Ratcheting up tensions in the region, the US deployed two B-52 bombers to the Middle East in a clear message to Iran. The bombers flew a show-of-force mission in the Persian Gulf on Thursday near Iranian airspace.
According to The New York Times, the B-52s were accompanied by aircraft from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, while in the Gulf.
The warplanes flew a 36-hour round-trip mission from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The provocative maneuver was the second time in just three weeks that the US deployed B-52s to the region.
“Potential adversaries should understand that no nation on earth is more ready and capable of rapidly deploying additional combat power in the face of any aggression,” said Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command.
Last month’s B-52 deployment came after a report from the Times said President Trump reviewed options to attack an Iranian nuclear site earlier in November. Since then, Israel has stepped up its provocations in the region and was likely behind the assassination of Iranian scientist Moshen Fakhrizadeh.
Israel and the US have also been warning of possible Iranian attacks despite Tehran’s clear desire to avoid a wider conflict. The Times said a senior military official told reporters on Thursday that US intelligence analysts have detected “planning going on” for possible rocket attacks on US forces by Iran or Shia militias in Iraq.
Iran has warned its allies in Iraq not to provoke the US into a military conflict, but there are various factions within the Shia militias of Iraq, and some have rejected the warning. In response to Iran’s message, the leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said, “The Americans occupy our country, not yours. We will not listen to you anymore because our motives are 100 percent nationalist.”
In another sign of the split between Shia factions in Iran, militias loyal to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani have withdrawn from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shia state-sponsored militias. When the US assassinated Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani on January 3rd, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the leader of the PMF, was also killed.
Regardless of the different factions within the Shia militias in Iraq, any violence against US forces in the country between now and January 20th will likely be blamed on Iran.
I sure hope things change under Biden, but I am not optimistic.
The team he’s assembled signals increased aggression. Sorry, …for all of us.
The aggression, as always, comes from the USA. Why does the globe allow this evil???
Globally we are controlled by the West (including Australia and NZ) which the puppet master is the US. The globally media is control by the West (including Australia and NZ) which the puppet master is the US. The global voices are the voice of Western governments (including Australia and NZ) which the puppet master is the US, which tends to be heavily biased. And for this very reason, the globe allow this evil to happen.
I have been living in Asia and Australia. Seeing all this biased stance that really disturbed me over the decades. When the US and their Western allies including Australia bombed and regime-changed nations, involved in other countries’ sovereignty or politics. These kind of international crime and international tyranny is allowed to happened again and again.
Worst part is most citizens in the West (including Australia and NZ) support these actions and defend it as defending freedom, and democracy. I am not making this up. These are the same argument that I am arguing with family, relatives and friends in the US, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
Unfortunately I have to agree with you. The majority never question the propaganda and lies from our politicians and MSM. They really think “we are the good guys”.
It was only today that the ICC decided not to launch investigations into UK war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ICC will not launched war crimes into the UK because the US has been threatening the ICC and anyone/organizations investigating war crimes committed by the US and her allies like the UK, Australia. Canada and the list goes on.
This certification was issued by United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. If I am not wrong it was around September 2018.
George W Bush drew up the “Hague invasion plan” in 2003, which was put in place to stop all allies of the US having to face justice at the Hague.
Never know this”Hague invasion plan”
Even when I google or use duckduckgo.com nothing much came out, so I used Yahoo and there it is.
Thanks for mentioning it otherwise I missed it.
I can only agree with you, Brenden. I am Australian and am disgusted with the behaviour of the government (both Parties favour the USA violence and domination) and it has been the same except for the Whitlam government, and look what happened to them when they dared be independent.
Now I am retired in France, and the government here and most of the “EU” is as bad!!
‘Cause Europe and NATO are the rest of the world that applies here, and they want this, and for the U.S. to publicly take the sole responsibility for Western aggression.
“Potential adversaries should understand that no nation on earth is more ready and capable of rapidly deploying additional combat power in the face of any aggression,” said Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command.
So if you dare get a top general blown away by one of our drones or get one of your nuclear scientist in front of a barrage of gunfire by our sister terrorist state again, don’t say you haven’t been warned for your aggression.
Iran is a terrorist state
Jake is a terrorist poster……
CIA employee jaky
Iran is a terrorist state which carries out wars, coups, drone strikes, assasinations all over the World for the past seventy years?
Oh, hang on a minute, that is the USA with its poodles – UK, France, Australia and let us not forget – Israel.
And you wonder why I call you a hasbara troll.
Jake is a little twit.
Waste of Time and Enormous Jet Fuel at taxpayers expense….!!! The two B52 bombers flew from Louisiana, over Atlantic, Europe, Mediterranean, north Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Persian Gulf – bypassing Iran coastlines, over UAE, Oman, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and finally landed in Diego Garcia…!!! Oh, I forgot…Diego Garcia is the middle east…!!!
Ya, but then that only raises the question, what were they really up to?
beefing up for the aerial bombardment of Iran. more to come.
A prelude to a kind of Syrianization? An ambitious plan Trump might not ri$k but Harris-Biden certainly would.
B-52s might be needed to crack the shell, but Iran is a tough nut through-and-through. There’s no practical way to keep troops on the ground in Iran, proxy or otherwise. The B-52’s might be mapping out drone routes.
This would have to be an indefinite campaign of reverse A2AD, essentially air terrorism using missiles and drones if official states of war are not recognized. The goal would be less to to pound Iran back into a pre-industrial state than discourage Chinese investment in Iran, especially in infrastructure.
The Houthi attack on Saudi oil processing at Abqaiq and Khurais was a warning that Iran would not be the sole victim of a prolonged unofficial air war based from their neighbors.
If their neighbors were not actually hosting attackers, that might throw Iran’s defense plans off a bit, but not for long.
Antique air shows are the best. Those old warbirds just have the right stuff for any era.
Trump says this deployment was approved by Sweet Baby Jesus. Good to see we are a Christian nation.
Yeah well, ‘they’ are always the threatening ones, we only send messages.
the plywood empire near collapse merely accelerates its demise by increasing its debt and losing one war after another
Just what we need to do while the country has enough deaths from Covid-19 in ONE DAY as died on the famous 9∕11. What has Iran done to deserve destruction by us?
Getting older and daily more disgusted by actions of my nation, US, but F’n near every eurocentric derived nations and peoples, and their lackys who they install in other nations.
Throughout those nations we can find ed ifices of higher learmning with hundreds of millions displaying how smart they by posting diplomas in prominent display..
if you ask them about how we can go about bringing other nations out of poverty. And into better loves they answer by education, but meanwhile their nations are slaughtering millions and driving tens of millions into dire poverty and stealing those “other” peoples resources.
What and the hell are they being trained for as it sure as hell is not to be andeducated mind, one of free will and cognizant of world outside their Plastic PC and digital gamers and selfie bubbles.
People in US with dark pigmented skins protest the deaths, abuses anddaily harrassment with false imprisonments and what do A.m. rican “Patriotic flsg wavers do, they of all white skins show up armed as well as US combat troop to aid the cops.
Our “Preppers are 99.9% all white midfle to upprr incomes are buyimg lands and hes getting ready gor day SHTF andall chomping at the bit to shoot ppoor Black, Brown, red and poor white hordes of Starving Amrticans, yes theirfellow though ledss privelefged ” Americans.
They in US talk of revolution and SHTF. Financial chaos and blame eeryone else but those who brought nation this chaos, those well educated self involved. People, themselves.
Want to be safer and eealthier than most frellow Americans?
49% of american workers annual wages is less than a military single. With 2 years service time and some bpnus for joining and trained can be above US $30,000.
A married man, his wife already gets a stipend for her self and kids extra, living off base can recieve up to US $14,400 extra tax free stipend.
With wages like those why not be hitrd guns mercenary flag wavers.
Every one in uniform is a hero even though less than 10% will ever hear gunfire.
Article left out the seperate yearly funding of almost. US 200 billions need for retired and disabled ex military.
There’s a special elitist white progressive hate reserved just for poor white masses of deplorables who just won’t get with the program.
Living a free, normal life has become an extremism.
B-52s? As a young engineer stationed at a major AF base in the 1968, I remember the chief technical chiefs running around the base like decapitated chickens – seems that about 5 or so B-52s were shot down over their raids on North Viet Nam in a week. After months of head scratching, it was determined that the North Vietnamese simply turned off their old Soviet radars and started using precision video trackers to passively hunt their attackers. A B-52 is a very picture piece of metal cruising along. Well, about then Pres. Nixon declared his “peace-seeking pause in the bombing”. And the War came to an end.
What makes the fools in the Pentagon figure that the Iranians aren’t just as clever as the Vietnamese?