theDrahos

The Drudge Report gave prominent coverage late Wednesday afternoon to a story from news.com.au, warning about a growing danger of world war—as early as this summer. The article began with a note from military analyst John Schindler, who received a commentary from an active non-American NATO official this week, that simply said:

From there, the article noted that NATO has been engaged in some of the biggest maneuvers “on Russia’s front door,” in Ukraine and off the Baltic coast. One naval maneuver, involving 18 battle ships and submarines from 10 NATO countries plus Sweden was called “Dynamic Mongoose,” and took place throughout much of May. It immediately followed ground maneuvers in Estonia, right on Russia’s Baltic border.

Across the world in the Pacific, the war of words between the United States and China has escalated to a crisis shrill, following US surveillance overflights in the Spratley Islands, which are disputed between China, the Philippines, and several other Asian Rim countries. George Soros recently told World Bank officials that a growing alliance between Russia and China could develop if China’s economy falters. After urging the IMF to give the Chinese currency trading status, he warned that, if China and Russia fully align, “then the threat of a third world war becomes real.”

Needless to say, what is missing from this otherwise precise warning of the immediacy of the danger of all-out war is the real underlying reason: The entire trans-Atlantic British-Wall Street financial system is about to blow, and the Greek debt negotiations, which come to a head by June 5, are one immediate, obvious trigger for a desperate move to war to “save the British empire.”

Speaking at the London School of Economics (LSE) en route to the G7 meeting in Germany, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called for a quick deal on Greece.  Asked whether he is optimistic about an agreement on Greece, he said he tries to be, but added that the situation must be resolved quickly.  To put it mildly, Lew is totally flipped out over the prospects of a worse-than-2008 systemic blowout that could easily be triggered by a collapse of the talks and a Greek default on its June 5 payment to the IMF.    

While Lew tried to appear calm, using bankers language, the message of panic was perfectly clear:

he said, indicating that he was sure Greece will be a key topic at the G7 meeting.    

According to the Guardian, Lew said the Greek situation is more stable than in 2012, because more of its debt is owned by sovereigns, but was quick to say,

This morning, Lew also spoke by telephone with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in which he repeated the same points made at the LSE. According to a Treasury Department statement, Lew told Tsipras that he “continues to monitor the evolving situation in Greece closely,” and remains engaged with all parties involved in the talks, and “continues to urge all parties to find common ground and reach an agreement quickly.” He said failure to reach an agreement would cause “immediate hardship for Greece and broad uncertainties for Europe and the global economy.”    

Now there are rumors flying that a “deal” could be signed very soon. Of course the real issue is the debt—will it be paid, or cut? This, no one is discussing.