Everywhere will be war — and rumors of war

Summer in the northern hemisphere is often a period calm before the storms of autumn. In 1914 the action started early, with declarations of war flying around in late July and August. But if at all possible, our leaders prefer to lets us get our vacations out of the way before the action begins. The Second World War in Europe kicked off in September 1939 and the War on Terror was born on September 11, 2001. All of these events were "announced" in advance by rumours in a manner analogous to the way rainstorms are often preceeded by the sound of distant thunder. And as with distant thunder, some people hear the rumours of war while others don't. Moreover, not every thunderbolt is the precursor to a tempest.

This summer again, the rumors of war have be growing louder and sharper. According to the grapevine, is said that the war will be launched by the US against Iran, and that it will be launched on a pretext of responding to Iranian aggression, just as so many wars have been launched against so many nations in the past. But what pretext? Filling the Persian Gulf with US warships in the hope that one or more of them would be attacked hasn't worked. What is to be done? More...