The Epstein cloud is metastasizing and becoming a rallying point for deep-seated popular alienation.

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The Epstein cloud is metastasizing and becoming a rallying point for deep-seated popular alienation from certain ruling strata. The public begrudgingly has become resigned to accept that their ‘rulers’ routinely lie and steal, but nonetheless they (particularly within the MAGA faction) have dimly come to understand that there may be vice within the body public which they regard as too detestable to imagine. People have caught on that Trump was in one way or another (even as a by-stander) linked to that whole degraded culture.

This is not likely to pass easily – or perhaps pass at all. Trump was elected to drain all such tangled webs of interlinked oligarchy, power structures and of intelligence services acting to unseen interests. That’s what he promised: America First.

Distraction from Epstein likely won’t work. The exploitation, abuse and destruction of the lives of untold numbers of children in the pursuit of power, wealth and diabolical debauchery cuts to the deepest quick of moral being. It cannot be distracted away by pointing to other élite vile monetary and power-plays. The abuse (and worse) inflicted on children stands apart in its own hellish category.

Trump may say that he’s done nothing legally wrong. But the point is that he’s now tainted – very seriously. He may consequently be entering Presidential lame-duck territory, barring some deus ex machina occurrence sufficient to deflect public attention.

Just to be clear, it is in Trump’s character to mightily resist becoming a ‘lame-duck’ President. And here lies the geo-political danger. Trump needs headline distractions and he needs ‘wins’.

However, he is at a weakened point now where the Security State and its Congressional allies are seizing more control. Equally, many in the nexus that links politicians and officials in the U.S., UK and Israel to deep business and intelligence ties will be extremely adverse to their exposure. Individuals, including the imprisoned Ghislaine Maxwell may prove dangerous, like a drowning man, who in his panic seizes on the nearest person only to drown the both of them.

Trump’s narrow-minded foreign policy team has taken the President’s foreign policy initiatives into a cage, whose bars have names such as ‘arrogance and hubris’.

On Ukraine, Trump has given Moscow what is effectively 50 days to capitulate to the Kellogg ceasefire ultimatum, or to face consequences.

Whilst third-party 100% sanctions – affecting mostly China and India’s energy imports from Russia – have been utterly dismissed by China (and likely will be by India too), Trump will be under pressure from his hawks in Congress to do something to inflict pain on Russia.

The problem is that the war-chest is empty. Neither the U.S. nor Europe hold a weapons inventory of any consequence to the war. Even were they to pay and order missiles or other weaponry now, it would be months until delivered.

Trump however needs quick wins/diversions.

Absent any meaningful inventory, Trump can only effectively escalate by using long-range missiles targeting Moscow or St Petersburg. Tomahawk 2,000 km range missiles are in the U.S. inventory (and were discussed byTeam Trump, David Ignatius has reported.

And what if these elderly Tomahawk missiles are easily shot down by Russian forces? Well, then there is a void. A serious void. Because there is nothing between the provision of token items of weaponry (a handful of Patriot missiles) to the U.S. pre-positioned tactical nukes that could be launched from fighter jets stationed in Britain.

At this point Trump would be hurtling toward a Big War with Russia.

Is there a plan ‘B’? Well … yes. It is to bomb Iran again, as an alternative to escalating against Russia.

Iranians think that another strike on Iran is likely, and Trump has said that he might do just that. So Iran is all-out preparing for such an eventuality.

It is quite possible that Trump has been briefed that the consequence to major strikes on Iran would be the effective missile-imposed de-militarisation of Israel – causing profound consequences in the U.S. polity, as well as the region.

It is also quite possible that Trump disregards such briefing, preferring to see Israel as “so good” (the exclamation he made as the Israeli sneak attack on 13 June was underway).

And in the Middle East right now? It looks as if Netanyahu is pulling the strings for Trump. Gaza is already a scandal – a war crimes scandal, with every prospect of getting worse.

Max Blumenthal reports that “when Tucker Calson alleged that Epstein had ties to Israeli Intelligence [and that this fact explained] why Trump is covering up [the Epstein Affair], the Israelis seemingly took fright. Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli Prime Minister, was summoned to declare that he had dealt, every day, with the Mossad and that Jeffrey Epstein did not work for the Mossad and was not an Israeli agent. He then threatened Carson, saying: ‘We won’t stand for this’. The Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs also denounced Tucker Carson. It is like the relationship between the U.S. Conservative movement and Israel is cracking up over Epstein”, Blumenthal suggests.

Netanyahu perhaps senses trouble ahead for Israel in the U.S., as young Americans and MAGA followers turn on Trump for having betrayed ‘America First’; for ‘co-owning’ the Gaza massacre; the Israeli-U.S. led Syria sectarian civil war; the bombing of Iran; and the despoilation of Lebanon.

Eighty-one percent of Americans, polls suggest, want all documents related to Epstein released. Two-thirds — including 84% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans — think the government is covering up evidence regarding his ‘client list’ and death. Trump’s disapproval rating stands at 53% currently.

Netanyahu is (perhaps consequentially) on a hurried rampage to impose ‘Greater Israel’. ‘Impose’, because the original Abraham Accords were ostensibly an agreement to normalise with Israel. Today, under military threat, Arab states are being compelled to accept Israeli terms – and subjugation to Israel.

It represents a travesty of the former Israeli notion of an alliance of minorities. Today, the ‘minorities’ (sometimes fractured majorities) are deliberately being set one against the other. The U.S. and Israel haveagain introduced ISIS 2.0 into the Middle East. The executions of Alawites, Christians and Shia in Syria are the direct consequence.

The prospect is of a devastated Middle East, with only the Gulf monarchies serving as obedient islands amid the wider landscape of internecine war, ethnic killing and Balkanised polities.

The new Middle East …?