Visiting Israel, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that the US intention is to just keep escalating the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with “more, more, more” sanctions.
Mnuchin said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s team had give him a series of “very specific ideas” that the US will implement. He provided no indication as to what that would entail.
This is both in keeping with US policy of imposing new, albeit rarely meaningful, sanctions on Iran, and giving Israel exactly what they want to hear during an official visit, which is that US hostility toward Iran will continue to grow.
Mnuchin insisted that the existing sanctions are entirely successful, and Netanyahu thanked him, while adding he needs to “do more – more, a lot more,” which is not a change from Israel’s long-standing position.
USA is always willing to expend American blood & treasure for nefarious deadbeat Israel.
If America was run by ethical leaders, Israel would be the country sanctioned – for their land-theft and genocide of their captive Palestinians.
I remember when it was said, “America is great because America is good, and when America ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.” Well said.
They can write all the sanctions they want, but if they try to start a fight, Iran is ready to destroy Israel and all US forces in the region.
You’re absolutely right on this one, antarcticus. The Americans can write all the sanctions they want, but Iran can bypass them through deals with China and Russia, as well as with the EU. As far as trying to start a war, Iran’s prepared to destroy both Israel and all US forces in the region.
DJT isn’t about to start a war with Iran (he hasn’t started a war anywhere). Why is that? He’s up for re-election next year and he’s not about to destroy his chances of a 2nd term by doing something that stupid as to start a war with Iran. Iran has allies – China and Russia – who’d quickly come to the Islamic Republic’s aid .. In other words, a 3rd World War would be the result.
Since when have any of Trump’s actions or inactions made any sense whatsoever, outside of Trump’s head? We’re out of Syria 100%! Well, actually, we’re only moving those troops to Iraq, so they’re still in theatre. Oops, Iraq says they can’t stay. Wait, no, we’re using troops to occupy ‘strategic’ parts of Syria again, only armor units this time, which need a more serious supply chain. (Raytheon probably has an overstock of tank shells which they need to move before year’s end, or it’ll play hell with their taxes.) And this is only over the course of a week, week and a half.
Unfortunately, Iran does not have the capability to “destroy Israel and all US forces in the region.”
That’s a pipe dream. Iran can cause a lot of damage, and Hezbollah can destroy the Israeli economy – but that’s about it. The US can never defeat Iran, but Iran can never defeat the US in direct military confrontation, either.
Iran and Israel really can’t do much to each other at all, given the distance involves (short of Israel nuking Tehran, which isn’t going to happen due to geopolitical concerns.)
Anyone who thinks the US can’t bomb the crap out of Iran’s civilian
infrastructure – if not its military – just isn’t paying attention to
relative military power. Iran has a lot of missiles but there is a limit
to how effective a missile bombardment can be, whether it’s from the US or Iran or Israel (other than nukes.) An air campaign of the size the US can mount, however, can do major damage to civilian infrastructure, as was proven in Iraq. Iran can’t match that against the US forces in the region.
What will happen is that Iran will absorb a lot of punishment, retaliate effectively across the region with support from Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah, the US will lose a lot of troops in an eventual ground invasion after a long air campaign – and spend a lot of money, which is really the point of the exercise – and eventually the US will withdraw, and both sides will declare victory.
Kiss up to the Israelis. That is this policy, its whole basis.
Why not? Brain dead America agrees.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/467759-poll-voters-say-iran-is-top-foreign-policy-concern
You may be confusing elected and gov’t officials with the general American public. The former hasn’t represented the latter for, well, longer than any of us have been alive.
It was a poll of American voters.
Not sure Netanyahu will be around for much longer.
His replacement won’t be any better. Kind of like here.
Fortunately, 4 months later, he wins again.
Sometimes I think we should just move our seat of gov’t to Israel and be done with it. We are screwing Syria by stealing their oil and trying to strangle Iran. How is that in the interests of the USA? Our Middle East policy is all for Israel’s benefit. Whenever Trump’s instincts lead him to do things like exit Syria, the pro Israel Neocons push us back into the Middle East mess.
Trump doesn’t get a pass, he always fails to follow through. If he was even vaguely self-reflective, he’d realize this character flaw and how the neo-cons whom he hired exploit it.
Just more prep and propaganda for the upcoming Iran war.
Ho, hum. Wake me when the bombs start flying. All this prep work is boring.
“A large majority of voters — 84 percent — are concerned about the
prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, according to a Hill-HarrisX
poll released on Monday.”
From the article below this one.
That’s up from the 70-odd percent who believed Iran actually *has* nuclear weapons – not just a nuclear weapons *program* – that was taken back during the Obama administration.
See – this is how propaganda works. Now consider how little influence this site has on anyone in the US electorate. Antiwar.com might as well pack up and go out for pizza.
It’s nice that we’re at the point where we’re just taking direct orders from foreign governments on how to run our own foreign policy.
Edit: Not that I give “Russiagate” even an iota of serious thought, the way Trump is so easily manipulated gives a lot of creedence to the idea that Vladimir Putin, who Trump openly admires greatly, wouldn’t have much trouble coercing Trump into actions which are deleterious to the USA. Putin famously was involved in Soviet/Russian intelligence agencies while Trump has always had a team of lawyers and ghostwriters as insulation against his feeble mind.
Welcome too empire of the “Democratic” variety, exaserbated by the melting pot of peoples from different tribes each of them demanding that the riteous might of our enlightened and benevolent servants be bare upon their enemies….