Op-ed:
Beyond 'Red Lines'...Pressure, Retaliation, and
Military Threats
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor
/ Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio
Oh how the Democrats and some on our side must be in meltdown mode
for try as they may to discredit and make President Trump look weak
after his
“misspeak” at the Helsinki Summit, it now seems
his job approval rating is even higher than before the summit hitting the 45% mark.
Therapy puppies and bottles of bubbles now must be in short
supply...what's a poor little snowflake to do.
What these folks just don't get is that Donald Trump is his own
man when it comes to the world of politics...he does and says things
his way with the tried, true, and ever failing Washington brand of politic-speech be damned. Smart man President Trump is for he gets
what matters most to the majority of Americans...the economy and
jobs...while his naysayers are left wallowing in misspoken words and
deceiving appearances alone.
And contrary to media reports know that the majority of Republican
voters as opposed to Republican politicians approve of President
Trump's tweets and look forward to them...after all we don't get the
truth from the media so isn't it better to get it straight from the
president's mouth or should I say fingers. I surely think so for
maybe if the media reported the news instead of manufacturing or
twisting the news to fit their political agendas, President Trump
could give his tweeting fingers a bit of a rest.
But until that time know Trump's tweets are our go-to news and
that
those within the Republican
Party who tell him to stop are usually those on their way out of
political office. Selective outrage is their game for they see in his
tweets weakness, but in truth those tweets are indeed a show of
strength.
Such is the case with a tweet
President Trump released last Sunday hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to an audience of
Iranian-Americans where he compared Iran's corrupt
leadership...leadership garnered at the expense of its citizens’
welfare...to the mafia while also declaring U.S. support for the
protesters opposed to the current mullah driven regime.
Saying,“The
United States hears you. The United States supports you. The United
States is with you,”
in both Persian and English, was a response to Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani's earlier issued blanket warning that Trump's “hostile
policies” could lead
to the “mother of all
wars” and
that the U.S. shouldn’t
“play with the lion’s tail – it will bring regret.” in
regards to “the
safety of the nation's [Iran's] waterways.”
“To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER,
EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES
THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.
WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF
VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!” —
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
So said President Trump's all cap tweet in response to Rouhani's
threatening words and to his earlier threat of the possible
disruption of regional oil shipments if their exports were blocked by
sanctions.
Thankfully our president does not respond well to threats
and on August 4th will reimpose part one of the very sanctions that
Obama had lifted with the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal...the deal
that merely delayed Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons without
ending their actual pursuit of them. And part two of the sanctions
will go into effect on November 4th specifically targeting Iran's oil
industry and central bank by also punishing countries and companies that
do business with the rogue nation.
And these sanctions will hurt, and rightfully so, the very country
whose economy and currency are failing what with major amounts of
capital currently being taken out of the country for
"safe keeping" if you will. In fact, Iran
started feeling the
“Trump effect" the day after Trump's
tweet as the rial, the Iranian national currency, went into a
tailspin when trading opened on the international stock exchanges. So
while the mullahs might think they are outsmarting Donald Trump with
their removing capital, know they are not for these reimposed sanctions will see
no exemptions being made not even for U.S. allies in Europe who
currently trade with Iran. This has led the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani, to warn the U.S. that reimposing sanctions could provoke
Iran into closing the Strait of Hormuz, thus cutting off European
access to Middle East energy supplies, including the 20% of liquid
natural gas the U.K. gets from Qatar.
But hopefully our allies will see that having access to our
financial system as well as having access to our ever-expanding consumer market is
way more important and profitable than any deal they have with
Iran.
So what was Iran's response to President Trump's tweet, Mike Pompao's words,
and their knowing well that even more crippling sanctions are soon to
be reimposed
?
“America should know that peace with Iran is the
mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,”
so said Rouhani, the very man
Iranian moderates once thought to be a
“pragmatic leader;”
IRNA, Iran's state-controlled news agency, dismissed the tweet as
“bullying words and the rhetoric he [Trump] uses especially in his
early-morning tweet;” and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei issued a statement saying he supported Rouhani’s
suggestion of war, thus signaling that Iran’s leadership saw Trump's
words as a threat even while stopping short of suggesting that imminent war was on the horizon.
In fact, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tried to
match Trump tweet for tweet even with his including some caps when he
tweeted out this message,
"COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world
heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard
them--albeit more civilized ones--for 40 yrs. We've been around for
millennia & seen fall of empires, including our own, which lasted
more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!" And
Gholam Hossein Gheybparvar, commander of the Basij, Iran's
Revolutionary Guards Corps’ volunteer militia, dismissed Trump’s
threats as “psychological warfare” against
Iran, but said that President Trump “wouldn’t dare make
the mistake of taking action against Iran.”
How President Trump is so not shaking
in his boots at the Iranian's words...while the Democrats...who
sarcastically refer to his tweeting as “tweet diplomacy”...are
utterly aghast at his boldness. In fact, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne
Shaheen, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, whined that,
"Sadly, after pulling us out of the nuclear deal with Europe
and Iran, there doesn't seem to be strategy for how to move forward
to fight Iran's activities," while Virginia Senator and
former presidential candidate Tim Kaine said that Trump's actions
were but "another warning sign that Trump is blundering
toward war with Iran." And Kane's words led powerhouse White
House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to shoot back with, "If
anybody's inciting anything, look no further than to Iran,"
and added that President Trump has been "very clear about what he's
not going to allow to take place."
But even with all the current rhetoric being spewed about it's
important to remember that the U.S. and Iran's
"war of words" did not
start with Rouhani or the current regime, but started with the fall
of the Shah and the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and is only now coming to
a head after earlier this year Trump announced that he would be
withdrawing the U.S. from Obama's very bad nuclear deal; included
Iran in his controversial temporary travel ban; and moved our U.S.
embassy to Jerusalem.
So what was President Trump's goal when he relit an already
smoldering situation? Using what some say is
“extreme language”
this tweet
"war of words" was simply started to force Iran into
talks...after all it worked with North Korea's Kim Jong-un so why not
with Iran. And in wanting to force Iran to change its
“military
posture” in the Middle East, at the same time Trump's tweets
show solid support for those brave sorts taking to the streets to
protest the mullahs and their out of control regime...something
Obama never did what with the mullahs being his blood brethren and all.
And while this ever-heightening rhetoric has raised the fears of
some that military conflict between our two nations might be close at
hand, others still feel that diplomacy has a chance to temper the
situation down, never mind that there are few official diplomatic
channels to work through. And while Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani's chief of
staff, claims that Iran had rejected eight requests from the Trump team
to meet during the U.N. General Assembly last year, there has been no
verification from our side to corroborate this.
But even if this is true, it seems that Iran truly does not understand
the fact that they simply cannot afford to go to war with the U.S. as
they are surely now stretched to the breaking point both militarily and
monetarily do to their presence in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon,
let alone through their financing of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthi
rebels, and other assorted terrorist groups.
Being the world's leading sponsor of terrorism does tend to bleed
ones war chest dry.
So where do we stand now in this escalating
"war of words"? First,
President Trump and his administration have made no secret of their
well-deserved animosity towards Iran with National Security Advisor
John Bolton, a rightful Iranian
“hawk” in his own right,
backing up Trump's tweet by saying to reporters that,
“I spoke to
the president over the last several days, and President Trump told me
that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a
price few countries have ever paid.”
And I'll add to that as they should be.
Second, while Foaz Izadi, an Iranian commentator close to the
regime, told British reporters that,
“This [Trump's tweets] is
designed to address his base in the U.S. You need to remember that he
is facing elections in November, and if Democrats gain power in the
U.S. Congress, they will impeach him,” know that nothing could
be farther from the truth because with our economy growing by leaps
and bounds and with jobs plentiful for all who want them...which I
previously stated is paramount in concern for most American
voters... Izadi's words become but an empty bloviation that will never
see fruition.
And lastly as to where we and Iran stand now...logic dictates that
with Iran's war chest dwindling as protests continue at home and that even
if we took the remote possibility of invasion off the table...it
seems the only thing Iran can do in regards to any sort of viable retaliation
is to make things
“difficult” for the U.S. in the region.
Remember, Iran has both a political and cultural influence in Iraq,
Iran continues to support al-Assad in Syria, and has the potential to
stir-up instability in Afghanistan as they share a common border. But
even with all this I doubt that Iran would be foolish enough to risk
all-out war with the U.S. for with the U.S. would come Israel, and
together the
“Great Satan” and the
“Little Satan”
would, if need be, wipe the Iranian regime off the map.
So to President Trump I say
“tweet away” for Iran's
threats are but cheap theatrics they hope will play well in the court
of public opinion. But opinions are not facts for even the most
radical amongst them know well that a war with the U.S. will surely
not be in Iran's best interest...
”tweet diplomacy” not
withstanding.
Copyright @ 2018 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest
article A Steaming Vat of Liberal Hypocrisy.
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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
Today, Friday, July 27th from 7 to 9pm EST on
American Political
Radio,
RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Beyond Red Lines...Pressure, Retaliation, and Military Threats'; 'A Steaming Vat of Liberal Hypocrisy'; and
important news of the day.
Hope you can tune in at:
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