Let's Give Peace A Chance // Stop The Madness

3 days ago this story appeared in The Nation:

A Very Trumpian Christmas Surprise? Signs Point to a Possible US Attack on Iran

Now is the time to prevent a possible strike on Iran, before Trump’s military posturing becomes military action.

By Michael T. KlareTwitter

December 10, 2020

" . . Plans for such a desperate move may have been set in motion as early as November 18, when Secretary Pompeo arrived in Israel for a three-day visit to US allies in the region.

. . .In the days following Pompeo’s visit to Israel and Gulf kingdoms, a series of subsequent events suggest further planning for US (or US/Israeli) military action against Iran:

• On November 21, two US Air Force B-52 heavy bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing, based at Minot Air Force base, N.D., flew on a round-trip flight to the Persian Gulf in what was described as a test of America’s ability to project additional firepower into the region on very short notice.
• On November 25, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller made an unannounced visit to US forces in Bahrain, his first trip overseas after being appointed to that position on November 9, after Trump fired Mark T. Esper (who was deemed insufficiently loyal to the president). Although Miller’s Thanksgiving visit was said to be a morale-boosting event for US troops stationed abroad, he also met with senior officers at Centcom, whose forces would play a key role in any military action taken against Iran.
• On November 27, just hours after the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the aircraft carrier Nimitz, along with its 70 or so combat aircraft and accompanying cruisers and destroyers, sailed into the Persian Gulf. Although the move was said to be related to US troop withdrawals from the region, it was seen by some as unusual, as the Nimitz had been at sea for several months and was scheduled to return to its homeport in Bremerton, Wash.
• At about this time, the IDF went into their highest state of readiness in anticipation of revenge strikes by Iran in retaliation for Fakhrizadeh’s assassination.
• On December 2, the State Department began reducing staff at the US Embassy in Baghdad, supposedly in anticipation of possible attacks on the embassy by Iraqi-based militias loyal to Tehran.

It is possible, of course, to overstate the significance of one or more of these events or to misread their intent. Nevertheless, they suggest a pattern of coordinated steps that would allow President Trump to order multiple strikes on military and nuclear facilities in Iran at any point, whether following some act of retribution for Fakhrizadeh’s assassination or a new report of accelerated Iranian uranium enrichment—or at his own whim.

 

  

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