Donald Trump says he doesn't want to go to war with Iran. But two of his closest advisors do. Tony Burman writes:
Beyond the incoherence of the president’s overall foreign policy, there are increasing signs that an eventual road to war against Iran is being built by the two anti-Iranian ideologues in the president’s circle who feel it their mission to provide Trump with the brain and backbone otherwise missing from the Oval Office.
Their names, of course, are John Bolton, the national security adviser, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state.
In recent days, Pompeo has flown to Iraq, Europe and Russia in an effort to increase pressure on Iran. He claims that the U.S. could go to war with Iran today for the same reasons the Americans invaded Iraq in 2003: “There is no doubt there is a connection between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Al Qaeda. Period. Full stop,” he told the U.S. Congress last month.
In fact, that statement is false. There is no credible evidence of a connection between Al Qaeda and Iran just as there was no proven connection between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Al Qaeda in 2003.
Bolton has been beating his war drums for years:
As for Bolton, he has had Iran in his sights for the past two decades, frequently calling for the U.S. to attack. In 2015, he wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, titled: “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran.”
It was Bolton who last week warned Iran that “any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”
But his claim there were increased threats from Iran was immediately denied by British Maj.-Gen. Chris Ghika, who is deputy commander of the American-led coalition fighting insurgent forces in Iraq.
The Trump administration has never been known for telling the truth. So, no one should be surprised by Pompeo's or Bolton's falsehoods. History has shown that recent American wars -- from Vietnam to Iraq -- have been rooted in falsehoods.
We now have more of the same.
Image: Lib Quotes
6 comments:
Trump has an easy rationalization for this apparent confusion that his admirers will find acceptable: it's attributable to his policy of remaining unpredictable in foreign affairs, Some of them probably consider it to be yet another illustration of his strategic genius. Most people understand that it's simply the product of a confused mind that avoids information overload by ignoring it.
And that is precisely why Trump is so dangerous, John. Facts mean nothing to him.
I call it "The gospel according to St. Donald of Trump", Owen. As long as his Evangelical faithful think that everything he tweets/utters is absolute gospel, then all is perfect in their very small world and they can ignore the sheer stupidity and danger that he represents.
As long as he gives them the judges they want, Lulymay, they are prepared to overlook everything else.
.. we smell & we see 'desperation' in the septic tank morass & obvious collapse of GOP 'decision making' .. Does anyone really believe Donald Trump can dance with a Robert Mueller ? That's at its root level - ol Bone Spurs vs THE RIGHT STUFF .. aint a fair fight.. so right now they cheat and connive.. scheme, obstruct, balk.. its beyond laughable the quasi legalistic full morman backflip contortions to evade the glaring light of reality.. but then these are folks taking political donations.. from Russian interests.. What really is the bottom for Trump and those folks ?
There seems to be no bottom for Trump and his acolytes, sal. The best we can hope for is that he doesn't start a war before he drowns in his own septic tank.
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