Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Good piece. < Older After Soleimani Killing Suddenly the US is Alone written by tom luongo wednesday january 8, 2020 The silence is deafening. The lack of response from U.S. allies around the world to President Trump’s assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani tells you things have fundamentally changed. Normally when something like this happens the US has all of its allies lined up with statements at the ready. A gaggle of the usual suspects behind lecterns pledging support replete with the requisite hand-wringing and virtue signaling. That didn’t happen this time. Only arm-twisting by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cajoled a few lukewarm responses from European allies stunned by Trump’s violations of International Law and escalation of hostilities. It’s clear Trump stunned them into silence. Because they know the world is more dangerous today than it was a week ago. Pompeo’s whining that no one believed the White House’s ludicrous talking point that this strike was done to prevent a war rather than start one, betray epic levels of fatuousness. But, make no mistake, Miracle Whip Mike got everything he wanted here. The strategic errors the Trump Administration has piled up over the past twenty months since abandoning the JCPOA have reached a breaking point, especially with Europe. Europe has taken the brunt of Trump’s belligerence with Iran and Russia. Their businesses have suffered. Their energy security is threatened. The neocons have humiliated them and treated them like chattle. And to this point Europe’s leadership has been up to the task playing the part. It’s obvious the Necons’ policy is to leverage Trump’s America Uber Alles mentality to get everything they want to subjugate Russia, China and Iran. Trump’s instincts are the right ones, avoiding open warfare. Substituting economic leverage for tanks in the streets is still war, however. Just because you don’t define it as war doesn’t mean it isn’t war. Trump’s mistakes come from his believing sanctions are legitimate tools of terror, while simultaneously holding that Soleimani’s tools are not. And that can no longer be an excuse to absolve him of the strategic and tactical errors he’s manipulated into by his staff or takes upon himself. Pompeo’s whining about Europe betrays a solipsism and narcissism that reflects Trump’s madness and frustration. No amount of pressure on Iran seems to get the desired results. He sees their attacks on US troops as personal affronts and thinks raising his threats to existential levels will finally make people see he’s serious. Iran knew he was serious three years ago. It didn’t deter them. If anything, their discretion in the face of open hostility only emboldened Trump to go farther. But now he’s just a madman with nukes, being pulled by betrayal, frustration, anger and fear towards making even more dangerous decisions than the ones he’s already made. Because, when you realize that Soleimani was in Baghdad to deliver Iran’s opening terms for a negotiated peace with Saudi Arabia, this attack was a blunder. When you further realize that Soleimani was there at Trump’s behest with Iraqi Prime Minister Mahdi as broker, this attack looks like patently insane. Elijah J. Magnier@ejmalrai · Jan 5, 2020 Replying to @ejmalrai and 3 others Last resolution: -A complaint to UN for #US target assassinations in #Iraq -Impose on the gov to terminate the request of support from the interntnll coalition (all countries) -End presence of ALL foreign forces and to prevent any country from using Iraq against another country Elijah J. Magnier@ejmalrai The information that #Iran Qassem Soleimani had an appointment with the PM in Baghdad and came to #Iraq to meet him the next day with established appointment, following a request of Trump for mediation, has been read to all MPs today by the #Iraq/i PM himself. 551 9:29 AM - Jan 5, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 562 people are talking about this Soleimani was in Baghdad to begin the peace process, again, at Trump’s request. He was uniquely positioned within the Iranian government to handle said negotiations because of his position as head of the IRGC Quds Forces. If he brought these terms to the table, the militias and proxies he trained and tacitly commands would take them far more seriously than if they were brought by President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani represents, to them, the failed diplomacy that led to the current crisis, thinking the US would honor their deals. So, the meeting between Soleimani and the Iraqi Prime Minister would have been a major opportunity for peace. But as we know, the US is Not Agreement Capable, in the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Remember what both Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov have said about the US It is ‘not agreement capable.’ Any deal made with the US government or military will be broken at the earliest possible opportunity to further its goals. So, now the question is why did this happen? What’s the rationale here? A New York Times article detailed the situation in the White House in the days leading up to Trump’s decision. It reads like a Pentagon whitewash of its role in creating the atmosphere which led to Soleimani’s death. It paints the picture of a president sinking into madness as the "attacks" on the US Embassy in Baghdad unfolded. It tries to deflect all the blame onto Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence were two of the most hawkish voices arguing for a response to Iranian aggression, according to administration officials. Mr. Pence’s office helped run herd on meetings and conference calls held by officials in the run-up to the strike. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and General Milley declined to comment for this article, but General Milley’s spokeswoman, Col. DeDe Halfhill, said, without elaborating, that “some of the characterizations being asserted by other sources are false” and that she would not discuss conversations between General Milley and the president. But the big takeaway from this article isn’t just that the Pentagon is looking to deflect blame from Defense Secretary Mark Esper and CIA Director Gina Haspel onto Trump. The big takeaway from this article is the Pompeo/Pence narrative of Soleimani was imminently primed to attack US diplomatic targets was complete fiction. Unwritten by the Times but lurking between the words is who was really behind this narrative, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s clear over the past six months Netanyahu couldn’t accept the idea of peace breaking out around him. He consistently pushed the envelope of Israel’s belligerence into Iraq over the opening of the Iraq/Syria border crossing. Now the Saudis were wavering? This cannot stand. War with Iran must happen. This is the most likely scenario that pushed Trump into this action with Pompeo, Esper, and Haspel feeding him a steady diet of, at best, misleading information. Trump then does what Trump does best when the game gets too hard to figure out. He filps the table. Netanyahu worked so hard to manipulate events and people to get to that point. He needs a win back home to show voters he is the man to bring Israel salvation through the studious application of American exceptionalism. Now, that he’s done so, he is abandoning Trump after pushing him into the pit. Barak Ravid ✔@BarakRavid BREAKING: Netanyahu told security cabinet that Israel wasn't involved in the killing of Soleimani and stressed "it is a U.S. event and we should stay out of it", according to 2 cabinet ministers who attended the meeting 9,957 11:54 AM - Jan 6, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 4,894 people are talking about this So, given all of this, is anyone surprised the leadership in Europe isn’t happy here? They were instrumental in getting Iran to the table to agree to the JCPOA, which Israel was livid about. It was in everyone’s interest for the deal to work, especially Iran’s. Iran got sanctions relief and much-needed investment. Its heavy water reactor became a strong source of revenue. Europe got access to cheap Iranian oil and gas through that investment, securing its energy needs. Moreover, with the deal in place, the undoing of the US/Israeli/Saudi plan to atomize Syria by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah ended the flow of refugees into Europe and began stabilizing the region. That only happens because of the JCPOA. Trump’s entire foreign policy is based on antagonizing everyone and subjugating them through dollar weaponization and energy dominance. That’s been his modus operandi. He aligned himself with Israeli interests from the outset because 1) he wanted to and 2) it was the path of least resistance for him to stay in power. At every critical juncture of his presidency Trump has knuckled under to the neocons in his office. The biggest effect of killing Soleimani isn’t Iran’s response or even Iraq’s. Yes, they will impose costs which will change the geopolitical game board. How? We don’t know. What we do know is this big effect; the realization that everyone around the world is thinking, “Are we next?” So far Trump has accepted no limits on who he will attack with sanctions. There is no rule he’s willing to breach. The neocons in the Senate now have the ultimate leverage over him — Pelosi’s sham impeachment. The half-men in the Senate like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio have been at full mast so long thanks to Trump’s bombing they need to see a doctor. They got him to kill Soleimani, ensuring there will be no peace with Iran. They’ve begun the upward escalation of tensions which likely ends with an airstrike on Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Facility. Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON! 475K 8:48 AM - Jan 6, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 170K people are talking about this If you don’t think that’s what that tweet means, then have either your eyes or your reading comprehension checked. Many of Trump’s tweets are nonsense, bluff, and bluster to misdirect and/or stir the pot. This has been a clear message he’s sent since the campaign trail. And this attack on Soleimani was the next step in that process. He’s hoping it brings Iran to the bargaining table. But it won’t. And that’s why this only ends with bombing Fordow. The Israelis and neocons have used Trump’s animus towards Obama and Europe to try to subjugate them as well. It’s not that Europe is praiseworthy or anything. The EU leadership deserves their comeuppance for trying to build an Empire to replace the US But regardless of whether the EU sucks or not, this incident is your point of no return in US/European relations. They have no choice but to slowly back away from the insane man in the White House and break bread with the sober one in the Kremlin. Angela Merkel already arranged a meeting with Putin for next week. This has cost the US whatever moral status it has with the rest of the world. It stands alone now. The only deals Trump will get from here on out are ones that don’t matter. He’s set the US squarely on the path to its own destruction as the world realizes the cost of doing business in the dollar just rose immensely. I’ve been looking for that moment where Europe makes the decision to move out of the US’s orbit and into Russia’s. Their silence tells me this was it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Good. We CAN stand alone. ”But muh...UN and duh NATO.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XC.Morrison Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 2 minutes ago, Zambroski said: Good. We CAN stand alone. ”But muh...UN and duh NATO.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcticCrusher Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 You're standing alone in the world all right. https://www.thepostmillennial.com/a-teen-boy-wouldnt-say-fck-trump-on-stage-and-was-shamed-this-is-his-story/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Zambroski said: Good. We CAN stand alone. ”But muh...UN and duh NATO.” That is alot of words in that article so I never expected YOU to read it. Edited January 11, 2020 by Anler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Just now, Anler said: That is alot of words in that article so I never expected you to read it. Yes, your intellectual prowess and powers of comprehension derivation is just too much for me. Hey, I’m sorry about your boy fucking, terrorist Muslim hero general getting turned into chunky Alpo. Time heals all wounds though....well, not his. When can we expect to feel the wrath of the EyeRanyIn Special Forcez?!!!!!?!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Jimmy Snacks Posted January 11, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Zambroski said: Yes, your intellectual prowess and powers of comprehension derivation is just too much for me. Hey, I’m sorry about your boy fucking, terrorist Muslim hero general getting turned into chunky Alpo. Time heals all wounds though....well, not his. When can we expect to feel the wrath of the EyeRanyIn Special Forcez?!!!!!?!! You keep mentioning "boy fucking"....projection? BTW you really are a fucking halfwit. Edited January 11, 2020 by Jimmy Snacks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcticCrusher Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Trudeau just said Iran has to take full responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Trump fucks everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 America single handedly won WWII. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodtick Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 1 minute ago, Mainecat said: Trump fucks everything up. I know,isn’t it awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 14 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said: You keep mentioning "boy fucking"....projection? BTW you really are a fucking halfwit. Shhhh.....quiet now my little mealy mushroom. Just grow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted January 11, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 So let me get this straight. Our allies were with us when Obama used strike after strike killing thousands including 100's of innocent civilians but when Trump kills a couple of the worlds worst terrorists and no innocent people are killed the so called allies are against it? Doesn't sound much like allies to me....I'd say cowards is a better description. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Member Stephen Hawking Posted January 11, 2020 Gold Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 So where is the evidence that this article isn't trying to fool us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 27 minutes ago, Zambroski said: Yes, your intellectual prowess and powers of comprehension derivation is just too much for me. Hey, I’m sorry about your boy fucking, terrorist Muslim hero general getting turned into chunky Alpo. Time heals all wounds though....well, not his. When can we expect to feel the wrath of the EyeRanyIn Special Forcez?!!!!!?!! Oh man that is like so much more sensical than reading other stuff. Like thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Highmark said: So let me get this straight. Our allies were with us when Obama used strike after strike killing thousands including 100's of innocent civilians but when Trump kills a couple of the worlds worst terrorists and no innocent people are killed the so called allies are against it? Doesn't sound much like allies to me....I'd say cowards is a better description. Yeah fuck em right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Stephen Hawking said: So where is the evidence that this article isn't trying to fool us? That's ur job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted January 11, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 Just now, Anler said: Yeah fuck em right? Sometimes opportunities need be taken advantage of without consulting those around you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 Just now, Highmark said: Sometimes opportunities need be taken advantage of without consulting those around you. I don't think you read it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, Highmark said: So let me get this straight. Our allies were with us when Obama used strike after strike killing thousands including 100's of innocent civilians but when Trump kills a couple of the worlds worst terrorists and no innocent people are killed the so called allies are against it? Doesn't sound much like allies to me....I'd say cowards is a better description. No one follows a moron except a moron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, Anler said: Oh man that is like so much more sensical than reading other stuff. Like thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted January 11, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Anler said: I don't think you read it either. I didn't. Soleinaimi was a good kill period. I find it amusing your theory that nobody in Iran has ever had anything to do with American deaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Member BOHICA Posted January 11, 2020 Gold Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 (edited) Europe/Allies silence is the admission of approval for taking out Soleimani. They just can’t publicly come out in support as that would cause conflict within their own countries. The loud minority with the ear of the MSM would portray the world coming apart and their respective countries turmoil caused by support of a president Trump. When global leaders disapprove of Trump’s action they make it known and we have threads here saying that. The silence in this matter is very telling and proof of overwhelming support for president’s actions on this matter. Edited January 11, 2020 by BOHICA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted January 11, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 11, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mainecat said: No one follows a moron except a moron. Well you follow quite a few of them so..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 Just now, Highmark said: I didn't. Soleinaimi was a good kill period. I find it amusing your theory that nobody in Iran has ever had anything to do with American deaths. So your comments are totally irrelevant to the content but go ahead and make some shit up anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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