The reason is simple: Iran's military allies include Russia, China, Iraq, and Syria. If Trump attacks Iran, he will destroy any cooperation with these nations and risk a war involving 2 other nuclear powers. This is the reason, in a previous article, I called the peace initiative with Russia "fake." That was further confirmed when Trump challenged Putin to a nuclear arms race. But the main reason the peace overture is fake is that Trump clearly stated his desire to confront Iran and was looking for a justification to act.
Now he thinks he has found it. But not before he rearranged the National Security Council in an unprecedented way.
Atlantic.com reports: " For the first time in history, a president's chief political strategist will be invited to attend any meeting of the National Security Council and will be a regular member of the highly-influential Principals Committee (PC). To place a purely political operative on the NSC--alongside actual Cabinet members with national-security responsibilities or expertise--is an unprecedented move with profound implications for how national-security policies are developed and executed. To be clear, that concern is not confined to Steve Bannon. This would be the case no matter who it was."
Goldman-Sachs alumni and leader of the white nationalist movement, Bannon is now on the National Security Council. Here is the thinking of Trump's strategist and voice in the NSC: --We're going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years," he said in March 2016. "There's no doubt about that." (guardian.com)
And: --You have an expansionist Islam and you have an expansionist China. Right? They are motivated. They're arrogant. They're on the march. And they think the Judeo-Christian west is on the retreat," Bannon said during a February 2016 radio show.
Personnel is policy: Trump is hell-bent on war, and as he said, "
There will be hell to pay."
The Atlantic article continues: "Some of the most sensitive and sacrosanct decisions by the president are made in meetings of the National Security Council. One only has to ask: What precise expertise does Bannon, or any chief strategist, have to contribute to those meetings, if not to ensure that policy is shaped by political implications or considerations? It may be likely that Trump would consult Steve Bannon regardless, but giving him a formal seat at the NSC sends a chilling message to men and women in uniform, to diplomats and intelligence professionals--that Bannon's political advice matters as much as theirs.
" The director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff no longer get automatic seats at the adults' table--also known as the Principals Committee. Below the NSC, the Principals Committee is the most senior interagency body of the national security process. It's the last stop before taking a major national-security decision to the president. It's chaired by the national security adviser, and usually contains at least the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and until recently, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of national intelligence. "
This move was made to consolidate Trump's power over foreign affairs, and as predicted, the first major move is today's denunciation of Iran for "breaking the deal" by testing a ballistic missile.
Was the test a violation of the treaty? National Security Advisor Flynn, who has called Islam as a whole as a cancer, said the tests violated the UN resolution banning Iran from testing missiles "designed to carry nuclear warheads." Of course, Iran has no nuclear warheads and the US has little information about the design of the missiles.
The NYTimes reports: "The Iranian missile traveled about 600 miles, but its re-entry vehicle reportedly exploded before the flight was complete. It is unclear whether that was accidental or a deliberate detonation.
Israel's United Nations ambassador, Danny Danon, accused Iran of violating a Security Council resolution passed in 2015, shortly after the nuclear accord was reached in Vienna. "
But since Iran, in compliance with the Nuclear Deal, got rid of its plutonium plant, most of its centrifuges, and 97% of its 20% grade uranium (weapons grade is 90%), the question of whether its missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads seems moot since they don't have any or the means to build any.
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