Geopolitical chaos procreating a chaotic leaderless world is sucking the literal life out of human hope. The tentacles of austerity measures and quantitative easing are the primary catalyst of all the madness. One way or another every government financier around the world is determined to cultivate the appearance that the good times are still rolling. The only problem is that the natural rate of failure refuses to participate in the economic facade. Fiat currencies’ purchasing power dwindles, the pounding drum beat of war beckons, and an open ended hegemonic polarity struggle for commodities ensues.

While serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2002, current U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave the world a glimpse into the past, present, and future all at once. In his speech, entitled “Deflation: Making Sure ‘It’ Doesn’t Happen Here,” Ben Bernanke stated:

“Although a policy of intervening to affect the exchange value of the dollar is nowhere on the horizon today, it’s worth noting that there have been times when exchange rate policy has been an effective weapon against deflation. A striking example from U.S. history is Franklin Roosevelt’s 40 percent devaluation of the dollar against gold in 1933-34, enforced by a program of gold purchases and domestic money creation.”

Today the infamous 40 percent strikes again, as Cyprus agreed to the terms of a European Union bailout in which banks will seize 40 percent of uninsured bank depositors’ wealth.

Moody’s Investors Service was quoted in Bloomberg as saying, “The seizure of larger deposits may spark tensions with Russia, the source of an estimated $31 billion in holdings in Cypriot banks.”

Proxy wars have gone beyond the spectrum of arming rogue militants and allied nations in dispersed pockets of the globe, graduating to the realm of state sponsored economic terrorism. As “Gerald Celente” consistently and aptly states, “Currency wars + Trade Wars = Real Wars.”

All of the economic wheeling and dealing continues on as the “Arab Spring” explodes into a caballing year round inferno engulfing the entire Middle East. Daily at the United Nations, permanent Security Council members China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and the United States spar over regional influence with each passing veto and resolution.

This is most apparent in Syria where Russia opposes any intervention as it struggles to prop up the government of its last remaining ally in the Mediterranean region. Russian naval forces stationed at Tartus, Syria may be the last line of repellent preventing NATO intervention.

The lines of frienemy engagement get blurrier with every passing engagement.

Simultaneously as the United States prepares to implement its own austerity measure policy that has carefully been repackaged and marketed to the public under the label sequestration, it is arming rebels in Syria. All claims of being in financial dire straits gets immediately lost within the noise of controlling key choke points around the globe.

One cannot forget less than two years after watching the Al Qaeda flag being proudly raised in the Libyan city of Benghazi, that America’s new found ally the Free Syrian Army are the protégés of Al Qaeda.

The life cycle of keyboards do not possess the durability to correctly and fully analyze threats posed by the uncontrollable Kim Jong Un ruled North Korea. The isolated peninsula nation even managed to startle its longtime ally China into voting in favor of U.N. Security Council resolution 2094. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted as saying;

“China supports the UN Security Council’s necessary and moderate response to the nuclear test of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”

Barely beyond two weeks later newly appointed Chinese President Xi Jinping, warned the West not to meddle in Syria’s civil war while on his first visit to Russia.

Not even the mythical country of Chimerica can rescue the too big to fail world from the natural rate of failure. Governments around the world are taking sides now under the cloak of every global economic and geopolitical conflict, because nations know that a hegemonic storm is coming with no evacuation routes or shelter in sight. Once more, honesty of time is proving that which cannot last forever won’t.

Image courtesy: European Parliament

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The US Air Force just landed in Poland, very quietly, accounting for a missile defense roll-out with little announcement in the local press. Military staff failed to arrive on schedule to boost the local economy. Reportedly, only ten Air Force officials landed. “Yeah, but they came with 10 F-16s fighter planes,” said one Polish-American security official.

Of course, the US Airforce isn’t storming Poland while their citizens continue to be denied Visas to the Land of Opportunity. The Poles, after all, are NATO allies serving in the War on Terror through a decade of two wars.

Besides the 10 F-16s and some 250 support staff expected in the town of Łask, the towns of Krzesiny and Powidz have also signed up to support the Yanks, welcoming a boost to the local economy. What are Poles expecting in addition to the F-16 fighter-planes and happy-go-lucky Americans? The Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo plane to be stationed East – close to Russia.

After all, it is Russia that vocally disagreed with the need for a missile defense shield in NATO Poland. And despite Polish petitions to install missile defense, and despite US promises to add the valuable deterrent, the US has sided with Russia, drawing stinging criticism from Polish President Komorowski in August of 2012.

But the US is not concerned with drawing flattery from its NATO allies; its concern, as always, is preparing against the worst case scenario – here in Poland, even in 2012 - a Russian invasion.

In 2011, Russia staged aggressive wargames in neighboring Lithuania in tandum with strong rebukes to the Polish minority. It called for the abolishment of the Polish language teaching in the country. The wargames simulated an invasion. The Polish minority in Lithuania has pressed its cause. It is important to remember that for Russia, Eastern Europe is just another satellite state at least as much as Georgia (which it recently invaded in 2008) or Afghanistan (1979-1988). Boasting a population of some 40 million, Poland, separated from Russia by Ukraine and Belarus, might believe that it’s not counted as an extension of the Soviet states – especially as it is a loyal and productive NATO member. Perhaps Poles forget they share a border with Russia, playing host to the naval port of Kalingrad.

Since August of 2012, Visa-free travel between Russia’s Kalingrad Oblast and it’s EU neighbors has been offered. Polish residents on the Baltic Seaboard as far as Gdask may take advantage of the liberties; and Russians may travel a few kilometers into Poland.

Maybe that’s why the Americans reneged the missile defense shield – too close to Russia to secure.

Whatever the case, as this picture suggests, the Airforce sure is here now. Pay close attention, the plane marked ‘Polish Air Force’ is the Hercules C-130 cargo plane predicted to land by the Polish Press in July. The Hercules, a descendant of the famous C-54 which in 1949 broke the Soviet blockade of Berlin, serves as a gruesome reminder of the backbreaking potential of a rugged cargo-plane in Eastern Europe. In addition to paratroopers, the turboprop military transport can fulfill wildfire fighting duties as well as reconnaissance. It’s ideal for insulting the enemy; and serves as a sobering reminder that the US can invade Russia with far greater finesse than Russia may ever invade Europe.

The US Congress last week passed legislation against Russians suspected in the torture of Andrei Magnitsky. Russia promised offense, taking issue with American legislators who keep prisoners locked away in GITMO Cuba as subjects of terror. In the time being, a botched arms deal to the tune of some 4 billion with normally compliant Syria preceded the ousting of General Nikolai Makarov for corruption charges, dumping valuable military assets without recouping their value. Which, all in all, signals that Russian officials are dealing with having to tighten their belts and conserve cash. After all, that is what the Magnitsky legislation calls for: asset redistribution.

In the last couple of weeks, we have seen botched Russian arms deals in Syria, corruption rattling top Russian brass, American legislators declaring war on suspicious Russians, and the Air Force showing off its plan of attack – a CARGO plane. Then Thanksgiving and the day after that when the Polish Press announced that the Congress building nearly averted a 4 ton TNT attack; that LGBTA websites across the land have been hacked and that Gays and Lesbians should change their passwords; and that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposes to arrange a State Tribunal for the twin brother of fallen President Lech Kaczyński for suspicions of corruption. Mr. Kaczyński served as his brother’s Prime Minister and is still a leading candidate against Tusk power in Poland. This is despite an ostentatious grieving period that has seen the former Prime Minister concoct conspiracy after conspiracy to atone for the death of his brother and some 90 serving senior cabinet ministers in a Tupolev 154 in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10 of 2010.

Whatever will happen next?

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Kyiv, Ukraine — The parliament of Ukraine adopted a law providing for open, transparent, and democratic parliamentary elections on October 28th, 2012. The parliament ruled to equip most polling stations with web-cameras, broadcasting the signal from the stations online.

The installation of the web-cameras at the voting stations enables anyone with internet access to watch elections in Ukraine in real time. According to the Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, 34,000 voting stations will be equipped with cameras. Each voting station will be equipped with at least two cameras.

According to the new law, the cameras should be placed in a way that does not interfere with the secret ballot system and the freedom of voting, while ensuring the procedures of voting and vote count are abided. “We will have to provide the whole country with satellite communication in order to run these web-cameras,” said the leader of the Party of Regions Olexandr Yefremov.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with a delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Azarov said that Ukraine welcomed foreign observers from the CIS, the EU, the OSCE, et cetera at the autumn elections. He invited everyone who wanted to come, saying that since Ukraine hosted two million visitors during EURO 2012 it was sure ready to receive 34,000 observers. The Vice President of the OSCE Wolfgang Grossruck already accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister.

In efforts to hold free and fair elections, the Ukrainian parliament passed a new election law on November 17, 2011. It reintroduced the mixed electoral system in Ukraine. According to the new system, 225 members of the Ukrainian parliament will be elected through party lists and 225 MPs – through single-member districts.

The new law also set the election threshold of five percent, banned blocks of political parties to participate in elections, as well as excluded the previously available option of not supporting any party or candidate on the list by ticking the respective box.

Image Courtesy of   Iurii Osadchi / Shutterstock.com

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The conflict between Turkey and Syria is heating up. On Sunday, June 30, the Turkish army sent  six F-16 planes to do emergency takeoffs on their border with Syria in response to the three jets that the Syrian army sent over on Saturday. Turkey recognizes that last Saturday’s action was not a violation of Turkish air space, but the nearness of these planes was enough for them to order a response.

The reality is that Turkey has become more aggressive towards Syria since a Turkish F-4 was brought down by the Syrian troops on  June 22. Turkish response came fast. Their armed forces deployed launchers and anti areal batteries missiles against Syria. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that they will “regard… as a threat” any type of military element that gets close to the frontier.

Officially, Turkey does not want confrontation with Syria, but the reality is that they are putting pressure on others, such as the United States, to stop the Syrian conflict. Turkey has gone from friendship to criticism. Now they support the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army. They also asked for the creation of intermediate zones and humanitarian corridors in the border area.

Meanwhile, NATO has insisted that it is necessary to find a political solution, but has approved the steps that Turkey is following in order to defend their land and population.

In the other side, Rusia says that the felled Turkish airship on June 22 was flying in Syrian air space. Moscow assures the public that they have evidence that can prove it. Turkey has not taken long to defend themselves and has made a response that denies the information that accuses Turkey of flying in Syria’s air space.

The Syrian Minister of Information has stated that the armed forces shot down the plane by mistake because they thought that it was an Israeli craft. As the Minister explained, most of the Turkish and Israelis aircrafts are made by the United States. This is what confused the Syrian forces, and made them think that it was an Israeli plane.

In the meantime, the Syrian Civil War, which according to United Nations has caused more than 10,000 victims, keeps on going. A prominent Syrian Al Assad opposition, Fawaaz al Tello, has made a call to the United States asking for help. He is demanding weapons for the rebels, for fighting the Al Assad regime. The Free Syrian Army has expressed that they need weapons such as rocket launchers in order to destroy the tanks and army helicopters from the Syrian Army.

The United States does not seem to be convinced to give weapons to the Syrians because most of the rebels are Islamist, so there is a level of suspicion surrounding it. What it seems clear is that all of the steps need to be given careful consideration because the conflict could explode at any moment.

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Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine intends to build transport and energy infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan, as well as help repair military equipment produced in the USSR, said the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych at the meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghani President. The meeting took place in the framework of the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago.

Ukraine also aims to continue providing NATO with air transport support to finish the peacemaking campaign in Afghanistan by 2014, mentioned the Ukrainian leader. In addition to the listed intentions, President Yanukovych supported the security transition in Afghanistan by 2014, as outlined in the Lisbon Roadmap.

As a nation contributing to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Ukraine also supports the 2014-2024 strategic partnership that involves the USA and NATO and is set to help establish peace on the territory of the Central Asian country.

Addressing the summit, Ukrainian leader also expressed the country’s readiness to join the Danish initiative Coalition of Committed Contributors. The so-called 3C-initiative will help fund Afghani security forces after 2014. So far 23 nations joined the initiative, reported Stephen J. Flanagan, PhD, at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia hearing on April 26, 2012.

Ukraine has already joined the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative, countering threats of stability from Afghan and Pakistani violent extremist groups which use drug trafficking to fund their activities.

Currently, 22 Ukrainian peacekeepers are stationed in Afghanistan. The team from Ukraine features mine clearance experts, medics, army aviation advisors, and staff officers. It was recently announced that Ukraine planned to add to its ISAF mission a dog handler who specializes in mine and explosives detection.

Ukraine sent its first ISAF representatives to Afghanistan in May of 2007. A team of 10 to 30 Ukrainians (depending on the stage of the mission) performed tasks along with the peacekeepers from Denmark, Croatia, Georgia, and Lithuania. Among other peacekeeping jobs, Ukrainian team helped construct a mosque in a refugee camp in Chaghcharan.

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Hawker Beechcraft learned during the initial status conference at the Court of Federal Claims that the U.S. Air Force awarded the Light Air Support contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation and its Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer.

During the hearing, the government revealed that the unannounced award apparently was made on December 22, 2011, shortly after the Government Accountability Office declined to review Hawker Beechcraft’s protest against its exclusion from the LAS competition.  Per federal regulations, federal agencies are generally required to make a public award announcement by 5:00 P.M. ET on the day of the award.

“This is yet another example of the Air Force’s lack of transparency throughout this competition,” said Bill Boisture, Hawker Beechcraft chairman and CEO.  ”With this development, it now seems even clearer that the Air Force intended to award the contract to Embraer from early in this process.”

During the hearing on December 28, Hawker Beechcraft requested that the court grant a temporary restraining order to preclude the Air Force from moving forward in the contract process.  The court agreed to establish an accelerated schedule for briefings on the temporary restraining order and the legal merits of the case.  A ruling on Hawker Beechcraft’s request for a temporary restraining order is expected as early as January 11.

The company still has no concrete reasons for the exclusion of the Beechcraft AT-6, having been denied explanation by the U.S. Air Force on two occasions.  The LAS contract, on track to benefit a non-U.S. company, is valued at nearly $1 billion of U.S. taxpayer money.

The AT-6 is a world-class, light attack aircraft that has been evaluated and proven capable through a multi-year, Congressionally-funded program led by the Air National Guard. Hawker Beechcraft and its industrial partners worked closely with the Air Force for two years to develop parameters for the LAS competition and invested more than $100 million preparing to meet the Air Force’s specific requirements for a light attack aircraft.  The benefits of the AT-6 include the following:

• The AT-6 is designed and manufactured in the U.S. to be used by the U.S and its allies.
• Keeping this contract in the U.S. will help preserve 1,400 domestic jobs at 181 companies in 39 states.
• The AT-6 draws its heritage from the airframe of the number one training aircraft in the world, the Beechcraft T-6. The company has built more than 725 T-6 aircraft, which are used to train every fixed-wing military pilot in the United States and are successfully operated by six allied air forces around the world. The graduation to the AT-6 light attack airplane would be a natural progression.
• The AT-6 is the sum of the Air Force’s proven T-6, A-10C mission system and MC-12W sensor suite.
• The weapons and avionics systems included on the AT-6 are familiar to NATO allies and have been proven effective on many continents and in other NATO aircraft.

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As of this morning, the U.S. received official statement from Libya’s prime minister confirming Muammar Gaddafi’s death. Yesterday afternoon, precisely two months after rebel forces drove him from power, Gaddafi was captured in the coastal city of Sirte, his hometown.

A battle for control of Gaddafi’s last strongholds began around 8 a.m. local time, and ended a half-hour later with revolutionaries carrying the body of a man who resembled Gaddafi. At the time, the cell phone photo taken of the scene did not make it clear whether the dictator was still alive or not. The dictator’s remaining supporters attempted to flee Sirte in the confusion, resulting in the deaths of approximately 20 men at the hands of rebel forces.

Updates continue to trickled in, shedding light on some of the confusion that still surrounds Gadddafi’s death. Some sources claim the Libyan dictator of 42 years was captured and injured as he tried to flee a convoy that was attacked by NATO. The Washington Post reports:

“We’ve had no confirmation whether Gaddafi was in there or not,” said a NATO official who spoke to The Post’s Michael Birnbaum on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly. Over the past couple weeks in Sirte, the official said, “there was a sense that given the fight they were putting up, which was concerted, that they were protecting something important.” His last words were, “Don’t shoot.”

Oddly enough, Hillary Clinton pledged 11 million dollars in aid just this week on an unannounced trip to Libya. The Obama administration has met with criticism for it’s decision to back the Libyan rebels, although the United States’ financial involvement has been far more limited than in similar conflicts across the Middle East.

Although many hoped to see him put on trial for crimes against humanity, Muammar Gaddafi’s death has still been cause for celebration in Libya today. Crowds surged around the corpse, chanting anti-Gaddafi slogans, and fired weapons into the air. Rebels burned the flag of the dictatorship, then stepped on it. With the old regime ousted, Libyans may finally be free to create a new government. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov was quoted saying,

“I hope that the end of the former Libyan leader will herald the end of the suffering of the Libyan people and the beginning of a new era in which Libyan citizens are able to live without fear and humiliation in a united and prosperous country.”

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On Friday, Interpol issued arrest warrants for Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam as well as his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. And it is not just international forces who want the elusive former leader behind bars.

The new rulers in Libya has according to Huffington Post dedicated a special unit to the hunt of Gaddafi — using phone tapping, satellite images and witness accounts to pinpoint his position. The Libyan dictator went underground after Aug 21 when rebels swept into Tripoli but has not been seen in public for several months ahead of this event.

His disappearance is a major issue to Libyans and many western leaders and rumors of his whereabouts have put him on several locations both in and outside the country. Gaddafi himself claims to remain in Libya through audio broadcast and seems unwilling to face defeat.

Meanwhile, anti-Gaddafi forces are rounding up their former political opponents — most importantly the former Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim, according to Sky News. Khaled Kaim was one of the faces of Gaddafi’s regime and also one of those who denied that Arab Spring was sweeping through the people of Libya, calling the uprising the work of islamists and terrorists.

Kaim is now staying at a high security detention centre in Tripoli where he continues to refuse realities Kaim told Sky News reporter Lisa Holland that he had received a death threat from someone inside the regime shortly before it collapsed because “he was pulling away from them.”

He insisted that he was simply a mouthpiece to the Colonel: “Making a press conference doesn’t mean that you’re saying your own opinion,” he explained While former government strongmen try to salvage their political careers, the anti-Gaddafi fighters continue their operation to find the dictator.

One fighter participated in a raid last week where they believed Gaddafi was staying. The fighter, who spoke to The Huffington Post under the condition of anonymity, said that Gaddafi had “escaped less than an hour before the raid through a secret tunnel. Computers were on and cups of tea were still warm.”

NATO, who has plenty of intelligence collection measures in the area were suggested as a possible partner to the Libyan tracking mission. However, both NATO and Libyan officials has declined that the alliance will make a difference in the hunt for Gaddafi. Still, some of the rebel’s allies continue to contribute where they can.

For example, reports say that small CIA teams, as well as a number of British and French special operation advisors, are prepared to help the former rebels in their search. When or if Gaddafi is caught, the International Criminal Court prosecutor wants to see the former leader held accountable “for the serious criminal charges that have been brought against him.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chavezcandanga/

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An area most people would be unable to point out on a map, the narrow strip of land bordered by both the Black and Caspian seas has been a point of contention for centuries.

Strategically located and historically known as where Europe fades into Asia, this mountainous region is reminded of policies enacted by Communist leader Josef Stalin twenty-plus years after the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (Stalin’s birthplace), declared independence from the Soviet yoke. But this region is not so easily divided.

There are more than three types of people here, with at least fifty different ethnic groups all trying to establish themselves.  With no Kremlin and powerful military to qualm nationalistic interests, tribal feuding emerges resulting in a multitude of regional conflict.

The Chechens, with their terrorist attacks in Moscow railways may be the most notorious of this lot, but are just one example of post Soviet problems presented in the 21^st century.

Societies that may be similar, but speak drastically different dialects crowd these narrow and ancient settlements, a region that harbors the most ancient forms of Christianity and churches. This small area has spent time being ruled by such superpowers as Persia, Turkey, Byzantium and Russia, but managed to keep their way of life alive against such odds.

Armenians have had a glorious history; only to have experienced such tragedy during their vast existence. A nation known to be passionate with the written language, their chronicles cover a range of history, and even translations of neighboring literature.

The holocaust of World War two even has ties to this enigmatic region. Hitler mentioned the forgotten Armenian genocide prior to his invasion of Poland in 1939. In the years between 1915-1918, 1.5 million Armenians would die from unnatural causes, and continue to suffer from the humiliation of denial.

By creating an ethnically Armenian exclave within the borders of Azerbaijan in 1923, Stalin caused conflict amongst both peoples claiming the area to be their own, creating internal strife that would in turn, weaken both nations of any potential cooperation against Moscow.  The plan worked and is still working nearly nine decades after it was initiated.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1988-1994 was a result of borders created by Stalin to create disunity between the peoples of this region. The effects are still relevant today as both Turkey and Azerbaijan have a closed border policy resulting from Armenia’s victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The war ended in bitter peace and severed trade routes with the West. This currently strains Armenia economically, falling further behind her neighbors while oil-rich Azerbaijan bypasses  Armenia and routes their new pipeline from the Caspian, to Georgia, and out through the Black Sea.

War between Georgia and the territory of South Ossetia has been declared three times in the past two decades. The Ossetians are an ancient Indo-Iranian ethnic group that presently has both a north territory within Russian borders, and an adjacent southern province that is a continuing point of conflict with Georgia claiming ownership.

The first war was in 1991-1992 and would break-out again in 2004.

With the Georgian-Russian war over South Ossetia contained since 2008, the conflict lasted ten days and resulted in a cease-fire.  Presently, Russia and Venezuela are the only countries that recognize South Ossetia as a separate government from Georgia, who was receiving and implementing weapons provided by the USA and NATO.

With Ossetia backed militarily by Russia, comparisons can be made to the ideological cold-war conflicts in Southeast Asia. Poor host countries serving as the battleground for empires to show off weaponry.

The notorious Chechens still have animosity toward Moscow and are not afraid to hide it. After Stalin deported the entire Chechen population to Siberia or Kazakhstan, some returned home to the mountains and developed national identity once Communism fell. The Islamic Chechnyns committed jihad acts against their northern neighbor, and former ruler, Russia in recent history.

Numerous suicide bombs in and around Moscow, and the immensely tragic hostage situation at a North Ossetian elementary school in 2004 are just more examples of a region in strife.

The Armenian Genocide is a hotly debated subject to this day, as Turkey and the United States do not declare this loss of life due directly toward the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Many Armenians will agree on the contrary, and place the systematic slaughter off their people and culture on Turkish sabers and rifles.

Obama had addressed this issue during his campaigning, assuring the world that the tragedy would finally be recognized appropriately. The promise is left unfulfilled to this day, as the USA has a vested interested in Turkey’s strategic location, operating several air-bases in the most ‘western’ of Middle Eastern countries.

What can explain an area so small and isolated, yet, so full of war and conflict? The easy explanation is to blame communism as a failed social experiment, with Transcaucasia as a result of it. Or is it that diversity and multiculturalism doesn’t work? That when you have dozens of different peoples all vying for domination in a confined area, that such aspirations will turn violent toward your neighbor?

Either way, it is a tragic circumstance for a place that is used to being controlled by someone else.

Sergey Kamshylin / Shutterstock.com

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Barack Obama has been challenged this week. John Boehner, leader of the House of Representatives, wrote to the dear leader claiming that under the 1973 War Powers Act, his decision to authorize US military action in Libya without consulting congress was illegal under US law. The White House swiftly replied, stating that military action in Libya was not sufficiently serious that it necessitated congressional approval.

There is much to say merely on this footnote of the story. We might well debate the separation of powers, or the rights of the commander-in-chief, deep into the night. However, there is a much more important point to make, and one that Boehner’s challenge conveniently prompts. The war in Libya is undoubtedly illegal, regardless of US law.

Let’s begin with a little recent history. On March 18^th 2011, President Obama delivered a speech announcing a NATO military operation in Libya, and the imposition of a no-fly zone. The media was almost unilaterally supportive, as it has remained ever since. Later that same day, Mark Mardell (BBC North America correspondent) sycophantically praised this new “Obama doctrine”, which entailed “acting within limits, leading only as a first among equals”.

“Barack Obama has been morbidly belligerent from the very first day he took power.”

To argue that Mardell’s assessment proved to be mistaken would be to miss the point, because even the limited measures announced on March 18^th were transparently illegal (UN Security Council resolution 1973 authorized an internationally organized no-fly zone, not a NATO imposed one), and there was absolutely nothing ‘new’ about this facet of Obama foreign policy. Barack Obama has been morbidly belligerent from the very first day he took power. Within 12 hours of stepping into the elliptic office, he opted to order unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan – a precedent he has continued. George Bush authorized drone attacks in Pakistan a total of 45 times in his whole second term; just within Obama’s first year, he sent 53. The drone attacks themselves constitute a serious war crime, having killed at least 1,500 civilians and a mere handful of supposed ‘militants’. Obama has been carrying out an illegal bombing campaign in Yemen for the past two years, and still maintains the war in Afghanistan.

The White House response to Boehner openly claimed that the Libyan operation was not a war, but a mission to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power. Sickeningly, this script has become familiar to the point of tediousness. The US, UK or NATO announce ‘an intervention’, or a ‘humanitarian campaign’. The campaign, it is said, will be completely different from all previous wars. Strikes will be ‘targeted’, ‘collateral damage’ will be negligible, and of course just as the British government said in 1914, it will be so swift that it’ll all be over in a couple of months. Then the mission changes. A campaign that was authorized by UNSC resolution 1973 only to protect civilians in Benghazi by stopping Gaddafi’s airforce becomes a NATO “mission to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power”. According to any interpretation of Just War theory, this alone flagrantly disregards international law. Furthermore, the repeated air strikes on Gaddafi’s compound (and home) have made it absolutely clear that NATO are attempting to kill him. Whatever one thinks of the ‘intervention’ in Libya, we must accept that it is yet another illegal war.

Where does it go from here? On June 15^th UK armed forces chief General Sir David Richards spoke to relieve fears that Britain would be unable to maintain its part in the war: “We can sustain this operation as long as we choose to” he confirmed, “I am absolutely clear on that”. His statement will no doubt come as a salve to British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who has stated that the UK is in Libya “for the long haul”.

This is revealing in itself. Regardless of what happens, or of what the current Libyan leadership does, NATO has confirmed that it will be there “for the long haul”. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi announced on the 16^th of June that his father Muammar was willing to hold elections in Libya (monitored by the international community). NATO, I’m sure, will ignore this statement. The goal was never the promotion of democracy in Libya, or the protection of civilians, nor was it – I suspect – even “regime change”. The goal is simply ‘to be’ in Libya. Another oil rich Arab nation; another illegal war.

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You would think there would be some limit. You would think that, deep down, an individual would know, or feel, or sense that their actions were so disgustingly outrageous that they should just stop. But no such limit exists. Would that it did, and would that it might spare us the upsurge of bile induced by such moments.

On May 12^th 1996 a particularly chilling one arrived. Asked, ludicrously, by a CBS news reporter if the death of half a million Iraqi children was ‘worth’ the apparent damage to Saddam Hussein’s infrastructure, and so – they said – to his capacity to build a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Madeleine Albright replied: ‘we think the price is worth it’. It was the kind of depraved statement that makes you ashamed for your whole species.

Tony Blair’s September 24^th 2002 Iraq dossier, quite aside from its false claims of 45 minute WMD attacks, somewhat complicated Albright’s foul rambling. Robert Fisk accurately noted the true magnitude of its claim that Saddam had managed to stockpile WMDs:

“Now we were being told – if Blair was telling the truth – that the price was not worth it. The purchase bought with the lives of hundreds of thousands of children was not worth a dime. For the Blair dossier was telling us that, despite sanctions, Saddam was able to go on building weapons of mass destruction.”

After ten years of murderous sanctions, after eight years of annihilating the people of Iraq, after presiding over the deaths over a million Iraqis and Afghans, Tony Blair was appointed peace envoy to the Middle East within hours of leaving political office. Imagine, just for a moment, that Stalin had stepped down as leader of the Soviet Union in 1950 and immediately been appointed peace envoy to Eastern Europe; Blair’s 2007 appointment would rival, if not surpass, such a disgrace.

It continues to this day. On June 8^th 2011 The Guardian reported that Mr. Blair was calling for a ‘wider plan for the Middle East’. Announcing his support for a NATO removal of Muammar Gaddafi, Blair recommended that Western governments issue a ‘change or be changed’ warning to Middle East leaders (leaders that, he neglects to mention, have been propped up by Western governments for the last 40 years). There was one particularly vile phrase that our wonderful peace envoy employed: ‘we need to have an active policy, be players and not spectators sitting in the stands, applauding or condemning as we watch’. Mr. Blair’s phrase makes sense only under the presupposition that ‘we’ are in charge of the world. He entirely neglects the crucial question, which is what the people of the Middle East actually want.

It is for the people of the Middle East, who deserve the right to be masters of their own destiny, to decide what they want, and overwhelmingly that is not Western ‘intervention’. Is there anything more depraved than the fact that Tony Blair is giving advice on how to bring peace to the Middle East?

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/giuseppenicoloro/

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During the initial international military operation in Libya, the coalition forces engaged in operation Odyssey Dawn between March 19-31. However, the operation was essentially a code word for actions of war disguised as humanitarian aid. The allied forces collaborated against Muammar Gaddafi on their mission of ‘liberation’ to save the people of Libya from their ‘bloodthirsty’ oppressor, forgetting that for several years they had a civil relationship and strong political and financial bonds with the very same man.

At the beginning, NATO’s participation and exactly who was going to be heading the mission, was a mystery. However, within a few days, France’s PM Nicola Sarkozy, took the lead in this operation. “Sarkozy likes nothing better than a crisis, a fight and a gamble,” said Financial Times columnist Peggy Hollinger. “With his approval ratings at an all-time low, this Libyan intervention could be just what he needs to revive his faltering popularity at home.” However, without the firepower of the United States in the form of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles and aircraft carrier based aircraft, nothing would have been achieved. For the U.S., Odyssey Dawn was a coming out party for America’s newest military formation, African Command (Africom). It is no accident that at the very moment that African oil reserves are becoming a major source for the United States, Washington should create a military formation for the continent. It is very important to keep in mind that the control of energy resources is always central to U.S. strategy, and with world reserves declining, the scramble to hold the petroleum high ground is always part of the agenda.

The big argument for the operation leadership was between France and England, while the Americans made their involvement obvious via missiles but reiterated that they did not intend to deploy any soldier into Libya. Washington, Paris, and London concluded that Muammar Gaddafi is not a target himself, even though his palace in Tripoli had been under attack. A missile also landed just 50 meters away of the famous tent that he used to welcome the foreign leaders in.

The types and numbers of forces against Gaddafi were massive. France, Britain, United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Qatar and United Arab Emirates comprised an undefeatable opponent against Gaddafi’s forces.

I’m wondering, what kind of humanitarian mission consists of fighting as well as spying aircrafts, aircraft carriers, submarines, battle cruisers, tankers, and a rain of missiles?

On the other hand, regarding Libyan forces, colonel Gaddafi is considered to have a personal army consisting of thousands of members, much more than a   simple army. However, we cannot be sure how many of them have defected so far. They have tanks, aircrafts, armed and armored vehicles for transportation, submarines, armed ships, and picket boats at their disposal. Although, many of them are either destroyed or useless.

Is this another war for oil? We all know the scenario and the answer is probably affirmative. Curiosity, somehow wouldn’t let me rest, and after a little research a dilemma suddenly appeared – Was the Libyan war being pursued for  obtaining black gold or for water?

One conspiracy theory, called New World Order (NWO), seems to suggest a link. Between the lines, since the beginning of the past century, oil magnates created a cartel to take control of all oil reserves around the planet, as well as  take some of them out of production. Nevertheless, some years ago the NWO conspirators reached the conclusion that very soon oil would be replaced as the Earth’s most valuable resource by another, less suspected one. Instead,  that valuable resources will be pure, sweet drinking water. Of course, water is an abundant resource with enough on this planet to satisfy the needs of many times the current levels of population. But, exactly as they did with oil, another abundant resource, they plan to make drinking water artificially scarce by having control over its main sources.

So, why Libya?  In late 1983, Qaddafi created the Great Man-Made River Authority. The job of the authority was to take water from the aquifers in the south, and bring it in the most efficient and economic way to the Libyan coastal belt. In 1996, the Great Man-Made River Project, reached one of its final stages, and a huge amount of sweet, unpolluted water began reaching the homes and gardens of the citizens of Libya’s capital Tripoli. The rest I leave to you.

I do not assume that all these are necessarily truth, but I believe it is important to have as much information as possible so we can make up our minds more accurately.

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The head of Russia’s drug control service (FSKN) Viktor Ivanov recently slammed the Central European countries as well as NATO for their failure to effectively address the explosion of drug-trafficking and drug related crime since 2001. Mr Ivanov trace the source of the problem back to Afghanistan and their poppy farmers who produce 90% of the pure heroin worldwide. A UN resolution has previously described the narcotics flow from the Central Asian country as a threat to international peace and stability, according to the Russian news channel RT.

Mr Ivanov was outspoken about the Russian impatience with the international community in what he categorized as a lack of “an appropriate reaction” from NATO whom he holds responsible for controlling the war-torn country’s heroin situation. The reason for Russia’s fury can be found in the dramatic surge in heroin related deaths in their country since US forces invaded Afghanistan almost 10 years ago. In October last year, the head of FSKN explained to the Carnegie Moscow Center that although the amount of opium harvested in 2010 was half the amount produces the previous year, it is still twenty times higher than it was before the invasion. The decline in last years production, Ivanov attributes to ‘climate factors’ and crop disease rather than the eradication efforts. He based his conclusion on the fact that the number of acres planted had not changed since the previous year, according to RT.

The consequences of the heavy production in Afghanistan has been unprecedented for Russia. According to FSKN, 549 tons of heroin is consumed in Russia – compared to 212 tons in North America and 711 tons in Europe which have nearly four and over five times as big a population respectively. Mr Ivanov revealed that “at least 30.000 young Russian lives” are lost each year to heroin addiction and it is estimated that an annually 100.000 people worldwide die from consuming the Afghan opiates.

On top of this, Ivanov is gravely concerned about the rapid expansion of the Central Asian drug cartels who consider Russia a vast market for drug-trafficking. The Russian war on drugs have revealed a ‘mafia structure’ in the cartels which uses simplified visa rules and cargo deliveries for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) citizens. Ivanov blames poor migration control as one of the main factors hampering the fight against drug trafficking inside of Russia. But his main critique is that the root cause of Russia’s national problem is far from being addressed adequately internationally.

One of the points is that farmers are expected to join the Taliban if efforts are made to destroy poppy crops. Mr Ivanov rejects this explanation. “When the US says you can’t deprive farmers of their livelihood, it actually sends a message to the Afghan leadership as well, saying they shouldn’t do it because, first, this will destroy people’s livelihoods and, second, you push farmers into the hands of the Taliban,” Ivanov told RT in an interview. “I think this is merely an excuse.”

The Russian frustration with NATO’s efforts in Afghanistan is also aimed at the coalition members. “The taxpayers of the coalition countries invested more than $300 billion into resolving the Afghan problem,” Ivanov argues. “In exchange, they received 5,000 tons of heroin, half of which landed in their stomachs, while global criminal and terrorist networks earned $1 trillion.”

In response to Russia’s criticism, Afghan Counter Narcotics Minister Zazar Ahmad Osmani told the RT “Afghanistan only produces opium, but you need additives, or precursors, to turn it into heroin, up to 1300 tons. Afghanistan does not produce them. Where do they come from? Obviously, there’s an international network trafficking these precursors. That’s why we say that the drug problem is not localized in Afghanistan – it’s international. When we say that millions of Russians die from drugs… 960,000 Afghans are addicted too.”

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