Credible

“The U.S. interest is to recognize that, if diplomacy fails to disarm Syria of chemical weapons, military strikes will almost certainly result in Russian reprisals against broader U.S. strategic interests, and the possibility of escalation will be significant.” This private U.S. newswire service Lignet recently sent this warning to its fee-paying subscribers, especially emphasizing the above quotation in bold type. Lignet’s customers — like its competitor newswire service Stratfor — are principally multinational corporations, nongovernment organizations and think tanks. Their analyses and predictions are penned primarily by former members of various U.S. intelligence agencies. Lignet’s advisory board is headed by retired four-star General Michael Hayden who also served previously as head of the NSA and later the CIA.

Although it goes largely unnoticed in the war-mongering U.S. media, those in positions of responsibility in the Obama administration and in Congress know full well what sort of dangerous game of chance they have chosen to play by provoking a crisis in Syria. In a warning to the U.S. Congress, the Russian Duma made it clear that a unilateral U.S. military strike against Syria would lead to an escalation of hostilities, including the possibility of another world war, given the fact that 10 major Russian warships are currently operating off the coast of Syria.

Simultaneously, the Duma also said that Moscow would undertake punitive measures against U.S. interests in the wake of any U.S. military strike in Syria. Those would include cooperative agreements with the U.S. necessary for continued logistical support of American troops in Afghanistan. The major portion of support to them and to NATO forces is accomplished via routes through Russia which will become more critical after America’s drawdown of troops from the Hindu Kush in 2014. The Duma also mentioned increased Russian support — including the delivery of state-of-the-art defensive weapons systems such as the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria and Iran. Any military intervention on the part of Western risk-takers would inevitably result in increased blood-letting and incalculable monetary costs.

The Duma declaration, widely disseminated in the Russian media, has been largely ignored by U.S. and Western media outlets. The same is true in the case of the Duma delegation that recently visited Washington. Lignet, however, closed its analysis by saying: “Russian threats to retaliate against any U.S. military attack on Syria are credible. As in 1914, the possibilities for escalation could well exceed the expectations and predictions of all parties involved.”