Category: Red Horse

Israel Getting Ready to ‘Take Action’ to Stop Iran From Going Nuclear, Defence Minister Says

Sputnik News – February 26, 2021

Joe Biden’s campaign promise to get the US back into the Iran nuclear deal has yet to bear fruit, with Washington demanding that Tehran reduce its enrichment activities first. In the meantime, media reports suggest that Israel – the Middle East’s only alleged nuclear weapons state, is engaged in major construction at its Dimona research facility.

The Israeli military is “currently working to build up” its forces “and is preparing itself for any scenario, including one in which we would need to take operational action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” Defence Minister Benny Gantz said, his remarks cited by the Times of Israel.

Gantz, who also serves as Israel’s alternate prime minister, said the military preparations were being taken in parallel with Tel Aviv’s diplomatic efforts to pressure the Biden administration into modifying the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran nuclear deal, if not scrapping it entirely.

“We all need to make sure that if an agreement is signed with Iran, it will be one that ends its nuclear project, enables long-term effective oversight and inspection, and puts a stop to Iranian entrenchment in Syria, Yemen and Iraq,” the minister said.

Iran maintains that it has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons, and has warned both the Trump and Biden administrations that it will not accept any effort to modify the terms of the JCPOA in any way. The US has a binary choice – take the deal or leave it, according to Tehran.

https://sputniknews.com

South China Sea: US crosses paths with bolstered Beijing forces as fears of war surge

Dylan Donnelly – February 11, 2021

US NAVAL forces have had an increasing number of encounters with Beijing’s military in the South China Sea as tensions reach an unprecedented level.

Rear Admiral James Kirk, commander of the USS Nimitz which carried out an exercise in the region on Tuesday with USS Theodore Roosevelt, said: “We’ve seen an expansion of their military capability.” He spoke during a video call to reporters alongside Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, commander of Theodore Roosevelt, according to the Financial Times.

Rear Admiral Kirk said: “We’ve seen an expansion of their military capability; a larger number of aircraft, larger number of ships being utilized on a daily basis. So the capacity has clearly increased.

“I wouldn’t infer what their intent is … [but] the number of forces we see in all domains has increased significantly.”

Chinese and the US sent military planes into the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification a fortnight ago, after Chinese jets carried out “simulated missile attacks” on the US aircraft carrier the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Eleven Chinese military fighter jets, including H-6 bombers, flew to the area as the ship passed through.

Pilot cockpit conversations intercepted by Taiwan and US intelligence confirmed that the fighter pilots were taking part in a simulated missile strike against the US warships, sources said.

The US military accused China of destabilizing and aggressive behavior in relation to the incident, but insisted that none of their personnel were in danger.

https://www.express.co.uk

U.S. headed for war with China, warns top Beijing academic

Bob Unruh – February 7, 2021

A prominent Beijing scholar on international relations is warning that without a “new stability” in China’s relationship with the United States, “there will be war.”

“It cannot be taken for granted and fantasized that conflict will never erupt between the two,” said Shi Yinhong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at Renmin University.

A transcript of his speech at the National Institute of Development and Strategy of Renmin University was posted Monday on Guancha, a news site affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

He said the stability that the U.S. and China have had in the past is gone.

“So there must be new strategic stability which will be achieved by being practical, sufficiently focused, and through specific and important proposals, dialogues or negotiations,” he insisted.

“I think the trend of China-U.S. relations after the U.S. election can be influenced or shaped by China to a large extent,” he said. “Therefore, China’s strategies and policies, as well as appropriate adjustments to these strategic policies, are very important. The current situation of China and the U.S. determines that it is impossible for the two sides to significantly back down from their confrontation or rivalry.”

https://www.wnd.com

STRATCOM Commander: ‘Real Possibility’ of Nuclear War With China or Russia

Sandy Fitzgerald – February 03, 2021

There is a “real possibility” that a regional crisis with either China or Russia could escalate to nuclear war, the head of U.S. Strategic Command is warning in a call for federal and military leaders to change their approach to nuclear deterrence.

“There is a real possibility that a regional crisis with Russia or China could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state,” STRATCOM Commander Adm. Charles Richard wrote in the February issue of “Proceedings,” the monthly magazine for the U.S. Naval Institute. “Consequently, the U.S. military must shift its principal assumption from ‘nuclear employment is not possible’ to ‘nuclear employment is a very real possibility,’ and act to meet and deter that reality.”

He also warned that China and Russia are beginning to “aggressively challenge international norms and global peace using instruments of power and threats of force in ways not seen since the height of the Cold War. He also cited investment in advanced arms, such as nuclear weapons, as well as a rise in cyberattacks and threats in space.

Meanwhile, recent actions from both countries will “increase the risk of great power crisis or conflict” if U.S. officials leave the matter unchecked.

Russia is “aggressively modernizing” its nuclear arsenal, Richard wrote, and China is on a “trajectory to be a strategic peer,” so it shouldn’t be dismissed as a lesser threat.

https://www.newsmax.com

Chinese Defense Ministry to Taiwan: ‘Independence Means War’

Gabrielle Reyes – January 28, 2021

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will take all necessary measures to “crush” efforts supporting Taiwanese sovereignty because “Taiwan independence means war,” a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a “handful” of people in Taiwan are seeking the island’s independence at a monthly news briefing on January 28.

“We warn those ‘Taiwan independence’ elements: those who play with fire will burn themselves, and ‘Taiwan independence’ means war,” Wu said.

The U.S. Navy deployed its Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to sail through the South China Sea near Taiwan last weekend in an action supporting “freedom of the seas.” Shortly afterward, China’s air force responded by deploying eight bombers, four fighter jets, and one anti-submarine warfare plane to cross into Taiwan’s southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). China’s PLA has ordered such air sorties more than 100 times since mid-September in an effort to intimidate the sovereign island, which Beijing considers a renegade territory.

When reported asked him Thursday about China’s most recent air force activity near Taiwan on January 23, Wu responded: “The military activities carried out by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait are necessary actions to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty and security.”

“They are a solemn response to external interference and provocations by ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” he added.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, and the Taiwan question falls under China’s internal affairs and brooks no interference from any external forces,” China’s defense ministry spokesman said.

In reality, Taiwan has been a sovereign state for decades, with its own governmental structure, military, and society.

https://www.breitbart.com

Israel Defense Forces to Plan Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Amanda Casanova – January 15, 2021

The Israel Defense Forces is reportedly planning an attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

According to the Israel Hayom Daily, the IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi has asked for three proposals to take down Iran’s nuclear program. The newspaper said one of the proposals is a military effort, but also an expensive option.

The Times of Israel reports that Iran has increased the enriching of uranium to a 20 percent concentration last week. In 2015, a nuclear deal capped the enriching of uranium to a 4.5 percent concentration, the BBC reports.

Low-enriched uranium, between 3 to 5 percent concentration, is used to make fuel for commercial power plants. Concentrations of 20 percent and more is largely used in research reactors, and concentrations of 90 percent and more are considered weapons-grade uranium.

Likud minister Tzachi Hanegbi said recently that Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear program if the United States rejoins the nuclear deal, an agreement that US President-elect Joe Biden has said he plans to approve.

“If the United States government rejoins the nuclear deal — and that seems to be the stated policy as of now — the practical result will be that Israel will again be alone against Iran, which by the end of the deal will have received a green light from the world, including the United States, to continue with its nuclear weapons program,” Hanegbi said in an interview with Kan news.

Former president Barack Obama signed the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, but in 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Biden has indicated that he would negotiate with Tehran if Washington returns to the deal, and Iran has said it would welcome the return of the Americans to the deal, but only after the economic sanctions are lifted.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

From ‘Dangerous Fantasy’ to Reality in Seven Years: EU Reveals ‘Uniformed Service’

Oliver JJ Lane – January 12, 2021

Less than seven years after British Eurosceptics were laughed at for expressing concerns about a coming European Union army, the bloc has revealed the official uniform of its new ‘standing corps’, as the first of 10,000 recruits prepare to deploy to the field.

Frontex, the European Union’s combined border force and coastguard, revealed the new uniform in a social media post on Monday, showing off the navy uniform complete with EU-flag identification patches and military side cap. The force said: “For the first time, the European Union has its own uniformed service – the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps.”

Previously, officers seconded to Frontex from national forces denoted their new role by wearing an armband with a symbol of the European political project — a ring of gold stars on blue — on their right arm.

The “troops” of Frontex in their own European uniforms comes less than seven years after Brexiteers were told they believed a “dangerous fantasy” for saying the European Union was moving towards having its own armed forces — of which the paramilitary Frontex is the first phase.

The so-called standing corps recruited its first inductees during 2019, who were sent to academies in Poland for training. According to reports at the time, the first Frontex standing corps officers are due to deploy in early 2021.

https://www.breitbart.com

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Unveil Underground Missile Base Near Persian Gulf Coast – Photos, Video

Sputnik News – January 8, 2021

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has revealed the existence of a new top-secret underground missile base belonging to the IRGC Navy.

Photos and video of the new base published by Iranian media shows senior officers touring the facility, walking past rows and rows of missiles of various classes and ranges. Footage shows long tunnels wide enough to allow for two-way traffic by mobile, truck-based missile launchers and supply vehicles.

The IRGC wasn’t exactly subtle about who the unveiling of the missile base was meant to send a message to, with the video showing officers walking over flags of the United States and Israel painted on the floor as they entered the base.

IRGC Commander-in-Chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, who was on hand to inaugurate the new facility, said the base is “one of several bases housing the Guards’ Navy’s strategic missiles,” suggesting it would help “boost the country’s deterrence power”, and protect “the territorial integrity and independence of the country and the achievements of the Islamic Revolution” against any would-be “demons” threatening aggression.

The commander added that the missiles housed at the base have a range of hundreds of kilometres, and have a high level of accuracy and destructive power, including anti-electronic warfare capabilities. According to Salami, the IRGC’s naval missiles are among the best in the world among coast-to-sea, surface-to-surface, air-to-sea and sea-to-air missile systems.

https://sputniknews.com

U.S. sees some indications of possible Iranian attack in Mideast

Mosheh Gains – January 1, 2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. has seen increasing indications that Iran could be planning an attack against American forces or interests in the Middle East, according to a U.S. official.

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that reading Iran’s intentions was “difficult and at times unpredictable.”

But the indications are being taken seriously, the official said. The one-year anniversary of the U.S.’ killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is just days away.

Soleimani was killed in a U.S. dronestrike in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020, in what the Defense Department characterized as a “defensive action” because it alleged the leader of Iran’s Quds Force was developing plans to attack Americans. Iran launched missiles against U.S. forces in Iraq in response to the killing days later.

This week, the U.S. flew B-52 bombers based at a Minot, North Dakota, Air Force base to the Middle East in a “deliberate appearance,” U.S. Central Command said, in the second such show of force this month.

The U.S. has recently accused what it said was an Iranian-backed militia of a Dec. 20 rocket attack on Baghdad’s green zone, in which 21 rockets were fired. No one was injured or killed.

Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, in a Tweet on Thursday objected to the B-52 flights and wrote: “Intelligence from Iraq indicate plot to FABRICATE pretext for war.”

On Dec. 23, referring to the rocket attack that damaged the U.S. embassy in the green zone, President Donald Trump had tweeted: “Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.”

https://www.nbcnews.com

China is developing Genetically Modified ‘Super-Soldiers’: Was this prophesied in War of Gog-Magog?

_ December 24, 2020

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this month, John Lee Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration, wrote that “the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II. The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily, and technologically.”

“There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing’s pursuit of power,” Ratcliffe wrote, adding that China is working to develop “soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities” as part of a scheme to take over “the planet economically, militarily and technologically.”

Last year,  Elsa Kania and Wilson VornDick a brief in the Jamestown Foundation claiming that Chinese scientists have been exploring “the potential of biotechnology on the future battlefield”. Some applications could include “brain-machine interfaces”. Since the potential for these technologies is still being explored, many of the possible applications go beyond what people can currently imagine.

One of the avenues of exploration includes the use of CRISPR (an acronym for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”), a new technique for gene editing that has demonstrated unique potential. Chinese scientists are at the forefront of CRISPR technology, unencumbered by the moral and ethical limitations imposed on western scientists. For example, developing the use of gene-edited animals to grow human-like organs. A doctoral dissertation titled “Evaluation and Research on Human Performance Enhancement Technology,” published in 2016 and supported by the Central Military Commission (CMC) Science and Technology Commission envisioned CRISPR as one of three primary “human performance enhancement technologies” that can be utilized to boost personnel combat effectiveness.

Another ethical obstacle is the use of gene modification to enhance healthy subjects. Western scientists currently refrain from this type of research however Ratcliffe’s article implied that China is actively researching the possibility.

https://www.israel365news.com