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These Last Days News - January 7, 2012
"The battle, My child, will accelerate very shortly for there will not only be a great war of weapons of mankind, but it will be known soon throughout the world as a religious war." - Our Lady of the Roses August 21, 1974
Our Lady told President Ronald Reagan to stop the Iranian oil blockade in the late 1980s. Read more...
To see a detailed map of the disputed era, click here.
Face-off in the Gulf as U.S., Israel and Iran All Launch War Games in Show of Force Over Nuclear Plans and Key Oil Route...
Mail Online reported on January 6, 2012:
The U.S. and Israel are planning a massive military exercise in the Persian Gulf in an attempt to face down Iran over its sabre-rattling in the region.
But the Islamic Republic is also preparing war games in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil route which the country has threatened to block off in a move which could seriously restrict energy supplies.
Britain's Defence Secretary yesterday said that the UK would take military action to prevent Iran - which is believed to be developing secret nuclear weapons - from cutting off the strait.
Iran announced last night that an annual naval exercise known as 'The Great Prophet' would take place in the strait next month.
Admiral Ali Fadavi, naval commander of the country's Revolutionary Guards, said the drill would be 'different' to previous years, but did not specify how.
The move could clash with a plan by Israel’s military to gear up with U.S. forces in staging major missile defence exercises in the region.
Iran announced last night that an annual naval exercise known as 'The Great Prophet' would take place in the strait next month.
Admiral Ali Fadavi, naval commander of the country's Revolutionary Guards, said the drill would be 'different' to previous years, but did not specify how.
The move could clash with a plan by Israel’s military to gear up with U.S. forces in staging major missile defence exercises in the region.
The drills, called Austere Challenge 12, are designed to improve defence systems and co-operation between the forces and would be the largest ever held by the two countries.
Thousands of U.S. and Israeli soldiers will take part as they test multiple air defence systems against incoming missiles and rockets.
Israel has deployed the Arrow system, jointly developed and funded with the U.S., which is designed to intercept Iranian missiles in the stratosphere, far from the country.
A statement from the Israeli military said: ‘U.S. European Command routinely works with partner nations to ensure their capacity to provide for their own security and, in the case of Israel, their qualitative military edge.’
Philip Hammond, the UK's Defence Secretary, warned the regime in Tehran that Britain will not tolerate the ‘very significant consequences’ if it fulfils a threat to block the Strait of Hormuz.
He signalled that such action would be blocked by force of arms.
Mr Hammond used a speech in Washington to warn Iran that any move to close the key Gulf trade route would be opposed by the Royal Navy.‘Any attempt by Iran to do this would be illegal and unsuccessful,’ he said in a speech at the Atlantic Council.
When in a television interview, Mr Hammond said he wanted to send a ‘very clear message to Iran’ that the UK would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be closed.
The Royal Navy operates mine clearance vessels in the Gulf as part of a joint taskforce based in Bahrain.
He said: ‘We are an integrated part of the naval taskforce in the Gulf and one of the missions of that taskforce is to ensure that those shipping lanes remain open.
'Any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz would be illegal and we need to send a very clear message to Iran that we are determined that the Strait should remain open.’
More than 15million barrels of oil pass through the narrow stretch of water between Iran and the United Arab Emirates every day.
Iran has threatened to block the 34-mile wide strait in retaliation for a planned EU trade embargo on Iranian oil.
The planned embargo is an attempt to persuade Iran to abandon plans to develop a nuclear weapon.
Mr Hammond said: ‘Very clearly the Strait of Hormuz is one of the great commercial arteries of the world – it must remain open and flowing, or there would be very significant consequences for the economies of the region and indeed of the world.
'We’ve heard these kinds of threats from Iran before, but there should be no miscalculation by the Iranians about the importance that the international community attaches to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.’
Mr Hammond was in Washington for his first meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Leon Panetta.
They held talks at the Pentagon yesterday on Afghanistan, Iran and other military matters.
In his speech, Mr Hammond also pointed to the economic crisis as the most serious threat to national and international security.
He spoke out as President Obama yesterday rolled out a new defence strategy that will shrink the U.S. armed forces, but pledged to maintain the country’s position as the world’s dominant military power. He has already earmarked budget cuts of $489billion (£315billion) over ten years as the pace of spending slows more than a decade after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Mr Hammond said countries would have to work together more to reduce the ‘astronomical’ costs of modern warfare. ‘Without strong economies and stable public finances it is impossible to build and sustain, in the long-term, the military capability required to project power and maintain defence,’ he said.
‘That is why today the debt crisis should be considered the greatest strategic threat to the future security of our nations.’ Last month, the head of the British armed forces said the biggest strategic risk facing the UK was economic rather than military. General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said ‘no country can defend itself if bankrupt’.
US President Barack Obama has signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran's banking and oil sectors. Effectively, the measures will force companies and financial institutions throughout the world to choose between the United States and Iran as their business partner.
The sanctions, conceived to punish Iran for its nuclear program, are part of a $662 billion (511 billion-euro) defense spending bill Obama signed on Saturday, December 31, during his vacation to Hawaii.
Firms and financial institutions, including foreign central banks, could be barred from trading on US financial markets if they continue ties with Iran's central bank or oil industry. Iran's central bank is essential to processing income from Iranian oil exports.
'Toughest sanctions yet'
The Obama administration has called the sanctions America's toughest yet against Tehran. Until now, most sanctions have focused on preventing nuclear industry products from entering Iran.
"Our intent is to implement this law in a timed and phased approach so that we avoid repercussions to the oil market and ensure that this damages Iran and not the rest of the world," said an unnamed senior US official quoted by Reuters news agency.
The measures have sparked fears that Washington could damage ties with Iranian trade partners China and Russia, and that global markets could reel if Iran fires back, sending oil prices sky-high.
However, the measures will not go into effect for 180 days, giving Obama's administration nearly half a year to consider how to implement them. The president will also be granted discretion to give temporary waivers from the sanctions if he judges them to be in US national interest.
Securing oil
The international dispute over Iran's nuclear program - which the West suspects is bent on developing weapons capabilities - currently threatens to impact global oil supply.
Iran announced earlier this week that it would begin testing missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, a move the US warned against. Iran also threatened that, if the US passed new sanctions, it would block the Strait, through which over a third of the world's oil tankers pass.
The US responded to the threats on Friday by announcing a $3.45 billion arms deal with Iran's neighbor across the Strait, the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to build up defenses against Iran. During 2011, the US also sold billions of dollars worth of missiles to neighbors Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the US and European officials were seeking assurances from other major oil producers including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates that they would up their imports to the West and Asia if Tehran's energy sector came under tighter sanctions.
Terrorist suspect policy
Also included in the new law are new provisions for the detainment of terrorism suspects, to which Obama responded with concern.
"The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it," the president said in a statement, suggesting that limits on the US's ability to transfer suspects from the military prison at Guantanamo to the United States or a foreign country for trial were poorly conceived.
"I want to clarify that my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens."
"The executive branch must have the flexibility to act swiftly in conducting negotiations with foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee transfers," he said.
Obama came under political fire in early 2011 for allowing the Guantanamo prison on the island of Cuba to remain open, despite a history of rights violations.EDITOR'S COMMENTS: These sanctions could aggravate Iran into attacking Israel and the United States war ships.
Rense reported on February 4, 2011:
A word to the reader: The following paper is so shocking that, after preparing the initial draft, I didn't want to believe it myself, and resolved to disprove it with more research. However, I only succeeded in turning up more evidence in support of my thesis. And I repeated this cycle of discovery and denial several more times before finally deciding to go with the article. I believe that a serious writer must follow the trail of evidence, no matter where it leads, and report back. So here is my story. Don't be surprised if it causes you to squirm. Its purpose is not to make predictions history makes fools of those who claim to know the future but simply to describe the peril that awaits us in the Persian Gulf. By awakening to the extent of that danger, perhaps we can still find a way to save our nation and the world from disaster. If we are very lucky, we might even create an alternative future that holds some promise of resolving the monumental conflicts of our time. --MG
Last July, they dubbed it operation Summer Pulse: a simultaneous mustering of US Naval forces, world wide, that was unprecedented. According to the Navy, it was the first exercise of its new Fleet Response Plan (FRP), the purpose of which was to enable the Navy to respond quickly to an international crisis. The Navy wanted to show its increased force readiness, that is, its capacity to rapidly move combat power to any global hot spot. Never in the history of the US Navy had so many carrier battle groups been involved in a single operation. Even the US fleet massed in the Gulf and eastern Mediterranean during operation Desert Storm in 1991, and in the recent invasion of Iraq, never exceeded six battle groups. But last July and August there were seven of them on the move, each battle group consisting of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with its full complement of 7-8 supporting ships, and 70 or more assorted aircraft. Most of the activity, according to various reports, was in the Pacific, where the fleet participated in joint exercises with the Taiwanese navy.
But why so much naval power underway at the same time? What potential world crisis could possibly require more battle groups than were deployed during the recent invasion of Iraq? In past years, when the US has seen fit to "show the flag" or flex its naval muscle, one or two carrier groups have sufficed. Why this global show of power? The news headlines about the joint-maneuvers in the South China Sea read: "Saber Rattling Unnerves China", and: "Huge Show of Force Worries Chinese." But the reality was quite different, and, as we shall see, has grave ramifications for the continuing US military presence in the Persian Gulf; because operation Summer Pulse reflected a high-level Pentagon decision that an unprecedented show of strength was needed to counter what is viewed as a growing threat in the particular case of China, because of Peking's newest Sovremenny-class destroyers recently acquired from Russia.
"Nonsense!" you are probably thinking. That's impossible. How could a few picayune destroyers threaten the US Pacific fleet?" Here is where the story thickens: Summer Pulse amounted to a tacit acknowledgement, obvious to anyone paying attention, that the United States has been eclipsed in an important area of military technology, and that this qualitative edge is now being wielded by others, including the Chinese; because those otherwise very ordinary destroyers were, in fact, launching platforms for Russian-made 3M-82 Moskit anti-ship cruise missiles (NATO designation: SS-N-22 Sunburn), a weapon for which the US Navy currently has no defense. Here I am not suggesting that the US status of lone world Superpower has been surpassed. I am simply saying that a new global balance of power is emerging, in which other individual states may, on occasion, achieve "an asymmetric advantage" over the US. And this, in my view, explains the immense scale of Summer Pulse. The US show last summer of overwhelming strength was calculated to send a message.
The Sunburn Missile
I was shocked when I learned the facts about these Russian-made cruise missiles. The problem is that so many of us suffer from two common misperceptions. The first follows from our assumption that Russia is militarily weak, as a result of the breakup of the old Soviet system. Actually, this is accurate, but it does not reflect the complexities. Although the Russian navy continues to rust in port, and the Russian army is in disarray, in certain key areas Russian technology is actually superior to our own. And nowhere is this truer than in the vital area of anti-ship cruise missile technology, where the Russians hold at least a ten-year lead over the US. The second misperception has to do with our complacency in general about missiles-as-weapons probably attributable to the pathetic performance of Saddam Hussein's Scuds during the first Gulf war: a dangerous illusion that I will now attempt to rectify.
Many years ago, Soviet planners gave up trying to match the US Navy ship for ship, gun for gun, and dollar for dollar. The Soviets simply could not compete with the high levels of US spending required to build up and maintain a huge naval armada. They shrewdly adopted an alternative approach based on strategic defense. They searched for weaknesses, and sought relatively inexpensive ways to exploit those weaknesses. The Soviets succeeded: by developing several supersonic anti-ship missiles, one of which, the SS-N-22 Sunburn, has been called "the most lethal missile in the world today."
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the old military establishment fell upon hard times. But in the late1990s Moscow awakened to the under-utilized potential of its missile technology to generate desperately needed foreign exchange. A decision was made to resuscitate selected programs, and, very soon, Russian missile technology became a hot export commodity. Today, Russian missiles are a growth industry generating much-needed cash for Russia, with many billions in combined sales to India, China, Viet Nam, Cuba, and also Iran. In the near future this dissemination of advanced technology is likely to present serious challenges to the US. Some have even warned that the US Navy's largest ships, the massive carriers, have now become floating death traps, and should for this reason be mothballed.
The Sunburn missile has never seen use in combat, to my knowledge, which probably explains why its fearsome capabilities are not more widely recognized. Other cruise missiles have been used, of course, on several occasions, and with devastating results. During the Falklands War, French-made Exocet missiles, fired from Argentine fighters, sunk the HMS Sheffield and another ship. And, in 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Stark was nearly cut in half by a pair of Exocets while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. On that occasion US Aegis radar picked up the incoming Iraqi fighter (a French-made Mirage), and tracked its approach to within 50 miles. The radar also "saw" the Iraqi plane turn about and return to its base. But radar never detected the pilot launch his weapons. The sea-skimming Exocets came smoking in under radar and were only sighted by human eyes moments before they ripped into the Stark, crippling the ship and killing 37 US sailors.
The 1987 surprise attack on the Stark exemplifies the dangers posed by anti-ship cruise missiles. And the dangers are much more serious in the case of the Sunburn, whose specs leave the sub-sonic Exocet in the dust. Not only is the Sunburn much larger and faster, it has far greater range and a superior guidance system. Those who have witnessed its performance trials invariably come away stunned. According to one report, when the Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani visited Moscow in October 2001 he requested a test firing of the Sunburn, which the Russians were only too happy to arrange. So impressed was Ali Shamkhani that he placed an order for an undisclosed number of the missiles.
The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload, or: a 750-pound conventional warhead, within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. The Sunburn combines a Mach 2.1 speed (two times the speed of sound) with a flight pattern that hugs the deck and includes "violent end maneuvers" to elude enemy defenses. The missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system. Should a US Navy Phalanx point defense somehow manage to detect an incoming Sunburn missile, the system has only seconds to calculate a fire solution not enough time to take out the intruding missile. The US Phalanx defense employs a six-barreled gun that fires 3,000 depleted-uranium rounds a minute, but the gun must have precise coordinates to destroy an intruder "just in time."
The Sunburn's combined supersonic speed and payload size produce tremendous kinetic energy on impact, with devastating consequences for ship and crew. A single one of these missiles can sink a large warship, yet costs considerably less than a fighter jet. Although the Navy has been phasing out the older Phalanx defense system, its replacement, known as the Rolling Action Missile (RAM) has never been tested against the weapon it seems destined to one day face in combat. Implications For US Forces in the Gulf
The US Navy's only plausible defense against a robust weapon like the Sunburn missile is to detect the enemy's approach well ahead of time, whether destroyers, subs, or fighter-bombers, and defeat them before they can get in range and launch their deadly cargo. For this purpose US AWACs radar planes assigned to each naval battle group are kept aloft on a rotating schedule. The planes "see" everything within two hundred miles of the fleet, and are complemented with intelligence from orbiting satellites.
But US naval commanders operating in the Persian Gulf face serious challenges that are unique to the littoral, i.e., coastal, environment. A glance at a map shows why: The Gulf is nothing but a large lake, with one narrow outlet, and most of its northern shore, i.e., Iran, consists of mountainous terrain that affords a commanding tactical advantage over ships operating in Gulf waters. The rugged northern shore makes for easy concealment of coastal defenses, such as mobile missile launchers, and also makes their detection problematic. Although it was not widely reported, the US actually lost the battle of the Scuds in the first Gulf War termed "the great Scud hunt" and for similar reasons.
Saddam Hussein's mobile Scud launchers proved so difficult to detect and destroy over and over again the Iraqis fooled allied reconnaissance with decoys that during the course of Desert Storm the US was unable to confirm even a single kill. This proved such an embarrassment to the Pentagon, afterwards, that the unpleasant stats were buried in official reports. But the blunt fact is that the US failed to stop the Scud attacks. The launches continued until the last few days of the conflict. Luckily, the Scud's inaccuracy made it an almost useless weapon. At one point General Norman Schwarzkopf quipped dismissively to the press that his soldiers had a greater chance of being struck by lightning in Georgia than by a Scud in Kuwait.
But that was then, and it would be a grave error to allow the Scud's ineffectiveness to blur the facts concerning this other missile. The Sunburn's amazing accuracy was demonstrated not long ago in a live test staged at sea by the Chinese and observed by US spy planes. Not only did the Sunburn missile destroy the dummy target ship, it scored a perfect bull's eye, hitting the crosshairs of a large "X" mounted on the ship's bridge. The only word that does it justice, awesome, has become a cliché, hackneyed from hyperbolic excess.
The US Navy has never faced anything in combat as formidable as the Sunburn missile. But this will surely change if the US and Israel decide to wage a so-called preventive war against Iran to destroy its nuclear infrastructure. Storm clouds have been darkening over the Gulf for many months. In recent years Israel upgraded its air force with a new fleet of long-range F-15 fighter-bombers, and even more recently took delivery of 5,000 bunker-buster bombs from the US weapons that many observers think are intended for use against Iran.
Never mind that such a determination is not Israel's to make, and belongs instead to the international community, as codified in the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). With regard to Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) recent report (September 2004) is well worth a look, as it repudiates facile claims by the US and Israel that Iran is building bombs. While the report is highly critical of Tehran for its ambiguities and its grudging release of documents, it affirms that IAEA inspectors have been admitted to every nuclear site in the country to which they have sought access, without exception. Last year Iran signed the strengthened IAEA inspection protocol, which until then had been voluntary. And the IAEA has found no hard evidence, to date, either that bombs exist or that Iran has made a decision to build them.
In a talk on October 3, 2004, IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei made the clearest statement yet: "Iran has no nuclear weapons program", he said, and then repeated himself for emphasis: "Iran has no nuclear weapons program, but I personally don't rush to conclusions before all the realities are clarified. So far I see nothing that could be called an imminent danger. I have seen no nuclear weapons program in Iran. What I have seen is that Iran is trying to gain access to nuclear enrichment technology, and so far there is no danger from Iran. Therefore, we should make use of political and diplomatic means before thinking of resorting to other alternatives."
No one disputes that Tehran is pursuing a dangerous path, but with 200 or more Israeli nukes targeted upon them the Iranians' insistence on keeping their options open is understandable. Clearly, the nuclear nonproliferation regime today hangs by the slenderest of threads. The world has arrived at a fateful crossroads.
A Fearful Symmetry?
If a showdown over Iran develops in the coming months, the man who could hold the outcome in his hands will be thrust upon the world stage. That man, like him or hate him, is Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been castigated severely in recent months for gathering too much political power to himself. But according to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who was interviewed on US television recently by David Brokaw, Putin has not imposed a tyranny upon Russia yet. Gorbachev thinks the jury is still out on Putin.
Perhaps, with this in mind, we should be asking whether Vladimir Putin is a serious student of history. If he is, then he surely recognizes that the deepening crisis in the Persian Gulf presents not only manifold dangers, but also opportunities. Be assured that the Russian leader has not forgotten the humiliating defeat Ronald Reagan inflicted upon the old Soviet state. (Have we Americans forgotten?) By the mid-1980s the Soviets were in Kabul, and had all but defeated the Mujahedeen. The Soviet Union appeared secure in its military occupation of Afghanistan. But then, in 1986, the first US Stinger missiles reached the hands of the Afghani resistance; and, quite suddenly, Soviet helicopter gunships and MiGs began dropping out of the skies like flaming stones. The tide swiftly turned, and by 1989 it was all over but the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth in the Kremlin. Defeated, the Soviets slunk back across the frontier. The whole world cheered the American Stingers, which had carried the day.
This very night, as he sips his cognac, what is Vladimir Putin thinking? Is he perhaps thinking about the perverse symmetries of history? If so, he may also be wondering (and discussing with his closest aides) how a truly great nation like the United States could be so blind and so stupid as to allow another state, i.e., Israel, to control its foreign policy, especially in a region as vital (and volatile) as the Mid-East.
One can almost hear the Russians' animated conversation:
"The Americans! What is the matter with them?" "They simply cannot help themselves."
"What idiots!"
"A nation as foolish as this deserves to be taught a lesson"
"Yes! For their own good."
"It must be a painful lesson, one they will never forget. "Are we agreed, then, comrades?"
"Let us teach our American friends a lesson about the limits of military power..."
Does anyone really believe that Vladimir Putin will hesitate to seize a most rare opportunity to change the course of history and, in the bargain, take his sweet revenge? Surely Putin understands the terrible dimensions of the trap into which the US has blundered, thanks to the Israelis and their neo-con supporters in Washington who lobbied so vociferously for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, against all friendly and expert advice, and who even now beat the drums of war against Iran. Would Putin be wrong to conclude that the US will never leave the region unless it is first defeated militarily? Should we blame him for deciding that Iran is "one bridge too far"?
If the US and Israel overreach, and the Iranians close the net with Russian anti-ship missiles, it will be a fearful symmetry, indeed.
Springing the Trap
At the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, the great Carthaginian general, Hannibal, tempted a much larger Roman army into a fateful advance, and then enveloped and annihilated it with a smaller force. Out of a Roman army of 70,000 men, no more than a few thousand escaped. It was said that after many hours of dispatching the Romans, Hannibal's soldiers grew so tired that the fight went out of them. In their weariness they granted the last broken and bedraggled Romans their lives.
Let us pray that the US sailors who are unlucky enough to be on duty in the Persian Gulf when the shooting starts can escape the fate of the Roman army at Cannae. The odds will be heavily against them, however, because they will face the same type of danger, tantamount to envelopment. The US ships in the Gulf will already have come within range of the Sunburn missiles and the even more-advanced SS-NX-26 Yakhonts missiles, also Russian-made (speed: Mach 2.9; range: 180 miles) deployed by the Iranians along the Gulf's northern shore. Every US ship will be exposed and vulnerable. When the Iranians spring the trap, the entire lake will become a killing field.
Anti-ship cruise missiles are not new, as I've mentioned. Nor have they yet determined the outcome in a conflict. But this is probably only because these horrible weapons have never been deployed in sufficient numbers. At the time of the Falklands war the Argentine air force possessed only five Exocets, yet managed to sink two ships. With enough of them, the Argentineans might have sunk the entire British fleet, and won the war. Although we've never seen a massed attack of cruise missiles, this is exactly what the US Navy could face in the next war in the Gulf.
Try and imagine it if you can: barrage after barrage of Exocet-class missiles, which the Iranians are known to possess in the hundreds, as well as the unstoppable Sunburn and Yakhonts missiles. The questions that our purblind government leaders should be asking themselves, today, if they value what historians will one day write about them, are two: how many of the Russian anti-ship missiles has Putin already supplied to Iran? And: How many more are currently in the pipeline?
In 2001, Jane's Defense Weekly reported that Iran was attempting to acquire anti-ship missiles from Russia. Ominously, the same report also mentioned that the more advanced Yakhonts missile was "optimized for attacks against carrier task forces." Apparently its guidance system is "able to distinguish an aircraft carrier from its escorts." The numbers were not disclosed.
The US Navy will come under fire even if the US does not participate in the first so-called surgical raids on Iran's nuclear sites, that is, even if Israel goes it alone. Israel's brand-new fleet of 25 F-15s (paid for by American taxpayers) has sufficient range to target Iran, but the Israelis cannot mount an attack without crossing US-occupied Iraqi air space. It will hardly matter if Washington gives the green light, or is dragged into the conflict by a recalcitrant Israel. Either way, the result will be the same. The Iranians will interpret US acquiescence as complicity, and, in any event, they will understand that the real fight is with the Americans. The Iranians will be entirely within their rights to counter-attack in self-defense. Most of the world will see it this way, and will support them, not America. The US and Israel will be viewed as the aggressors, even as the unfortunate US sailors in harm's way become cannon fodder. In the Gulf's shallow and confined waters evasive maneuvers will be difficult, at best, and escape impossible. Even if US planes control of the skies over the battlefield, the sailors caught in the net below will be hard-pressed to survive. The Gulf will run red with American blood.
From here, it only gets worse. Armed with their Russian-supplied cruise missiles, the Iranians will close the lake's only outlet, the strategic Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the trapped and dying Americans from help and rescue. The US fleet massing in the Indian Ocean will stand by helplessly, unable to enter the Gulf to assist the survivors or bring logistical support to the other US forces on duty in Iraq. Couple this with a major new ground offensive by the Iraqi insurgents, and, quite suddenly, the tables could turn against the Americans in Baghdad. As supplies and ammunition begin to run out, the status of US forces in the region will become precarious. The occupiers will become the besieged.
With enough anti-ship missiles, the Iranians can halt tanker traffic through Hormuz for weeks, even months. With the flow of oil from the Gulf curtailed, the price of a barrel of crude will skyrocket on the world market. Within days the global economy will begin to grind to a halt. Tempers at an emergency round-the-clock session of the UN Security Council will flare and likely explode into shouting and recriminations as French, German, Chinese and even British ambassadors angrily accuse the US of allowing Israel to threaten world order. But, as always, because of the US veto the world body will be powerless to act... America will stand alone, completely isolated.
Yet, despite the increasingly hostile international mood, elements of the US media will spin the crisis very differently here at home, in a way that is sympathetic to Israel. Members of Congress will rise to speak in the House and Senate, and rally to Israel's defense, while blaming the victim of the attack, Iran. Fundamentalist Christian talk show hosts will proclaim the historic fulfillment of biblical prophecy in our time, and will call upon the Jews of Israel to accept Jesus into their hearts; meanwhile, urging the president to nuke the evil empire of Islam. From across America will be heard histrionic cries for fresh reinforcements, even a military draft. Patriots will demand victory at any cost. Pundits will scream for an escalation of the conflict.
A war that ostensibly began as an attempt to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons will teeter on the brink of their use.
The Christian Science Monitor reported on January 3, 2012:
The bellicose rhetoric from Iran keeps getting well, more bellicose, as new US sanctions targeting the country's central bank touched off panic in the Islamic Republic's currency market.
The simmering dispute over Iran's nuclear program has threatened to boil over in recent weeks, with Iran directing its threats at the freedom of the seas off its coast, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane for much of the oil produced in the Persian Gulf.
The latest came from Army boss Ataollah Salehi. He issued a fairly direct threat today to the US Navy, which has readied itself to patrol the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian officials began declaring they have the power to close the strait. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," he said.
Iran said it recently spotted a US aircraft carrier in the Strait. While Iran didn't name the vessel, and the US has not disclosed whether it was there, the USS John C. Stennis of the 5th Fleet was recently in the Gulf, a short steam from Strait of Hormuz.
The freedom of the high seas for both shipping and the US Navy is about as sacrosanct a directive as there is for US admirals, and the chest-thumping from Iran is almost certain to draw a response. The 5th Fleet, based out of Bahrain, exists to keep the oil lanes through the Strait open and oil pumping to the world's economies. Being told they can't go somewhere is an invitation for the naval equivalent of "oh, yeah?"
It's worth remembering that US ships repeatedly crossed Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi's so-called "Line of Death" after he declared international waters off the Gulf of Sirte as his own in the 1970s.
While Iran is no match for America's conventional military ability, something Iranian war planners should be well aware of, the increasingly strident threats and counter-responses are increasing the chances of fighting in the area. After Qaddafi's forces reacted hostilely to the US Navy presence in the Gulf of Sirte in 1986, a brief engagement ended with two Libyan ships sunk. In 1987 the USS Stark, on a mission to protect oil tankers during the so-called "Tanker War" between Iraq and Iran, was hit by Iraqi missiles, with 37 crewmen killed. Saddam Hussein's Iraq insisted that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.
In 1988 the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz, killing the nearly 300 passengers on board. The US said it had mistaken the plane for an fighter jet.
All of this should be a reminder that tension and posturing can lead to casualties. And those casualties could lead to broader conflict. Iran is clearly worried about the increasing bite of economic sanctions and is seeking to remind the US and other potential antagonists that the cost of confrontation will not be born by Iran alone. The tough talk today saw benchmark brent crude jump 3 percent to more than $111 a barrel in early trading.
Iran's riyal tumbled as much as 12 percent against the dollar yesterday on speculation that legislation recently signed by President Obama threatening to sanction businesses and governments that do business with Iran's central bank will cut the country off from world commerce. Though AFP reports that the riyal made back most of its loses today, others in Tehran reported long lines at some local banks and merchants seeking to move cash abroad. The currency remains down about 30 percent in the past month.
The economic vulnerability of Iran, combined with the regime's continued insistence that it won't abandon its nuclear program (which it says is for peaceful purposes only), is likely to continue to drive threats like the one made today. While we're a long way from open war, rumors of war and threats of war have a way of leading to the real thing.
"My child, look and weep with
Me, for you are witnessing the total destruction that will come upon mankind in
the great War, your Third World War. So many will die, My child, that there will
not be time to mark the graves.
"Mothers shall long to see and know where their sons lie, but to no avail. This
comfort shall not be given to them, so great will be the loss of life."
- Our Lady, March 29, 1975
Let
Us All Pray the Rosary Together Around the World for Peace in the Middle East.. Click
here...
EDITOR'S COMMENT: Evil is accelerating and the Anti-Christ forces are gaining power in the world. When the persecution starts, all Christian web sites on the internet will be forced to close. Be sure to have in your possession all the following items: the Bayside Prophecy books, Bayside Medals, Douay-Rheims Bibles, the Protection Packets, Candles, Sacramentals, and Religious Books. Purchase these items now while they are still available! You will urgently need them in the days ahead. Also, you can print out all PDF files for the Directives from Heaven and all of the Bayside Prophecies. Copy Our Lady's messages and the Directives from Heaven now while they are still available! Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance on how to prepare now and for the days ahead when the Antichrist is revealed. Viva Cristo Rey!
The awesome
Bayside Prophecies...
https://www.tldm.org/Bayside/
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica
Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:
ARABS
Veronica - Now Michael is turning back, and he's pointing over to the left side of the flagpole, beyond the left side. And I see . . . oh, I see a terrible, terrible fighting, a war. I don't believe it's in the United States, because these people look like they're Egyptians, and Arabs, and dark-skinned people. And now, though, as the—I hear the great roar of bombs.
I'm looking up, and the sky's becoming very lighted. And I am seeing thousands and thousands of people marching. But they look like Chinese, or Mongolian. No, they're—I believe they're Chinese; they're Asiatic. They're marching across the land, and they're boarding some kind of transport. They're going onto the water. Oh, it's a great War. Oh! Oh!
Now Michael is coming over to the left side of the flagpole, and he's looking down.
St. Michael - "My child, we have asked you to send the word to mankind that they will read in the Book of life, the Bible, the words given to them that will fulfill the prophecy of the latter days, Apocalypse. You are living the days of the Revelations. Read them and be knowledgeable, and you will not be caught without the light." - July 8, 1974COALITION
Veronica - Our Lady is pointing over now to the right side of the flagpole. The sky is lighting up. And I am looking into a mapped area that looks like—yes, it is Africa. And I can see.....I'm looking over from the African part of the map, and I can see the other countries of Egypt and Israel and, Oh! Now Our Lady is saying:
Our Lady - "A coalition, My child, of the dark races. The world is fast heading to the culmination of the Armageddon." - March 18, 1975MIDEAST
"Wars are a punishment for man's sins. Already your sons are being sent to be there with the invasion in the Mideast. Is this what you want, My children? Can you not give your prayers and acts of reparation for those who have no one to pray for them? They are all Our sheep and We wish that they would be gathered into a holy land. The word 'holy' strikes a chord of misery, My child; I have no way to explain but to tell you, misery." - Our Lady, May 25, 1983WAR IN THE MIDEAST
Veronica - There is a great war ahead. It will coincide with the war in the Mideast. - February 17, 1974A TERRIBLE WAR
Veronica - Oh, Our Lady's showing me a large globe. I can see the United States and Canada. And I can see South America. And also now Our Lady's pointing over to the left side of this globe, and there's Asia, Egypt, Africa. And then—oh, there is a terrible war. Many, many people are dying. Many, many people will die, Our Lady said, many souls unprepared to come to the Kingdom. - February 10, 1973THE GREAT WAR
Our Lady - "Your Vicar, My child, will be set upon by the forces known as antichrist. These forces will unite in the promotion of the great War, a war that mankind has never seen before, a war so violent, so destructive that no human flesh would be left if My Son does not intervene."
Veronica - Oh, I—Our Lady is pointing over to the left side, by Her right side. And I see... it's... looks like a desert. It's a land I never saw before. It's very hilly, but it looks very dry. The dirt has a very yellowish, dried, caked look. I think it's a desert. And I see many, many people. They look, they're dark-skinned, and they're all holding rifles. And now they're pushing also some type of machines in place. They look like they're getting ready for a, a battle. Oh!
Now Our Lady is pointing over beyond them. And I see more people, hundreds and hundreds of people. They're dressed in uniforms. They're like, they look like brownish-green uniforms. I can't tell... they seem like men and women—yes, they're men and women, but they're all dressed alike, in pants. And they're marching. And they're carrying a flag; it's a white flag with a red circle on it. A white flag with a red circle. And they're marching now, and they're carrying guns, long rifles. Oh, and they are also like preparing for war. - December 24, 1974
Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm
D57 - The Great WW III Chastisement (Part 1)
D58 - The Great WW III Chastisement (Part 2)
D59 - The Great WW III Chastisement (Part 3)
D103 - Communism
D104 - Invasion
D136 - Visions of the Great War: The Mideast
D156 - Terrorism
D158 - America the Beautiful
Articles...
The Rosary defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto
https://www.tldm.org/News6/lepanto.htm
Click here to email this page to a friend.
There are 4 Things You Must Have to Survive the End Times:
1.) The Douay-Rheims Holy Bible...
"I ask that all who hear My voice will take their Bibles, and if they do not have one, search, but find the right Bible, those printed not after 1965, My children." - Jesus, October 5, 1985
"You must all obtain a copy of the Book of life and love, the Bible. Do not accept the new mods. Try to find in your bookstores the old Bibles, My children, for many are being changed to suit the carnal nature of man. I repeat, sin has become a way of life." - Our Lady, October 6, 1992
"I must ask you all to read but a few short chapters a day now, the Book of life and love, your Bible. Knowledge must be gained for all the disciples of My Son, for you will be attacked by scientific minds. But do not be concerned what you will say to them when accosted, for the words will be given to you by the Spirit." - Our Lady, April 10, 1976
The Douay-Rheims Bible was published in 1899. It is the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. Almost all other Bibles have been rewritten by Satan. See: https://www.tldm.org/directives/d33.htm , https://www.tldm.org/directives/d415.htm and https://www.tldm.org/directives/d182.htm If you don't have a Douay-Rheims Bible order it now! (Order Form) Yours and your loved ones salvation could depend on it.
Read the Bible cover to cover. If you read 4 chapters a day, you will complete the whole Bible in 334 days. I have read the Bible 2 times and working on the third time. A 75 year old Baptism gentleman told me that he and his wife have read the Bible nine times. Wow!
2.) The Complete Virgin Mary’s Bayside Prophesies in 6 Paperback Books..
The Virgin Mary brings directions from God, the Father in Heaven on how to survive the end times. God, the Father, through the Virgin Mary, tells what is coming, how to prepare for it, how to survive it, and how to even stop it. These six volumes along with the Bible are most important to save yourself and your loved ones. Order it now. Tomorrow may be to late. These 6 pocket size paperback books costs $33.00. (Order Form)
3.) Heaven's Home Protection Packet...
Heaven’s Home Protection Packet...
Our Lord stated we must have crucifixes upon the outside of all of our outside doors. In the "Heaven’s Home Protection Packet" there are instructions, four crucifixes, a tube of special cement for wooden or metal crucifixes. Wooden crucifixes adhere better to the doors when the aluminum strap is removed from the back. Put a light coat of cement on the back of the crucifix and then press it to the outside of the door. If you have any problems, you can call us at 616-698-6448 for assistance. This Heaven’s Home Protection Packet is available for a donation of $10.00 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. Send $14.00 to TLD Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Lowell, MI 49331. Item # P15 (Order Form)Crucifix on front and back door... The only real protection against terrorists...
Jesus - "Pray and wear your sacramentals. And, also, My children, I ask you again to place a crucifix upon your door. Both front and back doors must have a crucifix. I say this to you because there will be carnage within your areas, and this will pass you by if you keep your crucifix upon your doors." (6-30-84) (Testimonies of lives and homes saved by the crucifixes.) https://www.tldm.org/news/crucifix.htm (Order Form)
4.) Heaven's Personal Protection Packet...
Heaven’s Personal Protection Packet . . .
Our Lady tells us to be protected from all evil, we must wear the following sacramentals around our necks: a Rosary, a crucifix, the St. Benedict medal, Our Lady of the Roses medal, the Miraculous Medal, and the scapular. We have all of these sacramentals in a packet we call "Heaven's Personal Protection Packet." This packet is available for a donation of $7.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Send $10.00 to TLD Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Lowell, MI 49331. Item # P5 (Order Form)Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mothers promises to help protect our children. On September 13, 1977, She said, "He has an army of ogres wandering now throughout your country and all of the countries of the world. They are in possession of great power; so wear your sacramentals, and protect your children and your households. Learn the use every day of holy water throughout your household. Insist even with obstructions, insist that your children always wear a sacramental. One day they will understand that they will repel the demons."
On February 1, 1974, Our Lady said, "My children, know the value of these sacramentals. Guard your children well. You must awaken to the knowledge that you will not be protected without the sacramentals. Guard your children's souls. They must be surrounded with an aura of purity. Remove them if necessary from the sources of contamination, be it your schools or even false pastors."
This Heaven’s Personal Protection Packet is available for a donation of $7.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Send $10.00 to TLD Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Lowell, MI 49331. You may use your MasterCard, VISA, or American Express and call 1-616-698-6448. Item # P5 (Order Form)
Incredible Bayside Prophecies on the United States and Canada book . . .
We have researched the Bayside Prophecies on the United States and Canada and put these outstanding prophecies in a 360 page pocket size paperback book. Veronica said it was very good. It tells what is going to happen here and how to prepare for it. Every North American must read this book! Item #B2 Cost $5.00 (Order Form)
My gift to help spread Our Lady of the Roses' messages to the world.
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Revised: June 17, 2020
