More Rumors of War

Both rumors of war and preparations for war are seen in the news today, as the stories we have been following all take a step forward - towards war.

First, we see the threat from Israel's north:

"Embattled Assad May Start Conflict With Israel"

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Shaul Mofaz warned Monday that the duress which Syrian President Bashar Assad finds himself under could soon lead to an armed conflict between Syria and Israel.

"The closer the Assad regime in Syria gets to death's door, the bigger the threat against Israel becomes," the Kadima Mk stated in an interview with Army Radio.

"It can be reasonably assumed that in the twilight of his rule, Assad will try to deflect attention from the massacre of his own people by starting a conflict with Israel," Mofaz added.

Mofaz's comments came after the Syrian army tested cutting-edge missiles over the weekend.

Will Assad's Swan Song Be War On Israel

Syria is showing its muscle Monday with war games, and Israeli Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), a former IDF Chief of Staff, said that the closer Syrian President Bashar Assad comes to his demise, the greater the threat to Israel.

“There is a reasonable possibility that in the twilight window of his regime, Assad will try to turn attention from the massacre of his citizens toward a confrontation with Israel." he warned.

Syria has surface-to-surface Scud missiles that can easily reach Israel, and an attack on Israel would most certainly be joined by Hizbullah, which along with pro-Syrian factions effectively dominates Lebanon.

Assad’s military fired missiles in a ground-air military exercise this past weekend that official Syria media was “similar to a real battle.” The government added that the war games show “the capabilities and the readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression” and that the army is "ready to defend the nation and deter anyone who dares to endanger its security.”

And here we see the threat from the south:

Terror Alert In South: Hikers Told To Leave

Intelligence officials have raised a major terror alert in southern Israel and warned all hikers to leave the area immediately.

All school tours in the area have been abruptly halted, and schoolchildren were bused outside of the south.

Speculation was raised that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was referring to a possible terror alert when he said during a memorial service in the Central Negev for Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, “We have suffered several terrorist attacks the past several months, and since then there have been more attempts to attack.”

The IDF has raised its alert level in the area since the recent election campaign in Egypt because of fears that terrorists will try to exploit anti-Israel sentiment in the country and attack Israelis.

School Trips Near Eilat Canceled Amid Terror Threat

The Education Ministry has forbidden schools and youth movements from taking trips south of the Netafim Crossing, which is on the Israeli-Egypt border, amid warnings of a terror threat emanating from Sinai.

IDF fears are that following the elections in Egypt – and the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist victories – terrorist groups will try to launch another attack along the border with the objective of killing and possibly kidnapping Israelis, and also as part of a general effort to derail diplomatic ties between the countries.

And of course, "Rumors of War" wouldn't be complete without the ever-present threat from Iran:

U.S.: Iran Situation Urgent, Timeline For Nukes Getting Shorter

A senior US State Department official said Monday that "strong steps" need to be taken against Iran's nuclear program urgently. The statement is arguably the toughest yet made by the Obama administration on the subject.

"The situation in Iran has become more and more worrisome," Reuters quoted Einhorn as saying. "The timeline for its nuclear program is beginning to get shorter, so it is important we take these strong steps on an urgent basis.

"If we do not, pressures will grow for much stronger actions. The US favors a diplomatic solution, but if we cannot achieve a diplomatic solution soon, inevitably interests will grow in a different kind of solution. That is why we need to act soon.

Iran Will Retaliate "Outside Its Borders" For U.S. Drone, May Also Block Hormuz

Tehran quickly latched onto US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's warning Friday, Dec. 2 that an Israeli strike at Iran's nuclear facilities would cause unpredictable results.

Sunday, Iran issued two threats: to hit back beyond its borders for a US reconnaissance drone which its military claimed to have shot down near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan and that an oil embargo on its exports would boost the price of oil to $250 a barrel.

This was another way of threatening a tit for tat in the form of a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil channel in the world, and the transit of Saudi and Gulf oil. This was a reference to another of the US defense secretary's warning Friday that: "…any disruption of the free flow of commerce through the Persian Gulf is a very grave threat to all of us" and a red line for the US."

The foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast in Tehran said Sunday that as soon as the United State and the West propose imposing an embargo on Iranian oil exports, "the price of oil will soar above $250 a barrel. Therefore, any attempt to strangle the Iranian economy by choking off its oil exports will be met by retaliation in kind, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz to Saudi and Gulf oil.

Secret War Against Iran's Nuclear Threat Is Build-Up To Allies Blitz

“The countdown to Iran having ­credible nuclear weapons is very real and Israel is growing impatient.”

Almost hourly briefings are taking place between America’s most senior war ­planners in a bomb-proof bunker at US Central Command, called CentCom, in Tampa, Florida.

CentCom also has an office at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in the Gulf, where staff help with the ­planning of an attack.

A new generation of super accurate missiles could be used to destroy bunkers up to 200ft underground. The US’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator, dubbed the Big Blu, was designed for targets in Iran.

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers will deploy the six-metre GPS-guided rocket, fitted with 2.5 tons of explosives.

The preparations have started:

AFTER months in the shadows the undercover war on Iran’s nuclear menace has exploded into action.

Sleeper agents in Tehran received coded signals and moved on their targets.

Their weapons were bombs made from household substances.

The result was more than a dozen fire-bomb attacks on the homes and offices of some of Iran’s leading nuclear scientists.

The message was clear. Agents working for Israel’s Mossad were telling Tehran: “Stop the nuclear weapons programme. We know where your key people are.”

The attacks would have been carried out not by Israelis but Iranian ­dissidents, ­probably trained by Mossad. Today the Mirror ­spotlights the secret war against Iran that has been going on for months.

Unfortunately, the U.S. isn't immune to the world-wide problems we are following:

Iron Curtain Begins Descending Onto The United Stated Of America

As Barack Hussein Obama’s real (internal) poll numbers continue to plummet into oblivion, Obama and his increasingly complicit Congress secretly pass laws that will enslave, incarcerate and even murder their fellow Americans–for the explicit purpose of those who are currently in power remaining in power. It is now becoming clearer and clearer that both the Marxist-Democrats and their RINO brothers and sisters may not allow the 2012 elections to occur.

The latest anti-liberty and unconstitutional atrocities include but, are not limited to, some of the following items:

There are three main areas of concern:

1. DHS still lists Christians, anti-abortionists, homeschoolers, libertarians, conservatives, and military rank and file as terrorists. Note: Islamists are still not included on the list

2. Christian preachers are now being arrested...A few preachers who have been arrested include two Houston pastors who were arrested for (legally) preaching against homosexuality on the same corner for the past two years. One of the police officers told them that they were ‘doing nothing wrong’. That was just before the cops grabbed their video camera, forced them to the ground, placed them in handcuffs and took them to the station.

The charges against them are unclear but, appear to include preaching a message the Houston cops didn‘t like. However, WND reports: “Their hearing will be in Houston Municipal Court, which is run by [lesbian] Barbara E. Hartle, who, according to the Dallas Voice, is listed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund as “one of only a few out members of the Texas judiciary.”

WND also reports that Pastor Michael Marcavage, founder of the evangelistic Repent America ministry, was placed on the FBI’s terrorist watch list for “nonviolent religious speech which government officials perceive as [merely] controversial.” Controversial? Being controversial is now a crime? In another incident, Pastor Rives Grogan and his 11 year old son were illegally arrested for preaching against abortion in a public (and allowed) free-speech zone.

3. The most recent and titanic infringement on the rights of all US citizens is a bill (National Defense Authorization Act-NDAA). Although Section 1032 subsection (b) (1) and (2) of S 1867 (passed in secret and behind closed doors) states that US Citizens and legal resident aliens are not subject to military incarceration, US Senators (including now self-outed Marxist Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham) are gleefully interpreting Section 1031 to include all US citizens being subject to “Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.”

In other words, we may now experience what those recently nationwide refurbished FEMA camps look like. This is no longer conspiracy theory, folks. Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), John McCain (R-AX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) amongst many others have now not only threatened all of us with arrest but, are threatening the very foundations of what used to be our country. The masks have come off of our elected officials and most of them now resemble either Josef Stalin or Adolph Hitler.

Every totalitarian government starts out in almost the identical way.

Also see:

The New World Order

And:

Apocalypse Nowish

Sarkozy And Merkel Kick Off Week Of Euro Crisis Talks

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to meet to agree on joint proposals aimed at resolving the eurozone debt crisis.

They will take their ideas to an EU summit on Friday that is being seen as crucial for the single currency.

Eurozone Leaders In Make-Or-Break Rescue Talks