Trumps Beginning of the end

[st13phil]

I think there is something really significant in terms of the escalation here. In the past drone strikes have been used against non-state actors - even though some will have been state sponsored. This strike was quite specifically against a uniformed state actor. So the drone strike we have just seen is a great big nasty 'screw you' by a US which is exasperated with Iran on a number of levels.

Iran has been labouring under the misapprehension that it could keep tugging on the tiger's tail as much as it wished without any consequences, because they (mis-)calculated that the tiger wouldn't bite back.

Not only is this a "great big nasty 'screw you' by a US which is exasperated with Iran on a number of levels", but it's also a telegram to other actors in the region that both US intelligence and US capability are perhaps rather greater than they have chosen to believe, and furthermore that the US is prepared to exercise its extensive capabilities if pushed hard enough.

 

[219]

His days in the White house are probably numbered?
Being corrupted, tossed in jail would be a preferred punishment although he might get away with it as he's very slick and devious.

Are we looking forward to the sequel : Slick Willie 2 ?

 

[219]

Iran has been labouring under the misapprehension that it could keep tugging on the tiger's tail as much as it wished without any consequences, because they (mis-)calculated that the tiger wouldn't bite back.

Not only is this a "great big nasty 'screw you' by a US which is exasperated with Iran on a number of levels", but it's also a telegram to other actors in the region that both US intelligence and US capability are perhaps rather greater than they have chosen to believe, and furthermore that the US is prepared to exercise its extensive capabilities if pushed hard enough.

I'm not by any means siding with Iran here , but there is more than an element of 'Team America - World Police' here , which I would contend that much of the rest of the world is well fed up with .

 

[AMGeed]

I'm not by any means siding with Iran here , but there is more than an element of 'Team America - World Police' here , which I would contend that much of the rest of the world is well fed up with .

The US is a strong ally with countries in the region, particularly Saudi, Oman and the UAE, hence their involvement.
Apart from arms deals, air bases etc, they are protecting their (and all Western) oil interests.
Without the US, ISIS would still be fighting the Kurds and probably gathering more momentum.
I'm glad in this instance the US has shown Iran it won't be intimidated without response any longer.
What happens next is up to Iran.

 

[st13phil]

...but there is more than an element of 'Team America - World Police' here , which I would contend that much of the rest of the world is well fed up with .

I too have reservations in that respect, but Iran has long held ambitions to be the dominant power in that part of the globe - and it uses destabilising tactics against its neighbours to attempt to realise that objective - that I'm minded to believe would be A Bad Thing, and not just for The West.

 

[Dryce]

I'm not by any means siding with Iran here , but there is more than an element of 'Team America - World Police' here , which I would contend that much of the rest of the world is well fed up with .

You also have to ask why the US should be bothered - with Iran acting up then Israel isn't seen as the regional thorn anymore.

So the US should perhaps just pull away and leave the region to deal with Iran and Turkey by itself and allow the Russians to mess about.

The US has reduced dependency on the region. The external losers of any regional upset are likely to be China which is increasingly dependent on the region for energy and the EU which will face stability issues if it gets flooded with an influx of millions of people pushed out by violence and by economic disruption and ends up with an even greater dependency on Russia for energy.

 

[Dryce]

and not just for The West.

Take a look at where Saudi oil ends up these days .....

 

[219]

Take a look at where Saudi oil ends up these days .....

it is , of course , all about oil - if not for that then no one would bother about them knocking bits out of each other .

 

[Dryce]

it is , of course , all about oil - if not for that then no one would bother about them knocking bits out of each other .

If this was the 1970s or 1980s or 1990s then a simple explanation like that would suffice.

The US is not dependent on ME oil.

If it was simplistically about oil then there would be a different set of players in the ME game.

 

[grober]

I would suggest the reason that the USA takes a strategic interest in the Middle East is nothing to do with supply. Its because oil is traded in US dollars- or PETRODOLLARS --the result of which is the value of their currency is heavily dependant on crude oil prices and its therefore in their interest to maintain political influence in the area, as this graph of USD v crude oil price illustrates

taken from
Understanding the Correlation of Oil and Currency

 

[noogieman]

Are we looking forward to the sequel : Slick Willie 2 ?

First we had Tricky D*ck, I love the latex masks crooks use when they rob banks looking like Tricky D*ck.
The sequel starred Slick Willie, Willie liked to insert his contraband Cohiba into something wet and wild, then he got busted.
In the 3rd part, in his biggest lead role ever, the most sinister crook in America Mr. Donald Trump.

 

[Dryce]

I would suggest the reason that the USA takes a strategic interest in the Middle East is nothing to do with supply. Its because oil is traded in US dollars- or PETRODOLLARS --the result of which is the value of their currency is heavily dependant on crude oil prices and its therefore in their interest to maintain political influence in the area, as this graph of USD v crude oil price illustrates

Seriously?

USD is just a pricing mechanism. I don't need USD to buy oil. I just need something exchangeable worth the same value of USD in which the price of oil is *quoted* at the time I buy.

Where things get complicated is that when the price of a commodity shifts then the value of the USD or other currencies may shift because of the assumed impact of the price of that commodity on the value of the currency.

 

[grober]

Seriously? USD is just a pricing mechanism. I don't need USD to buy oil. I just need something exchangeable worth the same value of USD in which the price of oil is *quoted* at the time I buy.

At no point did I say that you needed US dollars to buy oil?

Where things get complicated is that when the price of a commodity shifts then the value of the USD or other currencies may shift because of the assumed impact of the price of that commodity on the value of the currency

That's what the article I linked to said in a lot more detail.

 

[markjay]

Paradoxically, with all the anti-American rhetoric from Iran in recent days, Qassem Soleimani's coffin was carried in a.... Chevrolet truck:

 

[grober]

A bit like Donald Trump's ban on people from certain middle eastern states from entering the United States ostensibly to protect the citizenry from further terrorist attacks . [Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen].
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38794001
There were honorable exceptions of course SAUDI ARABIA being one of them. Guess the nationality of 15 out of the 19 terrorist hijackers responsible for 9/11?
Hijackers in the September 11 attacks - Wikipedia

ps Chevrolet are banned in Iran itself evidently Iran Has Banned the Import of Chevrolets

pps
The funeral procession vehicle pictured will be a police vehicle- Iraq police forces have been equiped with Chevrolet pickups for many years .
Iraqi police see new police trucks as symbols of progress

 

[m80]

A bit like Donald Trump's ban on people from certain middle eastern states from entering the United States ostensibly to protect the citizenry from further terrorist attacks . [Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen].
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38794001
There were honorable exceptions of course SAUDI ARABIA being one of them. Guess the nationality of 15 out of the 19 terrorist hijackers responsible for 9/11?
Hijackers in the September 11 attacks - Wikipedia

ps Chevrolet are banned in Iran itself evidently Iran Has Banned the Import of Chevrolets

pps
The funeral procession vehicle pictured will be a police vehicle- Iraq police forces have been equiped with Chevrolet pickups for many years .
Iraqi police see new police trucks as symbols of progress

and the locals,
they certainly like stroking the symbol of progress.

 

[LXA]

see 'political events' section..... Petrodollar warfare - Wikipedia

 

[markjay]

ps Chevrolet are banned in Iran itself evidently...

pps
The funeral procession vehicle pictured will be a police vehicle- Iraq police forces have been equiped with Chevrolet pickups for many years...

I was just wondering if the irony was missed on the Iranians.

 

[markjay]

see 'political events' section..... Petrodollar warfare - Wikipedia

I think the issue here is similar to the Iraq War debate in the UK.

There's nothing wrong in military operations aimed at bringing prosperity to your own citizens, we all know that Britain did this for several centuries, but this becomes an issue when the government isn't being truthful with its citizens regarding the reasons for exercising the country's military might overseas.

 

[LXA]

Pretty sure every action Flump has taken so far has been purely to increase the wealth of his nearest 'n' dearest and business buddies and even he himself cannot believe just how much he is being allowed to get away with (but that's just IMHO and obviously, I have no idea wtf is going on )