The United States and Iran entered into a direct military exchange for the first time ever with the drone assassination of General Qassem Soleimani last week and a retaliatory strike from Iran via surface-to-surface missiles upon two US military bases on Wednesday.
As usual it was the less powerful nation who exercised restraint, with Iran skillfully targeting the bases’ military capabilities but taking measures to successfully avoid any casualties. The two nations de-escalated back down to their previous high level of dangerous hostilities with an understanding between them that neither side wants a full-scale war. Both sides played “chicken” and both sides swerved, and they know that about each other now.
So that was a relief. We were all forced to hold our breath and hope against hope that cooler heads would prevail after the senseless assassination of a sovereign nation’s top military official, and they did. A full-scale war that would have dwarfed Iraq and Vietnam in terms of death, destruction and destabilization was averted.
And then Trump immediately went right back to warmongering.
“As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,” Trump said in his speech the morning after the Iranian missile strike. “These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior.”
It is unclear at this time what form these sanctions will take. If they are of the sort being leveled at Iran currently, they will further target Iranian civilians with the goal of making them even more miserable so that they rise up and overthrow their government. This deliberate attempt to foment civil war against Tehran is not speculation; it is a fact, admitted to by the Trump administration itself.
A New York Times article from last year reports the following:
“Last week, Mr. Pompeo acknowledged to Michael J. Morrell, a former acting director of the C.I.A., that the administration’s strategy would not persuade Iranian leaders to change their behavior.
“’I think what can change is the people can change the government,’ he said on a podcast hosted by Mr. Morrell, in what appeared to be an endorsement of regime change.”
It is impossible for the US and Iran to de-escalate from the military powderkeg situation they are in as long as the US is deliberately attacking Iran’s economy with the goal of igniting a civil war in that country. The US government intends to not just continue to escalate this direct assault, but to continue its increasingly intrusive military presence in the region, including the unwelcome occupation of Iraq.
And yet, bizarrely, Trump also claims to want to reach a new nuclear deal with Iran.
“The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout,” Trump said. “Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognize this reality. They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal, or JCPOA. And we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. We must also make a deal that allows Iran to thrive and prosper and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential.”
This is not going to happen. The US government has already burned Tehran on the JCPOA and it’s not going to enter into a new deal as long as the US continues to inflict aggressions upon it that the US itself wouldn’t tolerate from any other nation. Iran is going to be much less willing to trust the US government in a new deal now and will require much more assurance and accommodation than it did in the previous one; such a negotiation (assuming the Trump administration even really wants it) would be harder, not easier. This will remain true even after Trump leaves office.
The airstrikes between the US and Iran were the result of the trajectory of escalations Trump initiated by wrongfully withdrawing from the JCPOA in order to smash Iran with sanctions. Heaping even more sanctions on top of those accelerates along that same trajectory toward war. https://t.co/CafcRr13E1
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) January 8, 2020
The Trump administration also further inflamed tensions by inviting NATO to become further involved in the Middle East, which NATO chief chief Jens Stoltenberg agreed to.
“The President asked the secretary general for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East,” a NATO statement said. “They agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism.”
So things are only continuing to heat up with Iran, and there is no reason to believe more eruptions like the direct military confrontation we just experienced won’t occur again, with the world perhaps getting a lot less lucky next time. Trump and his supporters are trying to claim the evasion of full-scale war as a victory for both peace and for America, but it is neither.
All of the defenses of Trump’s warmongering that you’ve been seeing are premised upon the unquestioned assumption that it is both reasonable and acceptable for the United States to maintain a military presence in the Middle East, even in nations whose governments don’t want them there like Iraq and Syria. If the US didn’t insist on maintaining an enormous military presence in this one area on the other side of the planet, there would be no debate about the need for America to “defend” itself by attacking the Iranian economy, assassinating government officials, and conducting airstrikes upon Iraqi militias. It would just be another country on the other side of the world, doing its own thing in its own way.
Most Americans haven’t thought very hard about this premise. They are fed some lines about the need to protect American “interests” and some unexplained need to defend Israel, and because those lines are spoken in an authoritative tone of voice most are content to leave it there. But if Americans actually laid out all the facts in front of them and thought deeply about what their government’s Middle Eastern military presence costs them and risks for them compared to what it actually gains them, it would be seen for the insane imperialist power agenda that it so clearly is.
_________________________
Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, checking out my podcast on either Youtube, soundcloud, Apple podcasts or Spotify, following me on Steemit, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.
Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2
72 responses to “Full-Scale War Is Avoided And Trump Goes Right Back To Warmongering”
“They are fed some lines about the need to protect American “interests” and some unexplained need to defend Israel, and because those lines are spoken in an authoritative tone of voice most are content to leave it there.” This reminds me of a point made by Howard Zinn about ‘national interest’ being no such thing. He talks about the ‘memory of States’, a concept that I found totally useful in explaining the schizophrenic mind of Conservatives like Alexander Mercouris, which can be anti-war and yet totally pro warhawk (pro Trump in Mercouris’s case). The Duran (Mercouris’s show) is quite good in some respects – Mercouris is knowledgeable and the show is informative and current – but infuriating in other respects. There’s too much emphasis, for my taste, on what ‘leaders’ think and do. And there’s the tendency to buy into the phony contest between the Dems and Repubs, and on a wider scale, the Americans and the Russians. That’s right. The contest between the Americans, while real, isn’t quite what it seems, as James Corbett in a recent show he did makes very clear. (“Globalization Is Dead. Welcome To The New World Order” may have been the title.)
“As usual it was the less powerful nation who exercised restraint, with Iran skillfully targeting the bases’ military capabilities but taking measures to successfully avoid any casualties.” There seems to have been a lack of skill in Iran’s accidental (let’s say) shooting down of a civilian airliner. Fort Russ carries a very scrambled report that nevertheless makes a good point that someone in the Iranian military was possibly up to no good. That would be awful, and scary, but perhaps better for Iran’s image than it accidental mass murder because officials lacked the common sense to have civilian flights grounded at this critical time.
What may be an excuse for Trump; I’m sure that one of the first things that happen when a new president takes office since 1963 is a CIA briefing at which said president is shown the Zapruder film. Meanwhile, quite interesting how the US Sociopaths In Charge have shot themselves in the foot. After years of sanctions trying to foment civil war in Iran, in one day they unite the country in opposition to the US.
The idea of “full-scale war” is not at issue. The US bombing, even invading, Iran is very much in prospect.
The idea of Iran bombing, even invading, the US would seem quite out of the question.
So, does “full-scale war” entail these equilibrating prospects? No.
So, don’t call it by any such misnomer.
Full scale war might be a concept to rethink. I mean, warfare has been ongoing with Iran for a long time. The siege (called sanctions) is an act of war. The withholding of monies (theft) has gone on since the Americans lost to the mullahs. The US has blown up nuclear facilities with a computer virus, blown civilian airliners out of the sky, murdering all on board. There are many asassinations of leaders. Now that countries have new weapons, cyber, electronic, lasers, plasma, etc., do we really have an idea what full scale war would look like? I doubt any adversary would keep the war in their own land. They can bring it to the continental US, and certainly have the reach to hit Israel and UAE. Many actions have been deniable, so far. Like, who hit those oil tankers? This seems a very dangerous turn of events and its definitely not over yet.
“Full scale war might be a concept to rethink. I mean, warfare has been ongoing with Iran for a long time. The siege (called sanctions) is an act of war.” Full scale war is something that could still happen, in my view. But you’re absolutely right about the actual state of war Iran finds itself in with the US right now. Stephen Gowans addresses that in detail in his recent excellent article on the subject.
Thanks, I´ll check out his article. Maybe `maximum pressure´ does mean all out warfare, in code.
And how is it you know for a certainty that Iran is not capable of assault on the US? You, nor anyone else in the US has any idea what if any resources Iran already has in the US. Furthermore, to assert that one nation invading another is not full scale war because the defenders response is limited is absurd.
America’s dilemma in egging on Iran into a full-scale war is now rather clear. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other ME “bosom buddies” are within easy striking distance of Iran’s new class of missiles, and the accuracy of those missiles has just been demonstrated in surgical strikes to avoid American casualties. Would America be willing to sacrifice Tel Aviv or the Saudi oil supply to get some sort of unpredictable regime change in Iran? Despite all the bluster and BS, I strongly doubt it.
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/477759-iran-missiles-subdued-us-strike/
Not surprising. That’s what a figurehead puppet dictator is for: to take the heat that would otherwise be directed at the serpents in the deep state actually running the show. If his showmanship proves popular, the serpents learn that they can push harder for their vile policies actually loathed by the public. Make no mistake, most of the public hates war, at least in their rare lucid moments. They have a vague understanding that it correlates with suffering and death, and that those spectres may personally visit them no matter how much flag waving and chanting they do. They’ve seen plenty of fellow plebs lose that lottery during the past several decades of “peak war” imposed by Uncle Sam.
Love the irony.
Bien hecho hombre.
The Corbett Report analyzes the lies … I mean… assertions that America has been pushing to justify its assassination of General Soleimani and the political context that has been omitted by the mainstream media.
The Assassination of Soleimani: What You Need to Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvaBgW_YU8s&feature=emb_title
(Trigger Warning for TrumpTards)
If China decides to retaliate with a T Bill war, the USA will end up with egg on its face. I think Trump must know that, so all of this is just posturing… hopefully… as a T Bill war will be devastating to everyone.
Because war abroad is always about domestic considerations, there is in our days an opportunaty for ordinary people to change the dynamics inside the countries of the world because the last days has proven that the current state of the ruling elites seems to prevent them to launch real wars. It is because the ruling elites of our days are decadent and do not have the guts of the ruling elites of previous times.
So the time allowed should serve to the people to ask for a society based on the needs of the people instead of money by establishing for example a universal income for everybody.
But because decadence has also gained ordinary folks, I am afraid that people will have problem to unite themselves asking for change.
We are in the return of the days of Noah just before the Second Coming of Jesus and I pray the Rosary to hasten His return because I have seen enough bullshit.
Hmmm
I have to take acception with your opening statement that “Because war abroad is always about domestic considerations” That is categorically false given that all of the “wars” the US has started and fought since 9-11 had nothing to do with domestic considerations and everything to do with israel’s considerations.
In the days following 9-11 there was zero legitimate evidence regarding the identify of the “hi-jackers” that did not point straight back to israel. And yet within days the US invaded Afghanistan. In fact, the country had absolutely nothing to do with 9-11 and everything to do with preventing the Russians from blocking the pre-planned attacks on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria etc. Not coincidentally, it was israel which had been publicly screaming that the US invade those specific countries in the years preceding 9-11. It was never about domestic considerations. The 9-11 false flag by israel was necessitated by the fact that domestic considerations in the US were in fact preventing their demand for further war in the Middle East.
The US went to war in the Middle East in 2001 and have remained in conflict for 2 decades to serve israel not America or the American people.
Consider FDR’s treason and conspiracy with his cousin Churchill to trick America in to war with Germany (per Churchill’s request) by cutting off Japan’s oil supply leaving them no choice but war. At which point FDR turned Pearl Harbor into a sitting duck by ordering the Commanding General and Admirals to place the entire island on a defensive footing that required the concentration of all planes and ships making them sitting ducks for an air attack. An air attack from Japanese carriers that FDR knew was coming. In fact, the US had broken the Japanese codes weeks before Dec 7. FDR knew the exact day time and location the attack would come from and refused to notify his Military Command of the impending attack .
His treachery went so far as to order the PBY’s who routinely patrolled far out to sea to not to sweep the specific quadrant north of the Islands on Dec 6 where the Japanese Fleet was sitting. In the months leading up to the attack FDR was forced to fire multiple Commanding officers stationed at Pearl Harbor who refused comply with obvious attempt to weaken the defenses at Pearl Harbor and hamstring intelligence gathering and dissemination by requiring it to go through Washington (thus allowing him to deny his Commanders in Pearl vital intel which might have tipped them off)
Again, “domestic considerations” overwhelming prevented the US from entering into a war with either Japan or Germany. FDR’s treachery and treason was an end run around those “domestic considerations”.
@ Ddearborn,
Even with 9/11, domestic considerations were paramount.
Do not forget all the anti-globalization protests just prior 9/11; ruling elites had problems organizing G8 summits and all their other summits because of the huge protests it would bring.
Because of 9/11, the ruling elites have since an excuse to organize their summits with Under higher security (an excuse to continue to rule the world the way they want and not the way the people of the world should prefer).
I pray the Rosary to hasten the return of Jesus because I am fed up with all the bullshit. Fortunately, according to prophecies, His return is very near.
I’m pretty sure that they’ve talked about the return ever since he got on the bus in the first place, so I sure wouldn’t hold my breath waiting. Don’t forget that these murderous thugs in Washington, all think that God belongs to them, and since we’re all the, ‘enemy’, we’re all dead meat either way.
Your last 2 sentences are B.S.
They aren’t just male bovine fecal matter, they are the mantra of the Christian Zionists, welcoming Apocalypse in the Holy land in advent of the second coming. We have a VP and a Sec of State that are near if not in that camp.
What very important reason for US forces being literally forced to REMAIN in the entire middle east does Tucker not know about?
http://www.johndayblog.com/2020/01/diplomacy.html
This is a quick encapsulation:
Days after the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, new and important information is coming to light from a speech given by the Iraqi prime minister. The story behind Soleimani’s assassination seems to go much deeper than what has thus far been reported, involving Saudi Arabia and China as well the U.S. dollar’s role as the global reserve currency.
The Iraqi prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, has revealed details of his interactions with Trump in the weeks leading up to Soleimani’s assassination in a speech to the Iraqi parliament. He tried to explain several times on live television how Washington had been browbeating him and other Iraqi members of parliament to toe the American line, even threatening to engage in false-flag sniper shootings of both protesters and security personnel in order to inflame the situation, recalling similar modi operandi seen in Cairo in 2009, Libya in 2011, and Maidan in 2014. The purpose of such cynicism was to throw Iraq into chaos...
Abdul-Mehdi spoke angrily about how the Americans had ruined the country and now refused to complete infrastructure and electricity grid projects unless they were promised 50% of oil revenues, which Abdul-Mehdi refused.
This is why I visited China and signed an important agreement with them to undertake the construction instead. Upon my return, Trump called me to ask me to reject this agreement. When I refused, he threatened to unleash huge demonstrations against me that would end my premiership.
Huge demonstrations against me duly materialized and Trump called again to threaten that if I did not comply with his demands, then he would have Marine snipers on tall buildings target protesters and security personnel alike in order to pressure me.
I refused again and handed in my resignation. To this day the Americans insist on us rescinding our deal with the Chinese.
After this, when our Minister of Defense publicly stated that a third party was targeting both protestors and security personnel alike (just as Trump had threatened he would do), I received a new call from Trump threatening to kill both me and the Minister of Defense if we kept on talking about this “third party”...
[The House of Saud openly folds it’s hand]
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not consulted regarding the U.S. strike. In light of the rapid developments, the Kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint to guard against all acts that may lead to escalation, with severe consequences.”…
What clearly emerges is that the success of the operation against Soleimani had nothing to do with the intelligence gathering of the U.S. or Israel. It was known to all and sundry that Soleimani was heading to Baghdad in a diplomatic capacity that acknowledged Iraq’s efforts to mediate a solution to the regional crisis with Saudi Arabia...
The petrodollar is what ensures that the U.S. dollar retains its status as the global reserve currency, granting the U.S. a monopolistic position from which it derives enormous benefits from playing the role of regional hegemon.
This privileged position of holding the global reserve currency also ensures that the U.S. can easily fund its war machine by virtue of the fact that much of the world is obliged to buy its treasury bonds that it is simply able to conjure out of thin air. To threaten this comfortable arrangement is to threaten Washington’s global power...
Washington would like to prevent any Eurasian integration by unleashing chaos and destruction in the region, and killing Soleimani served this purpose. The U.S. cannot contemplate the idea of the dollar losing its status as the global reserve currency. Trump is engaging in a desperate gamble that could have disastrous consequences...
The assassination of Soleimani is the U.S. lashing out at its steady loss of influence in the region. The Iraqi attempt to mediate a lasting peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been scuppered by the U.S. and Israel’s determination to prevent peace in the region and instead increase chaos and instability.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/01/08/the-deeper-story-behind-the-assassination-of-soleimani/
This information would seem to confirm my conviction of several years now that the surest way to defang the empire is to concisely undercut it’s economic clout. This can be accomplished by the refusal of countries to continue purchasing amerikan debt by way of treasury notes and enacting trade through alternate currencies. When the economic house of cards collapses will the empire lose it’s capacity to bully and intimidate.
I will quote Sir Thomas More again in his book “Utopia” because this is what we face from the ruling elites:
“…if pride, that plague of human nature, that source of so much misery, did not hinder it; for this vice does not measure happiness so much by its own conveniences, as by the miseries of others; and would not be satisfied with being thought a goddess, if none were left that were miserable, over whom she might insult. Pride thinks its own happiness shines the brighter, by comparing it with the misfortunes of other persons; that by displaying its own wealth they may feel their poverty the more sensibly. This is that infernal serpent that creeps into the breasts of mortals, and possesses them too much to be easily drawn out”
The only wise decision we can make is to abstain in the elections organized by those people. War is just a way for them to maintain this statu quo at home and it is worst than it was in the days of Sir Thomas More because we are in the return of the days of Noah.
The good news is that it is a sure sign that the Second Coming of Jesus is very near and I pray the Rosary to hasten His Glorious return because I have really really seen enough bullshit.
So I am walking dowm the street and decide to go into this guys yard to get a shiny trinket in his grass. His guard dog comes out and bites me so I shoot him and put him down for biting me. I was just defending myself against a vicious dog. The wotld is now a better place.
I tresspass into some guys yard and kill his dog defending his property. I am the aggressor and at fault.
So which scenario for Iraq is correct.
The devastating truth is that US foreign policy is dominated by the Israel Lobby and America has been fighting wars for the Zionist Jews for decades. And to seal the deal the Jewish matrix of power in America has so thoroughly dismantled Americans’ ability call a spade a spade that the cold, hard truth about whose really driving these stupid wars is considered ‘anti-Semitic’ hate speech. The situation is so grim that America doesn’t even grasp its own self-imposed limbo, where everyone has already decided before anyone even opens their mouth that the one truth that most needs to be heard today cannot ever, ever be spoken in public. And this radical foreclosure on any possibility of ever speaking the truth about Jewish power is how the established order justifies itself….
Note to Self:
“Don’t Carry Sign Saying Americans Die for Israeli Controlled Mideast Policy at Antiwar Rally”
I’ve got to wonder if the heroic guy who keeps asking for an explanation is Palestinian American. “NAZI, NAZI, NAZI, NAZI, NAZI…” Thanks Eleni
https://russia-insider.com/en/watch-zionists-pittsburgh-assault-anti-war-protesters-criticizing-israel/ri28129
Trump has ended the terror campaign of one of the most wanted men on the planet and opened the door for Iran to have a much better , peaceful future. The days of Obama sending 150 billion dollars to fund terrorists are over. Now that a real patriot is in charge there is hope for peace throughout the middle east. Watching the beautiful smiles on the faces of Iranian people , following the death of this monster is so great. The Iranian people truly feel hope, something they have not had in decades. They are still thanking Trump on every social platform there is. Well done president Trump.
If he was the most wanted man on the planet why was he flying around to various places in the past couple of years out in the open? Doesn’t sound too “wanted” to me. The money that Obama gave to them was their own money. After the embassy siege in 1979, Iranian assets were frozen in the US. These assets were returned to them. And how do you know what the Iranian people are feeling? You have a crystal ball?
Love the irony.
Bien hecho hombre.
What world do you live in, Fitz? You sound as nutty as your icon looks.
Love the irony.
Bien hecho hombre.
Fitz’s post is proof beyond all doubt that Trump bots inhabit a parallel universe. Embarrassment is the emotion one feels, much more than anger and revulsion.
Is this sup[posed to be a factual story, or just selective comedy. You failed to mention the event that triggered this entire situation. You failed to mention the iran backed milita that over ran the American embassy, murdered an American contractor and burned half the embassy down.That is what started this. Now why is that????…………Perhaps low IQ libtards will always swallow any fake news to push their hate, but as for the rest of us , these BS articles are just laughable. And fake news is exactly what this article is when you purposely emit the event that triggered the entire situation. While you are kissing the ass of a a dead terrorist , who killed 600+ americans you might want to try and explain why the people of Iran are celebrating all over Iran over the death of that monster. Trump is the winner here – just ask the rest of the world who are still singing his praises for HIS restraint.
you forgot the 25 Iraqi militia killed in retaliation for the one American contractor that was killed. Iraqis felt it was a disproportionate response, so protested at the embassy. Try not to leave out inconvenient facts of the story
Hmmm
600+Americans compared to the more than 2 Million Iraq Men, women and Children killed? Seriously?
Other than israel and the US who exactly is stating with factual certainty that “Iran” had anything what so ever to do with the Embassy attack you mention? Perhaps it has escaped your steely eyed gaze, but over the last 30+ years the zionist controlled media in General and israel in particular have habitually blamed the their usual suspects Hamas, the Palestinians, the Iranians, etc. for just about everything that they can in any way relate to terrorism. Naturally, no actual evidence is ever provided. Trump has fallen into that same mode.
Given the complete lack of actual evidence coupled with the oh so convenient timing for both Trump and NutenYahoo one can readily make an equally compelling argument that most of the violence in Iraq has been formulated in Tel Aviv. Particularly given that Israel has repeated gotten caught giving aid to known terrorist groups all over the Middle East. And I might add, Israeli officials have publicly admitted to giving such aid on more than one occasion.
The United States and israel continue to commit flagrant violations of international law and the UN charter, not to mention half a dozen treaties which constitute acts of War. Acts of war that conservatively just since 9-11 have cost more than 10 Million lives and turned nearly 50 Million people into refugees. And yet the minute one of their victims fights back they are instantly labeled the aggressor, the law breaker, the terrorist. It is complete and utter nonsense. The standard ploy of blaming the victims simply doesn’t wash anymore with world community or the American people.
Willful ignorance and aggressive stupidity are their own reward, I guess.
The story I read was that Iraquis attacked the embassy due to the bombing and killing of many Iraqui soldiers by the US on Iraqi soil. They were pissed, And somebody let them in to a heavily fortified compound. Trump threatened the Iraqi PM, to bring in snipers (third parties) to complicate the scene, (like they did in Ukraine). Trump was demanding that Iraq hand over 50% of their oil revenue in order to rebuild what they destroyed. The PM said no. Trump threatened his life, and the lives of other Iraqi officials. He didn’t want them dealing with China. So, it sounds like mob tactics, that no sovereign country should bow to. When the Iraqis demanded that US forces leave the country, he demanded to be reimbursed for the largest embassy on earth, despite the contractual arrangement that says Iraq already owns it. You can’t make this shit up. Trump was trained by Roy Cohen, pedophile and jewish mafia kingpin, his lawyer.
Caitleen, your texts are written in divine light. I always wonder about your clear head. Those who destroy the world in the name of the Bible will bear the consequences. Not only in “God’s own country”. Sooner or later every empire will die.
“in the name of the Bible”, and the “almighty” dollar. I find it surreal that a genre of “religious” zealots can somehow translate a religion of peace and love into one of hate and war to such a degree. Too much old testament, I fear. I never really understood why any more than a few pages of historical reference to the old testament is included in the Bible. It’s largely a history of aggression and subjugation. Take the foundation of Israel after the exodus for example. The Israelites invade Canaan, and kill the residents. Hardly a Christian act. And how is this a justification for the current existence of Israel in it’s current location? Which is a huge factor in the murder and mayhem inflicted by the US Sociopaths In Charge upon the Middle East.
That ridiculous book that people call the bible, is a history of Jews murdering and punishing each other and other people. It was compiled by an Egyptian scribe named Ezra. Why did the Christians attach their bible to it?
The original Jewish faith was one of peace. They did not sacrifice or eat animals nor did they kill people. During the exodus from Egypt the mass of people split up. Some kept to the old peaceful faith and others adopted a more aggressive, bloodthirsty faith. The aggressive ones control Israel today. The peaceful ones do not stand up to their government because their faith is one of non-aggression and non-resistance.
“But if Americans actually laid out all the facts in front of them and thought deeply about what their government’s Middle Eastern military presence costs them and risks for them compared to what it actually gains them, it would be seen for the insane imperialist power agenda that it so clearly is.” Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work this way, especially in the US most of all. Sorry to say, but it is belief/perception that determines one’s reality, not facts. Of course, for those of us who prefer to live in a fact-based world, it is beyond comprehension how so many people can believe what they believe. But this is exactly what propaganda does, it creates beliefs/perceptions that trump facts. Activists on the left think that if they just keep putting facts out there the people will finally see the “reality.” That’s like saying if one just keeps telling people God does not really exist, all religious belief will disappear. As long as people (enough of them, at least) believe the US government has a right and duty to protect American “interests” anywhere on the globe, the US government will be able to do as it wishes, in total violation of International law. Right in front of everyone, brazenly, with impunity. Of course, no other country will be allowed to do the same. Hence, US foreign policy is based on the simple dictum: Do as we say, not as we do.
Sad but true Charlie. Asking the average US citizen to think is like asking a stone to do quadratic equations — ain’t gonna happen.
Unfortunately, I think the only thing that will change the status quo is for the US to suffer the same kind of destruction that Germany and Japan did after WW II. In both cases, that was the only thing that forced the German and Japanese people to give up their “insane imperialist power agenda.” People do not simply wake up one day, give up their beliefs and realize that imperialism is a bad thing and they should stop thinking their country is exceptional. And remember, you don’t have to fool all the people all the time, just enough of them…….
It’s like asking a stone to ask a dog not to piss on it …
President Donald Trump’s warmongering speech was full of baloney. Trump asked for nothing less than total surrender of Iran. He accused Iran again of being a global sponsor of terrorism, which is absolute nonsense. Trump’s description would have perfectly fit US imperial policy in the Middle East. Besides Israel, the US is the main sponsor of state-organized terrorism against other peoples. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and many other countries are cases in point. The US created that mess, and they blame Iran for it. The Europeans would be nuts to get involved in the US mess. The axis of resistance could receive them like the US occupier in 2003, not with flowers but with coffins. Trump’s terror attack can only fully understood in light of the detrimental influence of the Zionist regime, the Israel lobby, and the evangelical fundamentalists such as Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo. The people should not except the hoodwink by the US propaganda about “Iranian terrorism”. The real terrorist regimes are the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, the axis of evil in the Middle East.
“and an early warning system that worked really well” yea Iran phoned and said ‘we are about to hit here and here get your people out or they will die”. Good job Donnie.
I know this lacks compassion but I have been hoping for a huge natural disaster to occur in the United States simply so they would focus their energy on repairing their country instead of destroying and bullying others. However what would probably happen in that situation is that the elite will desert the USA and leave the remaining people in dire poverty.
I personally believe everything that Trump, the American government, and Mainstream Media say!
I believe in Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction; Saddam Hussein was involved in 9-11; Muammar Qadaffi’s forces using Viagra as part of rape squads during the 2011 NATO humanitarian bombing of that nation; the 2018 Douma chlorine attack by the Syrian government in 2018; the OPCW’s sterling reputation; Eliot Higgins is indeed a citizen journalist; Russia meddling in US elections; General Qasem Soleimani was involved in 9-11; and of course 9-11 and the War on Terrorism.
They are all gospel truth.
All is well….
If Americans would think about it, but they won’t; it’s part of the reason to keep them poor, keep them busy struggling just to live, so that they don’t have time to think. As you said the other day concerning Iraqi democracy and America; Americans don’t have been a democracy either, and on election day Marshall law will be imposed and the charade will be over. (Mint Press Press News)
The only way to de-escalate the threat of war is for the US to close all their military bases around the world and go home. The money they safe could be used for the benefit of Americans in America and to repair the damage in countries they tried to integrate forcefully into their empire. It’s a no-brainer for anyone who values peace on earth. To stop killing each other is a start, why not also stop killing the environment with our polluting way of living, the only loser would be greed!
War is a kind of diversion used to avoid talking about inequalities, poverty, injustice and all that sorts of problems that the ruling class do not want to address because they want those problems to continue…
As Thomas More wrote in his famous book “Utopia”:
“…if pride, that plague of human nature, that source of so much misery, did not hinder it; for this vice does not measure happiness so much by its own conveniences, as by the miseries of others; and would not be satisfied with being thought a goddess, if none were left that were miserable, over whom she might insult. Pride thinks its own happiness shines the brighter, by comparing it with the misfortunes of other persons; that by displaying its own wealth they may feel their poverty the more sensibly. This is that infernal serpent that creeps into the breasts of mortals, and possesses them too much to be easily drawn out”
So you can understand now what is going on… And it is worst than before because we are in the return of the days of Noah just before the Second Coming of Jesus, so the plagues of human nature are more pronounced than ever.
I pray the Rosary to hasten the return of Jesus because I have seen enough bullshit.
I can’t stand Donald Trump. He makes me sick. I couldn’t stand Barrack Obama. He made me sick. I couldn’t stand George W. Bush. He made me sick. Sociopaths running my country always make me sick. I’ve been feeling sick since JFK was assassinated. This kind of malaise is not good for me or any other American, and it just keeps getting worse, year after year, decade after decade. We need a major change, because this system of sociopath rule is never going to work out for the masses. Never.
Amen, Chico, Amen!
Just exactly WHAT is the “major change”? I really want to know, and the more day-to-day detail, the better.
May never happen, but a positive major change could be the Balkanization of the US. Let those of us that are at each others throats go their own way. Governments being naturally saturated with sociopaths, the smaller the better. To quote Grover Norquist, for whom I have no other regard, and I paraphrase, “government is fine, as long as it’s small enough to drown in the bath tub”.
Catlin, your assessment is spot on. One thing I don’t understand, is why the MSM Western press didn’t talk about the fact that Russia, China and Iran were conducting joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean just prior to the horrible murder of Qassam Suleimani. I would think this is the reason that they U.S. backed down from counter striking Iran after Iran’s strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq.
And yes, this isn’t over, because nothing has really changed. I think the U.S. realized that Russia and China were at the ready to defend Iran and backed down to rethink their strategy and figure out how they could neutralize Russia and China before the next go around.
Any thoughts?
” the horrible murder of Qassam Suleimani” – I dare you to go and say that to any of the 600+ families of the americans he murdered. Even better , I dare you to goto Iran and say that to any of the tens of thousands of Iranians our celebrating this monsters death. You are mourning the death of a murdering monster that has killed tens of thousands of people………. do you not realise how pathetic you sound??………. sorry , pathetic is not the word, the word is the same for all leftists , BRAINWASHED
President Donald Trump is now the ” poster boy for the Ugly American “. The longer he stays in office the more of humanity will grow to really despise him and the United States government. Donald Trump is ” the overseer ” for the owners and the masters ruling this country. He intends to ” whip everyone ” into shape one way or another.
Is a septuagenarian American citizen, I am very sorry to agree with you.
T Isn’t responsible for all our problems, but he has done great damage to our country’s reputation as a force for good and a partner which can be counted upon.
The sheeple prefer not to think
as long as they have their flat-screen TV’s, trinkets,
and can have their egos stroked by US exceptionalism.
This is a war. It has been for decades. Lots of cyber attacks, tanker attacks with deniability, US aggression using mercenaries, and other countries soldiers. The Iranians are playing a long game, and Trump is playing like a mafia don. He was trained by the loathsome Cohen. Interesting that Sheldon Adelson´s casino was hit by a cyber attack in 2014, attributed to Iran. He lost 50 million to repair it. Kinda wonder is this zio payback? So much of the commentary and coverage missed that little country, the elephant in the living room.
Most thinking folk would like the US to “change their behavior”. And soon.
We’re over their arrogance.
PO out of the Middle East, South Korea (where they just deployed Reaper Drones), Afghanistan, Germany, Italy, Australia, and anywhere else they have imposed their presence.
Oh, and word from my sources out of Iraq is that over 200 injured US occupiers were flown to “Israeli” hospitals … so, maybe not so “precision” after all … or was it?
“Most thinking folk would like the US to “change their behavior”” – Well lets see. Obama was sending Iran 150 billion , paying for Irans terror campaign. Trump is doing the opposite. Trump is ending it , and leftists are not happy. Any idea how that makes you all look. You are all crying for a terrorist that has murdered 600+ americans. Trump is the man that ended this monster. The rest of the world, including the people or Iran are celebrating, yet the left in America are crying. If you dont believe me then just look at the general reaction , world wide , to the american lefts position. People around the world are dumbfounded by the reaction of Americas left to the death of a terrorist that has killed Americans. You act as nothing but enemies to America itself……….. and America is your own country!!!!
Dude! Do you have your own blog?
You’re, ah, uhm, really uhm, insightful.
Funny too …
Fitz, you are either a very good troll, or you are remarkably uninformed.
On the possibility that you are not a troll, then please do a little research before exposing your lack of knowledge.
You could start here, for example:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-bribed-iran-400-million-to-release-u-s-prisoners/
I said in an earlier reply that willful ignorance and aggressive stupidity are their own reward. He comes here to post so that he can delude himself of his ‘superior’ commentary. He is the one who is pathetic.
Fitz there are a couple of things that most people on this forum would realize:
1. The President of the USA is WAY down the chain of command and in fact is being controlled by more than one puppeteer.
2. The concept of labeling people, such as “left” and “right” is one of the oldest tools in the elite’s ‘divide and rule’ toolbox.
Some types of human behaviour tend towards greed and warmongering, some types tend towards peace and prosperity for all people. These are neither left or right.
Hmmm
A very valid Point that is obviously overlooked by many Americans.
The current situation is about American desperation to control Iraqi oil, as opposed to China being Iraq’s infrastructure friend, a deal Iraq already made with China. The US is on a killing spreee in Iraq, that Iraqis want to end. Iran will help. The US just can’t assassinate enough Iraqis to keep the oil , or even keep it being sold in $US. That’s what holds the $US up as global reserve currency. That’s the lynch-pin. Kill the Petrobuck; kill the western empire by asphyxiation.
https://twitter.com/IbnRiad/status/1214408047302520832
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/01/blowback-from-the-soleimani-assassination-increases-as-iraq-reveals-how-trump-tried-to-steal-its-oil.html#more
http://www.johndayblog.com/2020/01/murder-most-foul.html
It’s my understanding that using violence or threat of violence to achieve political change is the definition of terrorism. So what the US is doing to Iran and has been doing to is really economic terrorism. I don’t approve of bullies in any way shape or form.
Antifa, Maxine Waters did exactly the same thing