On the Threshhold of War

“There was NO chemical attack by Syria. … I would bet my life on it.”

By Paul Craig Roberts
10/4/2018

The author is a former Assistant Secretary for the Treasury in the Reagan administration, and former editor at the Wall Street Journal and Businessweek.

As Americans we must face the possibility that we have a criminally insane government in Washington that is leading the world to destruction.

A Russian Government Press Release:

“False information is being planted about the alleged use of chlorine and other toxic agents by the Syrian government forces. The latest fake news about a chemical attack on Douma was reported yesterday. These reports are again referenced to the notorious White Helmets, which have been proved more than once to be working hand in glove with the terrorists, as well as to other pseudo-humanitarian organizations headquartered in the UK and the US.

We recently warned of the possibility of such dangerous provocations. The goal of these absolutely unsubstantiated lies is to protect the terrorists and the irreconcilable radical opposition that has rejected a political settlement, as well as to justify the possible use of force by external actors.

We have to say once again that military interference in Syria, where Russian forces have been deployed at the request of the legitimate government, under contrived and false pretexts is absolutely unacceptable and can lead to very grave consequences.”

This is John Helmer’s interpretation of the warning:

“When the rule of law was destroyed in Salisbury, London, and the Hague, and the rule of fraud declared in Washington, that leaves only the rule of force in the world.

The Stavka (the high command of the Russian armed forces), met in Moscow on April 6 and is ready. The Foreign Ministry warned on Sunday of the “gravest consequences”.

This means one American shot at a Russian soldier, then we are at war. Not infowar, not cyberwar, not economic war, not proxy war – world war.”

I hope that the situation is not this severe.

“The Russian view is simple: the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been hopelessly zombified.” — The Saker in Russia Insider

“The US generals, unlike the US politicians and media and US administration, are risk-averse if the outcome may be catastrophic.” — Gilbert Doctorow in Russia Insider

Above are two of the three most intelligent and reliable Russian experts. The third is Professor Stephen Cohen, who worries, as I do, that an arrogant Washington drowning in hubris is provoking Russia to war.

The Saker has concluded that the Russians have concluded that it has been a mistake to put up with Washington’s lies, insults, and orchestrated events and have decided that if the dumb Americans attack Syria, Russia is going to take out the US forces involved.

Doctorow has concluded that as dumb as Washington is, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have more sense and will not go along with an attack on a Russian ally.

I hope that Doctorow is correct. However, with that crazed demented warmonger John Bolton sitting in the White House next to Trump, who enjoys the role of tough guy, I am more scared by The Saker’s reading than I am reassured by Doctorow’s.

There are reports, the validity of which I cannot confirm at this time, that the entirety of the Russian military has been put on high alert, not merely the Russian forces in Syria: Russia suddenly puts troops on full combat alert – Defense Blog

Nikki Haley’s threats against Russia today in the UN do not support Doctorow’s hopes that reason will prevail in Washington. That crazed woman said that the US will act against the “monster” Assad with or without the UN.

Tough man Trump, sitting next to the warmongering Bolton, declared that the alleged chemical attack in Syria “will be met and it will be met forcefully. We can’t let atrocities like we all witnessed… we can’t let that happen in our world, especially because of the power of the US, we are able to stop it.”

There was NO chemical attack by Syria. I know that for an absolute 100% fact. I would bet my life on it. Yet here is the US president declaring a total non-fact to be something “we all witnessed.” Little wonder that the Russians have concluded that the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been hopelessly zombified.

If Doctorow is not correct that a sane US Joint Chiefs of Staff will prevail over the President and his National Security Adviser, we are headed for war.

It is a war that the US will not win.

Notice, dear readers, that there is no mention of this pending crisis in the Western media. Instead the media whether CNN or the BBC has as the lead news story the FBI’s raid on Trump’s lawyer:

https://www.cnn.com

http://www.bbc.com/news

Insouciant Americans is too mild, isn’t it?

Clueless is the correct word.