Steve Thomas Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Did Putin warn Trump not to destroy Iran? With the mess they made of Afghanistan, doesn't Russia need a stable Iran to get its Central Asian oil to market? Is that why Trump backed off? Steve Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ecker Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Steve Thomas said: Did Putin warn Trump not to destroy Iran? With the mess they made of Afghanistan, doesn't Russia need a stable Iran to get its Central Asian oil to market? Is that why Trump backed off? Steve Thomas I wouldn't doubt that Trump killed the DOJ's Uranium One investigation (whether there's anything to that "scandal" or not). Can't have anything that might be a bad reflection on Russia (such as taking some of our uranium). It could make Putin mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Ron Ecker said: I wouldn't doubt that Trump killed the DOJ's Uranium One investigation (whether there's anything to that "scandal" or not). Can't have anything that might be a bad reflection on Russia (such as taking some of our uranium). It could make Putin mad. No Ron, "Something" happened in those 8 hours between threatening to bomb 52 sites (including cultural), and publicly saying that Iran was "standing down" - after they had launched missiles at our bases in Iraq. Somebody got to Trump. I think Putin is the only one that's got that kind of pull. Steve Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ecker Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 5 minutes ago, Steve Thomas said: No Ron, "Something" happened in those 8 hours between threatening to bomb 52 sites (including cultural), and publicly saying that Iran was "standing down" - after they had launched missiles at our bases in Iraq. Somebody got to Trump. I think Putin is the only one that's got that kind of pull. Steve Thomas It's certainly possible, but there is at least one other person he listens to. It might not always be the same person, depending on Trump's lucidity at the time. But you may remember when he stood beside Putin and said without shame that he couldn't see how Putin was involved in meddling in the 2016 election (since Putin denied it). Then a few days later in the Oval Office he read a statement in which he said he had misspoken, that he meant to say he COULD see how Putin was involved. It was astonishing (and obviously, of course, a ridiculous lie to claim he misspoke), and you could see that he hated to say what he was reading. Someone made him do that, and it certainly wasn't Putin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W. Niederhut Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Steve Thomas said: No Ron, "Something" happened in those 8 hours between threatening to bomb 52 sites (including cultural), and publicly saying that Iran was "standing down" - after they had launched missiles at our bases in Iraq. Somebody got to Trump. I think Putin is the only one that's got that kind of pull. Steve Thomas The NYT is hardly a reliable source, especially in matters pertaining to the Middle East, but they published a lengthy article last night about the chronology of the Soleimani assassination op. Based on their article, the "stand down" agreement by Trump and Tehran was negotiated by the Swiss intermediaries who have functioned as our de facto diplomatic liaison to Tehran ever since we broke off formal relations. Seven Days in January: How Trump Pushed U.S. and Iran to the Brink of War The story of that week, and the secret planning in the months preceding it, ranks as the most perilous chapter so far in President Trump’s three years in office. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/iran-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 So we can quickly call off War through (un) presidential statements. After he publicly identified sites to attack if they responded, which the did, purposefully ineffectually? We can take out a foreign governments top general. No (immediate) War. So far as we know the world has little response. I'd think JFK would be appalled we would do such and no other government would respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W. Niederhut Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) Important article by Jon Schwarz at The Intercept today about David Wurmser and Donald Trump's Iran policy. For those who don't know, David Wurmser was one of the key Neocon architects of Bush and Cheney's Iraq War, who had also worked on the "Clean Break" policy paper that Douglas Feith, et.al., wrote for the Netanyahu government in 1996. Key Architect of 2003 Iraq War Is Now a Key Architect of Trump Iran Policy https://theintercept.com/2020/01/16/david-wurmser-iran-suleimani-iraq-war/ January 16, 2020 Edited January 17, 2020 by W. Niederhut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 From the article: What seems to have been a case of bad judgments and human error does, however, include some elements that have yet to be explained. The Iranian missile operator reportedly experienced considerable “jamming” and the planes transponder switched off and stopped transmitting several minutes before the missiles were launched. There were also problems with the communication network of the air defense command, which may have been related. The electronic jamming coming from an unknown source meant that the air defense system was placed on manual operation, relying on human intervention to launch. The human role meant that an operator had to make a quick judgment in a pressure situation in which he had only moments to react. The shutdown of the transponder, which would have automatically signaled to the operator and Tor electronics that the plane was civilian, instead automatically indicated that it was hostile. The operator, having been particularly briefed on the possibility of incoming American cruise missiles, then fired. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/01/phil-giraldi/who-targeted-ukraine-airlines-flight-752-iran-shot-it-down-but-there-may-be-more-to-the-story/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Caddy Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 In regard to Iran.... Let's stop revising history: Reagan didn't win the Cold War https://thehill.com/opinion/international/478941-lets-stop-revising-history-reagan-didnt-win-the-cold-war?fbclid=IwAR0SJ-_a7ZjHN5aRJb_A7E5zxJDglfFwIXqjUM4Sy_aAaMvfsNiYzoMPyGk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W. Niederhut Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Fascinating analysis published at University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole's Informed Comment website this weekend, written by retired U.S. Major Danny Sjursen, a former history instructor at West Point. American Apocalypse: The Rapture of a U.S. Foreign Policy Off the Rails https://www.juancole.com/2020/01/american-apocalypse-rapture.html January 24, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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