Iran-US relations: Are the US and Israel creating an excuse to go to war with Iran which could very well lead to Armageddon

It certainly seems so.

All the signals are pointing to a well prepared scenario by the war mongers in the Trump Administration, in close cooperation with the Israeli Netanyahu government.

Here are some of the alarm signals:

1. US unilaterally pulls out of the multi-national Iran Nuclear Agreement.
2. Israel heats up its rhetoric against Iran 
3. US Administration launches sanctions against Iran
4. US Administrations recently showed a clearly fabricated video, which it labels as showing Iranian military trying to remove an unexploded mine from a burning tanker, which was actually hit by torpedoes. 

The Trump administration keeps saying that it doesn’t want to go to war with Iran. The problem, however, is that some top officials continue to make statements that could pave a dubiously legal and factually challenged pathway to war.

If that’s the intention, a major flare-up between Washington and Tehran could lead the administration to say it has the right to launch what would be one of the nastiest, bloodiest conflicts in modern history — even if it really doesn’t legally have that authorization.

For months, President Donald Trump and some of his top officials have claimed Iran and al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that launched the 9/11 terror attacks, are closely linked. 

That’s been a common refrain despite evidence showing their ties aren’t strong at all. In fact, even al-Qaeda’s own documents detail the weak connection between the two.

But insisting there’s a nefarious, continual relationship matters greatly. In 2001, Congress passed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), allowing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”

Which means that if the Trump administration truly believes Iran and al-Qaeda have been in cahoots before or after 9/11, then it could claim war with Tehran already is authorized by law.

That chilling possibility was raised during a House Armed Services Committee session early Thursday morning by an unlikely pair: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a top Trump ally, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a Pentagon official in the Obama administration. 

“The notion that the administration has never maintained that there are elements of the 2001 AUMF that would authorize their hostilities toward Iran is not consistent with my understanding of what they said to us,” said Gaetz. “We were absolutely presented with a formal presentation on how the AUMF might authorize war on Iran,” added Slotkin right after, although she noted no one said they would use it to greenlight a fight.

Pompeo even wrote on Twitter that he thinks can bypass Congress to strike Iran, when he wrote: ""In alignment with what Rep. Gaetz said, we were absolutely presented with a full formal presentation on how the 2001 AUMF might authorize war on Iran…Pompeo said it with his own words…a relationship between Iran and al Qaeda.” 

A 2018 study by the New America think tank, based on roughly 470,000 declassified files obtained from Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan compound in 2011, showed no links between Iran and al-Qaeda to commit terrorist acts. “In none of these documents did I find references pointing to collaboration between al-Qaeda and Iran to carry out terrorism,” Nelly Lahoud, the study’s author, wrote in a blog post last September.

What the documents do show is that Tehran was deeply uncomfortable having al-Qaeda on its soil, and that bin Laden fiercely distrusted Iran.

For example, Iran detained al-Qaeda members — and some in bin Laden’s family — for abusing the conditions of their stay in the country. An al-Qaeda operative thought Tehran was keeping some of its members hostage: “Iranian authorities decided to keep our brothers as a bargaining chip” after the US invaded Iraq in 2003, a document reviewed in the study read. 

It turns out that Iran and al-Qaeda actually have been at odds for a long time.

When Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, he started off his announcement with a striking statement.

“The Iranian regime is the leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies and militias such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al Qaeda,” he said.

It’s an argument the Trump administration continues to push and it is a dangerous statement, which can result in dire consequences for the Middle East, and if Russia and China get involved, could eventually lead to Armageddon.

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Middle East: Egypt strikes Libya after deadly bus attack against Coptic Christians

Egypt's president says his air force struck bases in Libya where militants who waged a deadly attack against Christians have been trained, but gave no details.

Senior officials said that the bases are in eastern Libya. They said the warplanes on Friday targeted the headquarters of the Shura Council in the city of Darna, where local militias are known to be linked to al-Qaeda.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says Egypt will strike at any bases that train militants who wage attacks in Egypt, wherever they may be. He also directly appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to take the lead in the fight against global terror.

In a televised address just hours after at least 28 Coptic Christians, including two children, were killed by militants south of Cairo, el-Sissi said "I direct my appeal to President Trump: I trust you, your word and your ability to make fighting global terror your primary task."

He also repeated calls that countries that finance, train or arm extremists be punished.

Read more: Egypt strikes Libya after deadly bus attack against Christians - World - CBC News

‘Saudi princes planned to down Air Force One with missile’: 9/11 terrorist gives damning testimony

A former Al-Qaeda member has revealed a strong connection between the terrorist group and the Saudi Royal family in the 1990s. More notably, he alleges that Saudi princes and terrorists discussed a plan to shoot Air Force One out of the sky.

The revelations came in the form of a testimony, delivered from a maximum-security prison, where Zacarias Moussaoui is incarcerated.

According to the New York Times, Moussaoui submitted the claim on his own initiative. He sent a letter to the judge presiding over the lawsuit filed by family members of 9/11 victims against the government of Saudi Arabia.

And so, for two days last October, lawyers were permitted for the first time to interview the terrorist at the federal prison – the most secure facility in the federal system, in Florence, Colorado. He gave a damning report that included very prominent members within the royal family, including three princes he says were all Al-Qaeda donors.

The testimony was finalized on Monday.

The meeting discussing the plan to down Air Force One allegedly took place at the kingdom’s embassy in Washington DC.

This and other meetings allegedly involved some of Saudi Arabia’s top princes and billionaires, including then-Prince Salman – brother to the late King Abdullah and now the King of Saudi Arabia. If Moussaoui’s testimony holds up, the view of Saudi involvement in attacking the United States and its alleged double-dealings could be changed profoundly.

Apparently from 1998 to 1999, Moussaoui was tasked by the Afghan terrorist branch with creating a digital database of Al-Qaeda donors, including Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former chief of Saudi intelligence, as well as others, mostly billionaire businessmen and leading clerics.

Read more: ‘Saudi princes planned to down Air Force One with missile’: 9/11 terrorist gives damning testimony — RT News

Middle East: Let’s trace chaos in Iraq back to its roots - H.A. Hellyer

“What just happened? Terrorists who are too extreme by al-Qaeda’s standards suddenly overtook Iraq? Wow, that was totally unexpected!”

Except, of course – it wasn’t unexpected at all. That’s part of the problem.

Iraq is back in the world’s news – for reasons no Iraqi would sympathize with. The last time there was a country that so possessed the strategic planners in Western capitals for its housing of terrorism was in 2001 and that country was Afghanistan.

Afghanistan was the then home of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, sheltered by the Taliban forces. But in truth, despite the horror that then came to bear on the U.S. on 9/11, the seeds for something quite different – and potentially far worse – have been sown on Iraqi soil.

The “blame” game is now out in full force – the Iraq War of 2003, pitched as part of the “war on terror,” is being saddled with the responsibility for creating this situation. The “cop-out” game is also being played in full force, with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who led the UK into the war alongside the United States, describing as “bizarre” the notion that the war essentially led to this outcome. It’s not that either of these arguments is right – they’re actually both wrong.

Read more: Let’s trace chaos in Iraq back to its roots - Al Arabiya News

Middle East: U.S. Preparing to Send New Arms to Help Iraq Battle al-Qaeda - by David Lerman

The U.S. is preparing to send small arms and ammunition to the Iraqi government to help combat resurgent al-Qaeda-linked forces in western Anbar province, the Pentagon said today. 

The aid will be delivered “as rapidly as possible” to meet a request made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

More than two years after the last U.S. combat forces left Iraq, Maliki is struggling to combat al-Qaeda and allied forces that have seized control of Fallujah and other areas of Anbar province in recent weeks, even as he seeks to extend his tenure in contested elections scheduled for April.

Read more: U.S. Preparing to Send New Arms to Help Iraq Battle al-Qaeda (1) - Businessweek

US Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Flawed intelligence and long term planning chaotic and amateurish

The United States has cut off northern Syrian moderate rebel groups from non-lethal aid, with an al-Qaeda advance in northern Syria physically blocking the aid’s dispersal, as the Obama administration continues to ‘disengage’ itself from Syria.

The Turkish Daily Hürriyet’s Washington representative, Tolga Tanış, reported that the Obama administration commenced its ‘disengagement’ from Syria on Oct. 2, laying out three conditions to the moderate rebels, should they wish for the resumption of aid.

A joint U.S.-Russia plan on the chemical disarmament of Syria and clashes between the Western-Arab-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and al-Qaeda-linked rebels known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) factored into the halting of aid to the rebels. Turkey closed its Öncüpınar border gate on Sept. 18 amid an al-Qaeda advance and the U.S. stopped a batch of non-lethal aid to moderate rebels.

If any area of the world lacks a single bright spot for the US, it's the Middle East. The problems, of course, extend back many years and many administrations. Kerry is a relative newcomer. Still, he's made seven of his 15 overseas trips there, with zero signs of progress on the American agenda in the region, and much that has only worsened.

The sole pluses came from diplomatic activity initiated by powers not exactly considered Washington's closest buddies: Russian President Putin's moves in relation to Syria (on which more later) and new Iranian President Rouhani's "charm offensive" in New York, which seems to have altered for the better the relationship between the two countries. In fact, both Putin's and Rouhani's moves are classic, well-played diplomacy, and only serve to highlight the amateurish quality of Kerry's performance.

On the other hand, the Obama administration's major Middle East commitment—to peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians—seems destined for a graveyard already piled high with past versions of the same.

Meanwhile, whatever spark remained of the Arab Spring in Egypt was snuffed out by a military coup, while the US lamely took forever just to begin to cut off some symbolic military aid to the new government.

American credibility in the region suffered further damage after State, in a seeming panic, closed embassies across the Middle East in response to a reputed major terror threat that failed to materialize anywhere but inside Washington's Beltway.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia was once nicknamed "Bandar Bush" for his strong support of the US during the 1991 Desert Storm campaign and the Bush dynasty. He recently told European diplomats, however, that the Kingdom will launch a "major shift" in relations with the United States to protest Washington's perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran. The Saudis were once considered, next to Israel, America's strongest ally in the region. Kerry's response? Fly to Paris for some "urgent talks."

Turkey is also no exception  when it comes to Kerry.s Middle trip count.  He's traveled thereat least three times, with (again) little to show for his efforts. Turkey led by the egomaniac PM Erdogan, also a NATO member, which in the past refused to help the Bush administration with its invasion of Iraq, continues to fight a border war with Iraqi Kurds. (Both sides do utilize mainly American-made weapons.) The Turks are active in Syria as well, supporting the rebels, fearing the Islamic extremists, lobbing mortar shells across the border, and suffering under the weight of that devastated country's refugees.

Meanwhile—a small regional disaster from a US perspective—Turkish-Israeli relations, once close, continue to slide. Recently, the Turks even outed a Mossad spy ring to the Iranians, and no one, Israelis, Turks, or otherwise, seems to be listening to Washington.

As for Kerry's nine-month performance review, here goes: he often seems unsure and distracted, projecting a sense that he might prefer to be anywhere else than wherever he is. In addition, he's displayed a policy-crippling lack of information, remarkably little poise, and strikingly bad word choice, while regularly voicing surprising new positions on old issues. The logical conclusion might be to call for his instant resignation before more damage is done.

The days of the United States being able to treat the world as its chessboard are over. It's now closer to a Rubik's Cube that Washington can't figure out how to manipulate. Across the globe, people noted how the World's Mightiest Army was fought to a draw (or worse) in Iraq and Afghanistan by insurgents with only small arms, roadside bombs, and suicide bombers.

Increasingly, the world is acknowledging America's Kerry-style clunkiness and just bypassing the US Britain said no to war in Syria. Russia took over big-box diplomacy. China assumed the pivot role in Asia in every way except militarily. (They're working on it.) The Brazilian president simply snubbed Obama, canceling a state visit over Snowden's NSA revelations. Tiny Ecuador continues to raise a middle finger to Washington over the Assange case. These days, one can almost imagine John Kerry as the wallflower of some near-future international conference, hoping someone—anyone—will invite him to dance.

The American Century might be said to have lasted from August 1945 until September 2001, a relatively short span of 56 years. (R.I.P.) John Kerry's frantic bumbling did not create the present situation; it merely added mirth to the funeral preparations.

There is however one important positive factor in this depressive story. Maybe out of all these negative developments US foreign policy can  eventually be completely overhauled and new policies developed which not only take into consideration the rapidly changing state of the world  but which also reflect more accurately the principles on which the country was founded. As Socrates wrote:: "the greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be". 

EU-Digest

Terror Threat: US Issues Worldwide Travel Alert; Overseas Embassies to be Closed over Security Fears

The United States State Department has issued worldwide travel alert to its citizens, warning them of a possible terror attack in the month of August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," a statement from the State Department said.

"Current information suggests that Al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August.  This Travel Alert expires on August 31, 2013," added the statement.

The department also listed 21 U.S. embassies and consulates that will be remained closed on Sunday owing to security reasons. U.S. embassies in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen will be closed, while the consulates that will be shut are Arbi, Dhahran, Jeddah and Dubai.

Read more: Terror Threat: US Issues Worldwide Travel Alert; Overseas Embassies to be Closed over Security Fears

French troops surround desert village in Mali and hostages are taken in Algeria by jihadists

French troops surrounded the desert village of Diabaly in central Mali on Wednesday, the first direct engagement since France launched a military assault last week to oust radical Islamists who have advanced to within 250 miles of the capital.

The escalation set the stage for a perilous ground conflict. In waging ground combat, France is entering the comfort zone of the rebels, who know the desert terrain and are veterans of guerrilla warfare. They have blended into the local population, occupied houses and are hiding in mango groves to stage ambushes, residents said in telephone interviews.

Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaeda attacked an Algerian natural gas facility Wednesday, killing one British and one French worker and taking numerous hostages, possibly including seven Americans.

A spokesman for the group, Qatiba, which translates as Those Who Sign with Their Blood, told Mauritanian news website Sahara Media Agency that jihadists seized the gas facility at In Mounas in eastern Algeria and took hostages.

The group said the attack was in retaliation for Algeria's decision to allow French aircraft to use its airspace in its military intervention in Mali that began last week. 

Norwegian oil company Statoil and British company BP confirmed their facilities at In Amenas in southeastern Algerian came under attack at 5 a.m. local time Wednesday.
"Contact with the site is extremely difficult, but we understand that armed individuals are still occupying the operations site," said BP spokesman Robert Wine.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.S. officials were in touch with Algeria about the attack. "The best information we have at this time is that U.S. citizens are among the hostages," Nuland said.

The French and British governments confirmed that two citizens from their countries had been killed. Japan said some of their citizens were involved as well. A Norwegian woman said her husband called her saying he had been taken hostage.

Ireland's Foreign Ministry said one of its citizens was being held hostage also and the person to be released.

Read more: French troops surround desert village in Mali - The Washington Post

France: Terrorist dead say French Media

A police source has told French media the terrorist has died from self inflicted gunshots.

More than a day after 300 police first surrounded the five-story building in a suburb of the city of Toulouse, Mohamed Merah, who has confessed to killing three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi, had yet to give himself up.

“There was no movement during the night. We hope he is still alive,” Interior Minister Claude Gueant told RTL radio today. He said two shots had been heard during the night.

EU-Digest

France: 3 explosions heard near scene of standoff in Toulouse

Three explosions have been reported outside the Toulouse apartment where a standoff between police and a gunman suspected of killing seven people dragged on for 17 hours.

The Associated Press reported that orange flashes accompanied each explosion.

The blasts signal that the standoff appears close to an end. Just hours before the explosions, the suspect had indicated he would turn himself in under the cover of darkness.

For more: 3 explosions heard near scene of standoff in France | CTV News

France: terrorist suspected of killings at Jewish school and army barracks in Toulouse surrounded in apartment building

A major police operation is underway in Toulouse as hundreds of officers surround an apartment in an eastern suburb of the city. It's understood one gunman remains in the building another man handed himself over to police in the early hours of the morning. It's also thought that he was one of a number of suspects police identified after the first two killings in Toulouse, inevitably questions are now being asked as to why he wasn't picked up before three children and a teacher were murdered outside a Jewish school in the city on Monday.  Interior Minister Gueant said the suspect Mohammed Merahis a French national of Algerian origin who spent considerable time in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Guant said "He claims to be a jihadist and says he belongs to al Qaeda. He wanted to avenge the Palestinian children and take revenge on the French army because of its foreign interventions," he told reporters at the scene. The suspect reportedly belongs to a little-known group called Forsane Alizza, or Knights of Glory, which the French government banned in January for trying to recruit people to fight in Afghanistan. French Interior Minister Claude Gueant also said the man, had made several visits to Afghanistan, was acting out of revenge for France's military involvement in the country.

The French elite anti-terror squad have been called to the scene and it's understood negotiations are ongoing. The suspect apparently has said he will surrender himself to the authorities this afternoon.


EU-Digest

Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister shot dead in Islamabad - by MUNIR AHMED and ZARAR KHAN

Assailants purportedly sent by al-Qaeda and the Taliban killed the only Christian member of Pakistan's federal cabinet Wednesday, spraying his car with bullets outside his parents' driveway. It was the second assassination in two months of a high-profile opponent of blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam.

For more: Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister shot dead in Islamabad - The Globe and Mail

Al Qaeda to Attack Salad Bars & Buffets?

Cooking at home has never seemed wiser than now. At the least, home cooking is healthier and it saves money over eating out too. It could also save you from a terrorist attack, if the rumors about a plot to taint food at restaurants by al Qaeda are valid. Al Qaeda had planned to place ricin and cyanide into the food at buffet restaurants and salad bars, notes CBS News. The plot would have involved tainting the food at many different locations. This plot was deemed “credible.”

If this sort of plot idea is in the minds of al Qaeda, it is scary to think of all the ways they could access America’s food supply. If they have operatives here now, as they did before 9/11, they could be working in grocery stores preparing the packaged foods. Or they could be on staff at hotels or restaurants with access to the foods served there.

For more: Al Qaeda to Attack Salad Bars & Buffets? | Gather

Bloomberg.com: Al-Qaeda Using Internet to Recruit in Germany, Government Says - by Allan Crawford

For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

Al-Qaeda Using Internet to Recruit in Germany, Government Says - by Alan Crawford

Al-Qaeda is targeting potential recruits in Germany through the Internet, the government said, confirming a newspaper report that militant Islamists may be planning a terrorist attack in Germany.

German intelligence services have observed an increase in the number of German-language Internet sites that promote al- Qaeda, including video sites with German subtitles, a government spokesman told a news conference in Berlin today. The sites focus on recruitment of potential volunteers, spreading a radical message and providing technical information such as bomb-making instructions, the government said. Germany is increasingly in the sights of al-Qaeda, it said.