According to a new article from English-language Israeli publication The Jerusalem Post, the Hebrew-language Israeli publication Maariv has reported that diplomatic sources in the UN are assessing a US plan to conduct a “massive” airstrike on “an Iranian facility linked to its nuclear program” in response to alleged attacks on two sea vessels in the Gulf of Oman.

“The sources added that President Trump himself was not enthusiastic about a military move against Iran, but lost his patience on the matter and would grant Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is pushing for action, what he wants,” The Jerusalem Post reports.

This news comes after public statements by Pompeo that the US is considering a “full range of options” against Iran. It also comes as 1,000 additional US troops are being sent to the Middle East to “address air, naval, and ground-based threats” there. It also comes amid sightings of depraved war criminal Henry Kissinger at the Pentagon.

So that’s great.

https://twitter.com/thekarami/status/1140679708209635328

https://twitter.com/rabrowne75/status/1140736672251953152

Many comparisons are being made today between the unforgivable Iraq invasion and the agendas that this administration is attempting to advance in Iran, and rightly so. But make no mistake, Iran is not Iraq. A full-scale war against Iran would be many times more deadly, costly and destabilizing than Iraq; the UK’s Admiral Lord West told The Daily Star Online last month that winning such a war would require no less than a million troops. And it’s not difficult to imagine how the Trump administration’s brinkmanship could lead to all-out war.

If the US does decide to attack Iran over the highly suspicious Gulf of Oman allegations, for example, it’s not difficult to imagine a scenario in which Iran defends itself or retaliates and kills US servicemen. Once you’ve got the names and faces of US military personnel blaring on news screens all across America, you’ll see the war hawks converge and demand far more aggressive retaliations against Iran, and if the pressure works we could easily see an all-out war between the two nations. It just takes the right spark to land in the right place at the right time for the whole thing to go up in flames, and there are a lot of people trying to create sparks.

It would not be difficult for Trump to find himself in such a situation.

“This is actually a line that both the Saudis and the Israelis have been making to Washington for quite some time,” Iranian foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi told CNN International in response to the question of whether Iran would just allow an attack without retaliation. “This is essentially saying that Iran is no different from Syria. You can strike yet they won’t have the guts to respond. We actually know that that’s not true because just two weeks ago when there was a ratcheting up with tensions the US intelligence itself picked up that as US warships were heading towards the middle east, the Iranians started putting some of their missiles on boats and started moving them around, appearing as if they were either wanting to protect those missiles or preparing for counter strikes.”

“So the idea that this will just be a limited strike and the Iranians won’t respond seems extremely unlikely, but this is how you sell a big war: you pretend that you are selling a small war,” Parsi continued. “Because that’s much more digestible. That’s something perhaps that Trump could agree to. If you actually try to say ‘Look, let’s have a big war,’ not only would the American public be strongly against it, I personally think that Donald Trump himself would not be in favor of it.”

As proof of its Gulf of Oman claims against Iran, the US has circulated a grainy, Loch Ness Monster-quality video which shows nothing whatsoever and which one analyst attests has been edited in a misleading way, as well as a few photographs which prove absolutely nothing.

It is worth noting, however, that some typically reliable anti-imperialist voices have been saying it’s likely that Iran was indeed behind the attacks, including Moon of AlabamaElijah J. Magnier, and former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford. They argue that Iran has been backed into a corner with economic sanctions, so now it’s fighting dirty to force the Trump administration to either end the sanctions in order to come to the negotiating table or enter into a costly, unpopular war right before election time. Magnier claims to have sources in Tehran who confirm this, saying that we can expect more such incidents in the future.

I’m not taking a position either way, but I do think it would be a mistake to make the possibility of a false flag into the entire argument against attacking Iran for the Gulf of Oman incident. If Iran did indeed attack a Japanese and a Norwegian vessel to obstruct trade in accordance with Tehran’s pledge that “if Iran cannot export oil through the Persian Gulf, no-one will do this,” it’s important to recognize that Iran would only be doing this in response to extremely aggressive economic warfare by the United States. As we discussed recently, sanctions are an act of war, and if Iran is behind this and any other attacks, the US will have been the aggressor.

In any case, things could get very, very ugly, very, very fast, and if it does it will be entirely the Trump administration’s fault.

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1140969410452021254

Our one saving grace through all this has been Trump’s incompetence in manufacturing any kind of coalition or broad support for increased aggressions against Iran. EU foreign ministers have joined Japan and Germany in demanding further proof of Washington’s Gulf of Oman claims, and China is now denouncing US pressure on Iran and cautioning against “opening Pandora’s box” in the Middle East with further escalations. At home, the political/media class has been far less eager to help manufacture consent for war in this case than it generally is, with even virulent neocon Max Boot advocating for diplomacy and a return to the Iran deal, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard actively plugging her No More Presidential Wars Act in response to the administration’s Iran brinkmanship.

I don’t know exactly what’s going on with Washington’s plans for Iran, but what I do know that 30 million people marched worldwide against the war in Iraq and it didn’t make a whit of difference. The same dangerously evil people who bullied, lied and cheated their way into getting their war with Iraq are pretty much the same bunch of assholes who are attempting to do the same with Iran today. Not only did none of them go to jail for that diabolical crime against humanity, most of them are still in positions of influence, and most of them are using that influence to push the world again into another war that nobody wants. How long do we put up with this crap?

Do you want to know the truth about what’s going on with Iran? The real truth? The real truth is that there’s an ever-growing, globe-spanning, oligarch-run power alliance with the United States at its center, an alliance which functions as a single empire and works relentlessly to bully other nations into either joining it or collapsing. Iran is by far the strongest nation in the region that has refused to allow itself to be absorbed into the blob, so its government has found itself in the imperial crosshairs  being commanded to either submit or be toppled. That’s all that’s going on here. Everything else is camera-friendly window dressing.

_______________________

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48 responses to “Report: US Planning “Massive” Airstrike On An Iranian Facility”

  1. Dear Cailtin,
    With all my respect for your work – most of which I support 100% – it is extremely dangerous if a person – no, a personality – like you basically leaves the possibility open that the attack on the Japanese boat may or may not have been perpetrated by Iran. And that’s just because some dude whom you trust has his ‘confident’ sources in Israel says so.
    That is absolute nonsense.
    And you should know it.
    How many fake anti-imperialists are there?
    When it counts, they want to be on the ‘right side’.
    That’s their anti-imperialism.

    There is absolutely no way that Iran would attack a Japanese tanker, while Japan’s PM Abe, is in Tehran talking the the Ayatollah …. and ‘sources’ have it that he was bringing a message from Trump to Iran.
    Whether the latter is true or not is immaterial.
    It is just absolute nonsense even to suggest that there maybe the slightest possibility that this may have been an attack carried out by IRAN.
    And when a person like Caitlin Johnstone expresses, even though her faintest doubts – well, then lots of people will jump on the possibility and take it as the truth.
    Cheers
    peter

  2. Dear Cailtin,
    With all my respect for your work – most of which I support 100% – it is extremely dangerous if a person – no, a personality – like you basically leaves the possibility open that the attack on the Japanese boat may or may not have been perpetrated by Iran. And that’s just because some dude whom you trust has his ‘confident’ sources in Israel says so.
    That is absolute nonsense.
    And you should know it.
    There is absolutely no way that Iran would attack a Japanese tanker, while Japan’s PM Abe, is in Tehran talking the the Ayatollah …. and ‘sources’ have it that he was bringing a message from Trump to Iran.
    Whether the latter is true or not is immaterial.
    It is just absolute nonsense even to suggest that there maybe the slightest possibility that this may have been an attack carried out by IRAN.
    And when a person like Caitlin Johnstone expresses, even though her faintest doubts – well, then lots of people will jump on the possibility and take it as the truth.
    Cheers
    peter

  3. ⚡⚡ Peace Nazi ⚡⚡

    Life is simple if we don’t kill war, earth dies.

    Fighting for rights while going to war is stupid.

    Just like the US can’t fight 2 wars, neither can humanity.

    We will kill earth without peace.

    I don’t care if you’re a black white gay commie from hell.

    The lack of peace is a primary collapse indicator.

    Civil war is not peace.

    Attacking Iran is not peace.

    No peace no planet.

    No peace no free healthcare and education.

    Imagine a genie granted you just one wish, what would it be?

  4. “EU foreign ministers have joined Japan and Germany in demanding further proof of Washington’s Gulf of Oman claims”

    I think everyone has lost sight of reality. The to date unproven accusations against Iran are that they were responsible for the tanker attacks. Even though I highly doubt that to be true, let’s examine this nonsense a little more realistically.

    1. Blowing a hole in a tanker (not sinking it), is an act of vandalism. In the REAL WORLD, it is the duty of the police to first discover who was responsible. Note that means individuals, NOT an entire country! Once they have all the required proof, the individuals concerned are taken to court where, if found guilty, they get fined and a possible prison sentence (depending on the severity of the act and whether people were harmed).

    So what’s all this bollocks about blaming the whole of Iran for a couple of acts of vandalism?

    2. The police investigating should come from the countries affected by the acts. As far as I have seen so far, they would be Saudi Arabia and Japan. The US has not been affected in the slightest so where do they get off meting out punishment for crimes that have nothing to do with them?

    3. Killing innocent people as punishment for acts of vandalism by other people is nothing less than a war crime, let alone putting together a military invasion or aerial attack on another sovereign nation. And declaring war for such a petty crime is again total nonsense!!

    4. Attacking a nuclear facility will result in the deadly spread of radiation across the ME and potentially elsewhere. Were the lessons learned from Chernobyl and Fukushima so insignificant that the US has to wreak even more havoc that they know will last for generations upon generations?

    1. Have you ever heard the US referred to as “the policeman of the world”?
      ..
      Have you ever heard of the “Authorization to Use Military Force” that was granted to the POTUS?
      ..
      Have you ever heard of FIAT USD that are literally printed out of thin air?
      ..
      Combine the three and what you have is the US doing WHATEVER it wants to WHOMEVER it wants for WHATEVER reason, ANYWHERE in the world, FOREVER! And it’s all nice and “legal” under US “law”(lessness).
      ..
      In short, this US is politically INCAPABLE of stopping what it’s doing. It will have to be stopped by either financial collapse or an outside force.

      1. Further to that, we were all told Iraq would be a cake walk, over it two weeks at minimum cost, REMEMBER ??? How did that turn out ??? Still ongoing today. WHY, do people still, continually fall for the lies and crap coming from these American mouths is beyond me. Time Western nation grew a pair and told the Yanks where to go, and that if they initiated a war with Iran, the rest of the Western World would side with Iran, NOT America.

  5. Lots of great thoughts and comments. The question is; what do you do, other than be outraged? How do you oppose or react to this in a non-violent way? Do you protest? Call your representative? Do you hope the message gets out and public opinion triumphs? For every one of us how many are there that support this? If you didn’t stop by here read the article and click some links on the comments can you say you are well imformed? Can we effectively go up against main-stream propaganda? What about the apathetic?

    Sorry for all the questions, but you get the idea. This is how it always is. Many questions, few answers. That is why I think Humanity in general needs to find a better way. This is chaos. Chaoe of logical and rational thought. Logical and rational thought thats supports and creates the backbone of every good, wise, conscienscous thing we do. There is no “waking up” from this chaos. Some, yes see the bigger picture and are “wise” or “woke” In general though chaos rules. That is the real issue as I see it and why I harp 24/7 for a type of “collective intelligence” I like to think of it as a human powered A.I. It would in my view truly be “power to the people” on a new and better playing field. not just hope in some “magical” awakening of the masses. Read more here and think for yourself how this might be applied.
    https://medium.com/@whmilk/the-value-of-anonymity-in-a-collective-intelligence-c0a003f481b6

    https://medium.com/@whmilk/here-is-a-book-i-have-placed-on-amazon-and-smashwords-e864cc0e2c60

    1. The answer to your question/s can be found in this excellent article:
      https://off-guardian.org/2019/06/17/dominoes-hegemonies-and-the-future-of-humanity/

      We use the domino tale to wake up the populace and bring them together. To understand the full significance of the domino tale, you MUST read the whole article, not just the parable at the beginning.

      To better understand the urgency of the situation, you should read this:
      https://www.rt.com/usa/462251-nuclear-doctrine-document-pentagon/
      and download/distribute the PDF that exposes the MIC’s plan to start a nuclear war.

      1. “Domino tale”, ???? O.M.G. are you for real ???? This crap is still being perpetuated despite having been proven to be LIES. In fact I KNOW a great deal about this “Domino bullshit” because I found myself in a war zone, as a direct result of that crap. Our Alleged “freedom” was supposedly threatened by this “Domino” theory, and the yellow Hordes were just busting their guts to come and invade us and take away our freedoms. Yeah, I know, sounds just like the Muslim crap being spoon fed to us today, instead of the Asian Hords slavering at the mouth to come and take from us what we have, and steal our freedom, we now have Muslims taking their place, or Iranians. Never mind that there’s not a skerrick of proof to sustain this crap. BUT, people swallow it all, hook line and sinker.
        In my case, it took 5 weeks in country, to discover everything we had been told about the Yellows hordes coming to invade, was all pure unadulterated bullshit. 99% of these people did not even know Australia even existed.
        Domino theory ????? Yeah, the Moon is made of cheese too, didn’t yu know ?

      2. Thanks for the links! Insane that they would conceive of using nukes. Basically the murder of 100,000’s of innocent people. How could anyone be a part of this and then on the other say they have love for anyone. Sometimes I think it must be shape shifting aliens who can’t just outright kill usl. So they want to make it all look organic and blame it on the humans. “those stupid humans”

        On the domino story, I don’t really think there is a “stupid gene” even though I just said we were all insane. I see it that each person being an intelligent creature develops certain conclusions and beliefs based on a myriad of factors, perspective, age, gender, local etc. How rational or logical these conclusion may be can vary. For me it is the inability of individuals and groups of individuals to mesh or adapt one conclusion to another. The process is the important part and thatt has already taken place.. The ultimate solution is war which introduces an overwhelming convincing force, (no more arguing now). War is just not a force of logic or rational so the whole process has to start over.

  6. Strongly agree with the point by Cait that aggression against Iran is driven by global oligarcy.
    But lest you think that is some recent development:
    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/06/01/brainwashing-in-action-pence-hails-virtue-of-certain-war/

    Basically U.S. is a shell operation, a private military working for global oligarcs.
    This slow global war is being funded by FED (wankers) which is funded by NWO.

  7. I would have put my last dollar on the tanker attacks being a false flag staged by either the United States or Israel, and yeah, I also read the analysis on Moon Of Alabama pointing the finger at Iran. I was a bit taken aback, even tho it made sense….. But, Iran attacking the Tankers at the same time Ayatollah Khamenei was meeting with Shinzo Abe? That just dosn’t compute, and also who has been absolutely gagging for the destruction of the Islamic Republic for decades? Who benefits from the downfall of the Iranian Govt and its replacement with a complete puppet regime? If the United States does indeed launch this ‘massive attack’ then Iran will unleash a firestorm upon its enemies. They will not just sit back.

    1. Yes, I was also surprised by the “analysis” by MoA. Very unhelpful and premature, obviously. Does not mean it would not turn-out to be true, but what happened to concept of fact-based analysis? As mentioned in article by Tim Kirby on Stategic Culture “The Mainstream Media has already come out in force to push the narrative that Iran was probably behind the attacks…”. Disappointing.

      1. Not “disappointing”.
        Horrific.

        1. The behavior of U.S. Administration and government approved media exceeds what can be described by polite vocabulary.

          Makes me wonder how a thinking, conscientious journalist could possibly maintain sanity.

      2. I refer to the mainstream media as stenographers or presstitutes coz end of the day, that’s what they are. They are the lowest of the low, cheering for wars and regime change. They serve power. They are part of the establishment Jared.

    2. All of the points you make are true – but you underestimate Iran. The Trump administration has made a key mistake in swallowing Netanyahu’s propaganda on how Iran is Israel’s ‘mortal enemy’ and has to be destroyed. US military planners were moving away from the Middle East and pivoting to Asia – because China is the issue. This is dragging them back. I don’t think military planners want a conflict with Iran because it couldn’t be decisive and will have huge blowback. The Iranians know this. They know ‘the west’ is split. So they’ve upped the anti. They did attack the ships (very careful to avoid US assets and not to kill people) – and made a big play in rescuing sailors. They are putting the US/ Israel back in its box. The US/ Israel are quite capable of false flag attacks – look at Tonkin and Liberty. But this is not one that the top brass will have sanctioned – or Mossad, or even Netanyahu. It is possible it could be rogue elements – but unlikely.

      1. “They did attack the ships”

        Well John, it’s nice to know you have evidence that proves this accusation. Perhaps, other than your opinions on the matter, you can show us this evidence? If not, then maybe it would be better to rethink such an affirmation. For example, “I believe they did attack the ships because…”

  8. ‘It is worth noting, however, that some typically reliable anti-imperialist voices have been saying it’s likely that Iran was indeed behind the attacks, including Moon of Alabama, Elijah J. Magnier, and former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford. They argue that Iran has been backed into a corner with economic sanctions, so now it’s fighting dirty to force the Trump administration to either end the sanctions in order to come to the negotiating table or enter into a costly, unpopular war right before election time. Magnier claims to have sources in Tehran who confirm this, saying that we can expect more such incidents in the future.’

    I think this analysis is correct. It is a rational and logical decision of Iran to fire a warning across the bows of the US and it looks like this is what they have done. I note Israeli Generals are now getting cold feet about any regional conflagration because they know that Iran is NOT Iraq. An ‘air’ war against Iran will cause huge damage and would precipitate increased attacks agains US collaberators on the ground. Only the Israeli’s have the capacity to resist. If the US sends in ground troops they WILL take significant casualties. Iran’s military assets are battle hardened. Trump needs this as he launches his Presidential battle like he needs a hole in the head. His argument is that ‘we are realising the American dream’ (sic). Why distract from this? ‘War’ and the xenophobia that goes with it is a ‘Trump’ card you use when everything else fails.

    1. Strange that the Jerusalem Post doesn’t mention that the Bushehr Nuclear Facility is protected by Russia’s S-300 surface to air missile system and operated by Russians. Ever since Israel bombed Iraq’s Osiris nuclear facility in 1981 no Arab or Persian country in their right mind would squander billions of d0llars on a nuclear facility only to later have the Israelites bomb it. More Israeli bullsh*t from the Jerusalem Post.

  9. Israel cannot survive without US protection..
    US cannot survive without petro-dollar..
    Capitalism cannot survive without constant growth..
    Empire cannot survive without constant expansion..
    Socialism cannot survive undermined with constant sabotage.. sanctions, blockades, interventions.
    The BRICS attempted to form an alternative representing more than half of the worlds population, but of course, was deliberately sabotaged by the corrupt criminals and their armies who want to maintain US dollar hegemony.
    Libya and Iraq copped it big time. Now Venezuela and Iran or any other sovereign country that tries to escape the usury of the Talmudic babylonian money magic via IMF debt trap.
    The US and Israel governments are criminal organisations and will never represent the will of the people.
    The main bulk of the unwashed brainwashed will probably never wake up in time to effect the change required.
    Many say this is a negative outlook.. but thinking positive is still just ‘thinking’.. and in todays world optimism can also be a form of denial. What is anyone going to do about it? BDS.. Who is going to be the first to give up their car, phone and computer? Hands up all those who don’t masturbate.
    We never got kicked out of the garden.. We wrecked it ourselves.
    A healthy body is a healthy mind.. and we need clear water, clean air, organic chemical free food and an unpolluted environment to be healthy. The coming war will destroy all that.
    Anyway I’m going back outside in the garden to plant some beans and pick some fresh herbs for dinner.

    1. Sheila Chambers Avatar
      Sheila Chambers

      “The main bulk of the unwashed brainwashed will probably never wake up in time to effect the change required.”

      Now just what “change” can us “unwashed brainwashed” masses affect?

      The “vote” is worthless, it’s rigged, switched, gerrymandered & we are disenfranchised, We can “choose” oligarch warmonger #1 or oligarch warmonger #2, that’s NOT a “choice”!

      They” our RULERS control the media, “they” control the “voting” & vote “counting” machines, “they” our RULERS have the most powerful, advanced military, surveillance & law enforcement system the world has ever known!

      WTF can WE do about that?????

      If you Think “renewables” are what we need to “get off oil”? Think again bubba, it’s also TIED TO OIL! You cannot replace declining resources with a resource dependent technology!

      We are now burning even more oil, coal & natural gas producing a technology that can only produce electricity, sometimes, but they also produces none of the essential raw materials we now get from fossil resources like OIL.

      That’s why we will keep using fossil RESOURCES until we can’t because most of us are not too keen to commit suicide through starvation & freezing in the dark or cooking in the sun.

      No matter what we do or don’t do now, most of us are TOAST!

      1. Ah, the voice of truth requiring no small amount of genius. So refreshing. Seriously.

        Nothing to add here, thanks.

  10. Random Castagna Avatar
    Random Castagna

    Trump really needs a war because it is the only way he is going to get re-elected.

    1. Not sure about that.
      Today’s America would vote for two planks of wood if they had something cool and exciting stamped on them using the three colours of the flag.
      Not that Americans are more stupid than anybody else.
      It’s just that their media have a longer history of controlling everything.

  11. Attacking an unarmed merchant vessel can never be construed as defensive. Caitlyn is absolutely correct to say that the US is the aggressor in this situation (quite egregiously so) regardless of who is responsible for the attack. But if Iran IS responsible (far from a proven fact) it probably wouldn’t make sense for them to acknowledge it as it is an indisputably criminal act.

  12. Both Syria and Russia have absorbed horrendous attacks from the US and their allies without retaliation.
    That is no doubt why the US thinks that they can ”massively attack” Iran, while arrogantly informing the world that they will stop unilaterally, so no point in getting excited about it.
    They expect that Iran will decide not to retaliate and I am inclined to agree.

  13. I think it was the USA. Unlike the attacks last month, (which I think came from Yemen, and they have every right to attack Saudi targets), the Mighty Wurlitzer of propaganda was ready to go. Last month, they floundered.
    If the US doesn’t have a propaganda blitz ready to go, I assume Real Event. If the world’s media springs into action with a pre-distributed script, I assume False Flag.
    One interesting point that has been dropped down the Memory Hole is that only one of the ships was Japanese.
    The other one is referred to as Norwegian, but the crew was Russian and Filipino. I find that very interesting, along with the cries of outrage from the US when Iran rescued that crew. I believe that those men were destined to be prisoners of the US and used as hostages and bargaining chips.
    Iran blew that plan by rescuing them, and releasing them.
    So Prime Minister Abe is in Tehran, bearing a message from Trump, which Khamenei refuses, and then another message is sent, when the tanker is attacked.
    And the bonus was meant to be Russian and Filipino hostages, imo. Both Russia and the Philippines are targets of the US.

    1. How are the Philippines a target of the US?

      Last I heard, Trump and Dutarte had a beautiful mutual admiration society kinda thing going.

      And the pentagon has been echoing Filipino alarm over Chinese expansion of island military airstrips in the region.

      What the heck would the Trump sycophants want with a bunch of Filipino sailor hostages???

      Russians? Maybe.. I guess it’s arguable. But Filipinos? Can’t construct a rationale for that idea.

    2. You are mixing up Trump and the MIC/Deep State of the US. Trump may not share the hatred of Duterte that the rest of the ruling class has, but rest assured that the real bosses are working to undermine or overthrow Duterte.
      Trump doesn’t always follow the orders of his masters, hence, the 24/7 media outrage against him.

    3. You are mixing up Trump and the MIC/Deep State. Trump may not hate Duterte, but our ruling overlords do, because he has not gone along with their plans to oppose China as well as they want.
      Hence, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria suddenly broadening their bailiwick and showing up to create panic and terror in the Philippines.
      The actual rulers of the USA want the Philippines to be part of the coalition against China, as you point out. Having Filipino hostages might have helped them in that regard.
      I doubt that Trump sycophants had anything to do with the attack on the tankers. (I don’t count Bolton or Pompeo as Trump sycophants, obviously).

  14. If the U.S. attacks Iran, one fallout will be damage to the NPT. The U.S. Iran policy is really a disaster to U.S. interests, because the sanctions undermine the dollar’s reserve currency status, but Trump seems too clueless to understand this; the intoxication of strangling foreign economies has left him drunk.

  15. Moving around a thousand US troops here or there is not exactly impressive or even threatening as far as any potential overt offensive is concerned. I wonder who coined the term “Massive Air Strike” and what is that supposed to translate into? These news people make it sound like an arc light mission is already in the works just to take out one or two manufacturing facilities.

    But really, how does “taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities” amount to any measured US response to “someone” apparently doing a minor and ultimately harmless fireworks show on some foreign flag oil tankers? Are we to think that Iran couldn’t blow up an OIL TANKER if it really wanted to?

  16. Well and truly time to implement sanctions against the US. Madness reigns supreme in that dangerous place. Yet I am in peaceful Portugal, chatting wuth an English chap from my grand-father’s native Kent who lives in Vancouver and with another chap of Irish ancestry here with his wife from Brazil and their US son – linking up wuth other cousins from Portugal and Brazil. At this level all politicians are putrid warmongers who are mad with power – and it’s basically the truth. Lock them all up in a penitentiary – for a year at minimum I reckon – might bring sense to their work on behalf of the citizens – and then take away all privileges and pensions – and then let’s implement a system of random selection of aged citizens to become a Council of the Elderly – a true “Senate” – to work together with a properly independent civil service for the country. (I am referring here to my native Australia – but it’s a system which might work in any nation.) Thanks again, Caitlin – for identifying the rogues and scoundrels of the US.

  17. a few well-appointed nukes can be dropped preemptively and prevent future criminal wars.

  18. My irrational government is going to attack Iran; that much everybody already knows. The big unknown questions are what the rest of the world is going to do. Is Russia going to step in like they did in Syria? Are the Chinese going to give Iran ship destroying equipment? What are Turkey and Iraq going to do? What is Pakistan going to do? If things go bad is Israel going to ” nuke ” Iran? This whole adventure is just very stupid.

  19. Caitlin. Excellent work!
    Iran has been working toward an alternative to the petro-dollar and the dollar’s hegemony as a global currency for decades. A death sentence for Iraq and Libya, and a sentence the US definitely wants to implement on Iran. But Iran ain’t no push over.

    This is all about oil and NATURAL GAS piped to Europe! Iran has the largest natural gas fields in the world and if they can build a pipeline from Iran through Syria (get it) to Europe than Europe has all the LP they need without the expensive LNG that the US is forcing on Europe. This IS the threat!

    The powers that be want to keep that power and this WILL end in a fight. It won’t be pretty and it just might not be the US who ends up on top!

    Israel? As one respondent queries, is another story but definitely in the mix if not a driver in this WAR.

  20. We need to stop using oil. It is like Heroin to the oil addicted Capitalist Industrial Military System. And it is polluting our World.

    “The Environment must become our Priority”
    Bernie Sanders

    1. Sheila Chambers Avatar
      Sheila Chambers

      Calling OIL an “addiction” implies that there is a better energy resource than oil but that’s not true.
      We have become because of gross HUMAN OVERPOPULATION, totally DEPENDENT upon oil, without oil, most of us wouldn’t be eating & most of us would soon be dead.
      Without oil there would be no civilization, no modern medicine, no fast, safe transport, very little food could be grown & little of it could be transported, no more 2,000 mile salads, no fresh veggies or fruits from Cali to NY, no aircraft, no cars, no trucks & no electricity, no “modern” way of life.

      Forget about “renewables” they too wouldn’t exist without OIL.

      & yet we must stop burning fossil resources but if we do, billions of us will soon die, what a pickle we have put ourselves in, dammed if we do, dammed if we don’t, any way you slice it, we are doomed!

      1. Unhappily the majority of addicts are unable to kick their habits. Most do not stop until using kills them, directly or indirectly.

        Without modern medicine there wouldn’t be overpopulation, so that little problem solves itself. In the wild the human life expectancy is twenty years; by 1900 it was 42.5 years but today, after nearly doubling again, it is falling, already showing the first signs of its inescapable return to normal.

        China and Rome built vast empires without taking coal or oil from the ground, and without electricity too, so our descendants are unlikely to need to return to the caves.

        Extreme adaptability is the hallmark of our species. We will do just fine and will endure long after this unsustainable technological society vanishes, at least until the next pandemic or really big meteor comes along. Extinction is the end product of evolution, after all. Or, maybe they are correct who dream that global warming is just Gaia naturally running a fever to rid herself of a troublesome infection – us.

  21. One further thing that you should have pointed out, Caitlin.
    ..
    Just exactly HOW is the US government going to PAY for its latest war at the end of a long line of wars? It’s going to “pay” for it the same way it paid for all its previous wars and regime-change operations since Nixon took the USD off the gold standard — with printed-out-of-thin-air, fiat, Fiat, FIAT US “dollars”!
    ..
    Any foreign or domestic purchaser of US “Treasury” bonds FUNDS the US’s wars of aggression and regime changes! These buyers are INVESTING IN WAR! They fully expect to PROFIT FROM WAR!

  22. I think Pakistan has a pretty big interest in a decision to regime-change in Iran by the US. If the US succeeds in another Iran putsch, no doubt the next big drum roll will be for de-nuclearizing Pakistan. So right now I would think Pakistan might join the chorus of voices from USSR and China opposing the sanctions upon Iran. Pakistan could easily threaten to overtly aid Taliban in Afghanistan. Uncontrollable escalation of hostilities is a fear which might help deter an airstrike now on the Iranian facility.

    1. Here is a good overview of the Eurasian economic and political intricacies by Escobar of Asia Times.

      https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/06/article/iran-at-the-center-of-the-eurasian-riddle/

  23. I hope no one overlooks the role Israeli Nationals here and abroad had in all this. We can start with Kushner and his relationship with Bibi. Would any of this be happening without the influence of Israel. That is what you have to ask yourself.

    1. Absolutely.

      Q1. How are these developments in any way strategically beneficial to Iran?
      (Hard to swallow the “lets force the US to the bargaining table” theory, since both Trump and Pompeo publically renounced any preconditions to negotiations PRIOR to the tanker attacks.)

      Q2. In lieu of any less far-fetched motivation for Iran to stage a covert attack (which they would surely expect to be blamed for) on a Japanese tanker WHILE meeting with Japan’s PM Abe, the obvious question is: Who WOULD benefit from this act? And who has the means and capability? Oh, and perhaps, a track record of covert provocative preemptive uses of “special” forces?

      Q3: Who has been relentless in shamelessly begging the US to identify Iran as an enemy of the US (on behalf of Israel, it should go without saying)?

      https://www.latimes.com/nation/82963554-132.html

      This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

      Let’s not forget this astonishing statement of less than a month ago:

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47670717

      “US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said it is “possible” that President Donald Trump was sent by God to save Israel from Iran.”

  24. Excellent journalism.
    I was unaware that some of the anti-imperialist voices have reported it’s likely that Iran was indeed behind the attacks.
    Including this information in your report speaks to your journalist integrity.
    And you are absolutely correct: whether using a false-flag to justify attacking Iran, or using sanctions to provoke an incident to justify attacking Iran – it’s all just more of the same global imperialism.
    Thank you CJ.
    Day in and day out, you are the most reliable investigative journalist of those that I follow.

  25. I think if Iran had done the strike they would have claimed responsibility and that it was their right to protect themselves. It’s not much of a message if you don’t claim responsibility.

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