Saturday Threat
Repeated Today
To reporters aboard Air Force One.
“They’re allowed to kill our people, they’re allowed to torture and maim our people, they’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people, and we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way,” Trump said, according to a pool report.
With that, Trump lost the vote of many if not most anti-war persons who voted for Trump believing he would be better than Hillary.
War Crimes Threats But No Republican Outrage
Please note Trump’s Threatened Attack on Iranian Cultural Sites Could be a War Crime if Carried Out.
An attack on a cultural site would violate several international treaties and would likely be considered a war crime.
In 2017, for example, a United Nations Security Council resolution “condemns the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, including the destruction of religious sites and artifacts.” That resolution came as a response to the Islamic State’s destruction of a number of major historic and cultural sites in Syria and Iraq in 2014 and 2015.
The UN was clear then that actions targeting cultural locations constituted a war crime.
“The deliberate destruction of our common cultural heritage constitutes a war crime and represents an attack on humanity as a whole,” said the spokesman for then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2015.
Threat is Immoral and Un-American
Nicholas Burns is former undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassador to NATO. Burns noted the Trump administration supported the 2017 UN resolution condemning destruction of cultural sites.
Two Decades of No Lessons Learned
Reason says a Decade of No Lessons Learned in U.S. Overseas Intervention.
Unfortunately, it’s two decades. And here are some interesting observations.
As this decade began, U.S. armed forces were in year nine of their occupation of Afghanistan. A fresh surge of new U.S. military personnel was sent in by then-President Barack Obama that raised troop levels there to just below 100,000 by August 2010. The estimated expense of the occupation for 2010 was $94 billion, with a cumulative total through the end of that year of $338 billion.
Obama had promised he’d start to reverse his troop surge by July 2011, and it seemed just barely possible that the Nobel Peace Prize winner might actually end a U.S. war in the 2010s.
Although Donald Trump, before becoming president, had regularly said the war was a “big waste” and that we should “come home” immediately, we now have more troops in Afghanistan than there were when he took office. His first full year running U.S. foreign policy saw a record number of bombs dropped on Afghanistan.
Whether it was Obama or Trump in charge, the 2010s have been a decade of spending money we don’t have and wasting lives pursuing goals we can’t win. More business as usual for the U.S. foreign policy machine, across administrations and decades.
Republican Cowards
https://twitter.com/rezamarashi/status/1214031180523167745
Did it Before and No One Cared
What the difference?
Trump brought it to everyone’s attention with his childish, immoral, un-American, and illegal threats.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
We are not seeing the chess game going on in Iraq not even the news not even Trump. Trump can’t play chess he no patience the situation is overstated lets wait and see but can Trump?
TACTICAL NUCLEAR BOMB B61
Iran will never have nuclear bombs said Trump. I believe him.
I read a very interesting report from a former US Marine intelligence officer Scott Ritter who claims that the US has no conventional bomb (I tough the opposite) able to reach the Iran underground nuclear facilities in FORDOW. The tactical nuclear bomb B 61 tested in 2017 will be necessary to impede nuclear bombs ownership by Iran ! The world would be scared to death in case of such a digging tool being used.
Do the location stop being ‘cultural sites’ when they contain war materials (like soldiers, weapons, communications, etc.)?
Trump is unpredictable. I wonder why Senate Republicans wouldn’t take the opportunity to convict Trump in an impeachment trial and forcibly remove him from office, so they can reassert some control over American foreign and domestic policy? Pence would be a good Republican soldier and would be much easier to control!
Iran and N Korea both got ballsier after the Impeachment. They may think he has lost power.
I assume the Iranian are not completely deaf. Trump just said unexpectedily that Iran will never have nuclear weapons !
Maybe their untested nuclear heads are hidden inside some Iranian cultural sites..? Just joking.
TRUMP DEFENDING WAR CRIMES by mentioning cultural assets bombing? Shhhh, You must read technological armement assets bombing, as that is an average IQ “Business fox” trap to entertain Iran and others in order not to give clues to what is ready in the matter of Iranian modern arms destruction. I would bet that all targets are exclusively military assets. As soon as Iran take a strong hostile military action against US or their allies they will take their right to bomb all the army shelters
I’ve often wondered how the S 300’s, 400’s and possibly 500’s would perform in a live war theatre…might have to break out the popcorn
Cue TDS “diagnosticians” infected with TDS themselves in 3 … 2 … 1 ….
Some may not like it but the reason Trump was elected was to change policy both domestically and internationally. His unpredictability has taken Iran and others by surprise. This is not a conventional president. The next move will not be revealed by Trump but Iranian government should be very scared if someone as high up as Solemni can be taken out.
Trump rendered the 2020 election moot this week when he morphed into another McCain and decided to fulfill the infamous Wesley Clark prediction. There will be more war and the DNC will not nominate any candidate that is remotely antiwar (Bernie, Tulsi, or Yang). Either Trump or the blue team candidate will advocate for easy money from the Fed as well. Whether you go for red or blue, you’re getting the same thing, even more than usual.
We were never planning to “end the wars” anyway, but it’s incredible that people still think we’re leaving after this belligerent escalation.
Trump like Bush,Obama,Cheney,Wolfowitz and there merry band of mass murdering chicken hawks are simply following orders.Think Trump knows (or cares) anything about the middle east?He is simply another sellout to the MIC,nothin more nothing less,all bankrupt 3rd world banana republics have there own strongman,deal with it.
Cultural Site vs. American Soldier
I’m going with the soldier….
The Iranians have taken ships, shot down our drone to name a few of the many provocations the Iranians have engaged in and Trump did nothing. He showed incredible restraint – even called back a launched bombing. That’s balls.
But when they killed an American and injured others and attacked our Embassy, he hit them hard.
They know he means it. My guess is that Trump has the Iranians pissing in their pants. The Iranians know they can hit us, but that’s not the question.
The question is: will they be able to withstand the response?
To me it seems like there’s an underlying agenda that’s pressing forward regardless of who’s president. It’s not like these idiots are all military genius and have a total understanding of the world. We all had a good guess of where all the middle east stuff was heading, Wesley Clark warned us all, and now the 3rd president into this mess we’re right on cue. The US and company has had it in for Iran a long time. Like i’m sure Warren has a war room with all the sites she’s going to blow up when she gets her turn to keep her hand on the big red button. Bunch of buffoons,
No one will care – the Economy should stay strong through election day, and both Bush and Obama did worse and the electorate mostly ignored it and there were more cheering it on than opposing it. Will we ever see the CIA Torture site report?
The UN only attacks the US and Israel for things like “war crimes”. The Shah of Iran was a brutal dictator, but he was our brutal dictator. Iran and Iraq when they were at war didn’t play by the rules and they still don’t. We can’t win by playing by our rules when they aren’t. It is like if you had a banned gun and were robbed, pulled it out and the robber complained “but that gun is illegal!”
Since no one is playing fair or by the rules people ENJOY when Trump speaks plainly rather than hiding it or gives some bumbling triangulation like Bush did when the Abu Gharib pics were exposed.
In fact it as this moment that switched me to the Trump column in a December debate. Cruz and Trump were asked about waterboarding. Cruz gave the triangulating non-answer: “well, it isn’t REALLY torture, but Congress banned it so I’ll obey the law, but I’d never endanger the American people…”. Trump: “I’ll do worse”.
What has USA really has DONE to Iraqi people since 2003, besides removing Saddam on the false trumped charge of harboring WMDs and procuring oil well contracts for the US multi nationals? more instability and more economic and political chaos! You should be proud of USA’s accomplishment there, right?
Mish drug mule? Prescriptions from Mexico? Utah is paying public employees to make the trip https://www.sltrib.com/mexico-pharmacy-tourism/
I’ve been allowing my sarcastic side to steer my comments, mostly because I’m in the dark as to whether or not Intelligence supports the military actions of the last few days.
However, I’m very uncomfortable with the Trumpian bravado. It difficult to discern which audiences are the primary targets: Iran, broader middle east, EU, UK, Democrats, his die-hard supporters…?
Appears he is his own audience. Loves to read his own Tweets and re-tweets them.
The US command /intelligence supports and encourages Trump’s actions. Not all support it, but those who have top say do.
Events like these do not happen by mistake, they are very carefully thought out and planned.
Once open conflict starts, then it can leave the script, because planners cannot fully foresee the actions of others.
These comments make the Trump administration sound increasingly desperate. Extremely anxious and out of control.
The logic of Trump’s actions is simple, choose from the following:
Thinking about it, you don’t need to choose. All of the above apply but of course only #5 and #6 are part of Trump’s thinking, the others are the influence of “advisors”, lickspittles and deluded confidants.
Don’t forget, the Iraqi government might just agree to pay back the USA (in monthly oil shipments) for building bases after the invasion; and, if Iran gives Trump an excuse, we can pillage their country as well. Hmm, don’t they have some gold and oil?
Everything will be fine — a Zerohedge article, says
“ The German government said Friday that the United States had reason to strike and kill a the top commander of the Iranian Quds Force late Thursday in Baghdad after the Iranian regime provided support to its militias that targeted U.S. citizens and facilities in Iraq.”
“ Trump brought it to everyone’s attention with his childish, immoral, un-American, and illegal threats.”
Would you say, “Is it time to panic?”
https://youtu.be/KojYatpLPSE
TO BE LONG CRUDE OIL?
As I already pointed Iran is pushed to the point they could finally understand (and believe) that Trump, the US allies Israel, Saudi), the promoters (industrial-armement deep-state billionaires) are preparing a trap to destroy all their sophisticated military assets (long range precision guided missiles and some nuclear heads (untested)).
In such case, one Iranian option could be to use preemptively these assets to create a severe crude oil shortage and ruin Saudi Arabia . The Russians would be more than happy in such case were oil could reach back way above 100 dollars a baril..
By the way terrorists are known for hiding in mosques to induce attacks on cultural sites.
Obama and Trump both expressed the desire to bring troops home and reduce our overseas military footprint. Then representatives of our military-industrial complex had a talk with each of them and they came to realize just how important continued wars and military activities were to the well-being of the MIC behemoth (and their own personal health).
If you truly want USA troops pulled out of overseas engagements along with the closings of active bases, then the only choice you have for president is Bernie Sanders.
You need congressional authority to close bases. Not gonna happen. The US military is about 70% of the security for allies and 100% of the security for ships with commercial goods.
You do not need congressional authority to bring the troops home and end drone policy
You need congressional authority to close bases. Congress is also limiting the President’s authority to both expand or contract anything. Drone policy doesn’t matter. Drones are just another tool to use.
“If you truly want USA troops pulled out of overseas engagements along with the closings of active bases, then the only choice you have for president is Bernie Sanders.”
Just like Obama would close Gitmo….
The US Government will close bases when they can no longer afford to keep them. There is very little indication Sanders is in the government shrinking business.
Instead, if you want bases closed, you first need to end The Fed. Then end all activity taxation. Then default on all federal debt with sufficient flippancy to make it highly unlikely anyone will lend the Feds a penny for adventurism. Sanders won’t do any of that, as he is a clueless clown who believes Chavez can change the laws of economics, logic and mathematics, by getting dupes to pump their fists in favor of doing so.
What has USA really has DONE to Iraqi people since 2003, besides removing Saddam on the false trumped charge of harboring WMDs and procuring oil well contracts for the US multi nationals? more instability and more economic and political chaos! You should be proud of USA’s accomplishment there, right?
Has Bernie Sanders accepted Jesus Christ as his lord and savior? No? Then he is as irrelevant as Bloomberg.
This is funny!
Ali Arouzi@aliarouzi
At Solemani’s funeral procession in Mashad one of the organisers called on all Iranian to donate $1 each in order to gather an $80million bounty on President Trumps head.
Jan 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/aliarouzi/status/1213789412653457408
It is more bluster. I dont truly believe he would strike a single site in Iran as that would be a preemptive strike. Trump loves Trump and will do whatever he can to keep Trump in the news. Trump is even above the US. The killing of the commander of the QUDS force was necessary because of multiple attacks on American facilities in Iraq by Iranian proxies organized by Solemi. There is evidence that has been shown to congress that he seeked the overthrow of the Iraqi government.
Believe me, they would and plan to.
Pre-emptive by traditional logic, current logic is:
US intervenes in the middle-east “on behalf of its allies” , Iran backed local proxy forces who dislike US hurt US just as US proxies have hurt Iran, US overtly strikes head of Iranian relations to those Iran aligned proxy forces, Iran will likely strike the US in a manner that is overt as reply , US will reply by striking Iran directly.
You then have a large war underway.
Wont happen unless Iran strikes one or multiple American facilities through their proxies. Iran is not stupid but Iran still uses traditional methods (humans). It would take the US about a dozen drones armed with missiles to finish Iran’s military facilities as we know them. It no longer takes even regular planes flown by humans to attack the enemy. Iran is playing checkers.
FACTS on record, NOW! USA violated it’s own agreement with IRAQ [..]U.S. troops have deployed to Iraq since 2014 to fight ISIS and train Iraqi forces with permission from the Iraqi government. As part of this agreement, Iraq asked the U.S. specifically not to target Iran within the country, a request America has now violated “in flagrant fashion” with the strike on Soleimani near the Baghdad airport, said Scott Anderson, a former legal adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad..[[]
politico
What has USA really has DONE to Iraqi people since 2003, besides removing Saddam on the false trumped charge of harboring WMDs and procuring oil well contracts for the US multi nationals? more instability and more economic and political chaos! You should be proud of USA’s accomplishment there, right?
You are right about this. I don’t have a clue what Trump hopes to accomplish by stirring up trouble with Iran. Let is all hope the Iranians don’t have sleeper cells embedded in the United States.