Focusing Mostly On The Middle East

Trump had a phone call with Xi Jinping the other day all about World Peace—Trump knows Xi really well, they have a great relationship. Which is good, and will maybe push the date for war on China back beyond, say, 2027. Hopefully the Pentagon gets that message. This could be really helpful, what with the war on Russia and on the Middle East and elsewhere still fairly hot.

Speaking of the Middle East, while I’ve been yakking about how important the comprehensive security treaty between Russia and Iran is—it was signed on Friday—Larry Johnson went ahead and read it. And interesting reading it was. We’ll get to that below. However, in a slow buildup, I’m going to try to embed a Craig Murray youtube about our new embassy a-building in Beirut, because it says a lot about how we view the Middle East generally:

What the Hell is That?

Here’s the transcript, which will prove useful because I’ll insert links:

Here we are in Beirut overlooking the construction of the new United States Embassy complex here in Beirut. What you're seeing there, that massive range of buildings, that's only a part of it. That's about a quarter of the new complex.

It's being built here. It is the second largest embassy in the world, of any country anywhere in the world. The second largest embassy in the world is being constructed here in Beirut by the United States. We can't find out officially from the State Department, but we understand that the complex is built to house 5,000 staff. I used to be an ambassador. I know what an embassy does. There are basic functions of an embassy. It can run political relations with the country. It issues visas. It can do press and public relations. It can administer aid. It can do defence cooperation. And most embassies have an intelligence section. That is not an embassy. That is something 50 times the size of what an embassy would be in a country like this.

So I've just printed off the diplomatic list for the United States of America. These are always public information. They're public under the Vienna Convention. And they list the diplomatic staff of every embassy in the country. So you can, for example, look at the Embassy of Lebanon in the United States and see how many staff it's got. And it has seven diplomatic staff. And it also lists their spouses. It is a list of everybody with diplomatic immunity. That's why it's published under the Vienna Convention. The embassy of the United Kingdom to the United States of America is one of the world's larger embassies. It's an embassy between two of the wealthiest countries in the world, two of the top eight economies. And as you'd expect, there are a lot of diplomats there handling relations. And it runs to, I think, 120 names, many of whom have spouses. And that's about the size of a very large embassy. You'll have 120 diplomatic staff in a very large embassy.

I could show you also here the Russian embassy to the United States, giving you an idea of ... if you like, a hostile or opposed ”designated enemy” mission. And that's slightly smaller. That's about 90 members of diplomatic staff.

Then you have other staff who are not diplomats, who are support staff, who are clerical, who are cleaners, who are guards, whatever, who don't appear on the diplomatic list. And normally, you would expect the ratio of non-diplomatic staff to diplomatic staff of an embassy to be somewhere between one and two to one. So you have slightly more non-diplomatic staff than you have diplomatic staff. So the total staff numbers, say, of the British embassy in Washington would be about 300 people including everybody, including the guards and cleaners, typists, everyone. And the total number in the Russian embassy in Washington would be about 270 people. The total number in the Jordanian or the Lebanese embassy to the United States is probably 20 people, something along those lines. None of those comes anywhere near 5,000 people, which is the amount of people the new massive, massive so-called embassy So I am genuinely stumped. I just do not know why the United States is building this massive ultra-expensive complex.

Why is the United States building this here? Let me come on to this question of the American embassy that's being built here, because we've been and looked at it as close as you can, as you're allowed to get to it. It's plainly not an embassy, whatever it is. This is plainly something else.

[Speaking to Leila Hatoum, Editor MENA Uncensored]

Why is the United States building this here? Let me come on to this question of the American embassy that's being built here, because we've been and looked at it as close as you can, as you're allowed to get to it. It's plainly not an embassy, whatever it is. This is plainly something else. What is it? Why is it so big? And how much do you know about it?

LH: How much do I know about it? How much do all of the Lebanese know about it? It's like the biggest known secret over here. They started building it a few years back, and the mass scale of it is scary. It's the second largest U.S. embassy in the world after the one that they have in Iraq. So to have the largest embassies in the world stationed in the Middle East, that tells you how important the Middle East is for them. Now when it comes to Iraq, it's for military purposes, because it joins the three countries that they want to control or attack. So you have basically Iraq, you have Syria, and then you have Iran. That's at close proximity. And then you have Jordan, which is an allied state to them.

In Lebanon, it's a different case scenario. They need it for logistics, for torture, for interrogation, to support their espionage missions across the region. And this is the only country, not only in the Middle East, but in the world, where they can do their bidding, and the politicians will allow them to do so. What kind of an embassy is that that's built on thousands of acres of land? What kind of an embassy is that that's built on thousands of acres of land? And it has underground dungeons that include detention cells. It has basically what you call pathways underground that lead to the sea. Because that's where they have the other escape route. They do have their own helicopter pads, and basically they can fly to Cyprus in and out. And it's as if you're going into a fortified CIA barrack. That's it. This embassy is not there to cater to Lebanese-American citizens. It's not there to cater for good, friendly relations. It's there to cater to the project of hegemony and controlling Lebanon, spying on it, and basically creating further upheaval inside the country. They're not looking for stability over here.

[Speaking to Hasan Illaik, Journalist]

The United States very obviously has an enormous influence in Lebanon. How has it become such a dominant factor in Lebanese life?

HI: The United States of America has major interests in Lebanon. It can control at least half of Lebanon’s ruling elite. The dominant elite in Lebanon. The United States has enormous influence within Lebanon’s official institutions... Including Lebanese state institutions, the Lebanese army... And Lebanese security agencies. It has absolute dominance over Lebanon’s banking sector. It can influence legislative institutions... Judicial institutions, and executive institutions. It has the ability to influence media outlets in Lebanon. Therefore, it relies on its embassy, to keep its influence. To safeguard this insidious influence in Lebanon. To maintain and even enhance it. Because Lebanon has historically been a hub... For all intelligence, espionage, and conspiratorial operations in the region. It requires this center to serve as the hub of conspiracy, with Lebanon taking on this role. The place must be of great importance to the United States as a hub of conspiracy in the region.

In 2011, the United States of America, during its war on Syria, turned Lebanon into a platform for supporting jihadist organisations in Syria, led by Al-Qaeda, and later, ISIS... And even supported them when they occupied Lebanese territories. The United States of America contributed to protecting this terrorist presence in Lebanon. Also, as has been stated multiple times by former officials in the Lebanese Ministry of Defense... And the Lebanese government... The United States of America prevented the Lebanese army from launching a war, from launching a battle to liberate Lebanese territories... Occupied by terrorist organisations between 2011 and 2017. By American decision, the Lebanese army was forbidden from fighting this battle. Because the control of terrorist organisations over parts of Lebanese territories served the project of toppling the regime in Syria.

Yes, they do want to obviously use it to expand their regional influence. Yes, it will be a base for operating into other states. But I think a lot of it is ... a shadow Lebanese government. Or if you like, the real Lebanese government. That's the substantive government of Lebanon, which is going to be running this country. And the so-called Lebanese ministries are the shadow. They're the fake. They're pretending to be running the country.

The most important asset that the UK brings to the Five Eyes spying network is its listening post on Mount Troodos in Cyprus. It's interesting, the thing about technology in this modern day and age. Strangely enough, it's still actually quite important to be able to have land-based, line-of-sight access to communications. I think it's to do with microwave links. It's also useful for things like pager signals. But Mount Troodos in Cyprus, a very high mountain... from Mount Troodos you have clear lines all over the Middle East, all the way round from Egypt to Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. And the Americans regard that as the jewel in the crown. That's for the Americans the main reason they keep the NSA/GCHQ agreement going, is that it gives them access to the signals from Mount Troodos. And I used to be responsible for it, among my many foreign office jobs. I was head of the Cyprus section, of the the foreign office, so I knew it well. And that signal station will be running now. It will have line of sight to the new American embassy in Beirut here. And that will be running now with 30 staff, there will be 30 staff on-shift, from the signals regiment and a couple from GCHQ. Because that's the kind of thing it takes to keep that signals operation going.

Now I want to emphasise to you just how big that building and just how big the site is. You're only seeing this side of the hill. It carries on over the brow of the hill. In fact, that new embassy covers 43 acres. 43 acres. I've been on much smaller farms than that. And there's a whole range of other buildings behind the huge construction of buildings you can see there. And you might like to say that Lebanon is an important country with vital American strategic interests. And that's of course true. I was British ambassador in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was of vital strategic interest to the United States. It neighbours Afghanistan. It has a border with Afghanistan. And the Americans were fighting a war inside Afghanistan. And Uzbekistan provided a huge air base. A huge military base at Karshi-Khanabad which was vital to the logistics supply of the war in Afghanistan. [The US vacated the base in 2005.] And which had up to 20,000 American service personnel inside it. America also had a massive CIA station in Uzbekistan. And it was a centre for the extraordinary rendition programme. They were bringing people into Uzbekistan in order for them to be tortured. Uzbekistan is a country of 26 million people. Lebanon is a country of 5 million people. Uzbekistan has a GDP of 90 billion dollars a year. Lebanon has a GDP of 19 billion dollars a year. So Uzbekistan is a much bigger place, bigger US interests. There was even a bigger aid program in Uzbekistan than there is in Lebanon. And what was the diplomatic staff of the US embassy in Uzbekistan? About 70 people. What was the total staff of the US embassy in Uzbekistan? It was about 130 people. And we are talking here in ostensibly a smaller operation [in Beirut] of a massive range of buildings containing up to 5,000 people. And I just can't tell you what it is.

I can't tell you what it is. I can't tell you what they are doing. But what I can tell you is this. I've run embassies, I've worked in embassies, I've been inside countless embassies all over the world from all kinds of different nations. And I tell you this for certain. That building is not an embassy.

So the Middle East is super important to the US. As I’ve been emphasizing for months, in a way it can be considered the far southern front for the war on Russia, because it provides support pathways to clandestine operations in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, it helps pressure Iran, which is the vital linchpin for the North South Transport Corridor, so important for BRICS. That’s why the new Russian - Iranian treaty is so important—even a game changer, as LJ says. Russia and Iran are drawing line in the, er, sand, and they have shorter lines of communication. I’m gonna recommend that you read all of this—it’s not overly long:

Game Changer — Russia and Iran Sign Mutual Security Agreement

Rather than quote the actual provisions of the treaty—which you can find at the link—I’ll quote excerpts from LJ’s summaries, because they convey the impact of this treaty more vividly than the legalistic language:

The treaty Russia and Iran inked today will change the political dynamics in the Middle East (or, if you prefer, West Asia) and create potentially catastrophic risks for Israel and the United States if either decides to launch a military attack on Iran.

Russia and Iran are sending the world a clear, unambiguous message — i.e., Russia and Iran are now strategic partners.

… if Israel or the United States decide to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran, with Russian support, will be fully entitled to a military response. Russia is sending Israel and the United States a clear warning.

Russia and Iran have separate agreements governing cooperation between their respective intelligence and security agencies:

Russia and Iran have agreed to a comprehensive level of military cooperation

Russia and Iran are now committed to working together to counter Western sanctions:

This final paragraph confirms what we were discussing yesterday (quoting John Mearsheimer): Iran will not build a nuke, but Russia will enable and support a potent Iranian conventional deterrent. It also addresses our criticism of Doug Macgregor’s belief that a US - Israel attack on Iran is basically inevitable. LJ takes this a step or two further, but I believe the implications are warranted:

Article 23 puts to rest the question of whether or not Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. It is not. Russia would not have entered into this type of treaty if Iran was going to build a nuke. Essentially, Russia is providing Iran with a nuclear umbrella. Russia is going to expand its support of Iran’s development of nuclear energy. In making this deal, Russia is warning the West that any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities will be an attack on Russia:

My belief is that Trump and his Deep State will back off from such a confrontation.

Speaking of implications, if true I believe this Trump side deal with Netanyahu was unwise:

Michael Tracey @mtracey

Netanyahu says Trump "emphasized" to him that the ceasefire is "temporary," and Israel will have "full backing" to resume the war in Gaza. He says Trump has decided to "lift all the remaining restrictions" on US munitions, allowing Israel to resume the war with "tremendous force"

The ceasefire may bring down Netanyahu’s government, but that doesn’t mean that what replaces Netanyahu will be less radical. The implications here, however, are that Israel is an appendage of the US and anything it does has the full blessing of the US. That’s an unwise message to the Middle East region, no matter what they may have thought in the past. The US was always complicit, but this tends to confirm that the US has been a full partner. It also commits—not legally, but implicitly—the US to guarantee Israel’s security beyond anything in the past. That’s the appearance.

Now, this last link may not seem related to the Middle East, but it is—because in a global war everything is connected:

German major general warns of Russian military build-up

The head of Germany's military task force on assistance for Ukraine, Major General Christian Freuding, has warned that Russia is building up its forces beyond the requirements of the current conflict.

"We see that the Russian armed forces are not just able to compensate for their enormous personnel and material losses on their own and with the support of their partners, but that they are successfully rearming,” he told the Sunday edition of the Welt newspaper.

It is by no means certain that Russia will launch an attack on NATO states in the coming years, "but Moscow is clearly creating the conditions for it," he warned.

Obviously this guy wants you to think that the “current conflict” is what’s going on in Ukraine. The reality is that this is a global war andd that’s what Russia is preparing for. It’s a matter of perspective. There’s a solution—a comprehensive new security architecture for Europe.