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International relations.

QUORA: WHY DID TRUMP SAY HE KILLED SOLEIMANI TO PREVENT WAR?

1/16/2020

1 Comment

 
Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/How-was-the-killing-of-Qasem-Soleimani-supposed-to-end-war-as-said-by-President-Trump/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
How was the killing of Qasem Soleimani supposed to end war as said by President Trump?

Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)
 
Well now how do I say this delicately…?
 
He lied.
 
The only reason for killing Soleimani — whose forces killed more real terrorists than the US Coalition — was to appease Israel, which had been clamouring for years for the US to invade Iran, and hence to induce gullible Americans to vote for him this fall. Trump kept threatening to invade Iran to please the Israelis but they finally figured out that he was bluffing, so he had to do something. That something was killing a man who was a hero to the entire Shia world. Excellent for Trump’s true believers in the US but disastrous for the rest of the world.
 
Trump rarely considers the potential risks of his actions. As illustrated in the movie Dr. Strangelove, US cowboys do not like leaders who think.
 
Some of those ignored risks are now confirmed.
 
Firstly, Iran has started firing missiles and rockets into Iraqi bases hosting US personnel. Iraq is not objecting too strenuously. Since Trump cannot risk a shooting war at this delicate time, his hands are tied to respond militarily. That is one of the pitfalls of relying solely on bluffing as a military strategy. (I discussed this here: https://www.quora.com/Is-the-US-just-weakening-Iran-with-more-sanctions-to-make-them-easier-to-war-with/answer/Vince-Dhimos)
 
Secondly, the Iraqi parliament, which had reluctantly allowed US troops to camp there, voted to evict the troops.
 
Thirdly, Iraq is now seriously weighing buying the Russian S-400 air defence system to protect its sovereignty and security — despite the threat of US sanctions.
 
Fourthly, since Trump has threatened sequestering Iraqi oil money deposited in US banks, Iraq is now weighing the use of only local currencies in its oil trade — a policy known as de-dollarization, which Russia and China have been pursuing vigorously for years. The less the world uses the dollar in world trade settlements, the more the dollar loses value and the closer it comes to losing its hegemony, ie, its power as a bludgeon. Ultimately, this threatens to crash the US economy if too many countries do it. The more Trump threatens and implements sanctions, the more countries ditch the dollar. Even Europe is now deeply involved, with its new special purpose vehicle INSTEX, designed to circumvent SWIFT and allow trade with Iran.
 
Thus, Trump’s claim of preventing war by murdering the top Iranian general was a total lie. All this thoughtless action did was rally the world against the US. And that brings the possibility of war just a bit closer.
 
And if he keeps up the bull in a china closet behaviour, who would want to be a US ally in a war with the rest of the world?
1 Comment
John M Stassi
1/16/2020 07:56:05 am

As I read through this piece, I recalled a similarly distressing incident that occurred over a half century ago:

On February 7, 1968, American bombs, rockets and napalm obliterated much of the South Vietnamese town of Ben Tre — killing hundreds of civilians who lived there.

Later that day, an unidentified American officer gave Associated Press reporter Peter Arnett a memorable explanation for the destruction.

Arnett used it in the opening of the story he wrote:

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,” a U.S. major said Wednesday.
He was talking about the grim decision that allied commanders made when Viet Cong attackers overran most of this Mekong Delta city 45 miles southwest of Saigon. They decided that regardless of civilian casualties they must bomb and shell the once placid river city of 35,000 to rout the Viet Cong forces.

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