By Dr. Richard A. Byron-Cox
At the age of 16 I wrote an essay titled, “My greatest fear.” This was my first reasoned discourse on a possible global nuclear catastrophe. On becoming aware of the stockpiles of these weapons the Soviet Union and USA had, I was just beginning to come to terms with my hitherto unimaginable destruction that American atom bombs caused on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I realised that should the Cold War get really hot; all will be blown to thy kingdom come. I didn’t then know of the Doomsday Clock (DC) set up by the Bulleting of Atomic Scientist in 1947, and which since then has been hovering not too far from midnight, that is to say the hour of Armageddon.
As I write this, the DC shows we are 90 seconds to midnight, a minute and a half from apocalypse. This clock is set once a year in January. Based on the present state of world military affairs, it is clearly woefully late!!
At 16, I was concerned with the arms race, for like calypsonian Poorsah, “world defence” terrorised me. But I knew of the Soviets wish for, and efforts at détente to avoid a nuclear war. Today there are no such wishes and efforts. Indeed “leaders” of the powers that be in this world are, as Chomsky insists, racing to the precipice. The last two decades saw the destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Seria, Libya, and Yemen, conflicts that all could have mushroomed into regional wars, but fortunately didn’t. Not satisfied with ruining these states, NATO provoked Russia’s march into Georgia, and now Ukraine. In the latter case, they wrongly assumed that Putin was just another Gaddafi, and BRICS a meaningless alliance; history has spat on their arrogant presumption.
With their little tin soldier Zalinsky In a quagmire, they joined the Israeli madman in a genocidal pack against a totally defenceless Gaza. These most powerful militaries in the west, have come together to destroy a people who don’t have a single tank to use in self-defence. Now, the genocidal maniac has made Iran his target. And, this might will be the route to the final countdown on the DC, leading to omnicide.
Israel with the support of the US and its allies, has been terrorising Iran for years, through murdering its military officials and diplomats, cyberattacks, encouraging sanctions and more. Iran had maintained a responsible strategic stance of tolerance, refusing to be drawn into this murderous plot, until Israel attacked its consulate in Damascus, killing ten persons. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back! Iran stood up, warning that if the madman returned fire, their counter response would be 10 times greater!
The Knesset has virtually called for action from the mad butcher. The stage is now set for a regional war as David Cameron, the UK Foreign Secretary, rushed over to pledge British unflinching support, granting Israel a carte blanche to go to war. Britian seems to think that the BRICS will turn their backs on Iran, ignoring that that didn’t happen when they used the easily-fooled Zelensky to awaken the Russian bear; BRICS then numbering just 5. Today it’s double that, is more cohesive, with another 30 countries lined up to join. But the elephant in the crowd is certainly China; a military, economic, and technological giant. Uncle Sam and western Europe are determined to maintain their hegemony on the rest of us. China and BRICS will have none of it, which ultimately spells death to US global hegemony!
China sees Taiwan as a renegade province that needs to stop its defiance and pretence of independence. The US is sworn to defend Tiawan, but as was the case with Hong Kong, an ever-getting-stronger Beijing isn’t going to be intimidated forever! As with all tyrants, the fading US imperialist beast refuses to die quietly, but like the biblical Sampson, is hellbent on taking the planet down with it. I am not one given to being alarmist; but I think that anyone following these events, must come to the conclusion that like with the 1962 so-called Cuban missile crisis, the world at this hour is a smoking tinderbox. With Bibi committed to doing everything and anything so as to avoid jail; with a dangerously demented octogenarian occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; with the tail of the American poodle occupying 10 Downing Street; and with the latter two being servile instruments of AIPAC and Zionism, reason says that the DC’s minute hand must be placed much closer to the point when the Cinderella coach turns to a complete smashed pumpkin! We might literally not be here tomorrow, who knows!