Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alienated Germany by
cancelling a visit to stop off in Iraq, and talk up a war with Iran to
the Iraqis. This week, Pompeo cancelled a Russia trip and went to Europe to detail continued escalation against Iran.
Pompeo’s plans to keep ratcheting up tensions while Trump threatens to
ensure the Iranians “suffer greatly” aren’t sitting well with European
officials. Instead, a flurry of European officials issued statements
expressing concern that the US might start a war “by accident.”
Broadly, officials are calling on the US to exercise some restraint.
Top EU diplomatic official Federica Mogherini in particular urged the
US to engage in dialogue with the Iranians to try to avoid an
undesirable war.
This doesn’t seem to have been the idea for Pompeo, who went into the
Europe talks seemingly to sell those countries on the ongoing US moves
against Iran, in hopes they’d back US demands to withdraw from the
nuclear deal.
None of that ended up happening, and Pompeo’s presentation seems to have
officials from the major EU nations, Britain, France, and Germany, all
united in favoring the nuclear deal, favoring diplomacy, and opposing a
US military confrontation.
A fat lot of good their unity has done to reality on the ground. It is empty words, while the US pushes into war.
War with Iran would be a disaster for the US, and the Trotskyists aka Neocons know it, Mark. America’s European allies are 100% right to urge restraint .. They know that Pompous Pompass and Bonkers Bolton have been pushing for war with Iran, and it scares them.
I don’t blame the Europeans for urging restraint; instead, I totally agree with them. They know that such a war would escalate into a planet-destroying 3rd World War since China and Russia are allied with Iran and would come to her aid.
No, the EU has been neutered. When Reagan asked Maggie Thatcher to cancel an oil deal with the Russians, she’s reported to have pounded the desk and reminded him that Britain had signed a contract with the Russians. She was the last EU honcho with cojones.
“By accident” is an incredibly charitable and naive assessment of US intentions. When is Europe going to do something substantive to stop US aggression and deliver on promised sanctions relief to Iran?
EU=Eunuchs United.
Who cares if EU opposes this escalation. They can’t do jack about it even after a war breaks out.