Round Up 3/7/2024
Most readers have seen the stories about how the US is unprepared for the war that Israel and the Neocons are trying to get us into. Consider the excuses that military is making for their failure to break the Houthi blockade of Suez. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that blockade busting was ever going to be a real possibility—the world just isn’t the way it was back in the 90s. But also recall that the US was making proxy war on Yemen via KSA and the Emirates (and Sudanese mercenaries) for ten years, until just a few years ago. And now they’re telling us this?
‘Not Our Fault!’ – Pentagon Blames CIA For Yemen Fiasco
Date:3/7/24 12:34 PM
Author:Ron Paul and Daniel McAdamsOn today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:
Yemen is not going as promised. After weeks of US and UK bombing, the Red Sea is still effectively off-limits to US and UK shipping and to all shipping to and from Israel. Yemen’s Houthis announced the policy in protest of Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. Recently the Pentagon blamed the CIA for the failed Yemen policy, claiming they were lacking in intelligence.
I like that: lacking in intelligence. Zerohedge picked the story up, too, in slightly more concise language:
Pentagon Blames 'Intel Gap' For Failure To Stop Yemen's Red Sea Ops
US defense officials have blamed "insufficient intelligence" for Washington's abortive airstrike campaign against Yemen, which started in mid-January and has so far failed to deter Yemen's Houthi armed forces from attacking US, UK, and Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea in support of Palestine.
During a congressional hearing on US operations in the Red Sea last week, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for West Asia, Daniel B. Shapiro, revealed Washington "did not know" the full capacity of the Yemeni arsenal used for its operations in the Red Sea, adding that the White House was "working to gather that intelligence."
Who thinks any other Middle Eastern or West Asian war would be any easier or require less “intelligence” or resources?
Along very similar lines of thought, yesterday Zerohedge went with this thought experiment:
Who Will Prevail In World War 3? Exploring The 7 Key Battlefields
The concept here is pitting the US and the Rest of the West against BRICS. Here are the seven key battlefields:
Domain #1: Financial Warfare
Domain #2: Economic Warfare
Domain #3: Cyber Warfare
Domain #4: Information Warfare
Domain #5: Deniable Sabotage
Domain #6: Biological Warfare
Domain #7: Proxy Warfare
I’m a traditionalist, so I’ll stick to Domain #7. After all, the winner there is likely to have had some decisive advantages in the other domains, too. BRICS sweeps the board:
Domain #7: Proxy Warfare
Proxy wars are a method by which major powers fight their battles indirectly, using smaller nations or groups as stand-ins rather than confronting each other directly.
Major powers support, equip, and finance smaller groups or nations in a proxy war to fight against a common adversary. This support can include military training, weapons, funding, and other resources. The critical point is that the major powers do not engage directly in combat.
I expect proxy wars will be a decisive factor in who will win World War 3.
There are numerous ongoing proxy wars. However, there are three that I believe will be key in determining which side has the overall advantage.
Proxy War #1: Ukraine
Ukraine has been the arena of choice for NATO & Friends to confront Russia.
As I write this, at the beginning of 2024, the conflict in Ukraine appears to be winding down.
Ukraine has suffered serious battlefield setbacks as its much-touted 2023 counteroffensive has utterly failed.
Further weapons shipments from NATO nations are not going to deliver victory to Ukraine. At best, it will only prolong the conflict without changing the ultimate outcome while depleting NATO inventories.
US funding is also drying up. American and European voters are growing increasingly tired of the war.
When you put it all together, I suspect we will see serious movement toward a settlement this year that will largely be favorable to Russia.
Result: Advantage BRICS +
Proxy War #2: The Middle East
The Middle East is on the precipice of the biggest regional war in over 50 years.
The region is roughly divided into two different geopolitical groups.
The first is the US and its allies—Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and others.
Uh, I think that lineup is rather suspect. I see a lot of sideliners, and some (like Turkey) that might actively oppose US entry.
The second group describes itself as the Axis of Resistance. It consists of Iran, Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, several Palestinian groups, including Hamas, and an assortment of militias in Iraq. Russia and China are standing behind the Axis of Resistance.
In the context of World War 3 and the global geopolitical situation, the US and its allies represent the interests of NATO & Friends, and the Axis of Resistance represents BRICS+.
If there is a regional war in the Middle East, it will undoubtedly be between these two groups.
Short of a regional war, there will likely be continued geopolitical competition and low-intensity conflict in the Middle East.
When you take a step back and put it all together, it seems clear that the geopolitical momentum is with the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East.
However, a large regional war could turn things around for the US, Israel, and its allies. NATO & Friends might try a full-scale war with Iran as a last-ditch attempt to scuttle the emergence of a multipolar world order.
It’s also more likely, though, that a full-scale war with Iran and the Axis of Resistance would end in disaster for the US and its allies. That’s probably a big reason it hasn’t happened yet, despite no shortage of hostile intentions.
In the meantime, the advantage in the Middle East goes to BRICS+.
Result: Advantage BRICS +
Proxy War #3: Taiwan
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has vowed to reunify it with the mainland by force if necessary.
Recently, Xi privately warned Biden that China will reunify Taiwan but that the timing has not yet been decided.
While not explicitly committing to Taiwan’s defense, the US has been a significant supplier of military equipment to Taiwan. A Chinese invasion could trigger a response from the US, though the extent and nature of this response are uncertain.
China has one of the world’s largest and increasingly modern militaries. Taiwan has a well-trained military, though smaller and less equipped than China’s.
It seems to me that time is on China’s side. All Beijing has to do is wait; eventually, it will be able to compel Taiwan to reunify peacefully.
In the case of a military conflict, it seems to me China has the advantage. The only way Taiwan would have a prayer is if the US directly joined the conflict. However, the US is unlikely to risk a full-scale war with China because of MAD.
When you put it all together, it seems China has the advantage.
Result: Advantage BRICS+
There will likely be other proxy wars as World War 3 progresses, but the ones I believe will prove decisive will be in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan. The other proxy wars are peripheral in comparison.
All three decisive proxy wars are trending toward a defeat for NATO & Friends. Therefore, the advantage in the overall proxy war domain—which I believe will be the most decisive domain in World War 3—is with BRICS+.
Result: Advantage BRICS+
Tom Luongo is taking a victory lap today, and rightly so. It’s the Theory of Everything. Powell keeps the QT going until someone with power of the purse strings cries uncle and starts making cuts.
Tom Luongo (Head Sneetch) @TFL1728
Real Spending Cuts?!
They said it would never happen here.
They said Powell at 5.5% was irrelevant.
They said Tom, you're crazy.
I AM crazy.... I've also been dead right.
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Citizen Free Press @CitizenFreePre
Mar 6
Speaker Johnson channels Ron Paul:
"We are going to cut 3% from DOJ, 7% from the ATF, 6% from the FBI, and 10% from the EPA."
11:25 AM · Mar 6, 2024
OK, we’ll wait to see the cuts, but Tom’s right—this is good politics but it’s also a response to real pressure. Who do you think cares if those agencies get cut, except their employees?
Tom Luongo (Head Sneetch) @TFL1728
It's the sign that inflation is coming back faster than even I expected. If Feb's print is 0.3% this chart below turns with Gasoline
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Jim Bianco @biancoresearch
Mar 6
I'm sure this is nothing
Short quotes. Covid isn’t past:
Eva Vlaardingerbroek @EvaVlaar
Yes, government officials should stand trial for what they did during Covid, but we shouldn’t forget how the majority of ordinary people turned into tiny tyrants who HAPPILY did the government’s ‘job’ by shaming, condemning and coercing the unvaccinated for them.
Stay vigilant.
Jena “Crazy Eyes” Griswold channels Babylon Bee—because a broken clock is right twice a day:
The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee
In Major Blow To Democracy, Supreme Court Rules Voters Can Vote For Favorite Candidate
“Crazy Eyes”:
“It will be up to the American voters to save our democracy.”
Geopolitical Briefs:
Tom Luongo (Head Sneetch) @TFL1728
We DO care, because it signals to those paying close attention that Scholz is being empowered by the German industrialist class to turn the tables on the Green Mafia Merkel installed to start WWIII in Ukraine.
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Julot depierre @Jull987
Interesting that Scholz just clarified that UK US responsible of an act of war against Russia and nobody cares. He said to journalists that UK provided targeting data (and the missiles) to destroy Russian ships (that includes Moskva)
https://rmx.news/germany/german-chancellor-scholz-slammed-by-british-conservatives-for-abuse-of-secret-intelligence-on-ukraine/…
10:31 AM · Mar 5, 2024
Eyebrows raised as Viktor Orbán to visit Donald Trump in Florida
Hungary’s PM arrives in US this week without a White House invitation as he pursues what critics call his ‘fantasy’ foreign policy
The longtime Hungarian prime minister, who has faced repeated criticism from the US government over democratic backsliding and his friendly relationship with the Kremlin, will be arriving in the US this week without an invitation from the White House.
In an almost unheard-of move for a NATO country’s leader, he is not expected to meet anyone from the Biden administration.
Instead, he is scheduled to speak on Thursday on a panel with the head of a conservative thinktank, the Heritage Foundation, before meeting Trump in Florida on Friday.
Victor Orban is a smart guy.... and more importantly he is a leader who actually cares about his people and believes that elected officials should represent their peoples' interests. U.S. politicians: note and observe.
As regards the Pentagon and the CIA: I happened to view the Duran's video today with Tony Shaffer. If you don't know him, Google. He is a Reaganite with a background pretty high up in the military and also has a great deal of counter intelligence experience with a specialty in Russia. He is vehemently anti-Neocon; he was aligned with Mike Flynn in attempting to influence the first Trump administration to keep out folks like Bolton. He is still working to keep out such people from a second Trump admin.
Anyway, he says that the current "Intelligence" leadership (along the lines of Clapper and Brennan) are entirely politicized. They don't feed real intelligence assessments to the White House, only those items that support the preferred political narrative. Same with Austin and the DoD and the Generals within - all are political animals and all their actions are directed out of their personal ambition politically. Shaffer says that a new Trump admin will need to clear out the highest three levels of both the IC and the DoD. This is what has shocked European elites. They are now realizing they put their faith in people who are totally out of touch with reality and still refuse to recognize the truth of what is going on in Ukraine and Israel. A real cluster****.
Shaffer is working with Heritage Foundation to influence MAGA foreign policy appointments in a second Trump admin. They can use our prayers, IMO.
What matters is the trend.
Domain #1: Financial Warfare
U.S. has thrown the kitchen sink at Russia, and Russia’s economy is growing, while Europe is in recession.
Powell’s higher interest rates are drawing down the Euro dollar.
And the Petro dollar is losing usage,
U.S. and Europe have destroyed their credibility as financial safe havens.
Summary - U.S. has over played the financial war gambit and is paying for it with continued dedollarization trend that is not stopping. The future Trend is very negative for the West.
Domain #2: Economic Warfare
I see no difference from #1.
The exception is how China has bought the U.S. elites to de industrialize the U.S.
Plus the U.S. and the West are destroying their economies with climate change / green agendas / Wef insanity.
Domain #3: Cyber Warfare
U.S. is incredibly susceptible in this area. U.S. government and private industry have been hacked A-Z by China. Great firewall of China makes it harder to hack into China by the U.S.
Domain #4: Information Warfare
In the West, the West still has an advantage due to all the censorship/ dis information/ mal information efforts by the Western Internet giants with government backing.
Domain #5: Deniable Sabotage
The U.S. seems to deliberately turn a blind eye to Chinese funding. On big stuff it’s hard to surpass Nordstream. British seem to do lots of projecting on Russia.
Domain #6: Biological Warfare
- there seems to be no difference between biological defense and offense. On the U.S. side we seem to have a Dr. Strangelove mentality, of hubris and incompetence.
Domain #7: Proxy Warfare
Ukraine has resulted in 500,000 Ukrainian’s killed and wounded, so that’s hard to surpass. Only cost what, $400 Billion? Plus the devastation of Syria. The Iranian use of proxies is driving the U.S. into fits, at a much lower cost.
For overall effect the West, they basically money bombed their proxies. With the decline of the Eurodollar and Petrodollar this may no longer be possible in the future. Plus all U.S. proxies have been burned.