Posts from — January 2020

From the BBC – Qasem Soleimani: Why his killing is good news for IS jihadists:

The Islamic State (IS) group has welcomed the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force.

In a statement, it described the general’s demise as an act of divine intervention that benefited jihadists. However, it made no mention at all of the US, which carried out the deadly drone strike against Soleimani in Baghdad on 3 January.

President Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate Gen Soleimani set off a chain of consequences – one of the first was on the unfinished war against jihadists.

From Juan Cole – “Don’t close your eyes, American troops in Iraq” – provoked by Trump’s crazed attack, Shiite militias threaten US military. The Iranian government responded in a very measured way to the death of their general. but the Iraqi militias are going to want American blood for the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

US dismisses Iraq request to work on a troop withdrawal plan

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s caretaker prime minister asked Washington to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to “recommit” to their partnership.

The US took unilateral action on foreign soil without any consultation with the government of Iraq, there is no partnership to talk about. Trump wants NATO to do more, but there was no consultation with the commanders of NATO forces on the ground before the assassination took place. Now Canada and Germany are reviewing their efforts in Iraq. Trump has already abandoned the Kurds, so there is no one left who wants to be a partner with the US.

Meanwhile Trump’s BFF Vlad has his navy play bumper cars with US vessels:

(CNN) — A Russian warship “aggressively approached” a US Navy destroyer while it was operating in the North Arabian Sea Thursday, ignoring warnings from the US vessel and increasing the risk of a collision, the US Navy said Friday.

Trump has managed to alienate everyone that we need to accomplish stated US goals around the world while sucking up to people and governments who want to see us fail.

Satellite photos reveal extent of damage from Iranian strike on al Assad air base in Iraq. In the official Iranian government response to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, dozens of missiles were launched against the Irbil and Ain al Assad air bases. Iran contacted Iraqi officials and notified them of the intended targets. Iraq notified other nations of the impending attack which resulted in no loss of life, but a demonstration of Iranian weapons. It was a clear message to the US as to the abilities of the Iranian military.

The government of Iran is finished for the moment, but the Quds Force and the Kataib Hezbollah may launch their own response to the US assassination of their leaders.

Saudi Arabia sought dialogue with Iran. Then the US-Iranian conflict escalated:

She (Emily Hawthorne, a Middle East specialist at Stratfor) says Saudi Arabia’s efforts toward a Saudi-Iranian detente are in a very early stage and being mediated by other countries, such as Pakistan and Iraq.

In fact, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi told parliament last Sunday that he was mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia. He said Soleimani had been bringing a message from Iran for the Saudis on the day he was killed in Baghdad.

(US Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo threw cold water on any notion that Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission. “Is there any history that would indicate that it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qassem Soleimani, had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission?” he said on Tuesday. “We know that wasn’t true.”

The Trump administration has said it conducted the drone strike against Soleimani to prevent planned attacks against Americans.

Yes, it is absurd to have generals like George C. Marshall, Alexander Haig, Colin Powell, or Directors of the CIA like Mike Pompeo become diplomats 😈

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany) together with the European Union.
…
On 8 May 2018 Trump announced United States withdrawal from JCPOA.

Obama did it so Trump had to undo it. No matter what it is or whether it is actually good or bad, the Trumpers and Trumpettes demand their ‘god’ smite the works of the evil Kenyan, Muslim demon who was twice democratically elected (both popular vote and electoral college without foreign assistance).

December 27 – US contractor killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base. The attack was blamed on the Kataib Hezbollah militia.

December 29 – Kataib Hezbollah camps in Iraq and Syria were hit by US airstrikes in retaliation for the death of the contractor.

December 31 – the US Embassy in Baghdad was attacked by a mob in retaliation for the airstrikes.

January 3 – US assassinates Qasem Soleimani Major General commander of the Quds Force and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi who commanded the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group, in retaliation for the embassy attack and Republican fear of another ‘Benghazi’.

Trump vows to hit 52 Iranian targets if Iran retaliates

Iran’s foreign minister says U.S. targeting of cultural sites would be ‘a war crime’ and Khamenei’s adviser Iran’s response to US will be military. Iran rolls back nuclear deal commitments.

Iraqi MPs back call to expel US troops which leads to a NATO suspension of Canadian-led Iraq training mission after Soleimani killing. Naturally the Trump administration only informed drunks at Mar-a-Lago and the Russians of their intentions, not Congress and US allies.

Trump threatens Iraq with sanctions if US troops are expelled.

This is to the point that Rand Paul sounds sane – paraphrase: you would have to be brain dead to believe that killing Soleimani would make Americans safer or bring the Iranians to the negotiating table.

Soleimani was not a nice guy. He was the equivalent of the Director of the CIA and Commander of Special Operations for Iran. Nice guy is not what you look for in those jobs. He was, however, an aid to US efforts to combat al Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS. He was a Shi’ia warrior who could unite various Shi’ia factions throughout the Middle East and would get along with anyone who was fighting his enemies. Not that anyone in this US government understands but our real problems have been caused by Sunni Muslims, not Shi’ia.

An “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” attitude always results in a lot of blind people feeling for their dentures.

С Рождеством Христовым to my Orthodox friends who are still waiting to see how the calendar reform works out.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. provides a nice little explainer on Why America and Iran hate each other, beginning with the CIA/US backed coup that removed the newly elected prime minister – Mohammad Mosaddegh.

I would go back to World War II and the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. In 1943 the US sent 30,000 troops to Iran to help the UK-Soviet occupation.

Though Iran was neutral, the Allies considered Reza Shah to be friendly to Germany, deposed him during the subsequent occupation and replaced him with his young son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Iran had to put up with regime change by the West that long ago.

The Iranian nuclear program began in the Eisenhower administration based on the Atoms for Peace initiative. The US sold Iran its first reactor and encouraged the purchase of more. Now the Iranians are criminals for wanting to power their country with their own mined uranium, rather than using their most important export for electrical production.

Mohammad Reza Shah become more of tyrant as he aged and the Iranian people started fighting back in the 1970s. The US supported him as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and communism, as we did in many places around the world. Fascists and dictators were the preferred leaders for the US policy makers for too long.

The Iranian Revolution dislodged the Shah and “Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979 and to formulate and approve a new theocratic-republican constitution whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country in December 1979.” The US gave the Shah refuge which antagonized the new leaders of Iran. The Shah’s extradition was the primary demand of the students who seized the US Embassy in Tehran.

The Iran–Iraq War began on 22 September 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, and it ended on 20 August 1988. The US backed Iraq, which led Saddam Hussein to believe that no one would complain if he invaded Kuwait after the war.

During the war the US sent Naval vessels to the Persian Gulf to protect “neutral” (ship owners who switched the flagging of their vessels to the US) shipping. This led to another reason for Iran to dislike the US: Iran Air Flight 655:

Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas, that was shot down on 3 July 1988 by an SM-2MR surface-to-air missile fired from USS Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. The aircraft, an Airbus A300, was destroyed and all 290 people on board, including 66 children, were killed. The jet was hit while flying over Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, along the flight’s usual route, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas International Airport, the flight’s stopover location. Vincennes had entered Iranian territory after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.

It is important to remember the hundreds of Iranian deaths that the US is responsible for when talking about the number of US troops that the US claims Major General Soleimani was responsible for.

Considering that the US can’t get over the Civil War after 150 years, Iranians can’t be expected to forget what the West has done to them over the last 80.

Today marks the Feast of the Epiphany, end of the twelve days of Christmas, and Día de los Reyes in Spanish-speaking countries.

This is the customary day for gift exchanges in many Christian cultures because it is the day that the Magi finally arrived in Bethlehem with their totally inappropriate gifts after putzing around for a week and a half because they didn’t want to ask for directions.

[Give me a break! They bring soft metal, smelly tree sap, and bitter medicine associated with embalming to people who could use a hot meal, baby clothes, and diapers.]

С Новым годом
Prosit Neujahr
Feliz Año Nuevo
Bonne Année
Felice Anno Nuovo
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Gott Nytt År
새해 복 많이 받으세요
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

May you be safe from the idiots who think gravity is just a theory and fire off guns, failing to understand that what goes up will come down.

Given the prevalence of accurate timekeeping devices, it is amazing that the explosions that are supposed to signal the new year extend for hours beginning six hours before and extending well after the actual event. Anyone who thinks alcohol and gunpowder is a recipe for a long life should be avoided by insurance agents.

The new year brings new opportunities, so here’s hoping that the good wins out and the world is made a little better. It hasn’t happened yet, but there’s always a chance.