Ref Pompeo’s commitment to de-escalating…
I wonder if he thinks that all it takes is some vinegar and a quick boil? He can’t possibly be confusing it with de-scaling can he? I mean, I know they’re all fuckwits and lying charlatans, but …
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While the US does those things, much of its power, for good and ill, comes from the relationships it has with other countries. It’s all about “soft power.” Those organizational/institutional, ideological and cultural influences that come about through treaties, membership in multinational organizations, aid, foreign military bases, having consistent policy, acting as an example, etc. All of those things Trump is trying to dismantle or sabotage without realizing what he’s doing (and contrary to his stated goals).
E.g. The US didn’t defeat Daesh - US efforts in that direction went towards working with allies, who did most of the work. Trump then betrayed them, while thinking it wouldn’t impact efforts like taking down Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which was the culmination of the work of those betrayed allies (and went ahead despite Trump’s actions). Trump keeps insisting, perversely, that he be given personal credit for weakening Daesh, when ironically the one person who was personally the most responsible for that effort he just had killed.
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Time to get the coaches booked and the placards out… yet again.
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They thought they could control him by putting some nice fruit on the particular buttons they wanted pressed. It’s mostly worked out for them, but only because they don’t care so much about all the other buttons he’s also hit, so far.
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I think that’s the case, that they thought they could control him… they’ve gotten a major tax cut, pulling out of a variety of agreements, he’s appointed about a quarter of the federal judiciary with extremist judges many who are very young (some completely unqualified), he’s rattled the right sabers (against Iran, primarily), and has put people entirely hostile to particular fields into positions to destroy them from within (DeVos, Perry, Pruitt until recently) and has not filled necessary positions, etc… For people who want to make the federal government small enough that they can drowned in a bathtub, he’s been a dream. For those of us who don’t want to live in a patriarchal white supremacist hell-scape, of course… it’s not been a great ride…
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Yeah, that’s our job!
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How much do you get paid to spew this nonsense? Because you’re either getting paid too much for the low quality, or you’re not getting paid. That would be a shame.
Pretty much everything you list that Iran has done that is “evil” was kicked off and propagated by US policies. Without US intervention, Iran would likely still be a moderate, possibly democratic state, and a model for peace in the region.
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That CNBC tweet only makes sense if it was queued up for Trump’s Senate conviction and removal, but was sent out prematurely.
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I hate this timeline so much.
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Verily, we inhabit the dumbest of timelines…
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Well, they certainly are a bunch of assholes that the world would be better off without, that much is for sure, but doesn’t the record demonstrate that they are very much not interested in apocalyptic confrontation? If they truly wanted that, they could have had it many times over by now and taken millions of people with them.
Edit: fixed attribution
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Is it, though? Who are we to judge?
As a reminder, the US caused the revolution that kicked this whole shitstorm off back in the late 70s. Iran was a semi-democratic constitutional monarchy after WWII, and western powers undermined that because the elected part of the government demanded reparations for petroleum takings by the UK.
If Iran has become a monster, the US is Dr. Frankenstein.
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Respectfully, her point that we should be protesting this action is right on point. I will be out protesting tomorrow. What about you?
ETA: Thanks, @jproffitt71 for including the Answer protest link.
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Also, who is the real threat to global security here, a regime with only regional influence (that often has to work through proxies) and aspiration, or a country that just pulled out of a long standing nuclear treaty and immediately began testing missiles that are considered a clear and present danger:
Iran has some local power, but they can’t launch a missile and kill most people in another country on a whim. We pour more into our military than all of the largest militaries combined.
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You’re right about this. I forgot how things could look like if current administration had any kind of diplomatic skills.
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That wasn’t what I was arguing against, but thank you.
If there’s a protest near me that isn’t half-assed, I’ll be happy to join.
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I wholeheartedly agree. Wait…we are talking about the tRUMP administration, right?
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Well, know we finally know Cheetolini’s strategy for distracting us from impeachment: Start World War III.
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I feel perfectly comfortable making the judgment that the Iranian regime is a bunch of theocratic assholes who represent most things I oppose, with the world being significantly worse for their having power. Just as comfortable as I feel making the judgment about Hussein as an evil tyrant, our (the US) many misdeeds in Iran and the Middle East, and Trump as an incredibly dangerous buffoon. Of course, this list is not intended to be exhaustive, but I do think reasonable people can agree on some things like this.
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Oh, Quds Force is like the CIA and SOC. Now I get it!
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