by Stephen Lendman

Red lines, timelines, deadlines, sanctions, sabotage, subversion, cyber attacks, assassinations, saber rattling, falsified IAEA hype, ad nauseam warmongering, Netanyahu/Barak bluster, spurious accusations, manipulated to fail P5+1 talks, and inflammatory headlines up the stakes for war.

When America and Israel plan them, they're coming. Pretexts are easy to invent. False flags precipitate them. Expect Washington to use them against Syria and Iran. War weary Americans are manipulated for more of what they want ended.

Israelis get the same hype. The region heads for rubicon trouble too risky to cross. Most Israelis and Americans oppose it, yet stay sidelined in silence.

No matter how contained or widespread, war is hell. Nuclear war is unthinkable. On September 7, Progressive Radio News Hour listeners heard Francis Boyle explain the potential deadly consequences. Discussion focused on Iran.

He said a British think tank estimated a minimum 2.8 million Iranian deaths. Radiation poisoning could kill double that number. All Israelis will be threatened. Many will die.

The entire country and large parts of regional ones may be irradiated. US Gulf forces, ships, and facilities will sustain heavy losses.

In January 2012, Boyle spoke publicly about The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence Today. He discussed his book by that title. Nuclear terrorism is unconscionable. America alone used these weapons. It's poised to do so again.

After multiple acts of aggression since 9/11 alone, "(t)oday the world is at a precipice of another world war," said Boyle. Attacking Iran could precipitate it.

Tactical nuclear weapons are fully integrated into US military theaters. Field commanders have full discretion to use them. They're one of many WMDs in their arsenal.

War on Iran was planned years ago. GW Bush once publicly threatened World War III. Boyle said no leader was so irrational since Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo.

Bush warned Russia, not Iran. He told Moscow not to challenge America's agenda. US leaders then and now are over the top. They'll risk WW III by attacking Iran.

At issue is regional and global dominance. It's about replacing independent governments with subservient ones. It risks blowing up the world to control it. What better definition of insanity than that.

"We stand on a nuclear precipice," said Boyle. Its origin "was conceived in the original sins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Nuclear weapons "have always been criminal!"

Using them against Japan constituted crimes of war and against humanity. Wanton destruction of cities and towns is lawless. No justification warrants it. Saying so compounds the crime.

In his Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence book, Boyle devotes an entire chapter to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He discusses all legal violations committed. They're codified in international law. America helped write it.

They're more than wore in documents. They're inviolable codes too sacred to breach. Doing so constitutes the supreme crime against peace. Nuremberg principles say so.

Risking WW III amounts to cocking a loaded gun at all humanity and squeezing. America threatens innocent people globally with mass extermination. Today Syria and Iran. Tomorrow nations anywhere on every continent. Russia and China comprise the final frontier. Risking armageddon is indefensible.

Bush threatened preventive nuclear war. Obama maintains his policy. In a second term, he'll likely implement it. So will Romney. US administrations don't change their spots. They twist law and logic to justify the unjustifiable. They'll risk millions of lives and perhaps humanity.

America faces no threat. Neither does Israel. Saying so is categorically untrue. Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter prohibits threats and use of force except in self-defense if attacked.

Article 51 and Nuremberg set inviolable standards. Breaching them constitutes the supreme unforgivable crime. Boyle calls ill-defined "nuclear deterrence" "nuclear terrorism."

At issue is "planning, preparation, solicitation, and conspiracy to commit Nuremberg crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide."

Lawyers call them "inchoate crimes." They constitute more than the offenses themselves. They involve preparatory crimes ahead of "substantive offenses."

Nuremberg criminalized them. Red lines never again to be crossed were established. Approaching them alone constitutes criminality. Nuclear war may end all wars if humanity doesn't survive to wage them.

America and Israel comprise the greatest threats. Leadership in both countries reflect irresponsible, unconscionable governance. What greater priority than stopping them before it's too late. It's no idle threat. Their madness endangers everyone.

Boyle is frank and clear saying:

"Humankind must abolish nuclear weapons before (they) abolish humankind!"

Who gives rogue criminals the right to threaten everyone? What right have they to jeopardize humanity? What goals are more important than life, security, peace and stability?

A basic international law rule says "(r)ight cannot arise out of injustice! Ex iniuria jus non oritur!"

A Washington-led international conspiracy threatens it and much more. NATO is a dagger pointed at humanity's heart. It's a global brigand, a killing machine, a menace surpassing all others. Israel is a regional partner.

Everyone has the right to live free in peace. No one has just cause to jeopardize it. Civil resistance is vital. Slaying these beasts is essential to sustain life.

They're criminals. "We are the sheriffs!" It's our responsibility to stop them. The choice is simple. Live free or perish in a radioactive wasteland. It could happen any time, says Boyle. Sustained preventive action is the only way to stop it. Reasoning with rogues doesn't work. In their face activism is called for.

On September 6, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said attacking Iran risks a regional "apocalypse." He added that "peace, prosperity and stability" initiatives must prevent it.

He stopped short of explaining his role in America's proxy war on Syria. If full-blown, Turkey will be directly threatened. Instead of risking it, he should categorically oppose it.

War on Syria and/or Iran potentially affects the entire region and beyond. Rational leaders should join with others against it. Erdogan wants it both ways. It doesn't wash.

Internal elements opposes him. He's hell bent on allying with Washington. Targeting Assad risks internal blowback. He's putting his own career on the line. He exposed his unconscionable irresponsibility.

Canada's Stephen Harper matches him blow for blow. He heads its rightwing government. Canada is one of 28 NATO countries. Harper partners in America's wars.

On September 7, Foreign Minister John Baird said Canada closed its Tehran embassy. It expelled Iranian diplomats in Ottawa. They have five days to leave. He claimed a nonexistent Iranian threat. He took a page from AIPAC's playbook. He bogusly called Tehran the gravest threat to global security.

He accused Iran of "providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime." He ignored Washington's war Syria. He said nothing about Canada's role.

He didn't explain how America, NATO partners, and regional allies recruit, arm, fund, train, and direct ravaging death squads. He was silent on what matters most.

He included a litany of lies about Iran. He unconscionably pointed fingers the wrong way. Canada is a committed imperial partner. It supports the worst of Israel's crimes. Ottawa's on the same fascist slippery slope as America. Sleeping with the devil rubs off.

Sooner or later expect war. Boyle told Progressive Radio News Hour listeners to expect it any time. He warned of its potential catastrophic consequences.

If launched, blame game finger pointing won't help. It'll be too late to matter. Top priority is preventing what's too dangerous to risk. The time to do it is now.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour