Mattis: War With N Korea Would Be 'Catastrophic', New Generation Of Bombs Undetectable By Airport Scanners

James Mattis: War With North Korea Would Be "Catastrophic"

Defense Secretary James Mattis appeared on “Face the Nation” with John Dickerson on Sunday and repeated his warning that an armed conflict with North Korea would be “catastrophic” for US allies in the region, and that it "would be probably the worst kind of fighting" because of the North's proximity to the South Korean capital, Seoul.

“A conflict in North Korea, John, would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes. Why do I say this? The North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers within range of one of the most densely populated cities on earth, which is the capital of South Korea."

Mattis told a Pentagon news conference earlier this month that a war with the north would be “tragic on an unbelievable scale," suggesting that the Trump administration would seek to exhaust all alternatives before resorting to military action. 

“We are working with the international community to deal with this issue. This regime is a threat to the region, to Japan, to South Korea. And in the event of war, they would bring danger to China and to Russia as well. But the bottom line is it would be a catastrophic war if this turns into a combat if we're not able to resolve this situation through diplomatic means.”

Mattis affirms that the North is a threat to the US, but he stops short of drawing a line in the sand when he tells Dickerson he’d prefer not to answer a question about what the North could do, if anything, to provoke a response from the US. The president, Mattis said, needs “political maneuver room on the issue.”

Short Victorious War: US President's Magic Wand To Wave In A Pinch

Putting together the bits of information coming from various sources leads to the conclusion that a US pre-emptive strike against North Korea is a possibility that may turn into reality pretty soon. Everyone knows it’s fraught with implications and nobody wants it but there is a good reason to believe it’s coming closer.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has supervised the test of a new anti-aircraft weapon system and ordered its mass production and deployment throughout the country. It took place after Pyongyang conducted a second missile test within a week, sending a medium-range ballistic missile into the waters off its east coast on May 21. North Korea said the test was a success and the weapon could now be mass-produced. If a strike to knock out the nuclear and ballistic missile program infrastructure is planned, it would better be delivered before the air defense systems are in place.

North Korea's missile program is progressing faster than expected, South Korea's defense minister said on May 16, after the U.N. Security Council condemned the launch of a new long-range missile and demanded Pyongyang halt weapons tests. North Korea has defied all calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, including from Russia and China. The country’s leadership openly states that it has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US mainland, and the recent tests are steps toward that aim. North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests so far, including two last year.

During the US-China summit at Mar-a-Lago estate, Florida, in early April, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked US President Donald Trump for a 100-day grace period to deal with North Korea’s military provocations. The May 21 launch cast doubts on the efficacy of the measures taken. The 100-day period would end around the time the G20 summit is held in Germany on July 7-8 with the problem of North Korea high on the agenda. The US and China’s leaders will tackle the burning issue on the sidelines of the event.

Meanwhile, a third US aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, will be deployed by Washington in the Western Pacific Ocean in order to join two US warships, stationed near the shores of the Korean Peninsula in the light of the crisis. USS Nimitz will join USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan in the area. Three carrier groups out of eleven is a huge force to be deployed only for a large-scale operation coming soon.

The US is to conduct another test of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) simulating a North Korean ICBM aimed at the US The military has used the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system to intercept other types of missiles, but never an ICBM.

Finally, it has been recently revealed that the US military has moved two nuclear submarines towards North Korea. President Trump was likely referring to an Ohio-class guided missile submarine (SSGN), the USS Michigan, which made an official port call in Busan, South Korea on April 25, and the Los-Angeles-class attack submarine (SSN) USS Cheyenne, which visited Sasebo, Japan on May 2 as part of its regional deployment. The US Navy on average is deploying up to ten Los-Angeles, Seawolf, or Virginia-class attack submarines worldwide on any given day.

Michigan is used for first strike missions. It is one of four Ohio strategic subs (SSBNs) converted to only fire conventional Tomahawks instead of nuclear ballistic missiles. The boat carries a massive load of 154 land attack cruise missiles. On top of that, Michigan carries the Dry Deck Shelter, which allows it to deploy special operations forces and their swimmer delivery vehicle mini-subs. Cheyenne is a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, which routinely accompanies carrier groups. It can fire Tomahawks.

Donald Trump knows that military actions are an effective tool to hike ratings. The president saw a bump in his own poll numbers after the cruise missile strike in Syria he ordered on April 7. His approval rating jumped from 34 percent up to 42 percent. It leaped from 42 to 50 percent after the «Mother of all bombs» was used on April 13 against Islamic State positions in Afghanistan. The public support has dramatically slid down to roughly 38 percent since then.The president is in a pinch. Something needs to be done immediately to rectify the situation.

The trend is worrisome and the best tried-and-true way to reverse it is a short victorious war. True, it’s a great risk. But bombing one’s way to popularity may happen to be a temptation impossible to resist. A sixth North Korean nuclear test or test-fire of an intercontinental ballistic missile may prompt the action even before the 100 days «grace period» is over. The forces are there and poised. They cannot be in high alert stand-by mode too long. While the world public attention is riveted to Syria, a large-scale military conflict with terrible consequences may spark anytime and the probability is very high.

New Generation Of Bombs Undetectable By Airport Scanners: What's The Solution?

In response to Homeland Security Ponders Laptop Ban On All International Flights: Surefire Way to Stop Bombs on Planes reader Brindu sent a pair of interesting links discussing new bombs that airport scanners cannot detect.

Please consider U.S. Believes ISIS’ Bomb-Making Research Includes New Generation of Explosives.

Amid the bombed-out ruins of Mosul University, U.S. officials say they have uncovered evidence that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was developing a new type of bomb that could pass through an airport scanner undetected.

CBS News joined Iraqi Special Forces in Mosul just days after the hard-fought battle to recapture the University in January. It’s long been believed that Mosul University was the center of the militants’ bomb-making projects, using the school’s equipment and labs.

Now, U.S. officials believe that research includes a new generation of more powerful explosives that could be concealed in a computer.

When ISIS overran Mosul in 2014, they also captured the city’s international airport. And with it, all the modern security scanner and screening equipment necessary to test their new bombs.

Netanyahu: Israel Must Retain Full Military Control Of The West Bank

Netanyahu: We must retain full military control of West Bank

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that Israel must maintain its military control over the West Bank in the event of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

“The idea that we can give up territory and achieve peace is not right,” Netanyahu told Army Radio in a pre-Shavuot holiday interview.

“In order to assure our existence we need to have military and security control over all of the territory west of the Jordan [River],” he said, reaffirming his commitment to a policy that is rejected by Palestinians, who seek a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

In the radio interview, Netanyahu asserted the root of the conflict lies not with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but rather in Palestinian intransigence regarding recognition of Jewish rights to any part of the land.

Netanyahu’s comments came after visiting US President Donald Trump last week impressed on the prime minister and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he is determined to work on a peace agreement.

“It is not because of the territories and the settlements,” Netanyahu said, noting the history of conflict between Jews and Arabs in the area from 1920, long before the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the capture of the West Bank in 1967.

Even before 1967 the Arabs “wanted to get rid of us from Tel Aviv, and after we pulled out of Gaza [in 2005] they [still] want to get rid of us from Tel Aviv,” Netanyahu said. The prime minister said that when Israel proposed to the Palestinians that it relinquish all the territory they want as long as they give up on the right of return for Palestinians who fled in 1948, “they squirm in their seats and are not prepared to give an answer.”

“The root of this problem was and still is that continued refusal by the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a the homeland of the Jewish people in any borders,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli seek peace, but the Palestinians are stuck in their attitude of “not setting up a state but rather negating the existence of a state, the Jewish state,” the prime minister insisted.

As soon as that is changed, “then there is hope for peace, because you can’t build peace on a foundation of lies,” he said.

“There is no nation that knows the price of war more than we do — we want a real peace,” Netanyahu added.

N Korea Launches Another Ballistic Missile Test, Russia Has Little Reason To Trust NATO

North Korea Launches Another Ballistic Missile Test, as Talk of War Increases

South Korea reports that early on Monday morning, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile, its ninth ballistic missile test this year. This comes just one week after another ballistic missile test. The missile flew about 450 km (280 miles), and landed in the Sea of Japan.

The missile is assumed to be a “Scud” missile known as the KN-06, that can be launched from a mobile platform, to target enemy aircraft or nearby ground targets. North Korea has a large stockpile of Scud missiles, originally developed by the Soviet Union.

North Korea’s child dictator Kim Jong-un is quoted as saying that the system should be deployed “all over the country like forests so as to completely spoil the enemy’s wild dream to command the air, boasting of air supremacy, and weapon almighty.”

The usual steps have been taken in response to the latest ballistic missile test: South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, who had hoped to have friendly relations with North Korea, called a meeting of the country’s National Security Council. Japan launched a protest and called the test “highly problematic, while Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe vowed action to deter North Korea’s repeated provocations. Reuters and The Diplomatand Sky News (Australia)

North Korea test-fires missile in latest provocation

North Korea Monday test-fired a ballistic missile for the third time in less than three weeks, earning a rebuke from US President Donald Trump who said it showed "disrespect" for neighbouring China.

The launch of the short-range projectile, which fell provocatively close to Japan, was the North's 12th ballistic missile test this year -- in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.

It went ahead despite tough talk from Trump, who promised last week at the G7 summit that the "big problem" of North Korea "will be solved".

"North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile... " Trump said in a tweet.

The US leader has urged China, the North's sole major ally and key trade partner, to do more to press Pyongyang to curb its missile and nuclear programmes.

South Korea's military said the Scud-type missile travelled for 450 km (280 miles). Japan said it was estimated to have fallen into its exclusive economic zone, extending 200 nautical miles from the coast.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swiftly condemned the test -- the second time this year that a North Korean missile has fallen close to its shores -- vowing concerted action with the US.

"We will never tolerate North Korea's continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community," Abe told reporters.

The North has been stepping up efforts towards its ultimate goal -- developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can deliver a nuclear warhead to the continental US.

N. Korea claims progress in efforts to prepare missile 'gifts' for US

North Korea confirmed its test-firing of a precision-guided ballistic missile was “successful”, the state-run news agency KCNA reported Tuesday, a day after the projectile landed in waters provocatively close to Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un supervised the launch of the “new-type precision guided ballistic rocket” — the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks and carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.

The missile test triggered swift condemnation from US President Donald Trump who said it showed “disrespect” for neighboring China, the North’s sole major ally, which has sought to dampen tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons program.

The launch was aimed at testing a weapon “capable of making ultra-precision strike on the enemies’ objects at any area”, the North Korean report said.

“It also verified ultra-precision guidance correctness in the re-entry section,” it said.

Kim “expressed the conviction that [North Korea] would make a greater leap forward in this spirit to send bigger ‘gift packages’ to the Yankees” if provoked, the report added.

It added that the projectile was showcased for the first time last month as part of Pyongyang’s annual military parade to mark the 105th birth anniversary of the regime’s founder Kim Il-Sung.

Following North Korea’s test-firing earlier this month of what analysts said was its longest-range rocket yet, the UN Security Council vowed to push all countries to tighten sanctions against Pyongyang.

But China has made it clear that the push for talks — and not more sanctions — is its priority. On Monday it pleaded again for dialogue.

Russia Has Little Reason to Trust NATO After It Absorbed Whole of Eastern Europe

NATO officials have once again said that they are searching for ways to engage in meaningful dialogue with Russia. Asked to comment, international politics expert Viktor Nadein-Rajewski said that for now, he doesn't see any constructive steps toward Moscow on the alliance's part.

Addressing a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday, alliance Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said that NATO does not want to provoke conflict with Russia. Rather, it is looking for ways to conduct meaningful dialogue, and to encourage Russia toward peace, she said.

Asked to comment on Gottemoeller's remarks, and to weigh them against NATO's actual behavior, Viktor Nadein-Rajewski, a senior research fellow at the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, stressed that flowery rhetoric aside, Russia has not seen any positive steps emanating the alliance.

"Let's start from the fact that Moscow never turned its back on peace. Everything else is just fabrication and propaganda clichés," the observer said, speaking to Radio Sputnik.

It's a fact, Nadein-Rajewski added, that Russia-NATO "relations have reached a level where no room for improvement can be seen." 

"Of course NATO would like, without any conciliatory gestures apart from verbal ones, to get Russia's consent to what is, let's be blunt, the occupation of the remaining territories of the former Soviet Union. After all, their forces are being deployed there, with Ukraine and Georgia in line [for membership]."

"But I do not see any constructive steps on NATO's part toward Russia," the analyst stressed. "Some of their statements inspire hope, yes, but for now it's all talk of good intentions. NATO must abandon [policies] which pose a direct threat to Russia, threats to its territory. But for now this threat continues to exist."

Trump Completely Un-enamored With Abbas

During the apparent love-fest between Mahmoud Abbas and POTUS Trump at the Whitehouse in early May, Trump tweeted that it "was an honor to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas".

It didn't take much time for Israel's PM Binyamin Netanyahu to come out strongly and castigate Abbas for blatantly lying to Trump regarding the former's intention to reach a peace agreement with Israel. Trump then went and deleted his tweet effectively retracting his words of respect for Abbas.

After the debacle involving the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' donation and support of establishing a women's center, which was subsequently dedicated to a terrorist Dalal Mughrabi who carried out one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in Israel's history, it has emerged that Trump showed that he will not tolerate brazen lies and support for incitement to terrorism.

When Trump and Abbas met in Bethlehem during the POTUS' whirlwind visit to Israel last week, Trump made it clear during their joint press conference that support for terrorism and incitement must end. Trump alluded to the PA's continued support and payments to jailed murderers and terrorists stating, "these actions are obstacles to peace."

Reports have emerged that the closed door meeting between Trump and Abbas was definitely not friendly when Abbas reiterated that his Fatah faction was not involved in anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement.

Trump reportedly yelled at Abbas, "You tricked me in Washington! You talked to me about peace, but the Israelis showed me that you are personally supporting incitement. Peace can never take root in a place where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded."

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Macron Accuses RT And Sputnik Of Propaganda, Putin, Macron Have 'Open, Frank Exchange Of Opinions'

Macron accuses RT and Sputnik of ‘behaving like deceitful propaganda’

Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron explained his team’s decision to deny RT and Sputnik, both Moscow-based news outlets, accreditation during his campaign, by labeling the media outlets as “propaganda.”

“They didn’t act like the media, like journalists. They behaved like deceitful propaganda,” Macron told RT France head Xenia Fedorova during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Versailles.

"I have always had an exemplary relationship with foreign journalists, but they have to be real journalists," explained Macron, who defeated Marine Le Pen in the second round of the election, earlier this month. "All foreign journalists, including Russian journalists, had access to my campaign."

Macron described RT and Sputnik as “organs of influence and propaganda,” adding that both “produced infamous counter-truths about him.”

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow “does not agree” with Macron’s statements about the two news organizations.

RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said that Macron’s attack on a news outlet he disagrees with is a threat to freedom of speech.

“Despite the numerous accusations made throughout the duration of the French presidential campaign, to this day not a single example, not a single piece of evidence, has been presented to support the claims that RT spread any slander or ‘fake news' about Mr. Macron,” Simonyan said in a statement. “By labeling any news reporting he disagrees with ‘fake news,’ President Macron sets a dangerous precedent that threatens both freedom of speech and journalism at large.”

“This is a joke,” Jean-Pierre Thomas, a Russian-French relations expert told RT from Paris. “Everyone knows, including Mr Macron that the media has to be diverse. In France, 99 percent of the media were campaigning for Macron, if we do not allow outside media, what is the point?”

Last month’s accreditation delay for RT and Sputnik, which ended up becoming an outright refusal, provoked a heated reaction from Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called it “deliberate and bare-faced discrimination against Russian media by the presidential candidate of a state that has historically been vigilant when it comes to free speech.”

Macron’s campaign repeatedly accused Russia of interference in the election, claiming that Russian hackers attempted to gain access to its data, and impede the work of its website. A trove of communication purportedly from Macron’s staff was leaked on the internet a day before the run-off election. Moscow has staunchly denied any interference.

Despite an anticipated coolness in relations, the Russian president is one of the first world leaders to travel to Paris since Macron’s convincing election win.

On Monday, the pair spent three hours in what the French leader called a “frank exchange of views,” which Putin said would lead to a “qualitative” improvement in relations between the two countries.

Putin, Macron have ‘open, frank exchange of opinions,’ discuss differences & common ground

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, had “difficult” but “frank” talks during their first meeting in Versailles. The two leaders vowed to improve relations and jointly address international problems.

The first meeting of the Russian and French leaders lasted almost three hours, with Macron saying that "Franco-Russian friendship" was at the heart of the talks.

The French president admitted, however, that he has “some disagreements” with his Russian counterpart, but said that the two leaders discussed them openly in a “frank exchange of views.”

Putin also said that the two leaders have some differences, but said that they view many issues in a similar way, and that French-Russian relations could be “qualitatively” improved.

“We sought … common ground [in dealing] with key issues of the international agenda. And I believe that we see it. We are able to … at least try to start resolving the key contemporary problems together,” Putin said.

The Russian leader went on to say that his talks with Macron helped the pair to find common points in dealing with major international problems, and the that two sides would try to further bring together their views on these issues.

French President Macron said that serious international problems cannot be resolved without Moscow, as he stressed the importance of the role Russia plays in the modern world.

“No major problem in the world can be solved without Russia,” he told the press conference.

Macron then said that France is interested in intensifying cooperation with Russia, particularly in resolving the Syrian crisis. The French leader went on to say that this issue demands “an inclusive political solution.”

Rabbi Gives Warning About Palmyra Arch And New World Order

Rabbi Warns Pagan Arch Is End-of-Days Gateway, But Who Will Walk In?

A pagan arch erected in Italy one month before the meeting of the world’s most powerful leaders in the same country may be the portal whose opening could usher in the age of the Messiah – or a sinister World Order, a prominent rabbi has claimed.

The rabbi believes that the two events – the unveiling last month of a replica of the Palmyra Arch, a symbol of paganism and idol worship, and the recent G7 summit, representing the coming together of world powers – are deeply and troublingly connected.

“This arch brings together all the necessary elements for the New World Order,” explained Rabbi Daniel Assur, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin, to Breaking Israel News. “If you look at where this arch has appeared, it is clearly a pattern moving towards a specific goal: Messiah. The question is, whose Messiah will it be?”

The structure is a reproduction of a Roman victory arch built in Palmyra, Syria at the end of the second century CE. Originally it stood in front of a Roman temple where pagans worshiped the Mesopotamian god, Bel, also known as Ba’al, in a form of idol worship that figures prominently in the Bible. The original arch was destroyed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015, but one year later, the Institute for Digital Archaeology used 3-D printing technology to reproduce a 20-foot  full-scale replica.

The reproduction, which has traveled around the world to grace a number of events – each related to a concentration of global world power – was erected in Florence, Italy, one month ago as part of the first-ever Cultural Summit of the G7. This meeting was a prelude to the annual summit that brings together the leaders of the world’s seven major advanced economies. The seven entities, representing more than 64 percent of the net global wealth, came together last Friday in Taormina, Italy. 

Rabbi Assur explained that this connection to Ba’al was essential to the New World Order, and was therefore necessary to elements in the G7 seeking world domination.

“The New World Order is not a secular, atheist movement,” explained Rabbi Assur. “They combine worship of Ba’al with worship of the Egyptian god, Isis, and also the true name of God. They need to bring together all of these elements.”

Rabbi Assur added that changes within Christianity, specifically Catholicism, are part of the battle against the New World Order. This was one of his motives for participating in the Sanhedrin’s trial against Pope Francis in 2015.

“The culture of paganic Rome is taking over Christianity,” he argued. “Christianity must be taken back from Roman culture, which is paganism.”

The arch, originally reconstructed for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Heritage week in England, also relates to the New World Order’s designs on the Holy Temple and the name of the Jewish God, the rabbi said.

“UNESCO, as part of the New World Order, has to usurp the true name of God,” Rabbi Assur explained. “It is towards this end that UNESCO is working towards changing the name and history of the Temple Mount, in order to control the original name of the Jewish God. That is why they made the most absurd claims about the holy places in Israel, but the power of the New World Order is real, so they were successful, despite their obvious lies.”

The first modern reappearance of the Arch of Palmyra was in London’s Trafalgar Square in April 2016, when it was rected for(UNESCO) World Heritage Week. The unveiling coincided with the beginning of a 13-day period known in the occult as “the Blood Sacrifice to the Beast”, the most important holiday for those who worship the god Ba’al, celebrated with child sacrifice and bisexual orgies.

In February, the arch was assembled again as the centerpiece for the World Government Summit in Dubai, an international meeting of global leaders to discuss policy.