There is the facade: organization like NATO, or the British Commonwealth, or the Arab League. And then there are the real alliances, the ones that matter when things get tough, when important decisions need to be made. Some of them are centered around a common project, such as the ECHELON countries, while others have almost no visible existence. As usual, these are less conspiracies than collusions. These alliances are informal, they can fluctuate and they can often involve countries which, at least in public, are often opposed to each other.

For years I have had my own list of truly dangerous countries, countries whose governments represent the biggest threat to international security and peace, and I have always tried to keep track of their behind-the-scenes actions. Here is my personal list of ‘rogue states’, in ‘order of toxicity’, if you wish:

1) Israel
2) Turkey
3) Pakistan
4) Saudi Arabia

I call them “the gang of four” (a tongue-in-cheek reference to another “gang of four” in China)

The US itself, which is mostly the unwitting (if powerful) puppet in the hands of these countries is really in a category of its own and should be included in this list more as the “conference room” and as a “relay” of the other four than as an actor in its own right (at least as long as the Neocons, having being successful in hijacking American sovereignty, remain in complete command of the USA).

Two countries of the Gang of Four, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, are undergoing an internal political crisis triggered by the deep disconnect there is between the ruling elites (prostitutes of the Empire) and not only their public opinion but even a good chunk of the elites themselves. This is not unlike what is now also taking place in Egypt.

Israel and Turkey are thus the most formidable ones among the others and they are the leaders of the gang; if there is a true ‘axis of evil’ is certainly the one linking Jerusalem to Ankara.

There are, of course, major differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. For one thing, only the Musharraf regime is truly on the verge of a total collapse and Pakistan itself, as a country, is in danger to fall apart into separate entities (one could even make the case that this has already happened). I observe no such thing in Saudi Arabia.

There have been some interesting moves by some Gang members recently.

Last week, it was Turks meeting with the Israelis, primarily to bolster intelligence cooperation. This week, Haaretz broke the story of a secret Barak-Musharraf meeting in Paris. Looks like three out of four Gang members are getting busy. All we need now is a meeting between any one of these three and the Saudis or their numerous trusted middlemen from the business world.

What could these consultations be all about? The Empire is certainly falling apart in many places: Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, South America, Lebanon, Russia, China – all slowly but inexorably slipping away from the imperial control. A huge, financial and economic crisis is looming and there is no foreseeable sign of a recovery, at least not for the USA. As the USA is becoming more and more disoriented from the multiple crises resulting from 8 years of Neocon rule, I expect the Gang of Four to become more and more active.

While it will be hard for us to know what they are up to, we will probably notice and increase of ‘chatter’ among the Gang members, in particular if Musharraf or Mubarak are violently thrown out of power at which point panic will set in and the remaining gang members will scramble for safety by cracking down on their internal and external enemies.

I ask all of you, my friends and readers, to please keep me informed (by email) if you come across any information about any activity, no matter how apparently small or routine, involving two or more of these Gang members.