August Forecast: Cloudy With a Chance of Mayhem
By Keith Johnson



July may have gone out with a whimper, but August may very well come in with a BANG!

The eighth month on the Gregorian calendar has a notoriously violent past. World War I kicked in to high gear on August 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany (after they refused to withdraw from Belgium). World War II went up in smoke on August 9th, 1945 when the U.S. dropped its 2nd nuclear bomb—on the people of Japan—at Nagasaki. Will August 10th, 2010 go down in history as the beginning of World War III?

Indulge me.

August is a month when public apathy to world affairs and politics is at an all time high. Stock and commodities markets are slow; people are either on vacation or getting their kids ready for school. What a better time to sneak in Armageddon while parents are more concerned about getting the family out to see the last of those summer movies or hitting the beach before the water gets too cold. World War III is imminent—and it will begin with a strike on Iran—possibly this month. So live it up folks, because this may be the last carefree summer you’ll be able to enjoy for a long time.

On Sunday’s “Meet The Press”, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that the U.S. has an attack plan ready to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He stated that, “Military options have been on the table and remain on the table. It’s one of the options that the president has. I hope we don’t get to that, but it’s an important option, and it’s one that’s well understood.”

No further details were provided as to the specifics of “the plan,” but you can be sure that the Israeli government will play a significant role. Early last week, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, told the Washington Post that the U.S., its European allies and even Russia are now beginning to concede to the reality of Iran’s determination to reach its full nuclear capabilities. But he didn’t believe that the current sanctions would be adequate enough to stop them.

“They [the Iranians] are ready to dance in every arena,” said the Israeli warlord. “They are ready to defy and deceive and to cheat and to make diplomatic gestures and to renew them. It doesn’t matter. They are determined to reach nuclear military capability—and now it’s still time for sanctions—but not forever—and nothing short of much tighter sanctions could be—if ever—to convince them to stop it.” Later in the interview, Barak went one step further and almost scoffed at the idea of sanctions, stating that, “whether you call them crippling or paralyzing, or I don’t know, lethal…Probably at a certain point we should realize that sanctions cannot work.”

Barak also gave high grades to the Obama administration for stepping up its support for violent—I mean military—action against the Islamic state. Barak said, “I can see there is a change in the administration approach to this issue. It’s not just change of phrases, they used to say ‘it’s unacceptable’ and now they say ‘we are determined’ to prevent [Iran from achieving its nuclear capabilities].

Obama certainly has turned a corner in his dealings with the Israeli government. No longer is he even trying to pretend that he’s a man of peace. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington recently, Obama did a turn around like the Nevada Senator did after he was caught with a dead hooker in “The Godfather, Part II.” He smiled and cajoled and did everything but get down on his knees and kiss BB’s ring. Obama made no mention of the murderous attack on an American citizen in international waters. He didn’t have a thing to say about the illegal settlements in East Jerusalem or the human rights violations against the people of Gaza. Instead, Obama pledged unconditional support for whatever crime Israel was planning next. Obama said, “We strongly believe that, given its [Israel’s] size, its history, the region that it’s in, and the threats that are leveled against us — against it, that Israel has unique security requirements. It’s got to be able to respond to threats or any combination of threats in the region. And that’s why we remain unwavering in our commitment to Israel’s security. And the United States will never ask Israel to take any steps that would undermine their security interests.”

Notice how Obama said “against us” and then corrected himself by saying “against it.” I believe he did that purposely to assure Israel and all their supporters that Obama now considers the U.S. and Israel to be one in the same. Remember when Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition earlier this year and said “[W]e have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play.” Obama is starting to sound more like one of these fanatical, Israel-first NeoCon’s every day.

So that pretty much seals our fate, does it not? With that statement, Obama is giving Israel carte blanche to do just about anything from a false flag terrorist attack to an outright provocation. And there is a mounting supply of evidence that that attack will be carried out sooner than later.

Why August? Iran is set to launch its first nuclear power plant—located in Bushear—by September. This project is a joint effort between Iran and their Russian ally and has suffered a number of setbacks over the past 15 months. Last April, author and communication’s strategist Joel C. Rosenberg posted an article on his blog entitled “Will Israel Strike Iran By August?” In that piece, Rosenberg contemplates whether or not Netanyahu will order a preemptive military strike against “all of Iran’s nuclear sites” before they are allowed to go “hot.” He reminds us that Netanyahu’s mentor, Menachem Begin, ordered an Israeli air strike against Saddam Hussein’s Osirik nuclear reactor in Iraq before it went “hot” in 1981.

So you may be asking, “Who is Joel C. Rosenberg?” and “Why should we listen to him?” According to the autobiography on his blogsite:

Joel — whose mother is Gentile and whose father is from a Jewish background –previously worked with several U.S. and Israeli leaders, including Steve Forbes, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky, and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

That should at least be enough to tell you that this guy has an inside track on what’s going on.

But it’s in his works of fiction where Joel has proven to be worthy of further scrutiny. Joel has been called “A Modern Nostradamus.” Many of the fictional elements in his bible prophecy novels have actually come true. In his book, “The Last Jihad,” a group of Islamic terrorists hijack a jet plane and fly it into a skyscraper in a major American city. That leads to a war against Sadam Hussein over his “weapons of mass destruction.” This book was written nine months before 9/11.

In another book entitled “The Last Days,” Yassar Arafat is killed, along with a U.S. diplomatic convoy, during an ambush in Gaza. Two weeks before “The Last Days” was published in hardcover, a U.S. diplomatic convoy actually was ambushed in Gaza. Thirteen months later, Yasser Arafat died.

Rosenberg also wrote a story in which Iran buys state-of-the-art weaponry from Moscow and forms a military alliance with them against Israel. On the same day that novel—“The Ezekial Option”—was published, it was reported that Iran signed a $1 billion deal with Russia to buy missiles and other weapons. In the same novel, a fictional Islamic character insists that Israel is going to be “wiped off the face of the map forever.” Five months after that book was published, Ahmadinejad gave a speech where he was alleged to have said that he vowed to wipe Israel “off the map” forever. In reality, Ahmadinejad’s words were entirely taken out of context. The correct translation of what he said was “The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.” Isn’t it interesting that translators chose to misinterpret Ahmadinejad’s words to fit the context of Rosenberg’s book rather than to fit the context of reality?

Rosenberg’s writings have also predicted the rebuilding of the city of Babylon. In his 2006 non-fiction book “Epicenter 2.0,” he wrote about the Bible prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation that indicate that the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq will be rebuilt in the “last days” of history and become the wealthiest and most powerful city on the face of the planet. In January of 2009, the World Monuments Fund and the US Embassy in Baghdad announced “The Future Babylon Project.” The Obama administration is contributing $700,000 towards the project through the state department’s budget. Reuters news agency reported that, “Officials hope Babylon can be revived and made ready for a rich future of tourism.”

You can call Rosenberg a “Modern Nostradamus” if you like. I prefer to think of him as a likely MOSSAD asset who is fed classified intelligence in advance of planned, staged events. Rosenberg claims to be a born again Christian—who gives credit for his accurate predictions—to studying Biblical prophecy and applying it to the modern world. In my estimation, Rosenberg serves as the perfect propagandist. In The United States, there are over 70 million Christian dispensationalists who support Israel. These people make up the most coveted voting block in America and latch on to anything that resembles a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Rosenberg’s works of fiction keep the flock entertained by feeding into their “end times” fantasies while, at the same time, advancing Israel’s war agenda.

O.K., so Israel is faced with a looming deadline to strike Iran before Bushear goes online. Aside from fears that Iran will advance their nuclear capabilities to that stage, Israel is also faced with the possibility of losing airspace clearance through Iraq, and the reduction of troop strength in the region, by the end of this month. In late 2008, the Bush administration negotiated the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that promised to withdraw all troops by the end of 2011. Many of those troops will begin to leave by the end of August in order to meet with the Obama administration’s early commitment to a timeline for withdrawal. That will leave only 50,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, down from a peak of 165,000 during the surge. An air strike by Israel would essentially put the kibosh on that and keep troop levels at its present strength for ground support and other essential services.

I began this piece contemplating whether August 10th might be the beginning of World War III. A strike on Iran would certainly drive us in that direction. Although no one can be precise as to when that might occur, there are factors that would lend one to pay particular attention to that date.

August 10th is the first day when the astronomical new moon is expected to make its appearance. This doesn’t come often, and provides a significant military advantage for air strikes.

I’ll paraphrase an assessment given by a qualified Geopolitical Security analyst, W. Joseph Stroupe, who basically stated that whenever the U.S. launches air strikes against an enemy with significant and deadly air defenses, they do so under the dark cover of an astronomical new moon in order to provide its pilots with every advantage and protection. Iran is such an enemy. Iraq, in 1991, was also such an enemy. U.S. air strikes began at 3:00am local time on January 17, 1991—the day of the astronomical new (darkened) moon. While the US did begin its air strikes against Iraq in 2003 on the night of a full moon (March 18, 2003), that was due to the fact that it had received credible intelligence as to Saddam Hussein’s location, and it attempted to take him out, thus starting operations earlier than planned. Additionally, Iraq of 2003 possessed only a small fraction of the air defense capabilities it had in 1991, and thus posed little real threat to US air forces.

The month of August is also host to Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. August 10th is the anniversary of Laylat al-Qadr, translated as the “Night of Power.” It is the anniversary of the night Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is a time when Muslims fast, pray and remember those less fortunate than themselves. They also take time to consider their neighbors and relations and pray that they be shown mercy and forgiven for their misdeeds. Ali Zayn al-Abidin, great grandson of the Prophet, says in a supplication for Ramadan:

“O Lord, give us grace in this month to show favour to our relations and do good to them, to take care of our neighbours with kindness and benevolence, to purge our property of obligations, to purify it by giving legal alms…to be just to him who was unjust to us and make peace with him who was hostile to us.”

What better time to launch an attack on Iran than when their people are in a somber, reflective and passive state of mind. It would be the equivalent of an attack on U.S. soil during Thanksgiving after the family has had a belly full of holiday treats and are now stretched out on the sofa to watch a college football game.

And if you don’t think Israel would be cold enough to strike on a holy day—think again. Israel wants to inflame tensions within the Islamic world. An attack on a holy day would push them over the edge and you would then begin to see real acts of Islamic terrorism (or more appropriately: acts of vengeance) around the globe. This is exactly what Israel wants. They want to drive a permanent wedge between Islam and the western world.

Any act of terrorism that materializes during this time is a false flag—remember that. Neither Iran nor any “so-called” radical Islamic group would dare engage in hostilities to commemorate this time. It would be like the west deciding to strike out against its enemies on Christmas day. It’s preposterous. But Israeli and western propagandists love to pervert holy days and claim them to be pre-texts that radical Islamic extremists use to hatch jihadist terrorist plots.

Remember back in August of 2006, when there was a fear that Ahmadinejad might be considering a apocalyptic attack against the west to commemorate the anniversary of Muhammad’s “night flight” from Saudi Arabia to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The fear mongering on mainstream media outlets like FOX and CNN was at a fever pitch as NeoCon/Israeli mouthpieces fired up their gullible Christian audiences. Here’s what Glenn Beck had to say about that dreaded August 22nd deadline for humanity:

“August 22nd—it is the day that Israel might be wiped off the map, leading to an all-out Armageddon.

August 22nd could be the day that makes people who are the most skeptical about my World War III theory say “Holy mother of God, what’s happening?” August 22nd could be the day that agnostics get down on one knee and start to pray, “Sweet Jesus, are you coming today?”

Propagandists don’t want to just demonize Iran; they want to demonize the entire Islamic faith. If there is false flag scenario awaiting us in the future, you can be sure that the perpetrators will frame it around the pretext of some bastardized version of Islamic jihadist ideology so that western audiences will be not confine their contempt to just Iran, but to the entire Islamic community as a whole.

So there’s my forecast for August: Cloudy with a chance of mayhem. I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. Let’s just hope that the clouds part and we’re all treated to a nice, pleasant month. But I’d be lying to you if I said those sunny days might last forever. Bad weather is definitely on the horizon. It might not be tomorrow…but it’s coming soon, and you’re going to need more than an umbrella to protect yourself from what’s raining out of the sky.

UPDATE: Laylat al-Qdar is often referred to as “The Night of Power” though many believe it is a misinterpretation and that the correct translation refers to Laylat al-Qdar as “The Night of Measures”

August 10, 610 was the date that Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As I’ve correctly indicated in my article, August 10, 2010 is the anniversary of that day. However, since the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar are different, Laylat al-Qdar is celebrated on a different day (on the Gregorian calendar) each year, usually towards the last days of Ramadan.

More important than when Laylat-al Qdar is actually celebrated is that Ramadan itself is expected to begin on August 10, 2010. Practically all sources indicate that it begins “on or around August 10, 2010.”