U.S. allies showing absolutely no interest in going to war with Iran

President Trump has been banging the drums for war with Iran, but British Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika didn't get the memo.

“No, there’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria,” British Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika told reporters at the Pentagon in a video conference from coalition headquarters in Baghdad. “We’re aware of their presence, clearly, and we monitor them, along with a whole range of others because that’s the environment we’re in.”

His comment comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, including assertions by administration officials that they have detected signs that Iranian or Iranian-backed proxies were preparing for possible attacks against American interests in the Mideast. The administration cited the threats as the reason for expediting the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and other military resources to the region.

“There are a substantial number of militia groups in Iraq and Syria, and we don’t see any increased threat from many of them at this stage,” Ghika said.
Later Tuesday, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command issued a statement disputing Ghika’s claim.

Awkward.
That is not a good look heading into a war.
Speaking of the aircraft carrier strike group, there's news about that as well.

Spain has recalled a frigate accompanying a U.S. aircraft carrier to the Middle East because of rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, the defense ministry said Tuesday, May 14...
“It’s a temporary withdrawal, decided by Defense Minister Margarita Robles, as long as the American aircraft carrier is in this zone,” the spokesman added.

He said the Spanish frigate had joined the aircraft carrier’s strike group for a military exercise.
“No possible confrontation or warlike action is envisaged [by Spain] and it is for this reason that the participation is suspended for the moment,” he added.

Germany and the Netherlands suspended military operations in Iraq.
It's as if we were trying to trick our allies into a war and they saw through the deception.
This shouldn't be a surprise because this is centered around Iraq, yet again.

“I really cannot believe that we failed to learn anything from the first decade of this century. And we are actually considering escalating with Iran in a war that would further destabilize the region and unleash God knows what in terms of chaos in a very troubled region already.”
- Elise Jordan, who worked in the Bush White House

Today the State Department ordered all non-emergency staff and their families to leave Iraq.

Martin said American officials have him there is "credible" and "urgent" intelligence that Iran has ordered Shiite militias in Iraq to prepare to conduct attacks against U.S. troops and diplomats in the country.

The Trump Administration provided no detailed information to the Senate about the so-called threat.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Iraqi that U.S. intelligence showed Iran-backed militias moved missiles near bases with American forces. Pompeo flew to Iraq to try and pressure Baghdad to swing over to our side.
Those militias have been threatening U.S. forces for years, but have never followed through.
Pompeo and Washington may not understand how unpopular the U.S. is in Iraq.

“Pompeo should have known better,” said Marina Ottaway, Middle East fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

“The United States has the illusion of delusion, that the relationship between the United States and Iraq can become somehow stronger than the relationship between Iran and Iraq,” said Ottaway.

Going to war with Iran would be an epic disaster and bring about the fall of the American Empire. Only Saudi Arabia and Israel think that it would be a good thing.
The question is: where is the anti-war protests?

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Taliban on the move

The Taliban captured a district center Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 13 government soldiers. The fighting comes as Russia asserted the Taliban is getting stronger and called for increased efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the 17-year-old war.

Local officials and insurgent sources reported Taliban fighters assaulted Shamulzayi in Zabul province before dawn, forcing Afghan security forces out of the district center and also overrunning the regional office of the government intelligence agency, NDS.

how it's done

The infiltrators had friends in high places, as well, according to Afghan and American military officials: an Afghan lieutenant colonel and a sergeant major who made sure they knew where to go, and where to hide on the sprawling base.

The ensuing attack on Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, on March 1, was not one of the country’s deadliest, but it may well have been its most embarrassing. It was the third time the Taliban had infiltrated that base, the headquarters for the Afghan Army’s 215th Corps.

Before the assault was over, 23 Afghan soldiers and base workers would be dead, and the American military would once again have to come to the rescue of a base it had long since handed over to the Afghans

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@gjohnsit
iran_2.PNG

Bolton says the U.S. tried to use diplomacy. He stated that a diplomat was sent to Iran to ask nicely if they would consider moving their country away from our military forces and hundreds of bases around the world. Iran then claimed they couldn't find any space on the globe that was a safe distance from the U.S. military.

"So as you can see, we tried to be reasonable," said Bolton, shrugging. "This means war!"

Tulsi wins me over again

Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she would drop all U.S. charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and pardon NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden if elected president in 2020.
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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@gjohnsit @gjohnsit @gjohnsit

U.S. Military Stops Counting How Much of Afghanistan Is Controlled by Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan — The American military command in Afghanistan has halted regular assessments of how many people and districts the government and insurgents there control, it emerged on Wednesday — eliminating what has long been an important public measure of progress in the war.

The military said the assessments had “limited decision-making value” for commanders. As recently as November 2017, the previous American commander in Afghanistan had called them “the metric that’s most telling in a counterinsurgency.”

...“We are focused on setting the conditions for a political settlement to safeguard our national interests,” Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the American-led military mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement to The New York Times. The assessments “did little to serve our mission of protecting our citizens and allies,” he said.

...Bill Roggio, a military commentator whose assessments have challenged the Pentagon’s analyses, said the assessment reports had recently reflected a shrinking in the territory the government controlled, particularly outside urban areas.

“The district assessments highlight failure, which is contrary to the U.S. military’s desired message of success,” Mr. Roggio said in an email. “Make no mistake, if these assessments showed the Afghan military retaking lost ground, the U.S. military would continue to publish the information.”

Shorter Pentagon: No more need to track the war because we know we've already lost.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Pricknick's picture

The United States has the illusion of delusion

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick @Pricknick That delusion is that we could actually "win" such a war with Iran. So is the self-illusion that we really have any allies in this one, except our real proven enemies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

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Pricknick's picture

@leveymg

The United States has the illusion of delusion

an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.

We (as a nation) accept the delusion because the illusion says so.
Pardon me for being a little off the wall.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

The Aspie Corner's picture

You know, other than "We are the United States Capitalist Party. Your Labor and Resources will be added to our own. Resistance is futile. You will renounce your backward culture to service us."

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

I was taken by a poster where who said their kid in the military stationed in Germany was seeing a shitload of arms like the US was already in a war.

The insanity of the war machine is upon us. The Europeans are just as fucked.

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snoopydawg's picture

@MrWebster

but it's not just in Germany. We have sent a lot to our base in Israel too. The maddening thing is that our foreign policies are being set by a unelected person. Bolton didn't have to go through the nomination process because of how Trump installed him. He's done that to other departments too. But then does anyone think that congress wouldn't have confirmed him anyway? This turd once was our ambassador to the UN. Whilst he was there he threatened more than one person who didn't tow the USA's line of thinking.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pricknick's picture

@snoopydawg
goes the battle cry.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

WaterLily's picture

@MrWebster Vermont Guard Readies for Massive Training in Louisiana

It was impossible not to notice this happening as it happened. Immediately, I thought, "something's cooking." Now we know what it is.

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orlbucfan's picture

Bolton and rocket him on a one-way trip into the heart of the sun??? Even Cheney-Bush fired his stupid, insane butt! Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@orlbucfan It's called "justifiable homicide", which legally includes acting to prevent harm to third parties. He's a rabid dog, more dangerous than any Middle Eastern dictator. I'd hardly be surprised if a biopsy revealed literal brain disease.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat
So much hate.
So much joy in killing.
All in the service of abstractions.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

mimi's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat
on time ...

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And Satan gave him weapons of Mass Destruction!

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.