http://www.peakoil.net/
Mix the two together, and add in a healthy dose of Christian end times
prophesy, along with certain Zionist/Masonic Satanic principals, American
capitalist secular humanist modernity, post modernism, a dash of Hobbes,
combined with a Darwinian might makes right dominant survival of the fittest
view of order 'n chaos, and what do you get?
A death star, - unleashing entropy, chaos, and destruction, straight through
to the end of the age of Pisces.
Do I need to post the PNAC document yet again as well?
Some 9/11 links?
Mayan end date prophesy? "The return of the fifth sun" and the sacred tree.
Some futurist stuff on the approaching Technological Singularity?
Darwin, and the new competing views on the strong anthropic principal and
"by design creative intelligence".
HAARP? Chemtrails.
The Omega Point. Pierre de Chardin.
Zachariah Sitchin?
Civility. M. Scott Peck
The Road Less Traveled. Peck
Freemasonry. Illuminati
Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.
The Holy Bible. New Testament. The Book of Revelations.
Oh and the "Dancing Wu Lee Masters". Zukav
The Cosmological Constant.
Quantum reality, quantum mind.
Rupert Sheldrake and David Bohm.
Carl Jung.
Joseph Campbell.
Complexity theory.
"The Nature and Destiny of Man." Reinhold Neibur
That about covers the whole spectrum of what I've looked into trying to
unravel this thing.
Call me crazy if you like, but these things are all well worth reading, and
synthesizing, and appropriating, if you want to really frame things in a
holistic way that actually makes some rational sense, at least from a birds
eye perspective. After you study these things, and then, if you read that
last recommendation, & if you are smart, and imaginative, then I believe
that you will have the beginnings for a rational basis of faith. There are
seven steps in the Temple of Solomon, the last of which is just a quantum
leap, which you'll have already made by the time you get there. It sure puts
the Bible in a new perspective and a new and radiant light.
If you cover the same ground that I have, perhaps you too will come to see a
great pyramid like tree of life structure, at the very apex of which stands
the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as an actual supra-rational,
supra-historical reality. At the very least, you'll be unshakable in the
notion of a great overarching truth and reality, and in debate you'll be
able to go head to head with any atheist, who at bottom in arguing for the
no-God hypothesis only argue for the non-existence of the most fundamental
"I am" of reality. Ironically, you will find yourself sharing the same
ground as Christian fundamentalists, though you would actually know
something which they can only take on faith, but in the end, you will see
the wisdom in the biblical admonition not to rely on knowledge which has its
limits, and not to seek after one's own understanding of things, which we
are not yet truly capable of grasping in its entirety, though all will soon
be revealed, and the ultimate purpose made manifest, very likely in our
present lifetime, though at some level the eternal present extends itself as
an arc over history, and if we are here now, and understand the true meaning
of the cross, then we will come to see, that we indeed possess an eternal
destiny and heritage in God's great kingdom.
There are more stars in the universe (one song) than there are grains of
sand on all the beaches and in all the deserts on the entire face of the
earth, and, any one technologically, and presumably spiritually advanced,
civilization, would possess powers which would be indistinguishable from
magic. So is it any wonder that the shepherds quaked at the sight, or that
John was temped to worship the messenger.
Just remember that if you do decide to pick up your sleuthing magnifying
glass to chase after "the truth", to hold that Bible close to your chest,
and deeply "grok" the hidden meaning imbedded therein, or you'll have a
schizophrenic break with reality, and end up a character in "one flew over
the cookoo's nest", and the next sound you'll hear, when you slowly arise
from your bed is "meds, time to get your meds".
But fear not, the way has been paved. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt
as they say, and its now safe to wear - no need for a straightjacket.
If faith can not be reconciled with rational thinking, it has to be
eliminated as an anachronistic remnant of earlier stages of culture and
replaced by science dealing with facts and theories which are intelligible
and can be validated - Man for Himself, pg.197
~Erich Fromm
In terms of an overarching & authentic Civil Liberty, which will do lasting
Justice to the individual historical participant, (as an unwitting victim of
historical circumstance (causation), amid the generational "sins of the
father"), - the only POSSIBLE framework within which that individual can
reconcile himself to the source of his life and being, and to his fellow
man, without eternally falling victim in some type of Nietzschean nihilistic
death meeting death eternal recurrence, or hell, is through an
ultra-rational theological foundation and authentic spiritual experience.
~EagleEye
The modern man must leave behind the mass man, and enter the fray with his
entire being. To accomplish this almost superhuman feat, he must somehow
develop for himself a unique, yet wholly authentic theological framework by
which to relate himself to the whole of it.
~Jung (paraphrased)
Folks - we live in a holographic universe in which certain overarching
principals of truth and justice form the basis, according to God's own
nature, and order, and sovereign will, of a universal path of progress to
perfection. In other words, there is a universal man of which we are but a
part, and a ground of being and becoming in which our life and consciousness
is the rhizome or the seedling. To be is to be perceived, while retaining
the space required for personal privacy and individual integrity. For there
to be love, there must be two, a lover and a beloved, and love, in order to
BE love, must be a passionate love of action, and reaction, of a first and
last cause, offering hope for a true and lasting purpose and meaning of life
and history, which does not end in death, since life itself cannot be death,
nor creation, destruction. Darwin was wrong. It is "by design" that all
things, including ourselves were made, and a supreme being or creator who
created us in His image. If there is a fundamental paradox in terms of the
larger historical causality in which we have our being, and if we of our own
human resources simply cannot, no matter how hard we may try, engineer our
own salvation because of our fundamental attachments which are inescapable,
being enmeshed or entangled as it were, then the only possible way to pass
through the desert and into the promised land of eternal life, is if a camel
goes before us, and passes through the eye of a needle. An intervention by
the love and grace of God of the highest simply HAD to, out of love, and
passion for the chase, disclose a divine purpose, and a meaning of life and
history, which is transcendent of all things, all philosophies and all
conceptions.
Jesus Christ
the same
yesterday, and
to-day, and
for ever.
He himself is faith itself, and is the author and perfecter of our faith,
but me, I happen to believe, for one, that in today's age, there simply must
be a rational basis for faith in God, so that even the sceptic and the
rationally minded person, can without challenge or criticism safely take
that lamb into his house for a complete inspection for possible flaws,
before calling himself a believer. Nothing else will do, at least for those
with a powerful will and a strong mind, and Christianity needs people like
that, who can defend the faith, not with bombs, but with conviction,
discipline (discipleship) and with authentic leadership which is capable of
meeting any challenge.
A powerful will is a real blessing, that is if it is properly harnessed to
the highest will and intentionality of fate itself in the unfolding life of
the individual journeyer.
Any attempt to blanket the world in death and destruction, and total war -
that is NOT the medium or the message of faith, who's aim it is for our
individual and collective salvation.
If the road to peace cannot be paved with peace in accordance with the
highest law of life and love and liberty, then I for one must conclude that
the leadership of people like Dick Cheney, and those who advocate for
continuous all out war, for decades, or even for generations, is not at all
in congruent alignment with the will and purpose of God, who's law of life
and love is Civility and Liberty itself.
If we cannot find a transcendent path to peace, and towards a new type of
creative mastermind alliance or what I like to call a collaborative
mutuality of existence, in accord with the very highest expression of the
law, then there's really no point, since the path to progress, at this stage
in our spiritual evolution, simply cannot be founded upon Darwinian
principals, who's philosophy has itself been usurped by modern science,
though we have yet to adequately describe a corresponding law of moral
gravity which would transcend the entropy that is the problem of our human
existence.
The end of evil does not reside in total war, but in the son, in Christ,
who's overarching will, and sovereignty over history bends itself and
envelopes the world in a supra-rational and supra-national moral code of
appropriate thinking and actions.
If what I believe, according to all the above information is true, then
there is yet another eye in the needle before us looming large on our
collective horizon which we must either try to thread, or to approach in the
awe and humility that it is due. A great historical crossroads, or
superdeterministic space-time event horizon does not spell the end of the
world, but merely the end of the world as we know it. The status quo will no
longer do. The map is no longer congruent with reality as it really is, and
there must be, among other things, an absolute dedication to the truth, at
all cost, except to the truth itself.
You think if Christ WAS indeed going to return to earth, in terms of a
transcendent reality, and with a whole host of angels, and a new city in the
sky, that He of all people would say to the elect - "roll out the red carpet
of blood, I'm on my way". Doubtful.
There is a great fear of terror and terrorists, bridging the gap in the
ocean which separates the stars of the heavens above, and that terror is
felt by those who believe that when the author steps onto the stage, that
that is the end of existence, but maybe, if God is really a God of love, and
mercy, that such a grand entrance will not spell the end, but simply a new
beginning, and a new administration of truth and justice, and a new central
governance founded upon the very highest possible standard of justice and
liberty.
What the power people fear the most, is the loss of power. What they fear is
impotence in the face of something that is well beyond us all. What they
fear is the loss of our way of life, and the loss of control, and of
attachments, to outcomes, and to materialism. They would rather blanket the
earth with death and destruction "exporting death and destruction to the
four corners of the earth" than to see something truly novel be born anew
which would threaten to lay low every mountain and turn everything on its
head.
I honestly believe that at core, what "they" would like to unleash is
nothing but an upturned spearhead with a US/Israeli flag on it saying "no,
we are not ready yet, and you are not welcome here on this planet - see all
the wars we need to fight first". Come back in a hundred years, or never,
and allow us to set ourselves up as God's over this earth, and reign supreme
in dominion. We can work it out on our own, and we do not need or want your
help. It is the kind of doctrine which actually hates, actively, Christian
principals, and which will go to any length, stopping short of nothing, to
cling to what is nothing but rubbish anyway.
We now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a cataclysmic collapse is due,
and pretty soon, and that there is no longer anything that can be done to
engineer our collective global salvation. All out total war IS NOT THE
SOLUTION to the problem of man. It is our divinity, and our kinship with the
children of God, and light, that is our last hope.
Let us prepare a path to peace, with peace, according to law, and according
to the very highest standards of truth, justice, civility and liberty which
is possible and imaginable. We must make our paths straight, and prepare a
way for the Lord, that He might come in peace, and not in wrathful
vengeance.
A dramatic depopulation of the earth, total war, and destruction, amid
untold suffering - that cannot be the way, the life and the truth nor the
Magnum Opus of the United States.
They are wrong, and their philosophy of life, is death driven, and even
willful and hate filled, believing falsely in the supremacy and dominion of
man OVER nature. That was given to us in the beginning, but now, we are
fumbling the ball, and so is this Bush administration, who is listening to
the wrong angel in the whirlwind, the angel of death. Hitler is rising
again, and is attempting to make an ascent to the apex of the structure in
the form of the beast, from which he will weave an evil web, and draw
designs upon us all. This cannot be permitted to happen - I don't care if it
means asking God to change the script of the last act, which he could do, if
he so chose.
My God, as I understand Him, is a God of love, and faith, truth, beauty,
justice, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and he is a God of mercy,
who asks for mercy and not sacrifice.
The Pope is right, and Bush and co are wrong. It is high time to start
weaving a net of law to which even the US shall be bound in a new type of
rational self interest which is rational and which is founded upon faith.
Anything less, at the end of the day, will lead to a cataclysmic
annihilation of much of our humanity. Civility and civil liberty is already
starting to fly out the window, discarding the baby with the bathwater.
It's time to let go and let God, and when I say that I do not mean stepping
aside and allowing the US AS GOD, to take over the world. It cannot be
trusted, and can be plainly seen now as a malevolent, and not a benign or
benevolent force of civility in the world - a mere beast of prey and beast
of burden, a cancer on the world body, threatening to wreck havoc at all
levels for what comes down to nothing but an IR-rational selfish pursuit of
attachment to a conservative based status quo.
The spear needs to be turned into a simple flag pole, at the base of which
would be described the moral law, and rising in majestic splendor at the end
of the age, 2012, a white flag of surrender - the end of the road, but ahhh,
the beginning of something new, and glorious - the Earth itself entering, or
being received into the universal order of civilized worlds. Only then, much
later, when there is not left one single starving soul upon the face of the
earth, might it be appropriate to even think of setting out for the stars
above. For the kingdom of heaven would be at hand, and we would once again,
come back to the place where we first started and know it for the first time
in human history, since Moses left Egypt, leaving nothing behind, to embark
upon a new calling to find the promised land.
But he never found it, you may say. But he could have. The problem then, as
now, is that he didn't listen. His people were thirsty and needed water, and
so Moses approached God, and God (or God's agent) said to Him
to "speak to the rock", and it would release water for the people, but the
people being desperate, wanted an immediate fix to satiate their thirst, and
Moses then made a terrible error in judgment, and he took his staff and
struck the rock (an image of Christ) and sure enough he got his water, but
in the process sacrificed the heritage of his people. Why? Why would God be
so cruel as to deprive them at the end of the promised land? Because Moses
inappropriately used the power of God ON God, to get his way. In his
urgency, he did not listen, and willfully extracted his own desired outcome,
out of laziness. Even to this day, the implications of that mistake, is
costing humanity dearly. You must understand that then, actual historical
events represent what is now a greater spiritual truth and reality. These
things are images, and allegories, but no less accurate or even historical.
Let's not make the same mistake again, so that there will be both water AND
the promise.
Post by EagleEyeA New Strategy for Securing the Realm
http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm
Following is a report prepared by The Institute for Advanced Strategic and
Political Studies' "Study Group on a New Israeli Strategy Toward 2000." The
main substantive ideas in this paper emerge from a discussion in which
prominent opinion makers, including Richard Perle, James Colbert, Charles
Fairbanks, Jr., Douglas Feith, Robert Loewenberg, David Wurmser, and Meyrav
Wurmser participated. The report, entitled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy
for Securing the Realm," is the framework for a series of follow-up reports
on strategy.
Israel has a large problem. Labor Zionism, which for 70 years has dominated
the Zionist movement, has generated a stalled and shackled economy. Efforts
to salvage Israel's socialist institutions-which include pursuing
supranational over national sovereignty and pursuing a peace process that
embraces the slogan, "New Middle East"-undermine the legitimacy of the
nation and lead Israel into strategic paralysis and the previous government'
s "peace process." That peace process obscured the evidence of eroding
national critical mass- including a palpable sense of national
exhaustion-and forfeited strategic initiative. The loss of national critical
mass was illustrated best by Israel's efforts to draw in the United States
to sell unpopular policies domestically, to agree to negotiate sovereignty
over its capital, and to respond with resignation to a spate of terror so
intense and tragic that it deterred Israelis from engaging in normal daily
functions, such as commuting to work in buses.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government comes in with a new set of ideas. While
there are those who will counsel continuity, Israel has the opportunity to
make a clean break; it can forge a peace process and strategy based on an
entirely new intellectual foundation, one that restores strategic initiative
and provides the nation the room to engage every possible energy on
rebuilding Zionism, the starting point of which must be economic reform. To
a.. Work closely with Turkey and Jordan to contain, destabilize, and
roll-back some of its most dangerous threats. This implies clean break from
the slogan, "comprehensive peace" to a traditional concept of strategy based
on balance of power.
b.. Change the nature of its relations with the Palestinians, including
upholding the right of hot pursuit for self defense into all Palestinian
areas and nurturing alternatives to Arafat's exclusive grip on Palestinian
society.
c.. Forge a new basis for relations with the United States-stressing
self-reliance, maturity, strategic cooperation on areas of mutual concern,
and furthering values inherent to the West. This can only be done if Israel
takes serious steps to terminate aid, which prevents economic reform.
This report is written with key passages of a possible speech marked TEXT,
that highlight the clean break which the new government has an opportunity
to make. The body of the report is the commentary explaining the purpose and
laying out the strategic context of the passages.
A New Approach to Peace
Early adoption of a bold, new perspective on peace and security is
imperative for the new prime minister. While the previous government, and
many abroad, may emphasize "land for peace"- which placed Israel in the
position of cultural, economic, political, diplomatic, and military
retreat - the new government can promote Western values and traditions. Such
an approach, which will be well received in the United States, includes
"peace for peace," "peace through strength" and self reliance: the balance
of power.
We have for four years pursued peace based on a New Middle East. We in
Israel cannot play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent. Peace
depends on the character and behavior of our foes. We live in a dangerous
neighborhood, with fragile states and bitter rivalries. Displaying moral
ambivalence between the effort to build a Jewish state and the desire to
annihilate it by trading "land for peace" will not secure "peace now." Our
claim to the land -to which we have clung for hope for 2000 years--is
legitimate and noble. It is not within our own power, no matter how much we
concede, to make peace unilaterally. Only the unconditional acceptance by
Arabs of our rights, especially in their territorial dimension, "peace for
peace," is a solid basis for the future.
Israel's quest for peace emerges from, and does not replace, the pursuit of
its ideals. The Jewish people's hunger for human rights - burned into their
identity by a 2000-year old dream to live free in their own land - informs
the concept of peace and reflects continuity of values with Western and
Jewish tradition. Israel can now embrace negotiations, but as means, not
ends, to pursue those ideals and demonstrate national steadfastness. It can
challenge police states; enforce compliance of agreements; and insist on
minimal standards of accountability.
Securing the Northern Border
Syria challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one
with which American can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic
initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and
a.. striking Syria's drug-money and counterfeiting infrastructure in
Lebanon, all of which focuses on Razi Qanan.
b.. paralleling Syria's behavior by establishing the precedent that Syrian
territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy
forces.
c.. striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that prove
insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper.
Israel also can take this opportunity to remind the world of the nature of
the Syrian regime. Syria repeatedly breaks its word. It violated numerous
agreements with the Turks, and has betrayed the United States by continuing
to occupy Lebanon in violation of the Taef agreement in 1989. Instead, Syria
staged a sham election, installed a quisling regime, and forced Lebanon to
sign a "Brotherhood Agreement" in 1991, that terminated Lebanese
sovereignty. And Syria has begun colonizing Lebanon with hundreds of
thousands of Syrians, while killing tens of thousands of its own citizens at
a time, as it did in only three days in 1983 in Hama.
Under Syrian tutelage, the Lebanese drug trade, for which local Syrian
military officers receive protection payments, flourishes. Syria's regime
supports the terrorist groups operationally and financially in Lebanon and
on its soil. Indeed, the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley in Lebanon has
become for terror what the Silicon Valley has become for computers. The
Bekaa Valley has become one of the main distribution sources, if not
production points, of the "supernote" - counterfeit US currency so well done
that it is impossible to detect.
Negotiations with repressive regimes like Syria's require cautious
realism. One cannot sensibly assume the other side's good faith. It is
dangerous for Israel to deal naively with a regime murderous of its own
people, openly aggressive toward its neighbors, criminally involved with
international drug traffickers and counterfeiters, and supportive of the
most deadly terrorist organizations.
Given the nature of the regime in Damascus, it is both natural and moral
that Israel abandon the slogan "comprehensive peace" and move to contain
Syria, drawing attention to its weapons of mass destruction program, and
rejecting "land for peace" deals on the Golan Heights.
Moving to a Traditional Balance of Power Strategy
We must distinguish soberly and clearly friend from foe. We must make sure
that our friends across the Middle East never doubt the solidity or value of
our friendship.
Israel can shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey and
Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria. This effort
can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq - an important
Israeli strategic objective in its own right - as a means of foiling Syria's
regional ambitions. Jordan has challenged Syria's regional ambitions
recently by suggesting the restoration of the Hashemites in Iraq. This has
triggered a Jordanian-Syrian rivalry to which Asad has responded by stepping
up efforts to destabilize the Hashemite Kingdom, including using
infiltrations. Syria recently signaled that it and Iran might prefer a weak,
but barely surviving Saddam, if only to undermine and humiliate Jordan in
its efforts to remove Saddam.
But Syria enters this conflict with potential weaknesses: Damascus is too
preoccupied with dealing with the threatened new regional equation to permit
distractions of the Lebanese flank. And Damascus fears that the 'natural
axis' with Israel on one side, central Iraq and Turkey on the other, and
Jordan, in the center would squeeze and detach Syria from the Saudi
Peninsula. For Syria, this could be the prelude to a redrawing of the map of
the Middle East which would threaten Syria's territorial integrity.
Since Iraq's future could affect the strategic balance in the Middle East
profoundly, it would be understandable that Israel has an interest in
supporting the Hashemites in their efforts to redefine Iraq, including such
measures as: visiting Jordan as the first official state visit, even before
a visit to the United States, of the new Netanyahu government; supporting
King Hussein by providing him with some tangible security measures to
protect his regime against Syrian subversion; encouraging - through
influence in the U.S. business community - investment in Jordan to
structurally shift Jordan's economy away from dependence on Iraq; and
diverting Syria's attention by using Lebanese opposition elements to
destabilize Syrian control of Lebanon.
Most important, it is understandable that Israel has an interest supporting
diplomatically, militarily and operationally Turkey's and Jordan's actions
against Syria, such as securing tribal alliances with Arab tribes that cross
into Syrian territory and are hostile to the Syrian ruling elite.
King Hussein may have ideas for Israel in bringing its Lebanon problem under
control. The predominantly Shia population of southern Lebanon has been tied
for centuries to the Shia leadership in Najf, Iraq rather than Iran. Were
the Hashemites to control Iraq, they could use their influence over Najf to
help Israel wean the south Lebanese Shia away from Hizballah, Iran, and
Syria. Shia retain strong ties to the Hashemites: the Shia venerate foremost
the Prophet's family, the direct descendants of which - and in whose veins
the blood of the Prophet flows - is King Hussein.
Changing the Nature of Relations with the Palestinians
Israel has a chance to forge a new relationship between itself and the
Palestinians. First and foremost, Israel's efforts to secure its streets may
require hot pursuit into Palestinian-controlled areas, a justifiable
practice with which Americans can sympathize.
A key element of peace is compliance with agreements already signed.
Therefore, Israel has the right to insist on compliance, including closing
Orient House and disbanding Jibril Rujoub's operatives in Jerusalem.
Moreover, Israel and the United States can establish a Joint Compliance
Monitoring Committee to study periodically whether the PLO meets minimum
standards of compliance, authority and responsibility, human rights, and
judicial and fiduciary accountability.
We believe that the Palestinian Authority must be held to the same minimal
standards of accountability as other recipients of U.S. foreign aid. A firm
peace cannot tolerate repression and injustice. A regime that cannot fulfill
the most rudimentary obligations to its own people cannot be counted upon to
fulfill its obligations to its neighbors.
Israel has no obligations under the Oslo agreements if the PLO does not
fulfill its obligations. If the PLO cannot comply with these minimal
standards, then it can be neither a hope for the future nor a proper
interlocutor for present. To prepare for this, Israel may want to cultivate
alternatives to Arafat's base of power. Jordan has ideas on this.
To emphasize the point that Israel regards the actions of the PLO
problematic, but not the Arab people, Israel might want to consider making a
special effort to reward friends and advance human rights among Arabs. Many
Arabs are willing to work with Israel; identifying and helping them are
important. Israel may also find that many of her neighbors, such as Jordan,
have problems with Arafat and may want to cooperate. Israel may also want to
better integrate its own Arabs.
Forging A New U.S.-Israeli Relationship
In recent years, Israel invited active U.S. intervention in Israel's
domestic and foreign policy for two reasons: to overcome domestic opposition
to "land for peace" concessions the Israeli public could not digest, and to
lure Arabs - through money, forgiveness of past sins, and access to U.S.
weapons - to negotiate. This strategy, which required funneling American
money to repressive and aggressive regimes, was risky, expensive, and very
costly for both the U.S. and Israel, and placed the United States in roles
is should neither have nor want.
Israel can make a clean break from the past and establish a new vision for
the U.S.-Israeli partnership based on self-reliance, maturity and
mutuality - not one focused narrowly on territorial disputes. Israel's new
strategy - based on a shared philosophy of peace through strength - reflects
continuity with Western values by stressing that Israel is self-reliant,
does not need U.S. troops in any capacity to defend it, including on the
Golan Heights, and can manage its own affairs. Such self-reliance will grant
Israel greater freedom of action and remove a significant lever of pressure
used against it in the past.
To reinforce this point, the Prime Minister can use his forthcoming visit to
announce that Israel is now mature enough to cut itself free immediately
from at least U.S. economic aid and loan guarantees at least, which prevent
economic reform. [Military aid is separated for the moment until adequate
arrangements can be made to ensure that Israel will not encounter supply
problems in the means to defend itself]. As outlined in another Institute
report, Israel can become self-reliant only by, in a bold stroke rather than
in increments, liberalizing its economy, cutting taxes, relegislating a
free-processing zone, and selling-off public lands and enterprises - moves
which will electrify and find support from a broad bipartisan spectrum of
key pro-Israeli Congressional leaders, including Speaker of the House, Newt
Gingrich.
Israel can under these conditions better cooperate with the U.S. to counter
real threats to the region and the West's security. Mr. Netanyahu can
highlight his desire to cooperate more closely with the United States on
anti-missile defense in order to remove the threat of blackmail which even a
weak and distant army can pose to either state. Not only would such
cooperation on missile defense counter a tangible physical threat to Israel'
s survival, but it would broaden Israel's base of support among many in the
United States Congress who may know little about Israel, but care very much
about missile defense. Such broad support could be helpful in the effort to
move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
To anticipate U.S. reactions and plan ways to manage and constrain those
reactions, Prime Minister Netanyahu can formulate the policies and stress
themes he favors in language familiar to the Americans by tapping into
themes of American administrations during the Cold War which apply well to
Israel. If Israel wants to test certain propositions that require a benign
American reaction, then the best time to do so is before November, 1996.
Conclusions: Transcending the Arab-Israeli Conflict
TEXT: Israel will not only contain its foes; it will transcend them.
Notable Arab intellectuals have written extensively on their perception of
Israel's floundering and loss of national identity. This perception has
invited attack, blocked Israel from achieving true peace, and offered hope
for those who would destroy Israel. The previous strategy, therefore, was
leading the Middle East toward another Arab-Israeli war. Israel's new agenda
can signal a clean break by abandoning a policy which assumed exhaustion and
allowed strategic retreat by reestablishing the principle of preemption,
rather than retaliation alone and by ceasing to absorb blows to the nation
without response.
Israel's new strategic agenda can shape the regional environment in ways
that grant Israel the room to refocus its energies back to where they are
most needed: to rejuvenate its national idea, which can only come through
replacing Israel's socialist foundations with a more sound footing; and to
overcome its "exhaustion," which threatens the survival of the nation.
Ultimately, Israel can do more than simply manage the Arab-Israeli conflict
though war. No amount of weapons or victories will grant Israel the peace
its seeks. When Israel is on a sound economic footing, and is free,
powerful, and healthy internally, it will no longer simply manage the
Arab-Israeli conflict; it will transcend it. As a senior Iraqi opposition
leader said recently: "Israel must rejuvenate and revitalize its moral and
intellectual leadership. It is an important - if not the most
important--element in the history of the Middle East." Israel - proud,
wealthy, solid, and strong - would be the basis of a truly new and peaceful
Middle East.
Participants in the Study Group on "A New Israeli Strategy Toward 2000:"
Richard Perle, American Enterprise Institute, Study Group Leader
James Colbert, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Charles Fairbanks, Jr., Johns Hopkins University/SAIS
Douglas Feith, Feith and Zell Associates
Robert Loewenberg, President, Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political
Studies
Jonathan Torop, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
David Wurmser, Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies
Meyrav Wurmser, Johns Hopkins University
Post by AlertUS plans to attack Syria next
The media in Israel have been informed of the US government's
intention to attack Syria next.
The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday: "US Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld and the civilian echelons of the Pentagon have proposed that
President George Bush instigate military actions against Syria". The
same Jewish newspaper, which has good connections with the USA,
reports: "several Pentagon officials' belief that Syria should be the
next to go after Iraq."
The first phase of the war on Syria will be a series of small strikes
over a long period, designed to disable Syria's defences without
provoking too much public opposition at home in the US. The allies
used the same strategy in neighbouring Iraq. The excuses for the war
on Syria will also be the same - WMD and terrorism.
Syria is an important oil producing economy. In 2003 the Syrian oil
industry yielded approximately 400,000 to 450,000 barrels per day,
representing an increase of around 100,000 b/d compared with the
previous year. The US government predicts that in 10 years or so
Syria, like most other oil exporters, will no longer have enough oil
to export. The Syrian government disputes this in the hope that new
reserves may be found.
In November last year, the premier scientific journal, Nature,
published a report called "Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human
"About 100 years ago, the major source of energy shifted ... to fossil
hydrocarbons. ... Technology has generally led to a greater use of
hydrocarbon fuels ... making civilization vulnerable to decreases in
supply."
What will happen to Western civilization ten years from now, when the
primary fuel source is no longer available? Think of all the things in
your life that depend on petrol or gas; electricity, lorries, cars,
shops... Now imagine them gone.
http://www.theinsider.org
SOURCE
Jerusalem Post, "Report: US considering armed intervention in Syria",
14 January 2004.
[
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid
Post by EagleEye=1074053868626
Post by Alert]
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the civilian echelons
of the Pentagon have proposed that President George Bush instigate
military actions against Syria due to its continued support for
Hizbullah and enabling terrorists to enter Iraq from its border.
Reports received by the Night Rider news group in Washington,
operations will not include large-scale military intervention, in
spite of several Pentagon officials' belief that Syria should be the
next to go after Iraq. The Defense Department is considering punitive
aerial attacks and Special Forces incursions.
The initiative is presently being rejected by Joint Chiefs of
Staff chairman General Richard Meyers and by Secretary of State Colin
Powell and the State Department.
FURTHER READING
United Nations, "Syria", 2003.
[ http://www.un.org.sy/html/profile/economy.htm ]
Oil is the primary contributor to Syria's Gross Domestic Product,
constituting over 60% of the total.
...
US Energy Information Administration, "Syria", March 2003.
[ http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/syria.html ]
With proven oil reserves expected to last only about 10 more years
and a population growing at 2.5% per year, Syria may become a net
importer of oil within the next decade. Thus, the exploration for oil
and natural gas is a top priority in Syria.
...
Arabic News, "Syrian oil minister: Syria's oil production continues
until 2040", 19 June 1999.
[ http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/990619/1999061940.html ]
Syrian Minister of oil and mineral resources Muhammad Maher Jamal
said last Wednesday " We have precise and good studies indicating that
oil production in Syria will continue until the year 2040."
He added we always, in Syria, view the oil industry as a strategic
matter. The Minister added in replying to expectations expressed by
the Western media saying that the Syrian oil production will end by
the year 2010 that this expectation " is groundless," adding that "an
evidence on that in that we have a day after the other important
companies contracting for oil."
...
BBC News, "Powell pushes for Syria action", 3 May 2003.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2995483.stm ]
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called on Syria and Lebanon
to end all support for groups Washington classifies as terrorist
organisations.
...
He said Syria had already closed the offices of some anti-Israel
groups in Damascus but he expected Syria "to do more".
...
BBC News, "Blair urges Syria to abandon WMD", 6 january 2004.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3372441.stm ]
Tony Blair has repeated his calls for Syria to abandon any
development of weapons of mass destruction.
...
Syria's president is reported to have said he would not comply until
Israel abandons its nuclear weapons programme.
...
BBC News, "Israel's nuclear programme", 22 December 2003.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3340639.stm ]
While Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons, few
international experts question the Jewish state's presence on the
world's list of nuclear powers.
Its nuclear capability is arguably the most secretive weapons of
mass destruction programme in the world.
Unlike Iran and North Korea - two countries whose alleged nuclear
ambitions have recently come to the fore - Israel has never signed the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to prevent the global
spread of nuclear weapons.
As a result, it is not subject to inspections and the threat of
sanctions by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
...
BBC News, "Strike on Syria: World reaction", 7 October 2003.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3166554.stm ]
The Israeli air raid on Syrian territory has prompted concern and
condemnation from many world leaders.
Israel informed Washington of the raid only hours after it took
place.
...
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi branded Israel's strike a
"flagrant aggression and a violation of Syria's territorial
integrity", but made no comment on the Israeli allegation that Iran
funded the camp targeted in the raid.
The Arab League held an emergency session in Cairo to discuss the
attack.
"This aggression represents a serious escalation that threatens
regional and international security and peace and exposes the
deteriorating situation in the region to uncontrollable consequences,
which could drag the whole region into violent whirlpool," the body
said in a statement.
The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, said the attack was an
"aggression on a close country," while Qatar and Kuwait - which like
Egypt are close US allies - also condemned the Israeli attack.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said the air strike could
"drag the whole region into a circle of violence".
France, which holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council,
said the air strike "constitutes an unacceptable violation of
international law and rules of sovereignty".
And Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, on a tour of the
Middle East, said: "Violating the sovereignty of a third country
complicates further the [peace] process, that's why what happened in
Syria cannot be accepted."
BBC News, "Syria asks UN to condemn Israel", 7 October 2003.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3166768.stm ]
An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council has
heard widespread condemnation of Israel for carrying out an air raid
on Syrian territory.
...
Syria, which requested the crisis talks, called for a vote on a
draft resolution condemning what it called Israel's "military
aggression" but the meeting was adjourned without a vote.
UN ambassadors are now consulting their governments on their next
steps.
Damascus has insisted the site targeted by Israel was a civilian
zone. It said Israel was threatening security in the Middle East with
its first attack on Syrian soil in more than 20 years.
At the council meeting, all the diplomats except US ambassador
John Negroponte spoke out against the Israeli action.
...
The US has often used its veto to block resolutions condemning
Israel...
...
BBC News, "Profile: The Golan Heights", 14 January 3004.
[
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/3393813.stm
Post by Alert]
The Golan Heights, a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, has a
political and strategic significance which belies its size.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages
of the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of the Syrian Arab inhabitants fled the
area during the conflict.
An armistice line was established and the region came under
Israeli military control. Almost immediately Israel began to settle
the Golan.
...
BBC News, "Israel announces Golan expansion", 31 December 2003.
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3358797.stm ]
Israel has unveiled a $60m plan to build homes for thousands of
new settlers on the occupied Golan Heights.
...
Syria has reacted angrily, saying sovereignty should be resolved
by international law, not military power.
...
BBC News, "Timeline: Syria", 7 January 2004.
[
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/827580.stm