by Gilles d'Aymery
(Swans - July 31, 2006) The American project of a new Middle East is leading the world toward a global conflagration that will extend far beyond the old Middle East. It is based on the conflation of the most reactionary interests in the world, corporate and ideological alike. Following the destruction of Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now Lebanon, the logic of violence will run through Syria and Iran. At some point it may provoke a reaction from other powerful states such as Russia or China and regional actors such as Venezuela. Politicians and pundits refer to the war against so-called Islamic extremism as World War III. That reference may well turn out to be self-fulfilling.
US allies -- client states -- in the region are governed by anti-democratic, authoritarian regimes -- Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Emirates, which are portrayed as "moderate" Arab states. As the United States has increasingly moved toward a rabid right-wing ideology, Israel, beginning with Begin, has espoused the same ideology. Israeli elites have welcomed the support from Christian Zionists, a disparate group of some 70 million Christian Evangelicals who in one way or another strive to bring the End Times and the Second Coming to fruition, which portends the destruction of two-thirds of the Jewish people and the conversion of the remaining few to Christianity.
The Israeli military apparatus is for all matter of purposes fully integrated within the US military-industrial complex. The current devastation of Lebanon was fully coordinated with the Bush administration, a part of the master plan to reshape the Middle East within the parameters of the Project for a New American Century with the ultimate objective of full spectrum dominance over the world. To reach this objective, the United States will have to first bring Iran and Syria into the fold. Once Eurasia and the Middle East are fully dominated and controlled, the U.S. will turn its attention toward a more formidable competitor, China.
This reality is happening right in front of our eyes, like a slow motion horror film. The temptation for many liberal and moderate Americans it to wishfully think that if the Democrats come back to power in Washington D.C. this reckless strategy will be abandoned; that Mr. Bush and the neocons are the progenitors of these policies. Nothing could be farther from the facts on the ground. These are bipartisan policies equally conceived and fully supported by the Democratic leadership and the corporate interests they represent in the US Congress.
This violent messianic exceptionalism on the part of the U.S. and its Israeli proxy is endangering the whole planet. It is far from clear whether any state or coalition of states can derail this process. That the display of such awesome raw power comes from a country that is financially and morally bankrupt would almost be laughable in an ironic sense, were it not so deadly.
Expect further madness ahead.
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