Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to worsen, with the Trump Administration ratcheting up allegations against the Iranians, and even incidents that were plainly nothing to do with this latest round of tensions, like Yemen’s Houthis launching drone attacks against Saudi oil pumping stations, have become interlinked in the narrative, if only to present everything as getting more dire, and the situation rapidly coming to a head.
US moves to build up their military presence around Iran continue, and officials try to justify that with spurious claims of Iranian plots to attack. These allegations have zeroed in on Iraq, where Shi’ite militias that the US has tried to brand as “Iranian proxies” might be presented as a threat that is at least tangentially related to Iran.
Iraq militias were seemingly just a cynical talking point to justify the US build-up. It’s been repeated so long though that the US is now dialing up pressure on the Iraqi government, hypothetically an ally, demanding that they get militias in line when there is no real evidence those militias weren’t in line in the first place.
Now, the claims are built around the idea that the Iraqi militias are moving rockets into areas where they’d be within range of US military bases. It’s not clear if that’s the case or not, but with US bases scattered across Iraq, it probably would be hard for the militias not to have some of their rockets near those bases.
Browbeating Iraq may be a good way to increase US tensions with Iran, but it also risks worsening US-Iraq relations, which already aren’t great. Iraq’s parliament is interested in seeing the US expelled from their soil, and the suggestion that the US is going to use Iraq as a staging area for a war with Iran is likely to only enhance that.
While it isn’t unusual for the US to accidentally sabotage important diplomatic priorities when it blunders around talking up wars, it is more clear than ever that the administration’s priority is raising the chances of war with Iran, not trying to secure US ties with Iraq.
This tension is as much anout Iraq as Iran. Iraq is slipping away, and with passage of time slipping will be cemented. Iraq getting integrated within East arvhitecture sponsored by Russia and China. This is not a military architecture, at least unless forced into becoming one. The Eurasian architecture is about infrastructure, transit links reconnecting Asia to Middle East and Europe, about financing within Asian Infrastructure Bank and it us about trade via land routes. This is what links Iraq and Iran, not some mythical tribal memories.
I think that the idea is to entangle Iraq snd Iran into tensions, allowing for military build up, and long term paralysis instead of development and peace. This is to jump ahead of the curve and prevent Iraq from being the node in Silk Road architecture. Syria was supposed to be that blocking tollbooth, but it did not work. It eould have been better, as the powerless Iraq without viable land link to Europe and Asia would be Western colony. Profitable to boot. But now, profits are not that important as keeping Iraq on the straight and narrow. We are actually living through new version of domino theory — but not being called that. Fear of countries slipping away into independence is acute. Turkey is out. Iraq was making all the familiar moves of diversification. Egypt is slipping away elegantly without much noise. Saudi Arabia no longer compliant, and diversifying relationships like crazy. Kuwait building Silk City with Chinese investments. China all over Gulf economically, Russia moving in with arms sales, and contracts for military training st its premier training grounds in Chechnya. Strongman Kadirov — darling of the Gulf, met all princes and MBS twice. These are tell tale signs of fatigue with US approach to everything from economy to security. Anither fact. Kuwait, 40% of Shia population, Bahrain 80%, Iraq 60%, Qatar with Iranian and Turkish military, Oman with good relations with Iran. Same Egypt. Turkey and Iran partners in settling Syrian crisis. Without Saudi blessing, UAE and Bahrein would have never reopened embassies in Damascus. Russia building nuclear piwer plant in Egypt. Saudis are angling for the same deal, with US offering services instead. What services? There is no company in US building nuclear power plants after Westinghouse folded few years ago.
Add to that Egypt’s support for Haftar in Libya with Russian help in the background, and Ssudi help to boot. Nothing is same in the Kjngdom sjnce June 2017. When King’s son MBS took power, and presumably demented King Salman took a 2000 strong delegation to Moscow for deal signing,
This is why the drama. It is s test of Russian-Chinese resolve to defend Iran. Iran, Rusdia and China just met discussing worst case scenario.
Will Trump fire Bolton to get out of the crisis that he cannot escalate much further without some form of conflict, and then be stuck with the mess as elections approach? More wars are actually not a winning strategy. Die hard Trjmp supporters will be there, but he would llose the immense antiwar vote that pushed him over the top. This is what both oarties do not want to talk about.
but he would lose the immense antiwar vote that pushed him over the top.
What pushed him over the top was his opponent was more toxic than him. Nothing else.
While I agree with you, opponent was
known quality of Libya fame, you cannot deny that the immense support he got from military and veterans was because they wanted LESS wars, and getting OUT of the ones we are in. I did follow Trump campaign, his speeches on foreign policy, his opinions on existing wars — all contributed to a perception that he understands the relationship between economy and economic exaustion due to foreign overstreach.
It is paifully obvious that the powers behind the Presidential throne make decisions. Then the mechanics , like Bolton, do the rest. Mechanics are disposable, happened to Bolton before.
The good news is — we need not worry about who the president is — they will do what the spiders in the shadow want. Willingly or not.
What will undermine the spider den is their own spidery nature. Spiders do not share. Their net is not shareable. And spiders are in agreement for as long as their net can grow. Once limitations appear, they fight with each other, while simultaneously trying to ward off challenges from outside. Such is corporate party politics. They are biting each other, while lashing out at perceived enemies that are thwarting their up until recently unlimited fun.
Whatever one may thknk of Trump — he crashed the myth of Iraq war architects, Bush family. And by confronting media — for his own purposes, of course — has created an increased scrutiny of MSM.
Will US public ever wise up to the costs of foreign interventions, bases, political interventions, regime changes.
I’m just going by what I heard from the people who voted for Trump. Rarely, if at all, did it have to do with Trump being a non-interventionist. And his Nazi type rallies resemble KKK gatherings and seem void of anti-war types.
Seem? I can see you know little
of the subject, Have you ever heard war veterans that voted Trump?
I have followed up thousands upon thousands of comments on Infowars.com. I wanted to find out how the opinions break out on issues of wars, interrventions, meddling in other countries internal affairs, etc, Palestine, etc. Ninety percent and above against any form of meddling and military intervention. The writers there knew more about Ukraine, Syria, Kosovo,Libya, Afghanistan — name it. In spjte of Trump’s pro-Israeli positions, readership is not so. I am sure that this has more to do with their banishment then their conservative positions. There was more Islamoohibia, but mostly it was directed against Saudi Arabia and its financing of terror groups and Wahhabism. They have Moslem guests, those that were defending Trump when he pointed out the fact that there is such a thing as radical Islam. Everybody for example believes that Trump should have withdrawn from Afghanistan and Syria. While readers routinely rant against communism and socialism in Venezuela — no suporters of invasion there! Iran mess blamed mostly on Israel. I just saw a discussion in British Parliament on Iran. There is one piece of advice given to Trump: please stop listening to Netanyahu. Alex Jones followers will not abandon Trump. But he will definitely lose those that feel he failed to articulate most issues well for people outside his base — and will pay for it.
On the other hand, look at the mess on Democratic side. Notably, the only candidate that is not ridiculous, that has a great grasp of forein policy and is actually quite presidential — Tusi Gabbard, is not given any air time, and consequently has low rating.
I didn’t say war veterans didn’t vote for Trump. I said I didn’t think they were the determining factor in his winning the election based on people I talk to. If Clinton hadn’t been his opponent, then maybe.
Bianca, do you honestly believe there to be an antiwar faction within the GOP? What trump made clear in his campaign, was that he would have “won” in Iraq. He made just enough anti Iraq war bloviations to knock Bush off the stage. His ” anti- interventionist” voters, if there were any, weren’t fooled, they flat out weren’t listening.
He also told Howard Stern that we should have done it right the first time(1991). So I guess he’s not as much against war as he is about our ineptness of doing the job right.
Quite, and of course, he had no actual ideas about how to “do it better” anywhere. The only ones I heard were “keep their oil”, and criticisms of Obama following through on the agreed withdrawal. I also remember his “secret plan” to end ISIS within 30 days of entering office, and that he knew more than any of the generals. Cripes, it’s like we grabbed the drooling, ever present loud mouth at the end of the bar and made him president.
Bolton now lives in a religious ecstasy. Killing others is what he does. America is in another war for fun and profit while the world gapes in wonder.
We often forget that the reason Trump brought Bolton and Pompeo into his inner circle was to placate his Likudnik and Christian Zionist handlers who want nothing more than the wholesale destruction of the USA in some awful Armageddon that will further the cause of Greater Israel and the coming of their hoped-for messiah. If this sounds too crazy for words, just go to one of Rev. John Hagee’s church services and listen to his sermon. This religious phony has made a cottage industry out of hatred for Muslims and love for Trump, who they see as the new King Cyrus who will bring all this about.
Trumpsters, think about who you’re really hooked up with when you support this asshole. For them, everything is falling into place, just the way their vile homicidal god intended. Their “messiah” will come riding in on an ICBM and they’ll all be raptured up to heaven. Good riddance, I say! The rest of us will be left behind to clean up the horrible mess they’ve made of the planet.
“We often forget that in my imagination, the reason Trump brought Bolton and Pompeo into his inner circle was to placate his Likudnik and Christian Zionist handlers”
Fixed, no charge.
That’s so implausible?
Thomas is obviously not paying attention to what Hagee has said about Israel being the “hidden issue” of the 2016 election, “The Democratic Party did not bring it up, but the Republican Party, particularly with Pence and also with Donald Trump, made it an issue that America was going to stand with Israel.” That’s why most Christian Zionists troop to the polls to vote for Trump.
Every position Trump has taken relating to Israel since his election is consistent with that assessment. He has surrounded himself with Likudniks and Christian Zionists for that very reason.
Non sequitur. Trump was a huge fan of Bolton’s long before running for president, and especially long before his “Paul on the road to Damascus” conversion on Israel when he realized that Sheldon Adelson’s money hung in the balance.
Others, sure. Pompeo, maybe. But Bolton was his buddy before that.
That makes sense, Thomas. Bolton was a neocon before that word even existed, from way back in his PNAC days. Those folks anticipated 9/11 and all the wars of this century in their famous manifesto which he helped write. I’m sure Trump, being the Likudnik gangster he was back then, thanks to Roy Cohn, appreciated that.
Thomas’ theory is a lot more plausible than Justin’s claim that Bolton and Pompeo “insinuated themselves” into his administration but that Trump brilliantly kept his America First Peace offensive on course by fooling Bolton and Pompeo into making empty threats for military action and regime change against Venezuela that actually are advancing Trump’s plan to prevent war.
Seems a lot simpler to just not put warmongers in important positions, if you don’t want war that is. Every escalation (which is everywhere), every threatening deployment, regime change, is signed by trump, not bolton.
That would eliminate the good cop/bad cop scenario and destroy one of the excuses of why Trump does stupid shit.
Only the roaches will be left, unfortunately. We need revolution now. Our lives may literally depend on it.
If he achieves the prrmanent disguist among Americans for wars and forever occupations — he would bave done more for the cause then any other president. But it will not happen. Today, we are still like dumb football fans, cheering for our team and hating the other. So when Democrats start another war — there will be plenty of appologists for it.
For now, he has not started a war. Let us see if he can convknce Iranians to call him. Good news is — no country ftom the region is lining up to join. Israel is complaining that US Iranian war may result jn them being hurt as innocent bystanders.
Who wanted the war? Anybody remembers?
There will be no war. Bold prediction. Nobody wants to allow its territory to be connected with this war. Will US go alone? Take risks — risks not even possible to predict? I do not think Russia and China are in the mood ir letting Iran be destroyed.
We need another crisis to take focus away from this one.
I suppose if Iran had moved equal amounts of military assets into our backyard that we have in theirs and then claimed that we had made threats against those assets we would understand completely. This, of course, would be in addition to Iran overthrowing our elected government in 1953, installing the brutal Shah, supporting Saddam in our war with Iraq and basically threatening us non-stop for 40 years at the behest of another foreign government. I’m sure we’d also overlook the brutal sanctions Iran levied against us for having the unmitigated gall of honoring the JCPOA. Yes, I’m sure we’d understand completely.
All this started after the private Trump/Sheldon Adelson meeting in Vegas. He is dying.. will he see his Iran War?
Is Aldelsen really dying? Good. I hope it’s a painful death.
The dude looks like a walking corpse, to be fair.
This is getting interesting. No coalition. And hear this. Netanyahu called meeting to review how to make sure Jsrael is not inadvertently dragged jnto the conflict, a be a collateral victim in the conflict. He does not fedl that there is a threat coming from Iran st this time!!!
The man whose theatrics on Iran threat are legendary, now claims to be an innocent bystander.
In Saudi Arabia, newspapers are excited, but Saudi Prince is NOT joining. Iraq will not allow its feritory to be used.
Trump is waiting for Iran to call.
What if Iran does not call?
Is there some other crisis in the making that requires urgent military attention?
Here’s what Bolton and the neocons are doing.
Raising spurious issues about Iranian “proxies” puts that concept in the public’s mind. So they talk about the Iraqi Shia being proxies, and the Houthis being proxies, and the militias Iran sent to Syria as proxies, etc.
But who are the biggest Iranian “proxies” in the region? Hezbollah. And who is keeping Israel from starting a war with Iran? Hezbollah. And which “proxies” have acquired influence in a government and have been talked up as a threat to Israel and have had increased sanctions put on them? Hezbollah.
So the real target is Hezbollah and all this talk about “proxies” is to set up the public for the false flag attack that Israel and the CIA are planning to get the US to join Israel in attacking Lebanon. Israel can’t afford a war with Iran until Hezbollah is degraded enough to not be an effective actor in a war with Iran. And Israel can’t degrade Hezbollah by itself. It needs US troops and US strategic bombers to do it, things Israel doesn’t have.
So all this Iran and Iranian “proxies” talk is merely a propaganda push to get the public ready to accept an all-out attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. And if “Iranian proxies” in Syria can be tied in to that war, then the war can be extended to Syria – and even Iran. But Hezbollah has to be the first target.