The Art Of The Gaslight

It should be a matter of great concern for conservatives that, in the wake of an extremely serious act of war against a sovereign nation (Iran)—extremely serious because Iran is a strategic partner of two of the world’s major nuclear powers, Russia and China—Trump is engaging in straight up gaslighting of the American public. Will he get away with the “obliteration” nonsense and all the rest? Probably. We’ll get into that below.

I’m listening to Alastair Crooke right now on Judge Nap’s show, explaining why the representations being made by Trump about a supposed “obliteration” are nonsense. Most of this presentation is based on Ted Postol’s explanation, but let’s keep this simple. Patarames has provided a simple line drawing and a photo that make it perfectly clear, especially for those who have listened to experts like Postol.

Patarames @Pataramesh

Daily reminder that the U.S. alleges Iran to have implemented 'blast-trap' for the Fordow entrance design

 But not for the vent system...

3:44 AM · Jun 30, 2025

Did Trump really believe the nonsense that the Iranians, having dug and built so deeply, conveniently provided a straight ventilation shaft right down to the target? Maybe. Something like that must have been fed to Trump, because otherwise what he did made no sense at all. The alternative would be that he was told, straight up, we can’t destroy Fordow but you can pass this op off as “one and done”? Is so, Trump would have had to have been remarkably naive. Neither Iran nor Israel are playing along with the charade.

Israel has fingered their primary agent: John Ratcliffe. What this argues against, btw, is the narrative that Israel is simply America’s proxy. I have enough belief in the professionalism of the Mossad that they understood that they were providing false information to Trump through Ratcliffe. Their goal was not to destroy Fordow—it was to draw America into a war with Iran. They succeeded in that goal. Pay special attention to the final paragraph, in which Mossad head David Barnea—who virtually camped out in Oval Office in the effort to get Trump on board—addressing the concept of “one and done”. If Israel were really America’s proxy, he wouldn’t be openly rejecting that. Yes, he frames that for now in terms of Gaza, but don’t believe that—Israel has had every opportunity in the world to get their prisoners back from Hamas.

Max Blumenthal @MaxBlumenthal

11h

Last week, we reported CIA Director John Ratcliffe was taking dictation from the Mossad and furnishing Trump with absurd Israeli disinfo about Iran's nuclear program

Mossad Dir. David Barnea has confirmed our report by singling out Ratcliffe as the key to his manipulation game

Quote

Jonathan Hessen @JonathanHessen

Jun 25

Mossad Director David Barnea thanks the men and women of the CIA, including @CIADirector Ratcliffe, for the outstanding partnership and support that turned the 12day War with Iran into a resounding victory!

Complete Transcript from Director Barnea's remarks:

“First, I would like to express great appreciation for all that you are doing, not only from the campaign’s perspective (Rising Lion), but for months and years prior in which you had essentially succeeded implementing all of the operations in a right manner that brought us to an appropriate single moment, which was the starting moment of the campaign. There wasn’t a single person here that didn’t get deeply excited, not because of our success, but because we really understood the significance of the hour, and the historic moments that we were implementing for the security of the state of Israel. I am certain that none of us will forget these moments. I, in the name of our people, appreciate what you have done. I want to voice great appreciation to the Chief of General Staff and the IDF, to the IDF Intelligence Directorate and its Head, the IAF commander and the force, for their partnership with Mossad, and for achieving the objectives, which at first really looked like a fantasy. The State of Israel, thanks to the entire defense establishment, today feels like a different kind of state – a safer, more powerful state, that is ready for the future.

I want to also voice appreciation and recognize our primary partner, the CIA, for the joint activity, in operations that were manifested. Also, to the Director of the CIA, who supported the Mossad in making the right decisions that ultimately enabled this campaign. We will continue to open seven eyes, on all the projects that exist in Iran, which we know in the most in-depth manner. We will be there, as we were up-until now. I would like to tell you, “over and done”, but we must not forget that there remain fifty hostages in Gaza, thirty deceased, twenty living, who – derived from our moral and ethical responsibility – must be returned to our borders. I want to thank all of you again, and to tell you that you are part of history. You are an inseparable and unforgettable part of what the Mossad did and does. Continue to work shoulder to shoulder with our partners at the IDF and ISA, and in this path we’ll continue to provide great messages to the people of Israel. Thank you to all of you and you are due all honor. Really! All honor.”

How will this gaslighting go down in America, with the great unwashed? Probably pretty well. The talking heads are yacking away, but the public has returned to its day to day concerns. But can Trump—presumably now aware that he was conned—”avoid being drawn further into this shit show?” The “obliteration” narrative was supposed to be foundation for “one and done” but Iran denies it, the leaked intel denies, and Israel also openly denies it. The stage seems set for Trump to either cave to Jewish Nationalist pressure for a full on war with Iran during this his fina term or to face down the people who put him in the Oval Office. Jeffrey Lewis explains why Trump can get away with his gaslighting

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis @ArmsControlWonk

As a policy matter, I think Trump officials are smart to lie about the destruction of Iran's nuclear program to avoid being drawn further into this shit show. As a professional with a reputation to uphold, I have to point out that these statements are untrue. It's a weird time.

Iran has been months away from the bomb for almost twenty years. Politics have always been more important than technical factors.

"Opacity" works not because officials are deceived but because the issue recedes in the public mind and, if it isn't a public concern, then it isn't a political problem for anyone involved. If Trump says the program is obliterated, his base will accept that.

The obvious question is, Will the war mongers allow Trump’s lying to hold? The “obliteration” narrative may work with the public for the time being, but we haven’t heard the end of this. Of course one shouldn’t underestimate Trump’s political skills, but the fact that he has been manipulated in this manner—or, worse, consciously went along—and is continuing to lie is not reassuring. Read what Ray McGovern said this morning in that light:

To the degree people believed anything that Trump said before, that's pretty much washed away by anybody who's been awake for the last couple of weeks. Now they're all afraid of Trump—my God, so am I! So are the Russians, and that's why the Russians are drawing a distinction between what's going on in Iran - Israel and what's going on in Ukraine and what's going on at a higher level in their continuing attempt to develop a good relationship with Trump. I've said this before, I'll say it again: I don't know exactly why, but they put supreme value on this.

What are the Russians afraid of? Think about it. Trump attacked one leg of the Russian nuclear triad. Then he attacked Iran, which can develop nukes any time it wants—thus giving Iran an extreme incentive to do exactly that. Trump—or those who pull his strings—are playing with fire. Step after step, Trump threat after Trump threat, heightens tensions. Knuckleheads may argue that that’s a good thing, to have the Russians—armed to the teeth with nukes and unstoppable missiles—afraid of Trump. Strategic ambiguity and all that jazz. That’s stupid. What the Russians fear is that Trump can be mousetrapped into a nuclear first strike against Russia or some other country that will require a Russian nuclear response—their fear is an existential fear. They don’t fear Trump’s strength. They fear his weakness and his susceptibility to manipulation by fanatics. In that situation, they have to be prepared to strike first. They don’t want to do that, and that’s why they place supreme importance on opening up lines of communication. Meanwhile, America sleeps.

In the same interview Judge Nap quoted Russian foreign minister Lavrov:

Recently Macron and German Chancellor Merz wrote a joint article titled:

“Europe must arm itself. Russia is the main threat. It is waging imperialist wars. In 2008 it invaded Georgia, in 2014 Crimea, and Donbas, and in 2022 the entire territory of Ukraine. Putin's goal is to undermine European security.”

I think that just these quotes alone are enough for anyone who has at least some understanding of what is happening in Europe and follows current events to realize that these figures have completely lost their sanity and are openly trying to return to those times when France and Germany wanted to conquer all of Europe, especially the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Especially, you know, the recent statement by Chancellor Merz is particularly unacceptable, where he said that Ukraine must be made strong and that Europe should not fall for Russian tricks like calls for negotiations, because otherwise Europe will be repeating the experience of the 1930s when the leading European powers decided to appease the aggressor in the form of Hitler's Germany. Right now I think this is a very serious issue, and without clarifying it with Europe further dialogue is pointless.

What happened to Trump the “peace candidate”? Russia is increasingly seeing itself under threat by an erratic, risk taking POTUS who is beholden to fanatical Jewish Nationalists. This is not a good thing. Russia understands that these people are vassals of the Anglo-Zionist Empire. Russia isn’t afraid of Europe, but they are afraid of Trump setting up the dynamics for a big power war somewhere in the world. Here’s pretty much the closing exchange between the Judge and McGovern. The Judge’s question mirrors my long held view on the big picture:

Do you agree with Alastair that the West has been engaged in the Long War to weaken BRICS, to subvert Iran, to isolate China, to neuter BRICS? Where's that war going these days?

Well, that's what is eventuating here. … I didn't expect the US [i.e., Trump] to be mousetrapped into joining Israel. I didn't expect Trump to make a fool of himself by claiming a total obliteration. So all these things evolved in such a way that, yeah, Iran being a key member of BRICS now, is going to have an effect on this whole thing. And if Putin had any doubts about turning East, well, there are few doubts now.