Tag: Iran

Phil Geraldi, Punishing America’s Enemies: Denying medicines to Iran and Venezuela is a crime against humanity

James Fetzerblog

PHILIP GIRALDI    Much remains to be learned about the coronavirus, though it is quite possible that it will not be possible to determine how it developed if the various governments that might be involved prove to be uncooperative. The Chinese carefully controlled the information on the virus in its early stages, though they eventually adopted a complete lockdown to prevent its spread that seems to have been successful and might serve as a model for other nations to follow if they can overcome concerns about threats to civil liberties…

Sanders tells New York Times he would consider a preemptive strike against Iran or North Korea

James Fetzerblog

By Jacob Crosse and Barry Grey Valentine’s Day 2020 Bernie Sanders has won the popular vote in both the New Hampshire and Iowa presidential primary contests in considerable part by presenting himself as an opponent of war. Following the criminal assassination of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani last month, Sanders was the most vocal of the Democratic presidential aspirants in criticizing Trump’s action. His poll numbers have risen in tandem with his stepped-up anti-war rhetoric. He has repeatedly stressed his vote against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, reminding voters in the…

Vivian Lee, The Strange Crash of Ukrainian Flight #752 in Iran

James Fetzerblog

Vivian Lee On the morning of January 8, 2020, a Boeing 737 crashed and left debris scattered over a wide area just minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. The Ukrainian International Airlines jet was en route to Kyiv, scheduled to land at Boryspil International Airport at 8 am local time. “Amateur” videos posted on social media led to the suspicion that the plane had been brought down by a missile over the city of Parand. The first video, posted on Instagram by The Rich Kids…

Larry C. Johnson, The Facts About Iran and Terrorism

James Fetzerblog

 by Larry C Johnson When emotion rules the day facts do not matter. Sadly, that is the reality we confront when it comes to talking about Iran and terrorism. The U.S. Government and almost all of the media continue to declare that Iran is the biggest sponsor of terrorism. That is not true. That is a lie. I realize that calling this assertion a lie opens me to accusations of being an apologist for Iran. But simply look at the facts. Here is the most recent U.S. State Department claim about…

Patrick J. McShay, Targeted Assassinations and Foreign Entanglements

James Fetzerblog

Patrick J. McShay “The Iranian regime’s aggression in the region including their use of proxy fighters to destabilize its neighbors must end and it must end now!“ *President Donald J. Trump President Trump’s former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster once said that “there are basically two ways to fight the United States, asymmetrically and stupid.” We know the disparities between Iran and the U.S. are immense but how much do we really know about Iran’s full capability? One thing we do know is that Iran is a much graver threat…

Gen. Soleimani World’s Most Accomplished Military Figure in Counter-Terrorism: Analyst

James Fetzerblog

Kevin Barrett Republiished from 5 October 2019 TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An American political analyst and author described Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani as the “world’s most accomplished military figure” in the field of counter-terrorism. “Major General Qassem Soleimani is the world’s most accomplished military figure in the field of counter-terrorism… Gen. Soleimani’s fight against Daesh (aka ISIS) is a wholehearted fight — unlike America’s ambivalent war on Daesh that has included covert support for the same terrorists it fights,” Kevin Barret from Madison told Tasnim. Following is the…

Doug Bandow, Trump Must Understand a War With Iran Would Be Hell

James Fetzerblog

by Doug Bandow Key point: The entire Middle East could go up in flames. Sixteen years ago, the George W. Bush administration manipulated intelligence to scare the public into backing an aggressive war against Iraq. The smoking gun mushroom clouds that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice warned against didn’t exist, but the invasion long desired by neoconservatives and other hawks proceeded. Liberated Iraqis rejected U.S. plans to create an American puppet state on the Euphrates and the aftermath turned into a humanitarian and geopolitical catastrophe which continues to roil the Middle East. Thousands…

Philip Geraldi, Saudi Oil Attacks: Time to Back Off on the Threats

James Fetzerblog

Philip Geraldi Attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil facilities on Saturday reportedly reduced the production of Aramco, the state oil company, by one half. It was a devastating demonstration of just how vulnerable the Kingdom’s oil economy actually is. Initial reports suggested that the damage had been caused by explosive drones launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who claimed responsibility, but there has been considerable skepticism regarding whether the drones available to the Houthi could actually have carried out the attack. Inevitably, the United States and the Saudis are…

Andrew J. Bacevich, The Trump Administration’s “Diplomacy of Deference”

James Fetzerblog

Andrew J. Bacevich Trump’s actions are constrained by what Saudi and Israeli leaders are willing to tolerate Iran’s seizure of a British-owned oil tanker transiting the Persian Gulf has let loose a fresh round of media war chatter. Yet should another Persian Gulf War actually occur, who would benefit? Not America, that’s for sure. The central theme of present-day American policy regarding Iran is deference. Nominally, US policy is made in Washington. Substantively, it is framed in Riyadh and Jerusalem, with the interests of the United States figuring only minimally…

Rob Urie, Iran, Venezuela and the Throes of Empire

James Fetzerblog

by ROB URIE With the Trump administration threatening war against Iran and Venezuela, the question of how the U.S. was brought to this point needs to be considered. To argue that current circumstances are particular to this administration is to overlook U.S. history vis-a-vis both Iran and Venezuela and that between them they possess a material proportion of the world’s proved oil reserves (graph below). In 2019, the pretense that local provocations explain anything beyond domestic political posturing is absurd. However, domestic political considerations do explain threats of war to a…