Geopolitical Risk Theater Links: More US Boots on the Ground, NeoCons versus Putin, Saudi Aramco Oil Fire, Proposed Russian Ban on US Dollar

1 Can’t get enough of Iraq.  Air warfare hasn’t worked, so the POTUS orders more boots on the ground: U.S. to Send 1,500 More Troops to Iraq New York Times November 8, 2014

2 There are no permanent friends only permanent interests: Obama sent 'secret letter' to Iran Daily Star November 8, 2014 (an expose by Israel to forestall sleeping with the enemy?)

3 The  POTUS panders to the opposition, the war lusting neoconservatives: Obama Call to Authorize Islamic State War Tests Congress Bloomberg/Businessweek.com November 6, 2014

4  War is a racket. Throw money at every problem charged to taxpayers for the benefit of the military industrial complex: Problems of U.S. nuclear forces must be addressed Washington Times November 5, 2014

Here is a quote:

U.S. strategic nuclear forces, both weapons and personnel, are experiencing serious problems that must be addressed urgently.

That is a central conclusion of a new study called the “Nuclear Enterprise Review” that the Pentagon is expected to release next week, according to defense officials familiar with the study.

Fixing nuclear forces’ problems will require the investment of billions of defense dollars in modernizing systems and greater leadership attention to training and readiness for the thousands of military personnel who operate and maintain the world’s most powerful arsenal.

5 Neocons are back on the seat of power. One of their likely goal will be to challenge Russia's Putin: Michael Rozeff: McCain versus Putin November 6, 2014

A confrontation is at hand between McCain and Putin. McCain will be the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He wants to arm Ukraine. He’s anti-Putin and anti-Russia. Obama is in the middle, trying not to go as far as McCain while still coming out with his own anti-Putin and anti-Russia policies such as sanctions. Putin regards those as blackmail.

6  The easiest thing to do has been to spend or waste other people’s money: US Army Slow to Investigate Losses of Key Encryption Gear in Afghanistan; $420 Million in Gear Unaccounted For Anti-War.com November 5, 2014

An internal report by the Pentagon’s Inspector General found the US Army “lost” some $420 million worth of equipment in Afghanistan, including weapons, sensitive encryption devices, and even some vehicles. 

To make matters worse, the IG found that the Army brigade responsible for managing the gear failed to report the losses in a timely fashion, meaning there were no great efforts to recover it

7 Simmering Iraq battlefront: The Battle for Baiji Heating Up; 345 Killed, 48 Wounded Across Iraq Anti-war.com November 6, 2014

8 Developing brinkmanship across multi-fronts: Finland warns Europe is 'at the gates of a new cold war' in wake of Russian military activity Independent.co.uk November 5, 2014

9 Chinese government’s thrust towards modern warfare: This Video Of A Chinese 5th-Generation Fighter Prototype Shows The Plane Could Have One Huge Weakness Business Insider November 6, 2014

10 Developing geopolitical factional rivalry; the NATO versus SCO: Martin Katusa Putin Signs Secret Pact to Crush NATO Casey Research November 6, 2014 (bold mine)

But you can bet your last ruble that Vladimir Putin knows exactly where Tajikistan is. Because the group that met there is the Russian president’s baby. It’s the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), consisting of six member states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The SCO was founded in 2001, ostensibly to collectively oppose extremism and enhance border security.But its real reason for being is larger. Putin sees it in a broad context, as a counterweight to NATO (a position that the SCO doesn’t deny, by the way). Its official stance may be to pledge nonalignment, nonconfrontation, and noninterference in other countries’ affairs, but—pointedly—the members do conduct joint military exercises…

As always, Putin is not thinking small or short term here. Among the priorities he’s laid out for the Russian chairmanship are: beefing up the role of the SCO in providing regional security; launching major multilateral economic projects; enhancing cultural and humanitarian ties between member nations; and designing comprehensive approaches to current global problems. He is also preparing an SCO development strategy for the 2015-2025 period and believes it will be ready by the time of the next summit.

We should care what’s going on inside the SCO. Once India and Pakistan get in (and they will) and Iran follows shortly thereafter, it’ll be a geopolitical game changer.

11 The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand (see number 2 Obama sends letter to Iran--under the table deal?) has been doing: Pentagon: Iran Giving ‘Lethal Aid to the Taliban’ to Fight U.S. Freebeacon November 6, 2014

12 On Oil politics, I recently wrote (bold mine): 

Saudi Arabia has lately stated that they will protect their oil market share. What if those affected oil welfare deficit governments resist? What if Russia or any of Saudi’s chief adversaries, say Iran, for instance finance rogue groups within Saudi to sabotage the latter’s pipelines?

Saudi oil pipeline fire under control, security source says Reuters Africa November 5, 2014

The source said that the fire was "not the work of terrorists".

Not the work of terrorist? Perhaps. But the Saudi government goes on an abrupt manhunt for terrorists where 26 suspected militants has been arrested “following security raids across the kingdom” aawsanet.com November 7, 2014 

Some coincidence eh? Hmmm.

13 American linguist and philosopher warns on the risk of US imperialism: Chomsky to RT: US and its NATO intervention force may spark nuclear war November 7, 2014 (italics original)

How dangerous is the current confrontation between Russia and the West? Noam Chomsky believes that NATO expansion and US quest for hegemony has put the world in a situation so unstable where any accidental interaction could result in a nuclear war.

The “new NATO” that emerged after the Soviet Union collapsed is basically a US-run intervention force, with a completely different mission as compared to the original, Chomsky tells RT’s Sophie&Co.

“In fact, one might ask why NATO even continued to exist,” he said. “The official justification for NATO was that its purpose was to defend Western Europe from Russian hordes who might attack Western Europe.”

With no more “Russian threat”, the natural conclusion in the 90s would be to disband the alliance, but instead the opposite happened – against all agreements NATO expanded all the way towards the Russian borders.

“Its mission changed. The official mission of NATO became to control the international, the global energy system, pipelines. That means, to control the world.”

14 Looking for a catalyst for World War III? Russia may ban circulation of US dollar APA.com November 5, 2014

If the bill is approved, Russian citizens will have to close their dollar accounts in Russian banks within a year and exchange their dollars in cash to Russian ruble or other countries’ currencies.

Otherwise their accounts will be frozen and cash dollars levied by police, customs, tax, border, and migration services confiscated.

Have a nice day.