 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
|
CIA ‘preparing public for Iran war’
- Text size
Press TV
May 2, 2008
In a Wednesday lecture at the Kansas State University, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that slaying US military forces has become the political strategy of Iran’s highest governmental officials.
“It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq,” maintained Hayden, just a day after the US steamed a second American aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf.
CIA Director Michael Hayden
“Just make sure there’s clarity on that,” the CIA director continued.
His comments come at a time when a recent CBS report indicates that the US Defense Department had ordered military commanders to develop new war plans against Tehran, a claim echoed by top American analysts.
“I believe George Bush and Dick Cheney plan to take care of Iran before they leave office,” former CIA analyst Ray McGovern said in an interview published in the Charleston Gazette on Wednesday.
|
|
|
|
|
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the United States is planning right now, as we speak, a military strike against Iran. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and almost every senior US military official has pretty much acknowledged the same,” former UN weapons inspector and now anti-war commentator Scott Ritter had told Democracy Now on Monday.
The US steamed its second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday in what Washington has termed a ‘reminder’ of US power.
Senior US officials have been accusing the Iranian government of helping the spread of violence in Iraq without providing any concrete proof.
Pundits, however, say recent ‘Washington hype’ is a reminder of US preparations made prior to the Iraq war and signal efforts to prepare the public for a war on Tehran while shifting the blame of US failures in Iraq onto others.
| WATCH ALEX JONES’ ENDGAME ONLINE NOW in its entirety. View more High quality trailers at www.endgamethemovie.com |
-
- Social bookmarks
- Email this article
-
- Print this page
- Share on Twitter
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 am
It’s gonna happen.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:38 am
Everythings going according to the plan, eh SPANKY????Petit creux!
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Great, is this going to mean 200 dollars a barrel oil and 10 bucks a gallon gas? If they jump into this again without congress I hope it will raise new calls for impeachment.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
#1 Afraid so, Bush and the neocons will not be happy until it does.
Iran won’t be a cake walk and has friends in high places who can make their toys go “BOOM” over here. The Iranians just want to be left alone. Are you telling me all the money spent on our Nuclear deterent was for nothing? If so the American People are due one hell of a refund.
of course the elite want the poulation “CULLED”
Hope Isreal gets turned into “TACONITE”
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 am
That is a good point. Not only are they trying to get us into another war but they are also trying to make it seem as if “success” is being hindered by Iran (who hasn’t started a war with anyone in 200 years). It’s an excellent point for people who are trying to get our country into even more wars.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
This could turn nuclear real quick if a million iranians storm iraq.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:52 am
Put out some cold beer and a reclining chair and watch the missles come right into your home; While these bastards (And I mean you Darth Cheney) are allowed to hold up in underground military bunkers with their whores. (both male and female) SHIT!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
#8 “YA hit the ole nail on the freakin head”!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 am
CIA Agent Chasing Israeli With Suitcase Nuke Shot Dead By Houston Police?
http://www.chron.com/disp/stor.....48085.html
The above is a TRUE story now being covered up by the CIA. Who was he
chasing? Why was he shot dead? Why are they denying he was ever a CIA
agent? Why hasn’t ALEX JONES reported on this???
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
Look up ss n 22 sunburn missile. Our boats are sitting ducks against these and the Russian onyx class anti ship missiles. The only good thing that might come from the Iran attack is maybe Russia will destroy that shitty little state that is causing all the mid east problems. But if we bomb loaded nuclear plants, the radiation will kill millions across the mid east and Asia. Wont we be more loved as a nation then? Culling the herd is going to the next level it seems.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 am
#10, AJ ain’t stupid? does not want a date with a rope because he becomes distraught!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 am
Re: Anthony Tomei #10
Hey, that was a fascinating story I hadn’t heard about, thanks for the link. As far as Alex not reporting on it, he hasn’t said a word about the west texas polygamist sect being raided and having their kids taken by CPS either, but you know he has an opinion on it, he just has a lot going on and not enough time I guess.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday flatly denied that the US was preparing to start military attacks against Iran.
“I don’t think we’ll have two carriers for a protracted period of time. So I don’t see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder,” he told reporters during a visit to Mexico City to brief officials there.
===============================================================
I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder??????????????
With American Taxpayers Money?
How about give Iranians some medications prescriptions to GOOD MEMORY
Is this reminder too expensive?
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
Wheels #3 – wake up. an impeachment in the USA? that is impossible to do. remember bill clinton? he wouldn’t leave office that stubborn son of a bitch. an armed rebellion is the only hope
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Paging VPCHENEY FAN! Paging VPCHENEY FAN! VPCHENEY FAN, please report to this site!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.a.....id=3510303
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Is VP:
a) Vampire
b) Vice President
c) V Predator = 5th Predator
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Sword of Damocles hanging over Iran
Fri, 02 May 2008 18:55:13
By Ismail Salami, Press TV
On April 29, a second American aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the Persian Gulf in what observers see as a tacit declaration of war on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
US officials say it is only a show of force. They say the US Navy plans to withdraw a carrier group, USS Harry S. Truman, from the region. A US Navy spokesman, Jeff Davis, said the USS Abraham Lincoln would overlap with the departing aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman by “no more than a day or two”.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday flatly denied that the US was preparing to start military attacks against Iran.
“I don’t think we’ll have two carriers for a protracted period of time. So I don’t see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder,” he told reporters during a visit to Mexico City to brief officials there.
The arrival of the warship follows stepped-up US rhetoric against Iran, accusing Tehran of meddling in Iraq and destabilizing the region.
That the US government is taking all this trouble to put on a show of power to scare the Islamic Republic is out of the question. It certainly harbors other evil intentions to debilitate the influence of the Islamic Republic in the region and strengthen its own muscle in the region instead. To the Washington officials, it is quite clear that Iran can play a very constructive role in the region as it is now making every effort to defuse the crisis there. If the US government were after peace and stability, they would further seek Iran’s help. Aye, there is the rub. The US officials can reap the benefits of their so-called war on terror by fomenting instability and contributing to chaos in the region. If peace and stability are established in the country they will have no choice but leave the country with their tails between their legs.
Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday, “This is not some grand scheme to destroy the Iranian regime and its nuclear program. It is a practical plan on how to respond to an Iranian strike or a provocation.”
Under a plan approved by the US Defense Department, Central Command would be allowed to retaliate for an Iranian attack with US air strikes. The US government is in fact contemplating on an attack against Iran. Yet they are waiting for a ripe time. Any excuse they find can be used for their attack. According to reports, the attack would range from a limited to full-scale one.
- They would target all Iranian military assets in the Persian Gulf in order to prevent Iran from blocking the Straits of Hormuz, which is the passage of 40 percent of global oil.
- They would target missile centers and command and control facilities deep in Iran to be conducted by the two navy carriers deployed in the Persian Gulf.
- They would eventually target Iran’s nuclear facilities in Arak, Bushehr and Isfahan
Last week the CIA published three fake aerial photographs purporting to show an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor which Israel bombed last September with the full-throated support of the US government. The authenticity of the pictures was later questioned by Professor William Beeman, head of anthropology at the University of Minnesota according to a report by The Guardian.
A colleague with US security clearance said a picture taken before the bombing looked as if it had been digitally enhanced. He also said that the alleged reactor had no air defenses, no military checkpoints and no power lines. Turning to two shots of the bombed building, he saw to his surprise that the first showed a rectangular building and the second a square one. They were not the same building!
This is not the first time the US government tries to fabricate lies. Even before launching an invasion on Iraq, it provided some fake photos to the UN Security Council purporting that Saddam was seeking weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
Brandishing a specter of war on Iran, President George W. Bush explicitly threatened on Tuesday that the US and Israel would ultimately bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. He enunciated that the United States and Israel had Iran in mind when Syria was bombed.
“We have an interest in sending a message to, to Iran, and the world, for that matter, about just how destabilizing a nuclear proliferation would be in the Middle East, and that it’s essential that we work together to enforce UN Security Council resolutions aimed at getting Iran to stop their enrichment programs. In other words, one of the things that this example shows is that, you know, these programs can exist and people don’t know about them and – as the Syrians simply didn’t declare the program. They had a hidden program.”
The marriage of two nefarious powers is enough to create more chaos and commotion in the world. The possible attack of the two bullying powers on Iran is hanging like a sword of Damocles over the country. The US government has long been trying to demonize the Islamic Republic and manipulate public opinion in order to justify its possible attack on Iran. They have leveled baseless accusations against Iran such as: Iran is conducting a clandestine nuclear weapons program; Iran is training Iraqi militias; Iranian gunboats are provoking US warships in the Persian Gulf; Iran is supplying weapons to the terrorists; Iran is killing our boys in Iraq. A similar technique was used by the US government before invading Iraq. There is general feeling that the US has been drafting and redrafting plans to attack the Islamic Republic.
What has so far prevented the warmongering US government or its minion, Israel from waging another bloody war in the region remains unclear. Yet, it is quite clear that the Iranian army and people will be ready to fight to the last drop of their blood to repel any aggression on their country either by the rogue regime of Israel or the hawkish US government.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
If we go to war with Iran, we had better realize that we are going to need to deal also with Russia. Iraq had no allies, Iran has strong alliance with Russia, if only for protection from the U.S.A. Also, we don’t have the man power to support another war. If we were to go to war with Iran, the draft will quickly follow, and this time it will be for both men and women.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:52 am
c?
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
VP Cheney needs a smart Bomb up his ass!
aww stupid me, Smart Bombs are “TOO SMART” to wanna go there!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
and the others 4?
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:54 am
I thought it was b, but when I think about c, it makes sense too. Predators respect a good hunter, but they’d tease him about the ‘Friendly Hunting Accident’ just the same.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 am
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! Stop paying the bill and they will stop killing for profit! It is our energy GWBUSH runs off of. Every single cell in a body has an effect on the rest of the body if it does not work the way it is “supposed to work”.
BE THE CANCERCELL OF FREEDOM for the body of the NWO! Love is the cancer for the NWO. Love them enough to be the cure and to watch them wither and die like the poison weed of humanity they are!
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC!!!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 am
#10, Anthony Tomei, thanks for the link. I read it and it sort of co-incides with the one I read yesterday, except for the Mossad and Israeli mole parts. It will be intersting to see how it works out.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 am
“What has so far prevented the warmongering US government or its minion, Israel from waging another bloody war in the region remains unclear. Yet, it is quite clear that the Iranian army and people will be ready to fight to the last drop of their blood to repel any aggression on their country either by the rogue regime of Israel or the hawkish US government.”
http://www.rense.com/general59.....wesome.htm
Iran to USofA and Israel, “go ahead, make my day”
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 am
RE: Freecell- It’s surpassed that already. Every American could stop buying and paying taxes tomorrow. They’ve have the means to do as they please.
because they control everything.
When We stop buying something in Protest. they know it hurts Us becauser we depend on the systems they have put into place to maintain our livellihoods.
SEE?
That’s why we need to change it. REVOLUTION!
It’s the Bourgeiose against the Elite.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 am
Viet Nam Vet , it’s been my experience that VP Cheney Fan is actually on our side. He’s just so pissed, he’s into ‘High Critic/High Manipulate’ mode. Ya know, like ‘YEAHYEAH, YOU’RE ALL PISSED OFF AT BUSH! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT? NOTHING….JUST LIKE YOU’VE DONE TILL NOW’. He seems to be trying to get people mad enough at their own complacency to take action. Plus, he’s given me and others very good INSIDE info. Opinion. He uses other names though.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
“I believe George Bush and Dick Cheney plan to take care of Iran before they leave office,” former CIA analyst Ray McGovern
take care of Iran???? oh the hypocrisy!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:11 am
#27 ” KICK ASS LINK AND ARTICLE”
So Freaking true!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
#29, I was refering to Bush’s handler not the poster!
Sorry bout that!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Iran has the most brain scientist in the word right now specially in Health Care
They are in the top of technology and this is fact
Why US can deal with it?
Those people are great brave that have a hell next door and still keeping tranquility in their country
Just for this I respect Iran
Look Lebanon?
Syria even been bombed
Why Us doest not like people who is brave enough to make peace?
Even SW are doing business with Iran
What hell is going on here?
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 am
#29, luggs, where did VP CHENY FAN post?
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:21 am
About the time the gubberment thinks it can again draft our sons and daughters to the Mideast nightmare, my prediction is extreme resistance. I for one will refuse to let them draft my children.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:31 am
To save time, they ought to take all the propaganda crap they wrote up for Iraq, change the “q” to an “n” and be done with it. it’s the same old crap, the same verbiage, and the bunch of right brain morons believing this, too.
But, enough of that because there is a Brooke crises on Amerikan Idol!!!!!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES THE STORIES THESE LAME DUCK CLAIM ARE TRUELY “STUCK ON STUPID”.
THAT IS WHY US AMERICANS HAVE NO RESPECT FROM THE WORLD COMMUNITITY.
IT IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY RETARDED, LAME DUCK, BRAINWASHED, VICTIMIZED, STUCK ON RETARDATION LIVING IN THE U.S…..
GOD HELP THE GOOD, HONEST AMERICANS AND PLANET EARTH!!!!!!!
AND MAY GOD CURSE THE REST OF THE ANIMALS WHO BELIEVE AND SUPPORT THESE DEVIL WORSHIPPING, SCUM OF THE EARTH!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
FEMA and the Hidden Underground Government
link.. http://www.theforbiddenknowled.....ground.htm
Thak you
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
All salmon fishing banned on West Coast
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…..&tsp=1
It’s beginning
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
It starts very soon guy’s! When they start this shit, then expect Martial Law.
Get your duck’s in a row now! Get ready
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I agree….when they do Iran, martial law will be just a step behind.
From all I have read lately, I sense that some huge false flag attack is next on the agenda. We’ve all known that, but I mean, it’s up next, like real soon. And I expect it will make 911 look like child’s play.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Redlist #41 is right on.
Something is lurking on the horizon very soon. I can sense this too & a false flag op is likely to happen. It was “never” the intention of the military industrial complex to make Iraq a temporary occupation. You don’t build embassy’s larger than the vatican for a weekend stay! Iran is next on their list.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
America will cease to exist if Russia and China decide their sick of our shit!!
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
#42 and 41
Yes, i just have this gut feeling that something big is going to happen soon
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
We have until the 8th as far as military exercises, Monday the 5th is a satanic holiday too. Either way, gonna be a HOT SUMMER 4 sure!!!
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Good-bye America! The usurpers will make sure their rotten plans succeed, no matter what anyone else thinks or does. It’s downhill all the way from here on, for us not them. They are making sure they have everything in order and whatever they need for what’s coming. After all, they have all the money, power, and time to accomplish their diabolical goals.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Does anybody know if Alex Jones allows retransmission of his program via low-power, so-called “Part 15″ or pirate radio? I have the means and equipment to do it, just curious if anybody else is airing his program via AM/FM radio to their neighborhoods. Some of the guys on GCN or the other alt. networks not only allow, but encourage such distribution.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
This reminds me of the evening of september 11th 2001. I had the day off on that day and watched the events, and aftermath, unfold until late at night when I could no longer remain awake.
Now I don’t know if any of you remember this, but at some point during the early evening, some CNN correspondant in Kaboul, Afghanistan, appears on screen, reporting live about explosions in and gunfire and he then speculates about whether it may be US F-16s bombing taliban positions.
Now there had already been some oddities throughout the whole day from newscasters. But it’s at that precise point that I suddenly realized the proportions this event would take.
Predictably, they went into Afghanistan. Then Irak. And then at some point I found myself looking at a world map to validate a suspicion I had. And there it was, staring right back at me was the grand scheme of it all. Both Irak and Afghanistan share a border with Iran. The strategy came into full light:
1) Secure the pipeline running oil from the Caspien sea, through Afghan territory, all the way down to the ocean.
2) Secure the oil reserves in Irak.
3) Secure the presence of puppet governments in both countries, one of which is at the heart of the middle-east, under the guise of so-called “democracy”.
4) Secure troop positions on both western and eastern flanks. (And now the US has carrier groups floating in the Persian Gulf, their eyes well set on Iran’s coast).
5) Proximity to Syria is also interesting.
6) In the midst of all that, you also find yourself securing THE most important ressource on the planet: Huge amounts of oil. Important for the energetic needs of the western world, important for the energetic needs of your army as it is conducting and will likely escalate a long-term war. In otherwords, with depleting oil ressources (at a very scary rate) and China on the brink of becoming an actual superpower (it’s present arms buildup is unprecedented), the name of the game is survival of the fittest.
The unfortunate thing in all this, is that the US has painted itself into that corner, prompting by its own hands the threats to the survival of its hegemony. By doing so, the consequences, which have begun, are innocent people dying by the thousands, a divided american nation, the last gasp of democracy, and the looming threat of a nuclear conflict (make no mistake, attacking Iran will lead the western world into a full-blown world war, with Russia and China as our main adversaries along with Iran, North Korea and just about everyone else who’s been dreaming of the day when the US gets its ass kicked all the way to the moon.
They did the same damn thing with Irak (speeches and news stories about the Iraki threat), linking them falsly with terrorist groups. Next thing you know, we’re at war with them.
Same shit, different day!
That short wave radio that’s advertized here on Infowars, the one with the recharge dynamo… I suggest we all get one, that and a shitload of other stuff for the hard times to come.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
oh my god NONE OF US WANT A WAR. WE ALL KNOW THAT IRAN HAS NO NUKES. WE ALL KNOW IT IS THE REPTILIAN/DARK ALLIANCE/NWO WHO HAVE THE NUKES. IF THIS HAPPENS I AM GOING ON A KILLING RAMPAGE IN WASHINGTON
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
1984usa.com
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Now there is a surprise. Prepare for famine ….
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
thats exactly what they will say. They will say that Iran has impeeded in our efforts in Iraq along with them being a legitimate threat.
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
After they capped all the oil wells in Iraq (and here), after getting rid of Saddam’s minor trading of it to the world, they artificially jack up the oil prices here and they are now planning to cap all of Iran’s oil since they have one of the largest world supply of it and set up a central bank that uses EU currency to replace the original currency in use.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
On the subject of oil. Chavez is a New World Order scumbag.
He’s no hero. He’s a buddy of Bush’s, part of the scenario to
create hatred toward America.
I’m still puzzled on this one. My friend is Iranian. Has family
in Iran. Just returned from ther. I asked him about the attack.
He said ‘Don’t worry. It won’t happen.’ Strange, I cannot figure
this out and he tell me the whole story.
I believe Iran and Russia will be the countries ‘to the north’ of
who will attack us and help obliterate this country.
Ahamadinejad is freemason, bush is freemason, something
cooking between bush and the his buddy who he calls ‘pooty poot’.
Something’s strange about this whole deal.
Enlighten me anyone????
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 pm
pardon me ‘he won’t tell me the whole story.’
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 am
i know some of you dont believe the ecosystem is being torn a new one, but you can apply this same set of steps to media, government, and corporations. hope you get to stage 6 some day.
The waking up syndrome
by Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.” — T. S. Eliot
Just dealing with our daily lives keeps most of us too busy to worry about whether or not the sky is falling. We focus on getting to and from work, paying our bills, doing our errands, and, if our time-stressed schedules allow, enjoying a little time to relax with friends and family.
But we’re deluged of late with dire pronouncements from high-profile newscasts, documentaries, and scientific reports about global warming, melting ice caps, dwindling oil supplies, and a looming imminent economic collapse. Closer to home, we’ve experienced climate-related disasters: floods, wildfires, hurricanes, wildfires, and severe droughts.
While the sky may not be falling, this day-after-day onslaught of alarming news is making it more difficult simply to overlook the triple threat of environmental, climatic and economic concerns. It’s leaving many of us feeling like Alice in Wonderland, being sucked down a Rabbit Hole into some frighteningly grotesque and unfamiliar world that’s anything but wonderful.
Few of us are eager to contemplate, let alone truly face, these looming changes. Just the threat of losing chunks of the comfortable way of life we’re accustomed to (or aspiring to) is a frightening-enough prospect. But there’s no avoiding the current facts and trends of the human and planetary situation. And as the edges of our familiar reality begin to ravel, more and more people are reacting psychologically. A noticeable pattern of behavior is emerging.
We call this pattern the Waking Up Syndrome, and it unfolds in six stages, though not necessarily in any particular order.
Stage 1 – Denial.
When we first get an inkling of the shifting environmental reality and its potential impact on both the national economy and our daily lives, most people begin by denying it. We slip into one of four common ways to discount things we’d rather not deal with:
“I don’t believe it.”
We simply deny the existence of any such concerns and refuse to consider them. This might include latching eagerly onto any few remaining naysayers for confirmation and comfort. But as the number of reputable naysayers dwindles, more people are forced to face the fact that “something” is happening.
“It’s not a problem.”
We may admit there’s a change taking place, but deny that it’s significant, seeing such things as climate change and economic fluctuations as part of a normal pattern that is nothing to concern ourselves with. Or we may incorporate the changes we see happening into our spiritual and religious beliefs, regarding them not as a problem, but a test of faith, a sign of a global spiritual awakening, or evidence of a long-awaited Apocalypse. Some may believe focusing on such problems makes them worse and that we should instead visualize, meditate, or pray for the world to be as we want it to be.
“Someone will fix it.”
We may admit major problematic changes are underway but conclude that there’s nothing we personally can do about them and we needn’t worry because technology, scientists, the government, or some expert authority will come up with a solution in time to save us.
“It’s useless.”
We may believe there’s nothing anyone can do about macro-problems, so why do anything, except perhaps eat, drink and be merry. What will be, will be.
Stage 2 – Semi-consciousness.
In spite of the various ways we may try to discount what’s happening to our environment (and consequently to our economy and whole way of life), as evidence mounts around us and the news coverage escalates, we may begin to feel a vague sense of eco-anxiety. Some express this as virulent anger at all this discussion about global warming. Others dissociate from their growing concern and misdirect their feelings toward other things in their lives, perhaps blaming family members or jobs for their undefined discomfort.
Stage 3 – The moment of realization.
At some point we may encounter something that breaks through our defenses and brings the inevitability and severity of the implications of our collective problems into full consciousness. We might read a particularly compelling article, learn more about the aftermath of Katrina, hear a news broadcast about polar bear deaths or rampant fires and flooding, see a documentary like “An Inconvenient Truth” or “The End of Suburbia.” Or — most dramatically – we might experience a natural disaster ourselves with all its personal and economic costs.
At such moments, suddenly we realize no matter how we try to explain away the changes that are happening, they are and will be accompanied by huge challenges to life as we know it and cause considerable pain and suffering for many, including ourselves and those we love.
Even if we believe all these disruptions are leading to a global spiritual awakening or a long awaited Apocalypse— even if we think some helpful new technology is going to emerge (hopefully soon)— we nonetheless begin to understand on a visceral level that the changes taking place will have dramatically unpleasant implications beyond anything we’ve faced in our lifetimes. In fact, we realize many of these uncomfortable changes are already underway and will be growing in coming months and years, affecting most of the things we love and cherish.
But like the character Neo in the 1999 movie The Matrix, even at this point we still have a choice. We can choose to swallow the metaphorical red pill and find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes and where it leads. Or we can take the soothing metaphorical blue pill and choose to “escape” from the nightmarish Wonderland of the rabbit hole we’ve fallen into by slipping back into the comfort of our favorite form of assuring ourselves that all is well.
But if, like Neo, we take “the red pill,” we wake up to the reality of our individual and collective situation. We get that the triple threat challenge facing us is a real Medusa monster. Once we’re awake, the problem is full-blown in our consciousness. It’s right in our face. It won’t let us turn away, and the force of it makes “waking up” incredibly painful.
The moment we realize — even briefly — that we’re slipping into a dangerously threatening new world that no longer makes sense according what we’ve always believed, our genetic wiring kicks in with predictable physiological and emotional threat responses that can take many forms.
Some of us become obsessive newswatchers, documentary filmgoers, internet compulsives or book readers, wanting to know more and more about what’s really happening. Loved ones may think we’ve gone nuts. Spouses may consider divorce; kids may decide mom and dad are hopeless cranks.
The more fragile or vulnerable among us may get depressed or experience panic attacks. If something about this current eco-trauma retriggers earlier traumas in our lives, we may have a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reaction. Even the more resilient may throw themselves obsessively into save-the-planet and other activities, soon to become exhausted and weary from trying to do what no one person can.
Others, once they realize what’s happening, see it as a new business or political opportunity. These green business ventures can sometimes be helpful and productive, but at other times can actively circumvent or sabotage the efforts of those who are trying to solve the problems.
Stage 4 – A Point of No Return.
Once awakened, especially as economic and environmental changes intensify, most of us find there is no turning back. We find ourselves traveling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Whatever methods we’ve used to avoid facing the coming changes is no longer successful to quell our personal concerns. We can no longer help but notice the continuing rapid progress of the bad trends – more expensive energy, higher costs of living, a weaker economy, more species in trouble, rising temperatures, more devastating severe weather events, increasing political, economic and military competition (wars) over remaining resources, etc. It all starts to make a dreadful sort of sense as we let in the enormity of the situation.
One of the most difficult aspects of this stage is the profound but unavoidable sense of isolation and disconnection we may feel when living in a different world from most of those around us, a world we can no longer escape from, but one few others seem to notice. The result is a bizarre sense of surrealism. Interaction and communication can become a challenge. How do we relate to a world that’s no longer real to us, but is business as usual to most? Do we try to reach out to others about the ugly new reality and endure their defenses? Is it better to indulge those who don’t yet see the reality we’ve stumbled into and act “as if” nothing has changed just to get along? Or might it be easier to withdraw from life as we’ve known it and turn into a hermit?
5. Despair, guilt, hopelessness, powerlessness.
The realization sets in that one person or even one group or community can’t stop the effects of such things as climate change and peak oil and their economic consequences from impacting millions of people around the planet and at home. We see this thing spiraling out of control and realize that our species, and even we individually, are responsible for much of what’s happening! As the mayor of Memphis said to the Los Angeles Times when a major heat-wave hit his city and most of the Midwest and South last summer, “This is pretty akin to a seismic event in the sense that there is no solution that we here in this room can come up with that will take care of everybody.”
Some have suggested that this stage is similar to the traditional grief process, and indeed, this is a time of grieving. But there is a significant difference between this awakening and the normal experience of grief. Grief that occurs after a loss usually ends with acceptance of what’s been lost and then one adjusts and goes on. But this is more like the process of accepting a degenerative illness. It’s not a one-time loss one can accommodate and simply move on. It is a chronic, on-going, permanent situation that will not only not improve, but actually continue to worsen and become more uncomfortable in the foreseeable future, probably for the entire lifetime of most people living today. This is what author James Howard Kunstler calls “The Long Emergency.”
Our grief and sorrow are also amplified by having to bear the pain of upbeat acquaintances who go merrily along in their denial, discounting their own uneasiness about what’s happening and wondering why we’re so “negative.”
Stage 6 – Acceptance, empowerment, action.
As we come to accept the limits of our general powerlessness, we also find the parameters of the power we do have in this strange new situation. We discover we no longer need to resist our current and emerging reality. We don’t need to feel compelled to save the entire world or to hold onto a world that no longer makes sense. We are freed, instead, to pursue what James Kunstler calls “the intelligent response, ” seeking and taking whatever creative, constructive action will best sustain those aspects of life that are truly most important to us in the context of the changes unfolding around us. At this point our curiosity and creativity kick in and we can begin following our natural instincts to find what is both feasible and rewarding to safeguard ourselves, our families, our communities and the planet.
And indeed, growing numbers of people are beginning to respond with a plethora of creative, socially and personally responsible actions along four paths that are similar to those identified by Joanna Macy in her book World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal and Richard Heinberg in Peak Everything: Waking up to the Century of Declines. We are finding individual and collective ways to:
Resist making matters worse.
What’s going on may or may not be inevitable, but we don’t have to speed it along. We can do at least one thing to ease or lessen the negative impact of these changes. We can join an environmental action group, plant a tree, bike to work, help with a protest march or write letters to our congressperson. Just doing our little bit to limit the damage eases the psychological distress we’re feeling, even if we’re not “saving the whole world.” Taking even a small stand for what Macy calls “the life-sustaining society” (as opposed to the life-destroying one) gives us back our dignity and sense of agency.
Raise our level of consciousness so we can maintain some serenity and not burn out in the midst of all this change. We might adopt a spiritual practice of some kind, take up meditation, expand our understanding of ecology or history, or spend time reconnecting with nature, learning to live our lives in harmony with the rest of the earth.
Build a lifeboat for ourselves and our loved ones.
Many people are already taking steps to create a richer yet more sustainable way of life better suited to weathering the new economic and environmental realities. Some are moving to less vulnerable or expensive locales. Others are simplifying their lives, starting to lower their energy use, or creating personal and community permaculture gardens. Still others are changing into more sustainable careers, joining relocalization efforts to safeguard their local economy, or adopting alternative ways to exchange needed goods and services. Learning more about these positive possibilities is vital. Until we can see that there are options, there’s no way out of despair except to return to dissociating or denying, which only makes us more vulnerable to the difficulties around us.
Join with others in small communities
for support and understanding. Don’t try to cope with this enormous challenge alone! Find others who share your concerns and views. Some people have formed reading or study groups around books like David Korten’s The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, Richard Heinberg’s Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World, Cecile Andrews’ Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life, or Middle Class Life Boat by Paul and Sarah Edwards. Others are becoming active in relocalization efforts like those described on http://www.relocalize.net . Still others are joining together to turn their neighborhood into a sustainable “eco-hood” or exploring options for co-housing or eco-villages.
Taking some action in each of these four areas prevents us from getting stuck in panic and paralysis. It energizes us and re-establishes a sense of confidence and security in life. Does it mean we will no longer be plagued with concerns, doubts or even fear at times? No. The threat of what we face is huge and relentless. There’s never been anything like it in human history. All who awaken to the enormity of the challenges before us still slip and slide somewhere along this continuum at times. One day we may feel encouraged with our forward action, the next we may be back to despairing. Or we many need to take a mental holiday altogether for a few days or weeks so we can come back refreshed and reinvigorated, ready to work again on the survivable future we’re creating for ourselves and our loved ones.
When asked in an interview with The Turning Wheel if there are times when she ever thinks “Oh, no! This is impossible,” even Joanna Macy, who has been a leader in championing ways to address these changes, replied, “Every day.” But she goes on to explain that while she does think this at times, such times pass because she can’t think of anything more engaging and enjoyable than addressing the most pressing issues of our time.
Such wisdom seems to be the secret to living positively while navigating the painfully difficult stages of awakening until we get to the point where we can enjoy the daily challenges our dismaying situation presents to our imagination, our creativity and our deep and abiding love for the most valuable aspects of life.
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:55 am
I’m sick of hearing about the wounded. What about all the thousands of wonderful guys who are fighting this war without any of the credit or the glory that always goes to those lucky few who just happen to get shot.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 am
Look if you joined the military and you die, you asked for it. I have a cousin who was in Ira
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:12 am
Look if you joined the military and you die, you asked for it. I have a cousin who was in Iraq and his tank was blown up but he lived and he said he was no hero, especially after being ordered to mow down innocent civilians or face court marshall with the death penalty. He said it was a giant sham and that IF YOU JOIN the Army and get killed, you’re not a hero because you signed up to get that fat wad of cash out of greed. If you get killed in Iraq and you’re in the military, well it’s true… you asked for it. Don’t join the fucking military if you dont wanna fight. What the hell do you think the military is? If you’re a soldier and you get killed in Iraq, guess what? You signed the fucking papers to join the military. No one made you. You’re not a hero. In fact, you chose to go risk death knowing there is a fucking ungodly war of epic proportions. So if you’re in the military or you got shot in Iraq, it’s you’re own damn fault. Don’t think you are better than a civilian because A) you are working for the enemy, our own government and B) you made the choice to fight. If you chose that as your job, then good luck. I am not gonna thank you for helping Bush fuck up the world each and every day. You’re not a hero and never will be. A hero is the guy who runs to his neighbor’s house that’s being robbed, gets shot, and still takes the guy out. Someone who signed a paper knowing there is a sick war going on to fight phony terrorists is just trying to get a fat sign on bonus and add something to their resume for when their tour of duty is up. Same goes for cops. Don’t talk about the balls you have. You signed up to get shot at. That doesn’t make you a hero. A hero doesn’t sign up for it. A hero doesn’t get paid for it. Got it? That’s my take on the military. So basically, thats my 2 cents for today. So if you die working, well, you signed up right?
NOW IF THERE IS A DRAFT, THOSE ARE HEROES…. NAM VETS WHO WERE FORCED TO GO AND DIE. THOSE ARE HEROES.
Signing up to shoot Muslims and their families is not heroic. In fact, I think you are scum for assisting the President in his dictatorship and helping advance his cause. You can get yourself discharged at any time very easily. My cousin did, so I don’t fall for the hero propaganda. You are brainwashed killing machines. If you fight and die, you SIGNED THE PAPERS, nuff said.
You wanna be a hero? Be drafted and forced to go by the dictator Bush.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:13 am
Thanks for the censorship Alex, after spreading your message to at least 500+ people.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 am
I always voted at my party’s call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 am
The only excuse is the recruitment officers who lie to kids to join out of high school and pump them up with delusional heroic bullshit.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 am
I’m gonna get bashed for this I agree with your posts and post 62 is a good point, if they can go to highschool and target the young minds coming out, then this truth movement should do the same thing. Just an Idea.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 am
The military has always been a fascist run part of the government and always will be. Whatever happened to the Consitution that said we have the right to form our own well-armed militias for protection and defense? It died with Bush. It’s really been dying since WWI and now we are basically in WW3. If Bush gave a shit, he’d be sending in teams to take out the tops of North Korea, China, the corrupt Russian government, and Cuba. But no, we fight people that have retaliated because we attacked our own damn country. Who is the real enemy? Everyone is the enemy in war. There’s no such thing as morality in war. It’s the sickness of this world. War is hell and always will be.
Perhaps I was too hard on soldiers. But if you join the military right now, you know what you’re doing. Supporting our country’s dictator.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:26 am
I have a lot to say about the military and their sickening tactics and most importantly the way as Zeb agrees with me in that they go promise high school kids great wonders. They play propaganda commercials about how much of a hero you get to be. In the end, the only hero, is no one…
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
there doing the national terrist drills May 1-8
i dont no why but i have this strong feeling that something is going to happen on May 5
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
things are getting way out of hand in america…
May 4th, 2008 at 8:55 am
something big is gonna happen at the end of the summer, all the cameras will be pointing at the glory of the olympics and the nationalist agendas of the presidential nominees will hit hysteria level close to the election. The world is one terrorist attack away from martial law in the US and riots on the streets of the UK when we join the EU in Dec…..check out codex alimentarius…the plans to label nutrients as toxins! In trade agreements commissioned by the UN.
post 62 raises a good point, it is the arm of the financial and educational side of this entire conspiracy that disenfranchises the kids with their reality and offers them hopes of careers and heroism in the forces. They are used by sick agents of the executive, legislative and judicial government as pawns to generate big money for their rich pals and to further the agenda of the elites. I think we’re close to the destruction of the constitution in the US…and get this…..the laws of the UK are based on an UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION! Shocking!
May 4th, 2008 at 9:01 am
What happened to the chinese man who walked into a wall with a boner?
He smashed his his nose.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:10 am
So has the USS Harry Truman left the Persian Gulf yet?
May 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
It has been reported that more than nine out of ten blacks (that voted) voted for Obama. The question that begs to be asked when informed of this fact is…are blacks voting in a racist manner? If blacks vote in a racist manner it cannot be justly claimed any longer that racism against blacks by non blacks is morally wrong. It is merely self defense.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Pretty sad that may be true, blacks voting for Obama. Shows the lack of real investigation that most Americans are privy to. What can be done but passing out more DVD’s, wearing hats and t shirts, and carrying a bullhorn?
An infowars bumper sticker I guess!