Will nuclear World Warfare III occur this summer time? The reply, all of us hope, pray, and count on, is “no.” However the odds of what could be an unprecedented international catastrophe are at an all-time excessive. The Union of Involved Scientists’ Doomsday Clock, caught at a record-breaking 90 seconds to midnight since final yr, ought to have moved a couple of ticks nearer to Armageddon in late Could, after Ukraine and its US backers started hanging Russian early-warning radar websites tasked with detecting a US nuclear assault.
Russia introduced that it might reply symmetrically by arming US adversaries with long-range weapons. Since then a Russian nuclear-capable fleet has visited Cuba, elevating the prospect of one other Cuban missile disaster, and Putin has embraced North Korea in such a approach as to verify rumors that Russia has certainly given North Korea Topol M missiles, as claimed by Theodore Postol. Extra such presents to numerous US adversaries are undoubtedly within the pipeline.
The proximate set off for World Warfare III’s death-spiral of uncontrollable escalation may conceivably occur in Korea, on the Russia-Ukraine entrance, or within the South China Sea. However it appears likelier that Armageddon will erupt from someplace within the basic neighborhood of its namesake, Megiddo Hill, in northern Occupied Palestine.
That prognosis relies on rational calculation, not scriptural prophecy. There may be an apparent purpose why the Holy Land is the main candidate for triggering international nuclear struggle: It’s occupied by a doomed, fanatical messianic-millenarian dying cult armed to the enamel with nuclear weapons. Since international nuclear struggle will make the world a lot worse for everybody (besides vultures, jackals, rats, and different eaters of carrion) it should inevitably be the product of maximum rashness and recklessness. In Occupied Palestine, the extent of maniacal heedlessness in excessive locations is off the charts. Even the crazed neocons operating the US appear to be rational actors in comparison with Israel’s leaders.
As my latest podcast visitor Oliver Boyd-Barrett wrote this morning:
Netanyahu, following the resignation of Bennie Gantz from the struggle cupboard a couple of days in the past, has dissolved the cupboard, returning direct management of the struggle to the complete safety cupboard. This growth, in an already febrile flamable local weather, enhances the probability that its extra fanatical wing will push for an Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon, plans for which have already been confirmed.
There’s a purpose why the US put the kibosh on Netanyahu’s plans for a serious struggle on Lebanon shortly after the October 7 Al-Aqsa Storm focus camp breakout. And that purpose is all-too-obvious: Israel has no hope of profitable such a struggle with out dragging within the US, which might in flip drag in Iran and Russia, in the end backed by China. No person may afford to let their facet lose such a struggle, so it might seemingly escalate uncontrollably.
But when the American management is usually minimally rational, the identical can’t be stated of its Israeli counterpart. Following the resignations of Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot on June 13, the Zionist entity has been within the arms of certifiable lunatics like Smotrich and Ben Gvir. They’ve made no secret of their dedication to avenge Hezbollah’s 2006 humiliation of Israel, at no matter value. Netanyahu is on board, for the reason that various is stepping down and going to jail. Now that the Israeli army has authorized operational plans for an invasion of Lebanon, the seemingly set off for World Warfare III has been locked and loaded.
But when Israel invades Lebanon towards US orders, may the American management lastly resolve to behave in its personal pursuits, fairly than permitting itself to as soon as once more be hijacked by Israeli extremists?
Press TV Interviews Kevin Barrett on Israel-Lebanon Escalation
Political analyst Kevin Barrett joins us now from Saidia, Morocco, to supply us extra perception on that story. Mr. Barrett, welcome to this system. To begin with, I wish to get your perspective on the escalation of violence and escalation of tensions between the Lebanese resistance motion Hezbollah and the occupying Israeli regime on the southern Lebanese border.
Properly, ever since Israel launched its genocidal assault on the individuals of Gaza final October, Hezbollah has been supporting the Palestinian trigger and pushing again towards this genocide by maintaining a degree of exercise occurring the southern Lebanese border of the occupied Palestinian territories, forcing the Zionists to maintain their army forces on excessive alert, maintaining a variety of these forces tied down within the north. They really ended up having to evacuate a few of these occupied territories. A number of the settlers, a big quantity, I consider half 1,000,000 individuals really, have left these occupied territories.
And at the moment, the Zionist regime appears to be in a disaster. They’ve had a cupboard member, Benny Gantz, resign. There’s a query about whether or not they’ll be capable to cobble collectively this new authorities completely dominated by the ultra-extremists. And people ultra-extremists, greater than anybody else within the Zionist entity, are completely devoted to going after Lebanon and to combating it out with Hezbollah. They’re nonetheless licking their wounds from having been defeated in 2006. And one way or the other they think about that they’re going to get a greater end result this time, though the steadiness of forces has shifted considerably in favor of Hezbollah.
So these provocations are designed to strive to attract Hezbollah right into a struggle in such a approach that Hezbollah wouldn’t have the complete political assist of all people in Lebanon. And Hezbollah isn’t going for that. Hezbollah is aware of that they don’t need all-out struggle with the Zionist entity underneath any situations besides situations during which the entire world, together with all people in Lebanon, can see that the Zionists are clearly and completely 100% the aggressors.
In order that’s form of the strategic dance that’s being performed out throughout that border. And at the moment, the Zionists are escalating. And the way far they’re going to escalate, I don’t know.
Mr. Barrett, speaking concerning the continuation of those retaliatory assaults towards the Israelis, the Israeli regime is the one accountable right here because the United Resistance Entrance within the area continues with the assaults. It has been said many occasions that these assaults towards the Israelis and towards even U.S. pursuits within the area will proceed so long as the Israelis perform this genocidal onslaught and bloodbath towards Palestinians. I would like you to elaborate on that for us as nicely. And within the broader image, this has all been a serious failure for Israel, hasn’t it? Particularly once we’re trying regionally, the place the Israelis haven’t made it protected for them in any respect within the area.
Sure, the Israelis are literally digging their very own graves with their extremist genocidal response to the Al-Aqsa storm raid on October seventh. And at the moment, the Axis of Resistance is driving excessive with the entire area supporting it. Right here in Morocco, all people is supporting the Axis of Resistance, way more so than was the case a few years in the past. And the identical is true all throughout the area.
And the Axis of Resistance has been capable of coordinate its actions in such a approach as to brought on interruptions in so-called international transport, which means supplying the genocidal Zionist entity with supplies, together with weapons, that it makes use of to hold out this genocide, with the Ansar Allah motion in Yemen efficiently chasing the American forces out of that area and principally profitable that battle. And likewise, Hezbollah in Lebanon has continued to place strain on the Zionists.
And so the Zionists are actually actually surrounded, not solely by an ever-increasing, ever-stronger Axis of Resistance, however by a area that’s coalescing behind that Axis of Resistance. The steadiness of forces on the earth is shifting in favor of the Axis of Resistance as all the World South is appalled by this genocide and appalled by the American empire’s collusion in that genocide.
And we’re additionally seeing that as a result of stupidity of the managers of the U.S. empire, which in fact is dominated by Zionists, that the struggle in Ukraine is definitely taking part in out in favor of Palestine. As they assault Russia with long-range weapons, Russia goes to offer comparable long-range weapons to different forces, together with presumably the Axis of Resistance. And there have been some stories alongside these strains.
So Hezbollah now has orders of magnitude extra firepower than it did in 2006. And who is aware of whether or not that’s being augmented whilst we converse with among the newest era hypersonic weapons as nicely.
So the Zionists have bit off greater than they’ll chew. They not have escalation dominance, and so they not have the one form of “nuclear” quote-unquote, deterrent. That’s, the opposite facet can destroy them simply as a lot as they’ll destroy anyone on the opposite facet. And so they’re so conceited, they’ll’t admit that it’s time to barter some form of answer. They should attempt to dominate. They should attempt to fully crush their opposition, however they’ll’t. And yearly, the state of affairs will get worse for them.
So in some unspecified time in the future, it appears to be like just like the long-range technique of the Axis of Resistance goes to bear fruit, and the settler colonial regime goes to should stop its genocide and pull again and in the end go away the area, and we’re going to have a free Palestine from the river to the ocean.
