(OPINION) Most people don’t seem to realize this yet, but we have entered a time of global war. While millions in the western world are partying, an apocalyptic all-out war is threatening to erupt in the Middle East and Ukraine has launched a surprise invasion of Russia.
Needless to say, seeing Ukrainian troops come pouring across Russia’s lightly defended border in the Kursk region came as quite a shock to Vladimir Putin and his generals.
The Ukrainians have decided to take things to the next level, and the Russians are beyond angry. Meanwhile, Israel is bracing for a “large scale” Iranian attack at any time
“Israel is expecting a ‘large scale’ Iranian attack and Hezbollah has evacuated its Beirut headquarters in anticipation of an all-out war with Israel, according to reports. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Iran was making preparations for a large-scale military attack on Israel during a phone call on Sunday, Axios News reporter Barack Ravid wrote on X. The planned attack could happen ‘within days’, according to two sources who spoke to CNN. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has evacuated its headquarters in Beirut, according to Lebanese news outlet Al Joumhouria – further raising concerns.”
We have been waiting for Iran to strike Israel since the end of July, but so far such an attack has not materialized.
Many were hoping that cooler heads had prevailed in Iran.
Sadly, it appears that an attack is still coming, and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant is warning that Iran and Hezbollah “are threatening to harm us in a way they haven’t done in the past”.
That sounds rather ominous.
If there is an attack, it will almost certainly be more substantial than what we witnessed last time around.
For the moment, however, the Iranians seem to be enjoying keeping everyone in suspense
“There may be no attack at all, or there could be one tonight,” an Iranian regime insider told the Financial Times. “Waiting for death is more difficult than death itself.”
Maybe they will keep playing this game for a while.
Or maybe they will attack tonight.
We just don’t know.
There have been reports of missile launchers being moved into position, but that could just be more of their mind games.
The U.S. is certainly not taking any chances.
According to John Kirby, the U.S. is operating under the assumption that an Iranian attack could come as early as this week.
If the Iranians attack, the U.S. will defend Israel.
A guided missile sub is being deployed to the Middle East, and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has been ordered to “sail more quickly to the area.”
“U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, as the U.S. said Monday it believes Iran or its proxies could launch a strike against Israel as soon as this week. The moves, announced by the Defense Department Sunday, come as the U.S. and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire agreement that could help calm soaring tensions in the region after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.”
If all-out war erupts, it could become a prime target for either the Iranians or Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has taken an unexpected turn.
The Ukrainians have been slowly but surely losing ground in eastern Ukraine, and so they decided to do something dramatic to change the momentum of the war.
Nobody expected the Ukrainians to invade Russian territory, and so the Russians were completely surprised when that actually happened.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of the importance of removing these Ukrainian forces from Russian territory during a televised appearance.
Putin ordered his army on Monday to “dislodge” Ukrainian troops who have entered Russian territory as authorities said more than 120,000 people had been evacuated away from the fighting.
Kyiv launched a surprise offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region last Tuesday, capturing more than two dozen settlements in the most significant cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II.
“One of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, strife, intimidate people, destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society,” Putin told a televised meeting with government officials.
The Ukrainians will not be able to hold Russian territory for long.
So why did they do this?
Personally, my opinion is that the Ukrainians are trying to get the Russians so angry that they will decide to use tactical nuclear weapons.
If Russia uses tactical nuclear weapons, NATO will be forced to intervene, and then we really will have a nightmare scenario on our hands.
