The Grand Chess Masters—The Bear and the Dragon
David J. Jonsson
November 18, 2006
While the Iraq crisis continues, the strategy of the Grand Chess Masters—Russia the bear and China the dragon, along with their pawns the Leftists, Marxists and Islamists, continue to develop and put in place their strategy for the ultimate goal of world domination. General John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East and John McCain argue about troop strengths. Many Democrats, including Carl Levin, who will become chairman of the Senate armed services committee in January, argue that the US needs to pressure the Iraqis by announcing a timetable to start withdrawing troops within four to six months. The Baker-Hamilton “Iraq Study Group” (ISG) is deciding whether to talk to Syria and Iran to request assistance in establishing stability in Iraq. And most are attempting to wage the war on the basis of Political Correctness and Social Justice. Few are addressing who are the enemies and what are their goals. In effect the West is still rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, deciding how many tables to have and what time the games should start and of course when they should end. The game has started and the strategies for “Checkmate” are in place. It is time for America and the West to wake up. The “Cold War” has not ended, the nuclear armed totalitarian regimes have united, and this time they have added the Islamists who are willing to die for the cause.
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu on November 13 drew a direct analogy between Iran and Nazi Germany.
“It’s 1938 and Iran is Germany. And Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs,” Netanyahu told delegates to the annual United Jewish Communities General Assembly, repeating the line several times, like a chorus, during his address. “Believe him and stop him,” the opposition leader said of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “This is what we must do. Everything else pales before this.”
While Iran is developing WMD and forming alliances throughout the world including Cuba just 90 miles off the coast of America, Russia and China are providing arms for the alliance and equally important finalizing the energy noose around Europe. The Islamists along with their Leftist/Marxist alliance partners meanwhile are quietly assuming key positions in the governments, the media, and even financial institutions.
In my prior article of August 7: The Origins of the Next Great War are Visible I commented:
“With every passing year following the events of 9/11 the rise of the Leftist/Marxist-Islamist Alliance has increased global instability. By the beginning of 2006, nearly all the combustible ingredients–far bigger in scale than those leading to World Wars 1 and 11 and the Gulf Wars of 1991 or 2003–were in place.”
The Grand Chessboard--Eurasia
“Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some 500 years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power”…“For America, the chief geopolitical prize is Eurasia—and America’s global primacy is directly dependent on how long and how effectively its preponderance on the Eurasian continent is sustained”….“How America manages Eurasia is critical. Eurasia is the globe’s largest continent and is geopolitically axial. A power that dominates Eurasia would control two of the world’s three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control over Eurasia would almost automatically entail Africa’s subordination, rendering the Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world’s central continent. About 75% of the world’s people live in Eurasia and most of the world’s physical wealth as well, both in its enterprises and underneath its soil. Eurasia accounts for 60% of the world’s GNP and about three-fourths of the world’s known energy resources.”
The U.S. faces potential conflict in Eurasia, the Mediterranean/Iraq/Iran, and the Horn of Africa and also in the Pacific with events in North Korea. With the backing of Venezuela and Cuba by Iran/China/Russia, conflicts could also erupt in the Caribbean.
Eurasia plays a significant role as an energy supplier. In the article by M Ismail Khan The trans-Karakoram oil pipeline published by the International Times of November 7, 2006, he comments: “The Caspian region in Central Asia houses phenomenal energy reserves. Here, the proven natural gas reserves are estimated at more than 236 trillion cubic feet and estimated oil reserves range up to 243 billion barrels. But since almost all the oil infrastructures in the region were developed during the Soviet era, they are designed and directed to the advantage of Moscow, in which Russia maintained a tight control over oil exports from its former Soviet colonies to the outside world.
‘Karakoram’ is a Turkish word meaning ‘black gravel’, probably for the blackish rubble that covers the glaciers in the range. But the explorers who coined the term might never have thought that one day black crude oil will gush across the craggy mountains linking the world’s oil depots to the world’s most populous and the fastest growing economies.
China and Pakistan have agreed in principle to build a trans-Karakoram oil pipeline along the Karakoram Highway to connect the Middle East with the northwestern China through Gwadar. The pipeline once in place can set the stage for another rewarding oil bridge from the landlocked Central Asia to the world market. On the pattern of the trans-Alaska pipeline, it would be possible to build an oil grid starting from Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan traveling through Tajikistan and the uninhabited Wakhan corridor and the peaceful Ashkoman valley of the Northern Areas to converge with the trans-Karakoram pipeline at around Gilgit for onward transportation to Gwadar.
No, this is certainly not a pipedream! In fact, such cross regional oil pipelines already exist, and are doing decent business in the aforementioned countries. A 960-km-long pipeline connecting Kazakhstan with China has begun pumping oil in December 2005. The China National Petroleum Corp and KazMunaiGaz Company of Kazakhstan completed the $700-million project in a record period of just one year. It holds an initial annual capacity of 10 million tons and full capacity of 20 million tons.
Currently China’s 80 per cent oil imports passes through the narrow and piracy-prone Malacca straits. The trans-Karakorum pipeline will allow it to import oil in a more secure and sustainable mode, isolating the transport of oil from possible disruption in the event of war. China recognizes the necessity of energy security—the West still has not.
“In July 2004, the government of Uzbekistan evicted U.S. personnel from the Karshi-Khanabad air base, which Washington had used as a staging ground for combat, reconnaissance, and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan since late 2001. The government in Tashkent gave no official reason for the expulsion, but the order was issued soon after the UN airlifted 439 Uzbek refugees from Kyrgyzstan to Romania—a move that Washington supported and Tashkent opposed. (The Uzbek government wanted the refugees to return home, but the international community did not, fearing that they would be detained and tortured by Uzbek security personnel.) The showdown was the latest in a series of confrontations since a much-criticized crackdown on antigovernment demonstrators in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2004.
These events illustrate the enduring problem that U.S. defense officials face as they try to promote democratic values abroad while maintaining U.S. military bases in non-democratic countries.
Russia Identifies the Nuclear Conflict on the Horizon
On November 8, 2006, MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president said Wednesday the potential for conflict in the world is growing, while the threat and use of force is being played up in international relations.
“It is important to effectively forecast the evolution of the military-political situation and to closely follow current trends in technological and economic competition,” he said.
“He said a growing threat is posed by what he termed destabilizing weapons - low-yield nuclear warheads and strategic missiles armed with conventional warheads, adding that possible sources of WMD proliferation are located in close proximity to Russia’s borders.” See also my article: Nuclear Proliferation--Options In A Perfect Storm.
“He accused a number of world powers of seeking to undermine international stability, referring specifically to unlawful unilateral actions that ignore the legitimate interests of other countries.”
“He warned of the danger of weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands, adding it is critical to reliably close off channels of support to terrorist organizations in the North Caucasus.”
“Putin urged the Main Intelligence Directorate to step up its efforts to avert threats to Russian security, adding that the GRU is a unique and effective instrument for protecting Russia’s national interests.”
Time for a reality check—Russia and China
It is time for a reality check—better late than never. Who is the grand chess master calling the moves? If one believes the conventional thinking it is the Axis of Evil or the Islamofascists. But let’s recalibrate the thinking. When we look at the history and current events, certainly we must consider that Russia and China are playing a significant role. Are not Russia and China the grand chess masters with the goal of creating a New World Order? Are we in fact observing the actions of the Leftist/Marxist – Islamist Alliance seeking world domination? Did in fact the cold war not end, but what we are witnessing is a change in their tactics? In the recent elections in the U.S., the seven million strong American Muslim communities played a major role in the mid-term election? The Muslim groups targeted 12 states with a high concentration of Muslim population: California, Illinois, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. The Muslim American Society (MAS), set up voter registration booths in mosques across the country, and has added 30,000 new voters to the rolls in recent weeks. Reference: American Muslims gear up for the next week’s elections from Al-Jazeerah November 3, 2006. In the article of November 11, 2006 in Investors Business Daily, John Conyers And The Muslim Caucus, “Expect Conyers and Pelosi to kick open the doors of Congress to Islamists from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other militant groups.”
“The likely new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee [John Conyers] says he’s just fighting bigotry in leading a Democrat jihad to deny law enforcement key terror-fighting tools. But he is in the pocket of Islamists.”
In the article of November 14 by Jim Kouri Rep. John Conyers: 4 Decades of Radicalism he writes: “With the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives and the US Senate, it is now their turn to appoint party members to chairmanship positions on committees. One of those members is Rep. John Conyers from that bastion of urban sprawl known as Detroit. Conyers will head the House Judiciary Committee and be assured he’s not interested in protecting Americans from criminals or terrorists. While the Democrat Party and their media lapdogs will describe him as a liberal, don’t be fooled. Conyers may seem liberal if you compare him to Cambodia’s Pol Pot or China’s Mao Tse Tung.” Other quotes from the article follow:
·
Conyers is the highest-ranking politico working to free Mumia
Abu-Jamal, the
convicted murderer of a Philadelphia
police officer. Conyers has been a National Executive Board member of the
National Lawyers Guild (NLG), which was created as a Soviet front and still
embraces its Communist heritage.
· In a June 1, 1979 New York Times opinion piece he co-authored with Marcus Raskin, co-founder of the extreme left-wing think-tank the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), Conyers asserted that “government’s responsibility is to revitalize the nation’s economy through creative forms of public ownership” - in other words, through socialism.
· In January 2003 he was the only member of Congress to speak before, and lend his prestige to, an anti-war rally organized by the Marxist-Leninist, pro-North Korean front group International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Rep. Rangel also addressed the rally but not in person - via a letter read by another speaker.) Conyers embraced his comrades in this group with the same enthusiasm and support he gave during the Cold War to the Soviet-backed World Peace Council.
· The Guerrilla News Network -- a Marxist Internet group -- says that Conyers is one of the last few patriots, while MoveOn.Org wholeheartedly supports his appointment as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
From the Reuters article: From Sudan to Egypt to Iraq—countries where many Arabs see U.S. policy in the region as domineering and imbalanced—that prospect [Democratic victory] was seen as worthy of celebration.
Illegal Aliens and the Islamic Influence on the Hispanic Population
In the Report “A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border“ by the Majority Staff of House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations—Michael T. McCaul Chairman provides significant findings revealing the role of smuggled illegal aliens into the United States as given below.
· U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations have revealed that aliens were smuggled from the Middle East to staging areas in Central and South America, before being smuggled illegally into the United States.
· Members of Hezbollah have already entered the United States across the Southwest border.
· U.S. military and intelligence officials believe that Venezuela is emerging as a potential hub of terrorism in the Western Hemisphere. The Venezuelan government is issuing identity documents that could subsequently be used to obtain a U.S. visa and enter the country.
· Venezuela is providing support—including identity documents—that could prove useful to radical Islamic groups, say some U.S. officials. The Venezuelan government has issued thousands of cedulas, the equivalent of Social Security cards, to people from places such as Cuba, Columbia, and Middle Eastern nations that host foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. officials believe that the Venezuelan government is issuing the documents to people who should not be getting them and that some of these cedulas could be subsequently used to obtain Venezuelan passports and even American visas, which could allow the holder to elude immigration checks and enter the United States. (Andy Webb-Vidal, Terror Groups ‘Relocating to U.S.’s Backyard,’ THE FINANCIAL TIMES, March 5, 2003) Recently, several Pakistanis were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexican border with fraudulent Venezuelan documents. (Interview by Subcomm. Staff with Federal investigator (Sept. 18, 2006))
· “Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, has been clearly talking to Iran about uranium,” said a senior administration official quoted by the Washington Times. Chavez has made several trips to Iran and voiced solidarity with the country’s hard-line mullahs. He has hosted Iranian officials in Caracas, endorsed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and expressed support for the insurgency in Iraq. The Times reports Venezuela is also talking with Hamas about sending representatives to Venezuela to raise money for the militant group’s newly elected Palestinian government as Chavez seeks to build an anti-U.S. axis that also includes Fidel Castro’s Cuba. “I am on the offensive,” Chavez said on the al Jazeera television network, “because attack is the best form of defense. We are waging an offensive battle….” (Rowan Scarborough, Chavez Turns to Iran on Military, Uranium, WASHINGTON TIMES, Apr. 10, 2006.)
· Given all that is happening in Chavez’s Venezuela, some American officials regret that terrorism is seen chiefly as a Middle East problem and that the United States needs to look looking to protect its southern flank. A U.S. intelligence official expressed concern that “Counterterrorism issues are not being aggressively pursued in this hemisphere.” Another intelligence official stated terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay are not being interrogated about connections to Latin America. The bottom line, when it comes to terrorism so close to U.S. shores, says the official, “We don’t even know what we don’t know.” (Linda Robinson, Terror Close to Home, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, Oct. 6, 2003.)
· Islamic radical groups that support Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamiya Al Gamat are all active in Latin America. These groups generate funds through money laundering, drug trafficking, and arms deals, making millions of dollars every year via their multiple illicit activities. These cells reach back to the Middle East and extend to this hemisphere in the sophisticated global support structure of international terrorism. While threats to our nation from international terrorism are well known, lesser-known threats spawned by narco-terrorism reach deeply into this country. (Lt. Gen. James E. Hill, Commander, U.S. Southern Command, Remarks to the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting, Wash., D.C., (Oct. 6, 2003).
· The number of aliens other than Mexican (“OTMs”) illegally crossing the border has grown at an alarming rate over the past several years. Based on U.S. Border Patrol statistics there were 30,147 OTMs apprehended in FY2003, 44,614 in FY2004, 165,178 in FY2005, and 108,025 in FY2006. Most of them were apprehended along the U.S. Southwest border. (Information provided by U.S. Border Patrol to Subcomm. Staff. (Oct. 3, 2006).)
· The data indicates that each year hundreds of illegal aliens from countries known to harbor terrorists or promote terrorism are routinely encountered and apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. illegally between Ports of Entry. Just recently, U.S. intelligence officials report that seven Iraqis were found in Brownsville, Texas in June 2006. In August 2006, an Afghani man was found swimming across the Rio Grande River in Hidalgo, Texas; (Interview by Subcomm. Staff with Federal law enforcement personnel, in McAllen, Tex. (Aug. 21, 2006). as recently as October 2006, seven Chinese were apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas.( Telephone Interview by Subcomm. Staff with Federal law enforcement personnel, in Wash. D.C. (Oct. 13, 2006).
· Items have been found by law enforcement officials along the banks of the Rio Grande River and inland that indicate possible ties to a terrorist organization or member of military units of Mexico. (Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism Part II: Hearing Before the Subcomm. On International Terrorism and Nonproliferation of the House Comm. On International Relations, 109th Cong. (July 7, 2006) (written Statement of Sigifredo Gonzalez, Sheriff, Zapata County, Tex.). The Border Patrol found a jacket with patches from countries where Al Qaeda is known to operate in Jim Hogg County, Texas. The patches on the jacket show an Arabic military badge with one depicting an airplane flying over a building and heading towards a tower, and another showing an image of a lion’s head with wings and a parachute emanating from the animal. The bottom of one patch read, “martyr,” “way to eternal life” or “way to immortality.” (ibid)
From the Muslim American News Briefs, November 8, 2006 on the Al-Jazeerah website, “On November 12, the Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) and the Muslim Students at University of Miami will host a public event focusing on Hispanic Muslims in America.”
“Imam Benjamin Perez, President of CALMA (California Latino Medical Association), Imam Ali Siddiqui, noted peace and labor Activist and Mario Nunez, Director of CALMA, will discuss the trend of Hispanics converting to Islam.”
“As the number of Hispanic Muslims grows, it is clear that the American Muslim community is more diverse than many people might imagine,” said CAIR-FL Communications Director Melissa Matos.
The Importance of the Muslim Brotherhood in Understanding the Roots of al-Qaeda
The Muslim Brotherhood is “the mother of all these movements,” ideologically. The whole Salafist jihadist and the activation of the views of the world, of the house of Islam, and the house of war are the ideas that emerged from the writings and the teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood, especially with the teachings of not only Hasan al-Banna himself, but also one of his followers--Sayyid Qutb, who was executed by Nasser because he wanted to overthrow Nasser’s government violently. See my book: Islamic Economics and the Final Jihad Chapter 9.
The Compulsory Nature of Islamic Activism
On September 19, 2004, Chicago Tribune staff reporters Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Sam Roe, and Laurie Cohen in an article titled: A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America, reported on the Muslim Brotherhood in America. Below are excerpts.
“Over the last forty years, small groups of devout Muslim men have gathered in homes in U.S . cities to pray, memorize the Qur’an, and discuss events of the day. But they also addressed their ultimate goal, one so controversial that it is a key reason they have operated in secrecy: to create Muslim states overseas, and they hope, someday in America as well.”
“These men are part of an underground U.S. chapter of the international Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s most influential Islamic fundamentalist group and an organization with a violent past in the Middle East. But fearing persecution, they rarely identify themselves as Brotherhood members and have operated largely behind the scenes, unbeknownst even to many Muslims.”
“Still, the U.S. Brotherhood has had a significant and ongoing impact on Islam in America, helping establish mosques, Islamic schools, summer youth camps and prominent Muslim organizations. It is a major factor, Islamic scholars say, in why many Muslim institutions in the nation have become more conservative in recent decades. While separation of church and state is a bedrock principle of American democracy, the international Brotherhood preaches that religion and politics may not be separated and that governments eventually should be Islamic. The group also champions martyrdom and jihad, as a means of self-defense. It has provided the philosophical underpinnings for Muslim militants worldwide.”
“The Brotherhood slogan became:”
“Allah is our goal; the Messenger is our model; the Qur’an is our constitution; jihad is our means; and martyrdom in the way of Allah is our aspiration.”
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross writing in the Daily Standard on 05/25/2005 “Because the Brotherhood views Islam as all-encompassing and universal, one of its highest goals is to spread Islamic law. The Chicago Tribune explains that the controversial “ultimate goal” of the U.S. Brotherhood is “to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well.” Brotherhood members did emphasize to the Tribune that they operate within the laws of the countries where they live:”
“They stress that they do not believe in overthrowing the U.S. government, but rather that they want as many people as possible to convert to Islam so that one day--perhaps generations from now--a majority of Americans will support a society governed by Islamic law.”
“This brings us to MAS, which was incorporated in Illinois in 1993 and, today, the Muslim American Society has 53 chapters nationwide and about 10,000 members. According to the Chicago Tribune, a contentious debate among Brotherhood members preceded MAS’s incorporation, and the Muslim American Society is now the name under which the U.S. Brotherhood operates.”
“While MAS leaders admit that the Muslim Brotherhood founded their organization, they claim that the two are now completely distinct. For example, MAS official Shaker Elsayed told the Chicago Tribune, “Ikhwan [Brotherhood] members founded MAS, but MAS went way beyond that point of conception.” The fact that a MAS spokesman such as Bray feels comfortable publicly arguing that MAS does not want to see an Islamic state in America demonstrates the strength of its public disavowal of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
“On Faith Under Fire I [Daveed Gartenstein-Ross] stated that, consonant with the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda, MAS has made clear that it would like to see our constitutional order replaced with rule according to the Koran and Sunnah. In response, Bray stated definitively, “I would be very happy if we could just maintain the constitutional principles that we have in the United States.” He went on to say that, for the past two years, the MAS Freedom Foundation has been training Muslims about the Constitution and showing them how to “take full benefit of those beautiful things called the Bill of Rights.” In fact, he accused me of taking words from MAS’s websites out of context, and claimed that MAS’s true agenda was “to support . . . the U.S. Constitution and to defend the Constitution against enemies both domestic and foreign.”
“Let us examine what MAS stands for today—with reference only to its own material that is readily available on the Internet--and determine who was taking MAS’s agenda out of context.”
“MAS’s outlook is best reflected in its curriculum. While any Muslim can join MAS by paying $10 a month in dues, the group has various gradations of membership. MAS’s highest membership class is “active” membership. To attain active member status, a Muslim must complete five years of community service and education. The website for MAS Minnesota outlines the objectives of MAS’s active member program.”
These objectives include:
(1) Continue building the correct unified comprehension of Islam as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam Al-Banna. . . .
(9) Make the member fulfill his duties as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam Al-Banna.
“Although these objectives appear on MAS Minnesota’s website, there is no suggestion that they apply only to the regional chapter. Instead, MAS Minnesota’s website discusses the MAS curriculum in general terms that suggest that it is presenting the national organization’s curriculum and objectives.”
MAS Methodology: Masjid-based (mosque-based) grassroots education, local leadership training, youth training, coalition building and networking, and special events towards positively impacting mainstream America.
MAS Focus: Engagement of the following American institutions and organizations to build a broad-based coalition that will enhance the religious, political, and social viability of the American Muslim Community:
· Voter registration and education organizations
· Local civic groups
· Municipal and state officials
· Congress
· Civil rights and progressive political groups: NAACP, ACLU, International A.N.S.W.E.R,
· “Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (SCLC)
· Organized labor
· The media
· College campuses
· Immigrant groups, Black, Hispanic, and Asian churches, and other non-Muslim religious institutions
It is significant that the Leftist/Marxist – Islamist Alliance is also a key organizer for the marches by Hispanics for amnesty and Open Borders.
“The ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, created by the New York-based International Action Center (IAC), has organized scores of antiwar rallies in the U.S. since September 2001, often attracting protestors by the tens of thousands. Its largest and most disturbing event was the April 20, 2002, “National March for Palestine Against War and Racism,” in Washington, D.C. Attracting approximately 200,000 demonstrators, the rally served as a vehicle for supporters of violence and anti-Semitic terror organizations such as Hezbollah, whose flag flew from the speakers´ podium.”
“The
Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN) is a lobbying organization “dedicated to profound social
change that challenges existing power relationships and builds
alternatives.” The main alternative sought by MSN is the creation of a social
structure wherein illegal aliens are granted blanket amnesty and all the civil
rights and liberties that go with citizenship, and wherein they become full
participants in the American political process. MSN shares its Washington,
D.C. office and telephone number with the Nicaragua
Network. Moreover, it is a member organization of International
ANSWER‘s steering committee, and occasionally provides guest
speakers for ANSWER rallies.”
“The speakers at ANSWER rallies are generally members of the political far left who oppose not only America’s role in the current war on terror, but also many additional aspects of the nation’s foreign and domestic policies. Such speakers include prominent members of activist and communist organizations; celebrities and entertainers; and politicians -- often members of the Democratic Party‘s Progressive Caucus. Some -- such as Brian Becker, Larry Holmes, Teresa Gutierrez, Sarah Sloan, and Sara Flounders -- are members of the Workers World Party. When addressing the crowds, these speakers accuse the U.S. of a broad spectrum of transgressions, including its alleged pursuit of colonialism, imperialism and world domination; its current “occupation” of Afghanistan and Iraq; its purportedly unjustified and immoral trade embargo against Fidel Castro’s Cuba; its “attacks” on the “civil rights and civil liberties” of Americans, as embodied in the Patriot Act; its mistreatment of “political prisoners” like cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal; its allegedly excessive military-related spending coupled with its “cuts in social programs”; and the discrimination, institutional racism, and police brutality it supposedly directs against minorities.”
“ANSWER’s policies and activities are guided by a steering committee that includes the International Action Center, the Korea Truth Commission and the Partnership for Civil Justice Legal Defense and Education Fund; the Free Palestine Alliance; the Middle East Children’s Alliance; the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing /Pastors for Peace; the Nicaragua Network; the Mexico Solidarity Network; the Kensington Welfare Rights Union; and the Muslim Student Association of the U.S. & Canada, the Haiti Support Network; Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines; and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.”
It was al Qaeda’s number two man—Aymen-al-Zawahiri—who first advocated a Leftist/Marxist - Islamist Alliance against Western democracies. In August 2002, he urged al Qaeda sympathizers to seek alliance with “any movement that opposes America, even atheists.” The strategy of penetrating and joining existing organizations was put forward in “The Project,” to be discussed below.
The Project and the Protocols of Zion
According to Sylvain Besson, an investigative journalist for the daily newspaper, Time, in Geneva, in his book of “La conquete de L’Occident: Le projet secret des Islamistes“ (The conquest of the occident: The secret project of the Islamists), Swiss authorities made a worrying discovery at the time of a searching carried out in the villa of Egyptian banker Youssef Nada in Lugano in November 2001. Swiss investigators discovered “The Project,” an ambitious strategy intended “to establish the kingdom of God over the whole world.”
“The Project” is a fourteen-page leaflet, dated December 1982, calling for the Muslim Brotherhood’s conquest of the world. It is a detailed roadmap to attain this objective. The Muslim Brothers must infiltrate existing institutions, rather than create their own. It calls for a guerilla war against Israel in the Palestinian territories and support to diverse armed Muslim groups from Bosnia to the Philippines. Swiss investigators confirm that the Project is the proof of the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in supporting and inspiring the “worldwide jihad.”
The Role Of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) founded on June 14, 2001 by leaders of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, Pakistan and India are observes and will become menbers.
Barely acknowledged by the Western media, military exercises organized by Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the Collective Security Treaty Organization, (CSTO) were launched on the 24th of August 2006. These war games, officially tagged as part of a counter terrorism program, are in direct response to US military threats in the region including the planned attacks against Iran.
The Rubezh-2006 exercise, is took place from August 24-29 near the Kazak port city of Aktau according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, DC Special Dispatch Series - No. 1296, Sept 22 2006 Iranian Report on Russian Military Maneuver ‘to Protect Iran From Possible U.S. Attack’.
“The Russian military recently held its annual RUBEZH maneuver in the Caspian Sea region. The Iranian website Baztab, affiliated with Expediency Council Secretary and former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai, presented the maneuver, based on a report in the Central Asian press, as aiming to prepare the Russian army to respond to a possible U.S. military assault on Iran.”
“The maneuver was purportedly intended train [the forces] in combating terrorism, but was in fact a kind of military preparation [intended] to provide an answer to America’s military threats in the region against Iran... Some believe that the maneuver, which was planned by the Russian military’s joint chiefs of staff, was an exercise in preparedness for frontal confrontation in a possible American war against Iran in the region of southern Eurasia and in the Caspian Sea region.”
“It will be the first joint military exercise undertaken by CSTO countries, and will involve 2,500 members drawn from various armed services of member states, with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan the principal participants. Uzbekistan, which has recently rejoined the CSTO, will send observers, while the two other pact members, Belarus and Armenia, will not be taking part.” (IPWR News Briefing Central Asia)
Press reports from the region describe these war games as a response to US military presence and ambitions in Central Asia:
“The growing militarisation is connected with mutual mistrust among countries in the region, say analysts. Iranian media have speculated that the United States is using Azerbaijan to create a military counterweight to Iran on the Caspian. It is possible that the exercise conducted by the CSTO – in which Russia is dominant – represents a response to concerns about United States involvement in developing Kazakhstan’s navy. Observers say Russia is leaning more and more towards the Iranian view that countries from outside should be banned from having armed forces in the Caspian Sea.”
In the article Kazakhstan Deepens Security Ties To Moscow by Roger McDermott on November 6, 2006: “An unusually explicit avowal of dependence on Russia for Kazakhstan’s most sensitive security needs, made in passing during bilateral talks, indicates once more the complexities underlying Astana’s foreign policy. Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov stated that Kazakhstan intends to work “only with Russian colleagues” in modernizing integrated systems for management and control of its airspace. Although his comments appeared rather predictable, taken in the context of Kazakh officials negotiating with Western companies for several years to develop and modernize their air defense systems, this signal is an affirmation of a policy that betrays a clear reliance on Moscow. Akhmetov’s justification for exclusively working with Russia in this key security area relates to the technologies being developed at Russian research centers and that can be accessed favorably through specific security agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan. “The Collective Security Treaty links us with Russia, [in] a single airspace. Kazakhstan will receive all required equipment that is being developed in Russia,” Akhmetov explained (Itar-Tass, October 26).”
Nothing on this scale has been seen in the history of the CSTO, and seemed to some participants more reminiscent of Warsaw Pact military exercises. The most heavily planned component of the exercise, however, was the joint Russian and Kazakh landing on two hydrofoils, the Dzheyran and the Kalmar. Russian marines and Kazakhstan’s airmobile subunits on board coast guard ships carried out a well-orchestrated seizure of these assets (NTV, Mir, October 21). Clearly intended to convey a message to deter terrorists, demonstrating the preparedness of these forces to counter such threats, it also contained a not too subtle sub-plot intended for consumption in the West: Russia can give sufficient military and security assistance to Kazakhstan.
“CSTO anti-terrorist exercises recently held in Kazakhstan reveal Russian security thinking and confirm Astana’s reliance on Russian military assistance. Rubezh-2006 envisaged large-scale armed groups of terrorists leading an insurgency within Kazakhstan, declaring a Caliphate, recruiting mercenaries from within the indigenous military, calling for support from the local populace, threatening to blow up oil and gas installations, and receiving assistance from countries beyond the region that wanted to destabilize Central Asia and threaten Russia.” See also my article: Caliphatism - Establishing the “Islamic Kingdom of God on Earth”
While Russia has signed on to supplying weapons and security alignment with the CSTO countries, it has also formed a military cooperation agreement with India. India and Russia have signed on August 20th, a far-reaching military cooperation agreement. Although not officially directed against the US, the purpose of this agreement is understood. The two countries have “agreed to focus on joint war games in services-to-services interaction, joint development of new weapons systems and training of Indian military personnel”, (Press Trust of India, 21 August 2006). Military-technical cooperation between Russia and India is worth $1.5 billion a year. The MiG Corporation is also taking part in an Indian tender to deliver 126 fighter aircraft valued at $6.5 billion. See also my article: Nuclear Proliferation — Options In A Perfect Storm
Lionel Beehner, Staff Writer Staff Writer for the Council on Foreign Affairs on November 1, 2006 wrote in the article Russia-Iran Arms Trade: “Last year, Russia surpassed the United States as the developing world’s leader in arms deals, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). But Russia has increased military shipments to anti-U.S. states like Iran and Venezuela, not to mention potential adversaries like China, which concerns U.S. policymakers far more. Experts say Iran—as well as Syria—may have transferred some of these small arms to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Also, Russia’s arms relationship with Iran, the thinking goes, further complicates efforts to impose punitive sanctions against Tehran for its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
Beijing plans to build three aircraft carriers by 2016 and is putting the finishing touches with Rosoboronexport for the supply of 12 more SU-33s, Ria Novosti reported. The contract can grow to 48 aircrafts that would increase costs up to 2.5 billion dollars.
This agreement would be the second largest signed by Moscow in the field of military technical cooperation only surpassed by the authorized assembly, under license, of SU-30MKI fighters with India.
The India Nuclear Deal
An article by BBC News on November 16, 2006, Senate debates India nuclear deal comments: “There is also some concern about the transfer of missile technology to Iran by at least two Indian firms, recently black-listed by the US government.” In addition…”Correspondents say that once the bill is eventually passed, the initiative would overturn decades of US anti-proliferation policy.”
“The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, strongly defended the deal in the Indian parliament in August. He said India would not accept any move by Washington that would impede its atomic weapons program, nor would it allow any international scrutiny of its military facilities. But Mr. Singh also argued that the deal was in India's interests.” Source: Senate debates India nuclear deal
It is hoped that Congress remembers that India along with Iran and Pakistan are observers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and that India is a major destination for outsourcing of sensitive computer software, airline passenger scheduling, financial data analysis and medical records.
The U.S. Congress is discussing the endorsement of a Bush administration plan to allow U.S. civilian nuclear fuel shipments to India. It was unclear when lawmakers might vote on the proposal that President George W. Bush is promoting as one of his top foreign policy initiatives. An exception for India would have to be made by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an assembly of nations that export nuclear material. Indian officials also must negotiate a safeguard agreement with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The bill would carve out an exemption in American law to allow U.S. shipments of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India. In return, India would allow safeguards and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear plants; eight military plants would be off-limits.
While top Democrats champion the proposal, some members of the party have pushed for inclusion of conditions they say are needed to guard against possible nuclear proliferation. The proposal’s congressional supporters have worked to weed out those conditions, contending they would kill the effort because India would never accept them.
Congressional action is necessary because U.S. law bars nuclear trade with countries that have not submitted to full international inspections. India built its nuclear weapons program outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which provides civil nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge from nations not to pursue nuclear weapons.
Buying a Military Cooperation Agreement with Cuba
As reported by the Strategy Page September 28, 2006, “Russia and Cuba signed a military cooperation agreement, which will allow Russian forces to use Cuban bases for intelligence collection, and other purposes. The Russians paid for it by providing Cuba with a $350 million line of credit (for the purchase of Russian goods.) Cuba has not been able to get credit for years because they have defaulted on so many debts. Currently, Cuba owes Russia over $20 billion for past purchases.
Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela—The Emerging Cabal of Nations Threaten the West
With oil as their weapon combined with nuclear military might the cabal threatens America and the future of the West. This is the ultimate Leftist/Marxist-Islamist Alliance.
In June 2006, Iran President Ahmadinejad visited China to meet Hu Jintao during the leader summit of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The organization groups China and Russia with the four Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status, and all their leaders have been invited to the summit.
Ahmadinejad quickly made himself at home. During the summit, Mr. Ahmadinejad seemed to be everywhere. He delivered a major address broadcast on Chinese state television. He touted Moscow, Tehran and Beijing’s “identical” views on world issues. And he proposed making “the SCO into a strong and influential economic, political and trade institution [to] thwart the threat of domineering powers.” One can guess which domineering power he had in mind.
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s Shanghai strategy signals a potentially momentous change in the international system – a change overshadowed by the war on terrorism. In four key regions of the globe – East Asia, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Latin America – a toxic combination of factors has created a new, fluid alliance of nations that could potentially oppose the United States and other democracies. All four regions, authoritarian governments have a new weapon, one potentially more powerful than nukes or suicide bombers: oil. In my article Give Me Energy Security And I Will Give You A Foreign Policy I say:
“The Leftist/Marxist – Islamist Alliance through joining together a global cabal of nations for the control of the world’s energy infrastructure, finance, media and transportation assets present a real and current danger to the West. The cost of defending a policy of Energy Interdependence as a cornerstone of foreign policy is huge in terms of potential loss of lives and impact on our economy. The West and particularly America cannot maintain our economy by assuming that the developing world along with the “recycle” of oil wealth will continue to provide a market for debt and our energy resources without extracting the huge price of our security, freedom and liberty. Spreading democracy requires us to take responsibility for our financing and energy needs. A program leading to Energy Independence is both feasible and desirable. The risk of failing to act now presents a serious risk to a safe and environmentally sustainable place for our children to grow up.”
In the past five years, each of these regions have witnessed rising nationalism and anti-Americanism, the result of greater domestic confidence and clumsy U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Putin has put into place his long dreamed of plan to develop oil as a state weapon to gain global geopolitical control. As director of the Federal Security Service (successor to the KGB) in St. Petersburg in the ‘90s, he authored an article arguing that the state should use natural resources to wield power. Since then, Mr. Putin has surrounded himself with former colleagues from St. Petersburg who share his views.
Other autocrats have followed a similar path. In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez took over the formerly independent Petróleos de Venezuela. Chávez ally Evo Morales has sent the army into Bolivian gas fields and nationalized Bolivia’s industry. Ecuador’s government has assumed control of U.S. oil company Occidental’s holdings. And, in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad has tightened state control over the oil industry, promising to favor domestic investors.
Today, these state oil companies sit atop unrivaled fortunes. As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, “Ninety percent of the world’s untapped conventional oil reserves are in the hands of governments or state-owned national oil companies (NOCs), far more than was the case several decades ago.” Russia has tightened their grip on the gas supply for Europe with control of the major supply infrastructure from the East and also from North Africa. Without Russian gas, Europe will freeze!
A disturbing recent study by the Government Accountability Office provided a sign of the dangers to the U.S. economy. The study examined the impact of a potential Venezuelan oil embargo on exports to the United States. It found that an embargo could add $11 to the global price of a barrel of oil and shave up to $23 billion off America’s gross domestic product. It also admitted that the U.S. government has few options to handle a long-term shut-off of Venezuelan oil. And Venezuela is only the world’s eighth-largest exporter of crude – a minnow in the global gas and oil market compared with Russia or Iran.
The cabal has built military relationships, too. Russia and China held their largest joint military exercises last year. Russia has become China’s biggest arms supplier, and Moscow also has made winning back its military influence in Central Asia a priority. For his part, Mr. Chávez has reportedly offered to sell Tehran F-16 fighters, while Russia has provided the mullahs with civilian nuclear technology. In addition, China, Russia and other Central Asian nations are considering turning the SCO into a full-fledged alliance. SCO is the “most dangerous organization that Americans have never heard of,” argues Christopher Brown, a Central Asia expert. Or, as David Wall of Cambridge’s East Asia Institute told The Washington Times, if the Shanghai group added Iran, “it would essentially be an OPEC with bombs.”
In the recent Financial Times article of November 13, Nato fears Russian plans for ‘gas Opec’, “Nato advisers have warned the military alliance that it needs to guard against any attempt by Russia to set up an “Opec for gas” that would strengthen Moscow’s leverage over Europe.”
“A confidential study by Nato economics experts, sent to the ambassadors of its 26 member states last week, warned that Russia may be seeking to build a gas cartel including Algeria, Qatar, Libya, the countries of Central Asia and perhaps Iran.”
“The study, by Nato’s economics committee, said Russia was seeking to use energy policy to pursue political ends, particularly in dealings with neighbours such as Georgia and Ukraine.”
“On Monday night, Dmitry Peskov, deputy Kremlin spokesman, insisted there was “no substance at all” to the suggestion that Russia was seeking a gas cartel. “I think the authors of such an idea simply fail to understand our thesis about energy security,” he said.”
“Our main thesis is interdependence of producers and consumers. Only a madman could think that Russia would start to blackmail Europe using gas, because we depend to the same extent on European customers.”
“Although there is disagreement ( See: The hurdles for Moscow on path to ‘gas cartel’) over whether Russia could create any such cartel, the report highlights the deepening tensions between Western Europe and Moscow over energy security.”
“Energy company executives say the biggest threat to gas prices comes from Russia’s own investment shortfalls and possible moves by Moscow to convince other producers, such as Algeria, to limit investment.”
“Russia supplies 24 per cent of Europe’s natural gas, with Norway selling 13 per cent and Algeria, a major exporter to Spain and Italy, supplying 10 per cent.”
“Last week, the International Energy Agency warned of “the possibility of major gas-exporting countries co-ordinating their investment and production plans in order to avoid surplus capacity and to keep gas prices up.”
So, autocratic totalitarian nations, with China increasingly as their main consumer, now have a potent weapon to wield against the West for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union. Working together, this axis of autocrats can hamstring the world economy and, by extension, the United States and its democratic allies. And they have set about doing exactly that.
Recommendations
America and for that matter the West must realize who the enemy is. The enemy is what ever you want to call it—the Leftist/Marxist-Islamist Alliance, the “Axis of Oil”, resource nationalism or the cabal.
As Joshua Kurlantzick wrote in Axis of oil, the Dallas Morning News on October 19, 2006, “In the 1930s and early ‘40s, the last age of resource nationalism, Japan had turned its back on previous liberal reforms and moved toward fascism. Its powerful economy was short on commodities. Insecure about British and U.S. alliances in Asia, Tokyo justified its invasions of the Dutch East Indies and other parts of Asia by claiming the West was preventing it from accessing supposedly free markets for resources. Japan also inked a loose alliance with Germany – which itself invaded Russia partly to gain Soviet oil – that ultimately became much more substantial.”
“By August 1941, the United States had declared an oil embargo on Japan, heightening the tension over resources. In October 1941, Japan’s leaders decided on total war if the embargo was not removed within a month. You know the rest.”
The enemy has the goal of removing the hegemony of the United States and the West and to take away our freedoms and liberty to be replaced by a totalitarian government in a New World Order. The strategy is not limited to war, WMDs, and terrorism; it extends to economic warfare, illegal immigration and open borders, media propaganda and even the control of the government by elected officials.
Perhaps most importantly, the administration needs to have a coherent plan for achieving energy independence. Independence cannot be attained in a reasonable time frame through alternative fuels such as wind, solar, ethanol and biomass. All energy forms and conservation must be addressed in an all out program.
Republicans last year offered oil and other fuel companies some $11 billion in tax breaks – funds that will encourage them to drill more domestically. These provisions are now in jeopardy by the newly elected members of Congress. Last year the UK instituted increased tax on domestic production, the result was a decline in exploration in the North Sea. The UK is now a net importer of natural gas.
Funding for the totalitarian regimes bent on the destruction of America, Israel and the West comes from the control of oil and the sale of products and services purchased by the U.S. and other Western countries in the name of near term increased profits and low cost. Remember you are voting at the ballot box and the dollars and Euro you spend. Vote wisely!
David J. Jonsson is the author of Clash of Ideologies —The Making of the Christian and Islamic Worlds, Xulon Press 2005. His new book: Islamic Economics and the Final Jihad: The Muslim Brotherhood to the Leftist/Marxist - Islamist Alliance (Salem Communications (May 30, 2006). He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics. He worked for major corporations in the United States and Japan and with multilateral agencies that brought him to more that fifteen countries with significant or majority populations who are Muslim. These exposures provided insight into the basic tenants of Islam as a political, economic and religious system. He became proficient in Islamic law (Shariah) through contract negotiation and personal encounter. David can be reached at: djonsson2000@yahoo.co.uk
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