The build up...

Here's yet another compilation of readings about the escalating crisis in the Middle East with some associated commentary for you. What I'm now doing is making each one of these more tightly focused on a particular aspect of the situation. This sort of started with the previous one which featured readings on the geopolitical machinations behind the conflict.

This compilation takes a look at the military build up of US, UK and other forces in the Mediterranean. These readings are all from mainstream sources, so inevitably, they have their biases, particularly the one from the US government!

I make no apology for doing this because, while many people are allowing themselves to be distracted by the culture wars surrounding the pro-Palestinian protest due to take place in London this Saturday on Armistice Day, there's some heavy duty Western military shite building up. It's almost like some actors want our attention focused on the culture wars surrounding the pro-Palestinian protests instead of the growing threat of a wider war.

As we've mentioned previously, we don't dance to other people's agendas so, we're sticking to looking at the geopolitical clusterf**k and the Western military build up:

Useful readings on the conflict in the Middle East | 3 | 4.11.23

I make no apology for featuring two more readings looking not just at the geo-politics, but also at the possibility that things could spin out of control as we head towards a World War 3 situation. I refuse to get distracted by the culture war that's being sparked off at the moment.

While the culture war rages on, generating enough hot air to heat every home in the UK this coming winter, there's a worrying military build to a regional - and possibly wider than that - war taking place. Here are just three of the many reports that are circulating about this build up:

US nuclear sub offers show of force in the Middle East - Aljazeera | 6.11.23

The US Navy has dispatched a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East.

The posting was revealed by the military in an announcement late on Sunday. The unusual revelation regarding the location of the ship, which can launch nuclear missiles, suggests a show of force intended to try to contain regional tensions amid the Israel-Hamas war.

By the numbers: The US military buildup in the Middle East - CNN | 3.11.23

The US has significantly strengthened its military posture in the Middle East amid concerns about the war between Israel and Hamas triggering a wider regional conflict.

It has moved roughly 1,200 US service members to the region, alongside thousands of others aboard Navy carrier strike groups and a Marine Expeditionary Unit roughly 2,000 people strong.

The move of significant firepower to the region aims to send a clear deterrence message to US adversaries. There have been frequent low-level attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed groups, but the US is aiming to make it crystal clear that wider attacks would provoke a major response.

U.S. Sixth Fleet Conducts Bilateral, Dual-Carrier Operations in Eastern Mediterranean Sea - U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa / U.S. Sixth Fleet | 3.11.23

The ships and aircraft of two U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups conducted joint exercises over the last three days.

Sailors and naval aviators from the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 12) and those of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 2) trained on high-value unit defense, ballistic missile defense, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations, and maritime security operations.

They were joined by USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) - the U.S. Sixth Fleet Command and Control ship - and the Italian Navy frigates ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591) and ITS Carlo Margottini (F 592).

That's quite an impressive build up there. One that is costing the American taxpayer a lot of dollars. So, while an obscene amount of money is being chucked at an always insatiable military machine, US cities are crumbling away and the number of homeless people on their streets is climbing inexorably. That's before any further escalation in the US military presence in the world's 'hot spots'. The US and the UK governments will yet again be turning round to their citizens, telling them there's another war and that it will be their taxes plus a stonking amount of 'borrowing', a.k.a. money creation, that will be funding it. Borrowing that will be paid for by us with decades of austerity.

Despite their rhetoric, our political leaders all too often treat combat veterans with contempt. Coming back wounded and scarred for life from combat, all too often they have to rely on charity to survive. It's almost like our so called leaders don't want to face the consequences of getting embroiled in war after war.

When you have generations of political leaders who have no direct experience of military conduct and the horrors of war, the potential for things to spin out of control is worryingly high. When mainstream commentators and journalists talk about the possibility of miscalculation and misunderstanding leading to the situation spiralling into chaos, we really do have cause to worry:

Will the Israeli-Hamas conflict spark a wider regional war, pulling in the U.S.? - NBC News | 2.11.23

Reminiscent of the events that led up to World War I, there is a growing risk that one actor’s attempt at deterring an enemy could be interpreted as an act of aggression, analysts said, or that one stray rocket causing mass casualties could set the region ablaze.

“The danger is not that Iran is going to declare war, but some field commander is going to do something stupid and we’ll be a spiral within a day,” said Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank who served as a senior State Department official overseeing Middle East policy during the George W. Bush administration.

As an aside, while the Israelis are bombing Gaza into oblivion, massacring citizens in their thousands, at least some of the Hamas leadership are sitting in their mansions in Qatar. A country that's also home to a massive US base. It doesn't really add up does it?

To conclude, this compilation is only just scratching the surface. As the situation, develops, there will be more looking at the military build up and the geopolitical clusterf**k. Hopefully, I can get through the weekend without having to deal with the culture wars surrounding the pro-Palestinian protests scheduled for this coming Saturday...