WW3 updates
US Moves Previously Banned Missiles Closer to China and Russia - Global Research
Back in November last year, the US military was in the process of deploying new medium-range missile systems to the increasingly contested Asia-Pacific region.
At the time, General Charles A. Flynn, a four-star commanding officer of the US Army Pacific (USARPAC), stated that the deployment was officially slated for 2024 and that their purpose was to "deter China from invading Taiwan".
More importantly, Flynn revealed that the US Army would deploy a missile launcher that will be able to fire the land-based version of the medium-range "Tomahawk" missile. Still, he refused to disclose where exactly the systems would be deployed, leaving many analysts to speculate about the possible location. There was even speculation that such missiles would be stationed directly in Taiwan. However, it seems that the United States chose not to go that far (at least not yet), although the latest deployment isn't much better in terms of strategic impact on China's security.
Namely, the system in question, officially named "Typhon", has been sent to the Philippines.
This article originally published on November 11, 2023 was revised on January 14th, 2024 with a focus on the dangers of escalation and the role of "False Flags".
In recent developments, in response to Israel's bombing of Iran's Consulate in Damascus, according to media reports:
Iran has launched more than 300 cruise and ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, IDF officials said, a retaliatory attack weeks after an Israeli strike on the Iranian consular building in Syria killed two of Tehran's top commanders.
"There were explosions visible in the air over Jerusalem as air sirens rang throughout the country."
"Iran said that after tonight's attack, the "matter can be deemed concluded" unless there is more violence."
The fundamental question is whether this retaliatory attack will lead to escalation, including an Israeli counter-attack on Iran.
INTERVIEW: Scott Ritter - Iran vs Israel: What's Next? - 21st Century Wire
TNT Radio host Patrick Henningsen speaks with international relations and military analyst and author Scott Ritter, about his latest piece the "The Missiles of April", and the historic events of the past week which saw the Islamic Republic of Iran launch a massive salvo of drones and missiles against Israel - a move which will ultimately reset the power parameters in the Middle East, and globally. Will Israel retaliate against Iran in the coming days, and if so, what real options do they have? How will this series of events affect the U.S. and the distribution of power in the Middle East? All this and more.
U.S. Pleads With Iran Allow a 'Symbolic Strike' By Israel - But Iran Refuses - 21st Century Wire
An Iranian military security official has revealed exclusively to The Cradle that the US contacted the Islamic Republic, asking the nation to allow Israel "a symbolic strike to save face" following Iran's retaliatory drone and missile barrage this weekend.
Selected Articles: Checkmate: Iran Defeats the US-Israeli Missile Defense Architecture. Scott Ritter - Global ResearchBy defeating the US-Israeli missile defense shield, Iran exposed the notion of US missile defense supremacy that serves as the heart of US force protection models used when projecting military power on a global scale.
It might be wrong to assume China has "peaked". Nicholas R. Lardy, a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, writing for Foreign Affairs, argues it is still rising and should not be underestimated as a superpower. Parts of the American establishment, however, still cannot conceive of pacific coexistence/competition with Beijing. Matt Pottinger (former Deputy National Security Adviser) and Mike Gallagher (former chair of the "House Select Committee on the CCP") amazingly call for regime change in China, and argue that Washington should ensure the whole of Asia is under US military primacy.
Pottinger and Gallagher in fact wrote that "the United States shouldn't manage the competition with China; it should win it". They call for "greater friction" in Chinese-US relations, by adopting "rhetoric and policies that feel uncomfortably confrontational."