Another thread on here implies the truth! It says that Ariel Sharon's long-planned and somewhat extended, social, visit to the USA with emphasis on Florida, long scheduled for September 9, has BEEN CANCELLED.Looks like we are all right, Inhofe too. I don't think this would have been done unless the witching hour was on or before 9/11/02.
Coupled with Inhofe's remarks, which were planned, this is the most significant story of the day.
That Sharon would cancel an important visit, scheduled for early September, to an important segment of American Jewry during a period in which the Intifada is continuing should set off alarm bells all over the Middle East.
If my hunch is correct, Sharon has been given the head's up, which is all he asked for. Look for an Israeli "Order 8" to go out in early September, targeting first responders and biowar reaction teams. Regulars and armored troops will be called up for duty on the Lebanese and Syrian frontiers. The IAF will call up its reservists so they can have the maximum number of planes on strip alert. The Israeli political assumption is that the Egyptians will not risk losing the Sinai a second time by going to war against Jerusalem.
However, the Israelis are not so certain about the attitude of the Boy President of Damascus, or the Hezboallah in South Lebanon. So they will be ready.
This also gives the Israelis time to consider, in consultation with the White House, any Israeli response to Saddam's use of WMD on the Israeli homeland. Any response must be coordinated with the Americans so that a united front might be presented to the rest of the world. The usual suspects will begin condemning Israel for using tactical nuclear weapons against Republican Guard formations and biowar facilities in the Iraqi interior. Robert Fisk's head will explode. But the Israelis must hold off until they have taken civilian casualties as the result of chemical or biological attack before they respond.
The Russians have given the go-ahead. Don't be fooled by the "trade agreement". It will be honored by a future Iraqi successor regime, and Russia's debt will be repaid. America will insist on it. Russia's "opposition" to the war gives it a place at the top table when the peace conference is held.
In Moscow, of course. The "Putin Plan" will win Vladimir a Nobel Prize and burnish his reputation as a defender of Russian national interests.
Sharon cannot be absent from Israel at a time when he may have to order the use of TNW's.
The game is afoot. Inhofe is a steady, reliable Senator. He takes his job seriously. He may have said "fairly soon", but he doesn't want to be known as a leaker. He did this with approval from the White House.
We live in interesting times.
Be Seeing You,
Chris