I ask that question, prompted by the latest developments in the Middle East and Russia.
First Russia. It’s beyond dispute that the war on Russia, using Ukraine as a proxy, would never have occurred BUT FOR the efforts and policies over a period of decades by the American Empire, led by Neocon crazies. You can take this ass far back as the Clinton regime. Russia has exercised great restraint, but now with the terrorist attack at Crocus and the increased targeting of Russian infrastructure it appears that the gloves are finally coming off.
Yesterday I listened to ex-CIA Phil Giraldi and geopolitical commentator Aaron Mate express doubt regarding CIA complicity in the Crocus terror attack. In my opinion they missed the real point: BUT FOR. But for US involvement in setting up a war proxy in Ukraine via regime change, but for US training of the Kiev regime’s special services building off previous training of various jihadist terror groups, and especially but for the US backing of war on Russia, the Crocus terror attack would not have occurred. The American Empire cannot escape the charge of complicity, and the same reasoning applies to the increased targeting of Russian infrastructure. All this logically flows from the US sharing of munitions and, especially, ISR capabilities. Russia has responded by a campaign that is de-energizing the Kiev regime’s territories:
One of Ukraine's largest power stations with 1.8 TW output is gone. Ukraine has almost no coal stations left. The targeting of oil depots in Russia with NATO drones is hitting their heads. Russia is retaliating even more fiercely. Ukraine will be left without electricity.
The logic of war dictates that Russia will be looking for opportunities to strike back at the ultimate enablers and perpetrators of war against Russia—they know full well who the responsible parties are, as they have openly stated. The logic of war also dictates that Russia will support those who have supported Russia against the American Empire’s aggression—China, Iran, and North Korea come immediately to mind, and we have duly noted the extreme provocations the US has engaged in against China, in areas in which Doug Macgregor has repeatedly maintained that the US has zero strategic interest.
Turning to the Middle East, the US history of war making in that region speaks for itself, with the vast destruction wrought and the millions of dead, wounded, and displaced. In our efforts to overthrow established governments the US has, in collaboration with the UK and Israel, armed and trained terrorist groups that have systematically targeted Christians and other religious minorities. Now we are complicit, participants in, genocide. As graphic reminders of what we are supporting …
You may recall recently the Israeli claim that they had killed hundreds of Hamas fighters at the al Shifa hospital. Strangely, we were not treated to documentary evidence of that feat of arms. What really happened?
Aaron Maté @aaronjmate
A tax season reminder that our money goes to an outright Nazi regime:
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Mondoweiss @Mondoweiss
3h
During the massacre at al-Shifa Hospital, the Israeli army shot patients in their beds and doctors who refused to abandon the sick, separated people into groups with differently-colored bracelets, and executed hundreds of civil government employees.
https://bit.ly/3TSs8WH
9:03 AM · Apr 11, 2024
More recently:
Hard to even imagine what the backlash would be if the children and grandchildren of any western political leader were killed by a foreign power. US-Zionist imperialism is a beast without a shred of conscience
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The Cradle @TheCradleMedia
Apr 10
BREAKING | 3 sons of the head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and a number of his grandchildren, were killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza, reports Al-Jazeera.
Israel has confirmed the targting. Clearly this targeting of a key Hamas figure’s family was done to ensure that NO ceasefire agreement should ever come about.
I want to recommend Judge Nap’s discussion with Phil Giraldi yesterday. I referred to it above, to take issue with Giraldi’s take on the Crocus terror attack. However, later in the video the Judge and Giraldi both maintain that the evidence strongly indicates that the Netanyahu government was complicit in deliberately allowing the Hamas raid into Israel to take place—the only caveat being that the Israelis were, as usual, surprised at the competence of their opponents. In other words, October 7 was part of a plan to provide cover for the projected Israeli genocide of Palestinians on a massive scale. Gaza was to be the beginning. Again, as usual, the Israeli military flubbed it. Yes, they killed tens of thousands of simple people and inflicted vast wanton destruction, but showed themselves, as in the past, to not be up to the task of fighting determined opponents.
No one with an ounce of sense doubts any longer that the Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic establishment was simply one more step in the effort to enlist the American Empire in a wider regional war to establish what Giraldi describes as Jewish regional supremacy—leaving Israel as the regional hegemon with nukes. Most competent analysts regard a war on Iran by the American Empire as madness, but the Neocons appear to have set the wheels in motion. Zerohedge summarizes the latest developments:
Biden Promises Israel 'Ironclad' Support Against Iran, Walks Back Call For Unilateral Ceasefire
President Joe Biden has promised "ironclad" support for Israel at a moment US intelligence believes that Iranian reprisals for the April 1st Damascus embassy attack are imminent. The only question that remains is whether it will be a direct attack launched from Iranian soil, or via proxies like Hezbollah.
"As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad," Biden said Wednesday. "Let me say it again — ironclad. We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security." He explained this is in response to Tehran "threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has vowed swift and strong retaliation: "If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran," he said in a statement on X, echoing prior similar words of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The US administration has also said it is not ruling out launching joint retaliatory strikes with Israel in a scenario it is attacked by Iran or its proxies, we detailed previously.
Also, Biden appeared to walk back a call for Israel to declare a six-to-eight-week ceasefire in Gaza. In an interview given to Univision which aired Tuesday, Biden had said, "So what I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country."
But on Wednesday Biden said it is "up to Hamas" to be willing to release the hostages as a condition for achieving ceasefire, contradicting the prior unilateral ceasefire remarks.
According to the new statement: "It’s now up to Hamas. They need to move on the proposal that has been made [so we can] get these hostages home where they belong," Biden said during a press conference on Wednesday. "It also brings back a six-week ceasefire that we need now."
Israel on Thursday once again blamed Hamas for "walking away" in ceasefire talks. Hamas has this week told negotiators that it cannot immediate locate 40 of the hostages, as they appear to be scattered at different locations across the strip - held in some cases by various militants and families.
…
So the Neocons are promising “ironclad” support for attacks on the diplomatic establishments of foreign countries, for attacks on the families of negotiators, for genocide? And nobody questions this—indeed the rhetoric coming from official US spokesmen tries to bury the enormity of the Israeli attack and portray Iran as an aggressor for responding. Where is the debate in the US, whether in the MSM or in Congress? They’re all bought and paid for. But this won’t end well, because Iran isn’t going to back down. They have not backed down in the past, and are now in a stronger position. This tweet accurately sums up the Neocon belief in the priority of bullying and intimidation over diplomacy:
Amal Saad @amalsaad_lb
The more Israel tries to bring Iran to its knees, the higher the likelihood of war. Despite decades of failed attempts, the US and Israel continue to believe that a strategy of humiliating their adversaries and trying to force them into submission is a viable approach. This strategy of subjugation isn't just evident in Israel's record of violating international law with impunity, as demonstrated most recently by its strike on Iran's consulate. It's also evident in its threats to massively retaliate —with full US backing—if Iran dares exercise its right to self-defense, as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN charter.
The problem for both is that while Iran is keen to avoid all-out war, it is a nation whose identity is based on a preoccupation with dignity and rejecting humiliation. Decades of US/Israeli regime change attempts, sanctions and assassinations have only hardened Iran's resolve and defiance. The idea that Iran will be cowed by Israel's threats to punish it for practising its legal right to respond to an armed attack against its territory, is as delusional as it is hubristic.
8:17 AM · Apr 11, 2024
Latest news updates, via Megatron:
Megatron @Megatron_ron
20h
 NEW: Iran's Foreign Minister, Amir Abdollahian, just held urgent phone calls with his counterparts from Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
12h
BREAKING: Iran has told the White House that if the US defends Israel against its forthcoming retaliation for the Damascus strike, it will consider the US a viable target as well, per the Intercept.
5h
 Later today, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, commander of U.S. CENTCOM, will arrive in Israel to coordinate with the IDF against the upcoming Iranian missile threat
BREAKING:
Iran's state news agency IRNA says "the time is ripe to punish Israel", adding that a final decision on how to respond had been made.
The US is also bringing the aircraft carrier Eisenhower closer to Israel, probably in an attempt to intercept the Iranian missiles.
Earlier today, Turkey's Foreign Minister phoned Iran's Foreign Minister, Amir Abdollahian, carrying a message from the U.S. asking for de-escalation with Israel.
This is quite interesting, considering how much Erdogan just "shouted" against Israel at rallies in the previous months.
What a time to have the US government in the hands of such stupid and crazed people. A wider war simply cannot lead to anything good. It will unleash forces over which we have little to no control.
Mearsheimer is saying that US "ironclad" support for Israel attacking diplomatic establishments "makes a bad situation worse".
Seems like Israel is trying to goad Iran to get the US involved with Hezbollah.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail in Iran and the response will not be a pretext for a larger conflict.