that violence should be used… we do not want war, we do not want confrontation, we do not want violence, we maintain that it is the most irrational thing that can exist,” said the president. America could find a way to enter Israeli airspace and bring its citizens home safely, but the Biden Administration does not care about the American people.

Oct 17 2023

Hamas Claims 250 Hostages Taken During Terrorist Attack – However, Hamas Only Controls 200 and Is Willing to Release the Foreign Nationals


Posted originally by the CTH on October 16, 2023 | Sundance 

Everything, and I do mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g, that comes from the mouth of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obaida, should be viewed through the prism of extremist propaganda.  Hamas is doing and saying everything possible to manipulate media and create pressure on Israel in advance of the ground invasion.

That said, Abu Obaida is claiming that “at least” 250 hostages were taken during the terrorist attack on October 7th, yet some of the hostages were not taken by official Hamas groups, but by other members of the Palestinian resistance who crossed the border behind Hamas to retrieve hostages “for their own purposes.”

The number of non-Hamas hostages is claimed to be around 50, possibly more, and they were likely abducted for pathological purposes, ie. torture for fun and Palestinian enjoyment, community abuse to be recorded for celebratory purposes, public rape and sex slavery, along with other forms of horrific human degradation. [If any of these people are factually still alive, they would likely be better off dead.]

Abu Obaida is claiming that Hamas officially has 200 hostages, and “some” of them are foreign nationals. They are willing to release the “foreign nationals” unconditionally when passage is safe.   This “foreign nationals” part of the claim appears intended to target the international community of public opinion – to put pressure on Israel to back off.

Richard Engel (MSNBC) has a video report here.  Although, I would caution you to review this narrative with extreme cynicism.  Time Magazine has also reviewed the Abu Obaida video statement, and their review/analysis is below:

(GAZA – Newsweek) – The spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing has announced that the group is prepared to release non-Israeli prisoners among at least 200 people in custody once their safety could be guaranteed amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes against the Gaza Strip.

Speaking in a 10-minute video published Monday, Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obaida said that, while he could not provide an exact count of the number of people seized in the shocking Palestinian air, land and sea assault conducted on October 7, he estimated the total figure to be “between 200 and 250, or exceeding that.”

“The Al-Qassam Brigades has about 200 prisoners and the rest are distributed among other components of the resistance or in places in which we cannot count them,” Abu Obaida said.

He stated that 22 prisoners have been killed so far in Israeli airstrikes, but that the group was treating all those taken fairly.

“We deal with prisoners according to the dictates of the teachings of our religion,” Abu Obaida said. “Their care is required by moral and humanitarian duty. They eat what we eat, they drink what we drink, and they live under the same conditions as all the people in Gaza.”

He said that among the captives were those of “different nationalities” that could not be verified in full as a result of the ongoing wartime conditions.

“They are our guests we seek to protect them and the moment the conditions on the ground allow we will release them,” Abu Obaida said. (read more)

Hamas leadership living in Doha, Qatar

Oct 16 2023

Hamas Hides Behind Civilians


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://twitter.com/baiswar_vikas/status/1712071313186287673

Anyone inciting more violence does not understand that the civilians are trapped. Hamas continually hides behind civilians because they are cowards pretending to be men who attack vulnerable children and women on BOTH sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed this fact shortly after the group overtook Gaza and portions of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority reported then that Hamas militias were using civilian hospitals as their military bases. “The Ministry of Health, along with all the Palestinian people, was shocked to discover that Hamas militias have returned to their old ways and have expelled all the medical staff responding to the calls of the homeland (to continue their work.) Unfortunately, these same militias used the medical centers, especially in a number of hospitals, converting them into centers for interrogation, torture, and imprisonment,” Palestine stated in 2009. Palestine begged Hamas to “act responsibly” and leave these medical centers, but Hamas is more powerful than the actual government.

“Why Hamas stores its weapons inside hospitals, mosques and schools” was published by the Washington Post in 2014. “The many mosques in the Gaza Strip serve not only religious functions, but are also put to military use by Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center said at the time. “They are used to hide terrorist operatives, store weapons, as sites from which rockets and mortar shells are launched.” This is the same year that our War Cycle turned up and accurately predicted civil unrest and international tensions in both Palestine and Ukraine.

The United Nations also found numerous rockets stored in schools. They have developed an intricate tunnel system that runs between these civilian public areas that double as their military bases. They do this because they are cowards and feel as if the international community will defend them if Israel bombs a hospital, school, or mosque. People with no regard for human life do not have loyalties. Hamas is prepared to watch their own people die, as it has been their plan all along.

Oct 16 2023

Joe Biden’s 60 Minute Interview on Gaza Is the Saddest Media Display I Have Ever Witnessed


Posted originally on the CTH on October 15, 2023 | Sundance

Good grief, if the stakes of this issue were not so high, I probably would not have watched this. Alas, a review was necessary to judge the competency of policy.  What follows is beyond sad.

I know many readers here will not like the thought of watching pudding brain mutter his way through a carefully edited and controlled interview by a corporate outlet intent on presenting Biden in the best possible light.  However, you only really need to watch the introduction by CBS host, Scott Pelley.

Never before have I seen a more transparently pathetic political defense presented as the introduction to an interview of a U.S. president. Pelley was apologetic toward Biden in the extreme, leading the viewer into an interview with prescripted justification and excuses for the content that would follow.  Watching Pelley set up this interview elicits a sense of embarrassment that such a set-up is needed.   When he gets into the interview, Pelley actually constructs the talking points for Biden, with explanations and outlines that provide simple yes/no answers from Biden.  This interview is so soft, it becomes pathetic to watch:

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Oct 16 2023

“We”?


Posted originally on the CTH on October 15, 2023 | Sundance

I’m not posting this for the content per se’, but rather as an example of how if you listen carefully, you can catch the DeceptiCONs.  This is the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, talking to Maria Bartiromo about the Israeli war.

♦ Context matters!  Remember, it was just a few days ago when Mike McCaul left a “non-classified” White House briefing by DNI Avril Haines and the State Dept, likely Victoria Nuland, and immediately went to the microphones to push a false story that Egypt had warned the Israelis in advance of the Hamas attack {GO DEEP}.  That never happened.  Additionally, it was just a few weeks ago when Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member Maria Bartiromo dropped her mask in the interview with Matt Gaetz {LINK}.

Listen carefully, and you will notice how Bartiromo cites the White House briefing (“situation room“) and then immediately McCaul starts talking about “what we are doing,” meaning the Biden administration.  The “we” in that sentence is profoundly Freudian, and if you know the cues to look for, you can spot them immediately.

Essentially, McCaul is admitting in that brief section that he (even though he is supposed to be a Republican), is a part of the Biden effort.  That explains his willingness to go immediately to the microphones and give the false story as a media narrative – more valuable from the Republican than from the Biden intelligence apparatus. I hope you can see what my reference is here.

As I say all the time, in this era of universal deceit, trust your instincts.  If you know what to look for, you will quickly start to see the professional deceivers don’t even realize when they slip, because they are still attached to the “old” level of scrutiny that was being applied. WATCH:

We The People are being manipulated.  We need to break this cycle of propaganda abuse, by reminding ourselves about the history of how we have been abused.

This is a very dangerous awakening. The UniParty has been on full display in the past few weeks.  Factually, the more the average American understands the nature of their abuse, the manipulation, the more dangerous the potential response from government becomes.  A narcissist becomes violent when their gaslighting no longer works.  A government becomes similarly disposed when the propaganda stops working.

See things as they are, not as we would prefer them to be.

Live your absolute best life while being frosty, smart and strategically small.

Pay attention to the things that people think no one is noticing.

P