Friday, April 07, 2006

The Rise of the Islamist Axis

Jerusalem Post

"While Western defense establishments have had tepid responses to Iran's show of force, the regime built on its provocations Wednesday when the supreme commander of its Revolutionary Guards, Maj.-Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, issued a thinly veiled threat to close the Straits of Hormuz - the narrow waterway through which 40 percent of the world's oil passes.

Iran's recent financial maneuverings also indicate general preparations for global war. The Swiss newspaper Der Bund reported the Iranian regime recently withdrew $31 billion of its gold reserves and foreign exchange from European financial institutions. Additionally, this week Iran renewed its gasoline rationing for the general public."


There is a great deal of action going on in the Middle East which does not get much coverage in the Main Street Press in America. The fact is that Iran is preparing for war, and they could pretty easily block the Straits of Hormuz--and cut off our oil supply. Gasoline would double in price overnight. Gold would eclipse $1000 per ounce. This is not pie in the sky doomsday talk here---all signals point to a major new confrontation with IRAN in the near term, probably within the next 12-24 months.

About the only thing the media did cover over here was that missle test that IRAN conducted that could sense torpedos and then turn around and blow up ships. But the media did not connect the dots. The reason naval resources are so important for IRAN is precisely because they want to interrupt the flow of oil to America and by doing so, create internal economic chaos. That's just one reason why the Straits of Hormuz are so important, and just one reason why Condi Rice is flying back and forth to the Middle East right now---trying to avert further problems.

Read this article for a sobering view of what the Israeli's think is going on (as if these quotes aren't sobering enough).