Israeli media is reporting a secret deal was negotiated and signed by the Trump and Netanyahu governments regarding what they described as “the Iranian threat,” pledging full cooperation with one another in targeting Iran in various ways.
Negotiated behind closed doors, The deal was a series of memorandums of understanding negotiated through National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster which will see the establishment of multiple teams of both US and Israeli officials charged with targeting different aspects of Iran, from their civilian nuclear program to their defensive missile systems.
This is ultimately expected to result in “steps on the ground,” though the exact details of what this means are unclear. Both Trump and Netanyahu’s governments appear to have designs on confrontation with Iran, potentially military confrontation.
Exactly how this will change US or Israeli policy isn’t very clear. In the near term President Trump seems to be set with trying to sabotage the P5+1 nuclear deal, and Israel is perpetually beating the war drums on Iran, and indeed any other Shi’ites they come upon, so they have limited options for anything else they can do.
Much of the focus is likely to be on planning and making joint speeches about how “aggressive” Iran is being, and how super ready for war the US and Israel are, though naturally there is always a risk that any such joint operations grow from another layer of bureaucracy into launching a war outright.
Still, it’s also possible that such a proposal didn’t come with anything specific in mind, and rather just progressed because both US and Israeli officials didn’t want to seem insufficiently hostile toward Iran by not signing off on the understanding.
how can it be secret if you assholes found out
Uh-hm the exact contents are obviously secret not its existence. This begs the question if its existence is deemed more important than its contents, a question asked near the end. The endless posturing?
mad_mutha, the secret part is the exact amount of money that Trump intends to give to Netanyahu; the fact that America is Israel’s bitch is about as secret as sunshine.
Nada in the MSM. That’s how.
“National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster”. Can anyone explain how this person aids national security, or the “Defense Minister” has any remote idea of defense?or how POTUS is able to act unilaterally or with a government which really does interfere in US policies and really did help him to win the 2016 election?? Is the Congress completely incompetent or in thrall to AIPAC or other lobbies, or both??? Are there no independent functionaries, non-partisan experts, allowed in the departments of government, as in a real democracy??
Netanyahoo must be getting allot of heat domestically to need this series of boosters from Trump. This agreement is meaningless but makes for good PR with the far right in Israel.
They signed a secret deal to keep doing the same thing they have been doing in the open for many years. Both countries openly talk about regime change in Iran as if they were discussing a lunch date.
It’s pretty clear that if a war with Iran kicks off, it won’t be the Iranians who are the aggressors. At least if we don’t have a formal declaration of war I can’t be charged with treason for being for the other side.
I can tell you one aspect of this secret deal is likely to be US cooperation in the next Israeli attack on Hizballah in Lebanon. This is Israel’s number one concern because they can’t start a war with Iran until Hizballah (and preferably also Syria) have been dealt with.
Israel is between a rock and a hard place because their air power alone failed in 2006 to dislodge Hizballah. And restarting that war by themselves would probably get the same result or worse – 1,600 missiles a day delivered into Israel. Hizballah has FAR more missiles now than they did 12 years ago.
So Israel needs US cooperation: add US air power to the mix and possibly US ground troops in support of an Israeli ground invasion. This is probably one reason US troops are being kept in Syria – to aid in some fashion that effort.
Cooperation, you say…
Sounds familiar:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ffa57eb14cd45368f1d5ced0f03d776af49e881a1d2da7ca9e4836b714ded2ed.jpg
Netanyahu vows to fight Iran to the last drop of American blood.