Washington's Middle East policy is about to implode
At least that is where it appears we are headed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz amid soaring tensions in one of the world’s critical energy chokepoints. Brent climbed more than 1.3% on the news.U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he will be “working with the U.K.” on the incident. “This only goes to show what I’m saying about Iran: trouble, nothing but trouble.”
...Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon the administration had been hearing conflicting reports about whether a second tanker had been taken.
OK. This is bad. There will be a response.
Of course Iran did this in response to UK's piracy.
What is getting less attention than it deserves is Turkey's responses.
The Pentagon on Wednesday warned against new military action in an area of Syria where U.S. troops are deployed as Turkey appears to be massing for an incursion against American-allied Kurdish forces there.
"Unilateral action into northeastern Syria by any party, particularly as U.S. personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern. We would find any such actions unacceptable," Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson says.
The statement comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Turkey after the NATO member began receiving Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles last week in defiance of months of U.S. warnings that could result in new sanctions from the administration or from Congress.
Analysts fear that Turkey considers the credible threat of a military strike as its only deterrent against U.S. retaliation and that roiling tensions may overwhelm both sides' ability to prevent conflict.
Do not underestimate Turkey's willingness to escalate a situation.
Just look at their response to the killing of a diplomat today.
Turkey on Thursday launched an air attack on the Kurdish region in northern Iraq in response to the killing of a Turkish diplomat in the region, the country's defence minister said.
Comments
Did washington
ever have a viable middle east policy?
They believe all oil belongs to just a few and must be traded in dollars.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Yep, it is called PNAC in charge
General Wesley Clark outlines it in this video.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw]
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
So now Iran has grabbed two tankers.
One appears to be empty of oil. Not sure of the other one. I wonder if UK leadership agrees to be Boltons proxy poodle and start a shooting war with Iran.
They've released one
but kept the british one.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
I have no doubts on that score!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Another fine kettle of fish the Empire’s gotten itself into… n/t
Dr. Jill Stein is out front
on the stupidity of US foreign policy as usual.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
But nobody listens to her because she's green
And as we know, it's hard being Green. Unless you have a friend. I voted for Jill in '16. My Dem brainwashed family said it was a wasted vote. Not to me. I wish there was a ballot entry "none of the above". This would garner lotsa votes.
Ironically, all we can do is pray that Trump stays crazy...
and refuses to start a war over this, as ever supposedly sane person will be advising him to start one immediately, and why didn't he start one last week. They will also immediately rally to his side the instant he makes that lovely little war declaration speech that he's had sitting on the shelf...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyT1_jEx6eY]
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
In 2016 it was, “Don’t let Crazy Man have his finger on button!”
Now in 2019 it’s, “Crazy Man too ‘chicken’ to put finger on button!”
It’s as if, in 1964 by some fluke or miracle, Barry Goldwater had been elected president. And, once in office, he then hesitated to escalate the war in Vietnam. And then the same Democrats who had just run the famous “Daisy” commercial against him were now out in force, howling for Goldwater to hurry up and bomb North Vietnam and mine Haiphong harbor.
As usual it's the hypocrisy
Freedom of navigation must be maintained Hunt said after he used his role as Trump's poodle to seize an Iranian ship. I'm thinking that iran has nothing to lose right now. The sanctions are probably at their highest levels and Bolton has a hair trigger that might flip out any day now so why not put some hurt on the U.K.. Besides if Trump starts a war then he's going to watch as the economy tanks after Iran closes the straights.
More hypocrisy is telling Iran to leave Syria and Yemen and saying that they are sponsoring terrorists when we have done that on a huger and massive scale. Hillary and the CIA had a rat line between Benghazi and Syria to overthrow Assad. What government has Iran overthrown? We are on our 53th or more. Hypocrites. I just can't stand hypocrites.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
The answer one always gets from the “serious” people —
— the sophisticated Machiavellian people who have already tasted, or are aiming for, really big-time wealth and power — is, “That’s a naïve, immature person’s view of the world. Those of us in the know, one of the things we do know is that what you call ‘hypocrisy’ is just part of the game of Realpolitik you have to play in order to get anything done.”