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[This is an updated version of an Indymedia article titled "Lebanon, Iran, Sudan: Three more premeditated Neocon wars," which was posted in mid-June.]
Before worldwide emotions get whipped into a frenzy over the Israel/Lebanon situation, let's catch our collective breath. Let's understand that a series of wars have been premeditated and planned, in detail, by those who prefer--and profit from--war. Let's recognize that most of our Democratic Congresspersons are proving they're just as committed to war as are the Republicans. Let's recognize that there's nothing "anti-Jewish" about critiquing the Neocons in the U.S. or elsewhere; many Neocons are not Jewish, and many Jews (in Israel, the U.S., and elsewhere) strongly disagree with the Neocons' plans and values.
And let's consider a few facts.
Facts such as this: Lebanon is just one of seven countries against which the Neocon-led Pentagon was, by late 2001, planning war. The other countries were Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan. These seven countries were to be attacked over the course of five years; Iraq was the first of the seven premeditated wars.
(As for Sudan, it has not only the tragedy of genocide, but also the riches of oil and uranium reserves--not to mention a strategic location for future warmaking in Africa.)
Don't take my word for it; take it from retired General Wesley Clark--the recently-former Republican who became a "Democratic" Presidential hopeful, the Arkansas pal of Bill and Hillary Clinton, NATO's former Supreme Allied Commander, and CNN's "military analyst" from 2001 to 2003.
Clark writes on page 130 of his 2003 book, "Winning Modern Wars":
"As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan.
...He said it with reproach--with disbelief, almost--at the breadth of the vision. I moved the conversation away, for this was not something I wanted to hear. And it was not something I wanted to see moving forward, either. ...I left the Pentagon that afternoon deeply concerned."
So there we go. Five years; seven premeditated wars.
The hostile takeover (and dismantling) of Iraq was merely step one in the plan.
(Curious why General Clark never mentioned all this in his pre-Iraq war commentary on CNN? Read Sydney Schanberg's 9/29/03 analysis of Clark's comments in "The Secrets Clark Kept: What the General Never Told Us About the Bush Plan for Serial War" at www.villagevoice.com/news/0340,schanberg,47436,1.html)
THE NEOCONS, PNAC, AND THE "CLEAN BREAK" VISION FOR A MILITARIST/CORPORATIST ISRAEL
All of this is consistent with the US Neocons' master plan, "Rebuilding America's Defenses," written in 2000 by PNAC, the Project for the New American Century led by Rupert Murdoch-funded William Kristol. And as PNAC's website (www.newamericancentury.org) notes, the lead author of that plan was a top official of Lockheed Martin--a company well acquainted with war and its profit potential.
George W. Bush is not, apparently, a member of PNAC. But his brother Jeb Bush is; he's a signer of PNAC's 1997 founding Statement of Principles. Other signers include Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, I. Lewis Libby, Dan Quayle, Steve Forbes, the Religious Right's Gary Bauer, and Zalmay Khalilzad (the current U.S. Ambassador to Iraq). The full list of signers is at
http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm.
The Pentagon's 2001 plan and PNAC's 2000 plan are also right in line with an even earlier plan. In 1996, prominent PNAC-affiliated Neocon Richard Perle led a team that wrote a policy paper intended to guide Israel's Prime Minister in shaping Israel's foreign and economic policy. Titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," it called for Israel to make a dramatic "clean break" from its history on many fronts. In foreign policy, it called for Israel to adopt the doctrine of "preemption" rather than mere "retailiation." It also called for Israel to radically restructure its economy, including sweeping privatization of public lands and publicly-owned enterprises. In a word, it appears to call for a newly corporatist/fascist Israel.
The "Clean Break" document is online at
http://www.iasps.org/strat1.htm. That's the website of The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies. More information is in the article "Israel Makes Its 'Clean Break' " by retired USAF lieutenant colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, at
http://www.antiwar.com/article.php?articleid=9306.
ISRAEL'S PRE-PLANNING FOR ITS ATTACKS ON LEBANON AND GAZA
In the past week, news reports have revealed that Israel's current military activities were pre-planned (and rehearsed) many months or even years ago; perhaps as long ago as in 2000. One report, from the July 21, 2006 San Francisco Chronicle, is titled "Israel set war plan more than a year ago." It's at
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/21/MNG2QK396D1.DTL (Two good sources for more articles are www.antiwar.com and www.globalresearch.ca)
MORE WARS TO COME...AND WHY
Perhaps we'd all be wise to take seriously the Neocons and their sympathizers when they speak of "redrawing the map of the Middle East"--and of waging "World War IV" (Some Neocons or their sympathizers consider the Cold War to have been "World War III"). Or perhaps we should realize that when Newt Gingrich and others proclaim "this is World War," it's not a word of caution; it's a marketing slogan and a sales pitch.
For now, it's possible that Libya has been taken off the premeditated war list. But do an Internet search on "Neocon Egypt Saudi Arabia," and you'll see that some of the world's Neocons want to conquer both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Libya is just west of Egypt, Sudan is just south of Egypt, and Somalia is not far away.
As the frenzy builds and disinformation mounts regarding Iran, Syria, and Lebanon--and as many well-intentioned liberals are all but BEGGING the Pentagon, NATO, or the UN to go "stop the genocide" in Sudan--remember that ALL these wars were planned years ago.
When you consider Sudan and the situation in Darfur, also consider what Professor Richard Heinberg notes in "The Party's Over," his recent book on the energy situation; that the U.S. has enough uranium to power our CURRENT collection of nuclear power plants for only forty more years or so. Oil won't be the only energy resource over which wars will be fought.
STEALTH NEOCONS: PELOSI, LIEBERMAN, MCCAIN, AND FRIENDS
Don't be surprised when stealth Neocons, such as "liberal" Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, publicly lead the charge for intervention in Sudan. But do realize that Nancy Pelosi (like her relative-by-marriage, San Francisco's multimillionaire "liberal" Mayor Gavin Newsom, and like Dianne Feinstein) was ABSENT EVERY TIME thousands marched and rallied in San Francisco to prevent and, later, to protest the war on Iraq. Nancy (and Gavin and Dianne) were absent even when other prominent politicians, including Democrats, were notably present.
Nancy may prefer "competently"-waged wars to incompentently-waged wars, but it seems that Nancy doesn't do peace rallies.
Don't be surprised when Pelosi and other stealth Neocons--including Joe Lieberman, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Dianne Feinstein--do NOTHING to stand in the way of the premeditated war plans, do NOTHING to rally their constituents to support diplomacy and peacemaking, and do NOTHING to amplify the voices of restraint, diplomacy and common sense which are already coming from Congresspersons Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers, Cynthia McKinney, and other non-Neocon, progressive Democrats (and a few clear-headed Republicans, such as Texas Congressman Ron Paul).
FIVE THINGS WE ALL CAN DO NOW
1. Spread the word about premeditated war. Call in to talk radio. Write letters to the editor. Fax your Congresspersons. Rally your city council and state legislators to oppose the premeditated war plans.
2. Protest and/or hold vigils OUTSIDE YOUR CONGRESSPERSONS' HOMES. Help their well-heeled neighbors understand that "World War" is unnecessary, unacceptable, and immoral.
3. Work to elect non-Neocon, non-stealth-Neocon, progressives to Congress--and strongly support the reelection campaigns of Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers, Cynthia McKinney, and their fellow peacemakers in Congress.
4. If you want clues as to the stealth Neocons's values and motivations, go to www.opensecrets.org and check out their personal financial holdings, their list of campaign donors, and the activities of their own "Leadership PACs" (Political Action Committees). Check to see if stealth Neocons' PACs are funding your own Congresspersons' campaigns--and urge your Congressperson to REJECT such funds.
5. Be aware that if a military draft becomes necessary to carry out the premeditated wars, in World War II maximum "draft age" was not 25 or 29 years, it was 39 years of age. Anyone young enough to be drafted but not medically fit to serve was virtually REQUIRED to abandon their career and find work in the military-industrial sector. Consider how this might impact you and those you care about.
Above all, keep in mind Webster Tarpley's observation in his 2005 book "9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA"; the observation that "NEOCONS PREFER WAR TO PEACE." (For more on Tarpley, visit www.tarpley.net)