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Keep looking over there! The Russian invasion of Ukraine is major news–but it's only the tip of the "existential threat" iceberg

By Charlotte B. Cerminaro
web posted June 13, 2022

About two weeks ago the Israeli Defense Forces launched Surface to Surface missiles from the Golan Heights region, targeting strategic areas of Damascus International Airport. The airport's longest runway was severely damaged; a radio tower and caches of advanced missile guidance

systems were destroyed. Damascus airport's largest runway had enough room to land a 747,

fully loaded with heavy military cargo–such flights are as common as commercial 747's loaded

with civilians.

At a superficial level this appears to be just another move to slow the influx of smuggled weapons from Iran; specifically to their Hezbollah proxy in Syria. And it is, but the threat has

grown, right under the noses of the UN and the IAEA. It now poses a clear and present

existential danger to the entire middle east.

Repeatedly flouting laws and safety protocols, refusing IAEA inspections, Iran's nuclear program has taken their final step toward attaining nuclear weapons. Workers at Iran's largest nuclear plant admitted to "Shutting down all security cameras in order to [secretly] install the latest generation centrifuges." At this very moment, they are enriching uranium to 90%. They have a significant surplus of the radioactive isotope, more than enough to produce high weapons grade material.

These facts are dreadful—but there's more, and it gets worse. Iranian leaders have already stated their intention to use nuclear weapons, against Israel. Iranian state News reports, "We believe that Israel has a [secret] plan. We will wait, and at the right time we will wipe Israel off the map." While the world stares intently at Russia and Ukraine, expecting WWIII to break out any minute, one of the most violent and unstable rogue states—one that's repeatedly violated every law, treaty or agreement they've signed—now has its hands on nuclear weapons and is intending to destroy much of the Mediterranean and its people.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of imminent danger in the middle east, there's hardly a blip on the news. When Israel shows discretion and precision in exercising their self-defense, the UN decries their actions as "crimes against humanity" and we're never told the reasons behind these actions. We have to search foreign news media: Israeli, Syrian, Iranian, Jordanian and Saudi, in order to get a picture of the political and military atmosphere.

It's difficult to believe we're living in the same world. The media now has totalitarian control over all the information that gets reported, and where it's allowed to be reported. The Afghanistan withdrawal crisis is so quickly covered up, and we're directed to the next crisis, on cue. Signs of certain catastrophe, more imminent than even the Cuban Missile Crisis, are minimized as acts of "Zionism" and the very real threats, clearly stated by Iranian leaders, aren't even given print.

And now that their threats are backed by weapons of mass destruction, how much worse the shock and tragedy will be, when it could've all been prevented. We're being directed by a magic show, a house of smoke and mirrors, except the illusions we're fed aren't fun and games. The only way to break the spell? Don't watch, don't listen. ESR

Charlotte B. Cerminaro is a Juilliard-trained classical musician  who, in addition to being a studio and orchestral musician, enjoys  writing and has a degree in Molecular Biology. © 2022

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