Dumpington
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2001
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Iran's theocratic Islamic government is certainly consistent. They always manage to do the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and for the wrong reasons. Yesterday brought more evidence that this woeful streak continues.
The story first broke with reports of two oil tankers burning off the coast of Iran. Then, in an afternoon appearance before reporters in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced: “It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman today.” Pompeo’s statement surprised no one. A month ago, National Security Adviser John Bolton cited “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” on the part of the Iranians.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran when word came of the attacks. Both oil tankers are owned by the Japanese. The prime minister had flown in to try to calm things down. No such luck. Iran's government couldn’t look more guilty and/or reckless.
Just hours before the tankers were hit, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile at Saudi Arabia's Abha airport, wounding 26 civilians. Tehran's government no doubt provided that missile. All of this comes on the heels of the recent revelation that Hezbollah, another of Iran’s stooges, had planned to launch a major terrorist attack in London in 2015. Luckily, that plot was thwarted.
Thursday’s violence is not hard to interpret. Iran’s way of pushing back against charges that it's a terrorist state is to act more like a terrorist state. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei might as well take out a Times Square billboard proclaiming that he and his gang are the bad boys of the Middle East.
President Trump came into office saying that Iran was the chief source of instability in the Middle East. That’s one reason why the U.S. pulled out of that stupid Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Now Tehran is doing Trump’s work for him – begging for the rest of the world to see the regime for the malicious actor it really is. This can only make it harder for the Europeans to continue to argue for sticking by the Iran nuclear deal. The claim that the deal can curb the Iranian regime’s irresponsible behavior has gone up in the smoke of those burning oil tankers.
Iran’s actions also make it harder for those defending that nation’s deadly surrogates.
Members of Congress calling on the Trump administration to stop supporting those fighting the Houthis in Yemen must feel pretty stupid right now. Ditto for the Europeans who insist that Hezbollah isn’t a terrorist organization. And the same goes for those American liberals advising our friends and foes alike to just “wait Trump out” and then the U.S. will bring back Obama's Iran deal and all will be fine. They sound just like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin with his 1938 appeasement deal with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, promising “peace for our time.” Instead, Chamberlain's agreement was a prelude to World War II. As for the Trump administration, its response to Iran has been spot on. Pompeo’s appearance before the media was pitch perfect.
Some pundits are fearful of starting World War III - while others reflexively want to blame Iran’s actions (and everything else that goes wrong in the world) on President Trump. But so far, members of the Trump team have acted like true statesmen. They don't react; they respond. True to form, Tehran has responded stupidly. Yet, rather than freak-out, Pompeo firmly and calmly responded that the U.S. will continue to “stand with its partners and allies to safeguard global commerce and regional stability.”
That is exactly the kind of responsible, steady leadership the world needs.
The story first broke with reports of two oil tankers burning off the coast of Iran. Then, in an afternoon appearance before reporters in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced: “It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman today.” Pompeo’s statement surprised no one. A month ago, National Security Adviser John Bolton cited “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” on the part of the Iranians.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran when word came of the attacks. Both oil tankers are owned by the Japanese. The prime minister had flown in to try to calm things down. No such luck. Iran's government couldn’t look more guilty and/or reckless.
Just hours before the tankers were hit, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile at Saudi Arabia's Abha airport, wounding 26 civilians. Tehran's government no doubt provided that missile. All of this comes on the heels of the recent revelation that Hezbollah, another of Iran’s stooges, had planned to launch a major terrorist attack in London in 2015. Luckily, that plot was thwarted.
Thursday’s violence is not hard to interpret. Iran’s way of pushing back against charges that it's a terrorist state is to act more like a terrorist state. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei might as well take out a Times Square billboard proclaiming that he and his gang are the bad boys of the Middle East.
President Trump came into office saying that Iran was the chief source of instability in the Middle East. That’s one reason why the U.S. pulled out of that stupid Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Now Tehran is doing Trump’s work for him – begging for the rest of the world to see the regime for the malicious actor it really is. This can only make it harder for the Europeans to continue to argue for sticking by the Iran nuclear deal. The claim that the deal can curb the Iranian regime’s irresponsible behavior has gone up in the smoke of those burning oil tankers.
Iran’s actions also make it harder for those defending that nation’s deadly surrogates.
Members of Congress calling on the Trump administration to stop supporting those fighting the Houthis in Yemen must feel pretty stupid right now. Ditto for the Europeans who insist that Hezbollah isn’t a terrorist organization. And the same goes for those American liberals advising our friends and foes alike to just “wait Trump out” and then the U.S. will bring back Obama's Iran deal and all will be fine. They sound just like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin with his 1938 appeasement deal with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, promising “peace for our time.” Instead, Chamberlain's agreement was a prelude to World War II. As for the Trump administration, its response to Iran has been spot on. Pompeo’s appearance before the media was pitch perfect.
Some pundits are fearful of starting World War III - while others reflexively want to blame Iran’s actions (and everything else that goes wrong in the world) on President Trump. But so far, members of the Trump team have acted like true statesmen. They don't react; they respond. True to form, Tehran has responded stupidly. Yet, rather than freak-out, Pompeo firmly and calmly responded that the U.S. will continue to “stand with its partners and allies to safeguard global commerce and regional stability.”
That is exactly the kind of responsible, steady leadership the world needs.