13-08-24 The view from Berlin - Israel as an outpost of the shrinking American empire and a corporatist province of the global banking cartel.

  

Berlin, August 24 - over the past decade, the US has been a shrinking empire. The 20th century, the "American Century", ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union and global US hegemony. But the 21st century is the "Chinese Century", and the US accelerates its decent through self-destructive conduct and historically unprecedented corruption of the US government. Israel's response to these changing global conditions is short-sighted at best.

The US, which boasted until two decades ago a wide and strong middle class, turned into a society that fits many international objective parameters of a third world nation. The US also led the world into the current socio-economic crisis, by undermining banking regulation, starting with Clinton. That process now reached a stage, where the banks are stronger than the US federal government.

The internal disintegration of the US regime is best documented in the leaking incidents of Manning, Assange, and Snowden, and by the hysterical reactions of the US regime to them. The deterioration of the US as a civilized society is best demonstrated, beyond the establishment of a total surveillance police state, through the signing by Obama (a constitutional law professor, no less) of NDAA, which permits indefinite detention of US citizens with no trial, any by his usurping the authority and practicing the killing of US citizens with no trial (through drone strikes).

In parallel, the sphere of US influence and control is shrinking:
* In the Middle East - the US lost the war in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Libya. Syria under Assad was a US collaborator (documented by being the destination for US Extraordinary Renditions). Now the situation there is uncertain. Similar conditions now prevail in Egypt and Libya. In all these cases, the US hopes to create dependence of the new regimes on it, but conditions are far from being under US control. The attack on the CIA outpost in Benghazi and the abandonment of the US ambassador there to his death, combined with the web of deceit that followed, are unprecedented sign of weakness. And the ability of the US to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities is uncertain at best.
* In Latin America - a key area for US influence since the Monroe Doctrine, US diminishing control is demonstrated by the decision of Ecuador, a small nation, to provide asylum to Assange in its London embassy. Likewise - the united response of the Latin American nations following the embarrassing and pointless interception of the Bolivian presidential airplane, based on faulty intelligence that he was smuggling Snowden out of Russia.
* Russia - under Czar Putin is belittling the US by providing asylum to Snowden, and the US response, by canceling Obama's meetings with Putin is childish.
* In Europe - following the revelations of massive spying of the US on its European allies, Germany decided to cancel its intelligence cooperation agreement with the US and UK, a landmark event in German-US relations in the post-WWII era. The UK remained as a US lackey, a key partner in the unprecedented banking heist. In parallel, the UK repeatedly appears as an appendix in each and every US aggression and lawlessness, from the war in Iraq to the recent Miranda incident.
* In Africa - the Chinese are increasingly acquiring control over resources, and US response, as usual, is by pointless aggression in numerous African nations.

On this background, China appears as the only responsible adult on the global scene:
* China has not initiated any major armed conflict with its neighbors for years.
* China has been practicing towards the US a policy of "Soft Landing", whereby it prevents immediate collapse of the US economy and the US dollar by continuous purchase of US T-bills. Such policy naturally serves Chinese interests, but at a considerable cost.
* With it, China is steadily working to undermine the position of the US dollar as the unchallenged international currency, e.g., through agreements with Russia and others to denominate international trade in non US dollar denominations.
* China effectively frustrates the efforts of the US/UK-based global banking cartel to expand its reach. That position was demonstrated in the recent threat on Israel in the Bank of China case, where China prevented Israeli cooperation with the US actions (carried, as usual, under the flag of War on Terror).

Under such conditions, Israel turned into a key strategic ally of the US. Following the fall of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, and shaky conditions in Egypt and Syria, Israel has also turned into the frontline zone of the American empire in the latter's never ending global "War on Terror", an undesirable position.

Under Netanyahu, Israel has granted the US permission to build command and control centers in Israel, and major concession of Israeli sovereignty. Such historic step was taken with no process of public consultation and decision-making. With it, Israel has turned into the equivalent of South Korea or Germany. Furthermore, such step increases the danger that following an all out war with Iran, Israel would turn into a US military occupation zone, similar to Iraq.


But US influence over Israel has diminished. Israel, under Netanyahu has repeatedly snubbed the US, as demonstrated by Israel's response to the recent peace initiative - increased building on Palestinian lands.

Israel, under the governments of Sharon and Netanyahu, of self-will, decided to subject itself to the global banking cartel. That decision was demonstrated by the placement of Stanley Fischer - key figure in the Cartel - as Governor of Bank of Israel. Now, Netanyahu continues such policy by desperately looking for Fischer's replacement among the inner circle of the Cartel. The mere notion of bringing a foreigner as Governor of the national bank is unusual on the international scene.

In parallel, recent Israeli governments have established socio-economic policies that mimic the failing US policies of recent decades. The local variation is the establishment of an economy, which controlled by a handful of tycoons and mass poverty. According to international studies, israel's current income and asset distribution is incosnistent with nations under democratic regimes. That - in a nation that was established under decades of socialist governments, and which effectively absorbed masses of pennyless refugees.

In sum: Israel is on a path that is disastrous to the well-being of Israeli society, highly risky for Israel's security, and increases Israel's isolation on the international scene.