Doomsday Clock Dangerously Close to Striking Midnight

Posted by Larry Edelson - Money & Markets

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Here’s a sobering thought: In the first month of 2017, we find ourselves closer to nuclear Armageddon than at any time in the last sixty years!

The Doomsday Clock, started by a group of scientists after the Manhattan Project back in 1947, is updated each January to show how close or how far away we are from the stroke of midnight, which means imminent nuclear holocaust.

Well, according to the latest report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in January, the clock just moved to two-and-one-half minutes till midnight.

That’s closer to nuclear annihilation than any time since 1953 … immediately after the first H-bomb test by the Soviet Union.

This revelation is no surprise to me, because I’ve been warning you for some time now that the cycles of war are indeed ramping higher, and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

The war cycles are just one component in an intersection of multiple cycles I call the Edelson Wave, that are now converging into the most powerful tidal-wave of economic and political upheaval in more than eighty years.

All around me I see hard evidence that the war cycles are rising. Just look at the short-list of flash points for potential conflict around the world today … 

  • North Korea’s development of nukes and missiles to carry them…
  • Hot war in Syria and rising tensions across the Middle East …
  • Russia’s ambitions to restore the lost Soviet empire …
  • China’s saber rattling in the South China Sea

The list goes on, and could easily include rising tensions between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed states, not to mention threats by Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to intervene in the Syrian conflict.

Screen Shot 2017-02-01 at 6.08.02 AMAgainst this backdrop, we have a changing cast of world-leading characters with very strong personalities. Of course, this includes a new American president who enjoys talking tough and doesn’t seem hesitant to swing the big stick of U.S. military might.

And in the opposite corner is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who for all his friendly gestures toward Trump, has his own ambitious agenda for expanding Russia’s power.

Trump has promised to improve relations with Russia, but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security.

Putin is dead set on restoring Russia’s former glory, by force if necessary. He has systematically flexed his military muscle to show his willingness to re-acquire former client states of the old Soviet Union.  Remember Crimea? Remember Ukraine? Remember Georgia?

 

And he also has designs on the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Two of those Baltic nations share a border with Russia, and all three are now NATO members with NATO troops garrisoned on Russia’s front doorstep. This region is on the exact same warpath into Russia followed by Napoleon’s France, and later by Germany during two world wars, making it key strategic territory in Putin’s eyes.

 

Russia is also a major backer of the Assad regime in Syria, which sets him at odds with both Israel and Turkey, two other NATO members. Make no mistake, the stakes here could not be any higher, and here’s where the Doomsday Clock comes into play.

Reportedly, the Russians have already warned both Turkey and Israel that Putin is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary to safeguard the more than 20,000 advisers and troops now operating in Syria.

Both Turkey and Israel are NATO members, meaning any conflict over Syria could quickly escalate into full-scale nuclear war.

And that’s just one of multiple major flashpoints.

President Trump has also promised to punish China for predatory trade practices and currency manipulation. Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, commenting on tensions in the South China Sea, went on record saying: “We’re going to send China a clear signal that … island-building stops and access to those islands is not going to be allowed.”

Bottom line: Not since the darkest days of the Cold War has America faced the possibility of major conflicts on multiple fronts. Regrettably, the Doomsday Clock is ticking closer to midnight, just as my own studies of the war cycles forewarned.

Best wishes,

Larry

….also: Is The Public About To Get Torched In A Stock Market Plunge? The Answer Will Shock You

P.S. The Dow is going to soar as high as 45,000 … NOT in spite of the struggling world economy or gargantuan federal debts … NOT in spite of gridlock in Washington and the uncertainty of the Trump presidency … NOT in spite of the mess in Europe and Japan and the rising tide of political violence and terror worldwide … NOT in spite of the new U.S. president and his radical shift from the economic policies of the past eight years … The Dow Will go as high as 45,000 – NOT in spite of all these crises in the global economy … but BECAUSE of them! Read more here …