Reports were that the JCPOA nuclear talks in Vienna were going pretty well, with Iran saying that a deal is possible. The Biden Administration has decided that this is a good time to send an overtly hostile message by attacking Iraqi militias, which they framed as pro-Iranian.
The US sees the attacks as a “clear message” to Iran, and coming just after the Iranian elections, which the US also condemned, this does not seem to be the sort of message that suggests diplomacy is being facilitated.
So far, other than criticizing the attack, Iran isn’t reacting in any specific way to the attack. This may not be a priority for them since the militia’s status as “pro-Iranian” is a lot more definitive in US eyes than it is to anyone else.
US officials think they sent a message, but in practice it’s not clear that the message was any more worthwhile than the US assassinating Iran’s Gen. Soleimani at the Baghdad Airport. It’s a message of broad hostility, and there’s no good way to take it.
The nation that got the “message” more than Iran was Iraq, which condemned the US violation of sovereignty, and has promised to seek legal avenues to prevent future US attacks.
The US “message” may not mean much to Iran, but it has complicated relations with Iraq. In that regard, it’s the same old story.
When did murder become a message, ? people died including the very innocent, Just who is our dear leader listening to? Listen Joe, page one of the good book, thou shalt not kill, anything other then that is a contradiction, the wrong choice. Live by it, die by it.
He should tell that to the family of the child that was killed. F8CK!!!
Isn’t Jason Ditz over-analyzing here? Why wasn’t its just more Zio-nazi SOP?
Biden is “testing” the new Iranian leader. The only thing Biden understands is force, or did once upon a time (maybe).
So when China whacks Taiwan- since they are ‘under our influence’- that will be okay, and we’ll regard it as them ‘sending the US a message’ and nothing more? By the way, remind me when the Iraq oil fields are going to pay us back for our efforts to deliver democracy to the Iraqis at gunpoint?
and after Madeline Albright said “We think so” in answer to the question of whether 500,000 dead Iraqi kids was worth it?”; and that was before Bush the Junior’s invasion based on bs about WMD “in the form of a mushroom cloud.”