Specifically, why would the American government want to see Syria destabilized and fragmented? Is it because Syria constitutes a real threat to the national security of the United States? That proposition is almost laughable. Is it because Iran, an ally of Syria, constitutes a real threat to the United States? In no practical terms is this the case, though it is certainly the case that the U.S. constitutes a real threat to the national security of Iran.
So, why the hostility to Syria, Iran and even Hezbollah? Whom were all those March petitioners trying to impress? And who would really benefit from continuing turmoil in Syria? The answer to all these questions is Israel.
The unfortunate truth is that American leaders from President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and National Security Adviser John Bolton on down to most run-of-the-mill congresspersons and senators have no clear and accurate knowledge of what is going on in the Middle East. They have a large and expensive intelligence apparatus with whom they get irritated and angry every time their experts tell these politicos what they don't want to hear. And what is it that they do want to hear? Well, that might depend on ideology, religion, financial arrangements and other such things that can warp an objective picture of national interest and security. And who manages to tell them things that seem to satisfy most of these ideological, religious, and financial considerations? The answer is again Israel.
Putting aside all the real damage the Zionists actually do -- I really don't want to sound like a broken record -- there is a an outstanding irony in this present situation. And that is, from all we know, President Trump does not want war with Iran. It's just that his abrasive and blusterous personality, which seems never to have outgrown the spoiled bullying nature of his youth, has literally led him to the habit of a blitzkrieg approach to whatever passes in his mind for negotiations. In the case of Iran, he has unthinkingly destroyed the painstakingly wrought nuclear deal of his predecessor (perhaps for no other reason than he hates everything Barack Obama accomplished), and is now trying to force the Iranians into new negotiations by economically and militarily threatening them. This is a form of brinkmanship which is dangerous in the extreme.
Congress suddenly woke up to the reality of this situation -- that is, many in Congress have gone from petitioners trying to be tough guys, to understanding just how dangerous Trump's tactics can be. The result is the bipartisan amendments embedded in the House version of the Defense Appropriations Bill designed to rein in the delinquent in the White House.
Part IV -- Conclusion
Compared to Barack Obama, who certainly had his own problems, the United States has gone from hopeful purgatory to a Trump inspired reactionary version of hell. This is particularly the case when it comes to domestic affairs. This writer is a child of the 1960s. A staunch supporter, and indeed, a participant in the Civil Rights Movement that did away with segregation and unequal treatment between races within the public sphere. It was a major advance for America's claim to be a civilized nation. Unfortunately that same movement did not have the power to reform the country's private sphere, nor did it do nearly enough to thoroughly desegregate neighborhoods so that, in this case, Blacks and Whites would be brought together as Americans -- one people. As a consequence White resentment over the loss of public cultural privilege has festered in the largely unchanged, segregated private sphere. It has done so in rural regions and white suburbs alike. Now with Donald Trump, who is little more that an opportunistic demigod, that resentment has been empowered and our status as a civilized society is in danger.
In the realm of foreign policy the United States has much less to lose, for here. national behavior has always been uncivilized. The names of presidents who have lied so as to manufacture wars, steal other people's lands, and rein havoc and devastation upon innocent people, rank among many of our most easily recognized leaders.
Yet, for all the horrors our foreign adventures have wrought, the real present danger is that we will turn on ourselves and destroy our precarious democracy. Under these circumstances, the Democrats, for all their shortcomings, represent not only the party of choice, but the potential salvation of the United States. All they have to do is recognize this fact and, taking a cue from the progressive "squad" in the House, act accordingly.
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