Floated weeks ago as an idea that didn’t get a lot of traction, the US
is once again pushing the idea of a military coalition that would commit ships to guarding the waters off the coasts of Iran and Yemen to protect traffic.
President Trump has been very keen to see other countries commit to the
operation, arguing that the US should not be responsible for defending
other nations’ ships in the area, through which a lot of oil traffic
flows.
While the US hypes the threat posed by Iran, many others don’t see this
as anywhere that big of an issue, and so far none of these nations are
interested in committing their navies to defend the area.
Effectively, the US wants a naval fleet there, but doesn’t want to go to
the expense of putting the ships there. Gen. Joe Dunford says that the US is willing to provide intelligence for their operations, but not ships for the escorts.
Officials tried to brush aside a failed push for this idea is June, and
said that it’s only now they’ve got the full plan together to do that.
There is no sign that anyone is any more interested at it, but officials
are able to present it as a new idea with a new plan.
It’s not the “expense”. The goal is to trap other countries into a war by deploying naval forces.
We all want ‘freedom of navigation’, right? Except the real intent and effect would be to strangle undeclared enemies of the US without quite officially starting a war. No food into Yemen so that Saudis / Sunnis can dominate without representing Yemenis, no oil out of Iran so that the Saudis and Israel can dominate the mid east including attacking anyone they want. Nice trick, good thing the world’s nations don’t seem to be buying it.
So the Yanks want other nations to do its dirty work, all while controlling the operation by providing intel that’s amongst the least truthful anywhere? Pfft!
I am sure the Saudi’s and other “Sunni” nations will cooperate.
Just another propaganda move to condition the US electorate to the idea that Iran is the one threatening shipping in the Gulf.
For Trump it’s just an issue of “expense”, since that’s the only way he can think about things – cost/benefit.
The neocons on the other hand figure if they can get US ally ships in the Gulf, then it will be easier to set up a blockade of Iranian oil shipments if they can claim that it’s a “multinational agreement” rather than just the US committing an act of war. That’s the real goal as the British seizure of the Iranian tanker in the Med proves. Get a blockade going, forcing Iran to close the Straits, then attack – and more importantly, blame – Iran to get the war started.
More proof that the US intends to set up a blockade of Iranian oil tankers.
Egypt detains Iran oil tanker, arrests 6 for espionage
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190709-egypt-detains-iran-oil-tanker-arrests-6-for-espionage/
As reported elsewhere on this site.
Egypt is an ally of the US, and undoubtedly were requested to do this.
Clearly the neocons are trying to get multinational support for their efforts to stop all Iranian oil shipments, with the intent of forcing Iran to respond by closing the Straits of Hormuz, thus “justifying” a US Navy attack on Iranian vessels, thus starting the Iran war by that mechanism.