Hegseth Says the Goal in Iran Isn’t Nation Building, It’s a Peaceful Deal
Please note Hegseth Doesn’t Rule Out U.S. Troops on the Ground.
More Troops on the Way
The Wall Street Journal reports More U.S. Troops on Way to Back Iran Mission
Question of the day: Are we sure what the mission is?
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. was adding forces in the Middle East to support its operation in Iran, as the conflict widened across the region.
In a press conference with Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the goal isn’t nation-building, adding that Tehran wasn’t interested in engaging in efforts to make “a peaceful and sensible deal.”
Earlier, three U.S. jet fighters were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, while the U.S. and Israel continued to hit Iran. Tehran launched fresh attacks on Israel and other military and industrial targets in Gulf countries following the killing of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Hegseth Doesn’t Rule Out U.S. Troops on the Ground in Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there were no U.S. forces on the ground in Iran but didn’t rule out the possibility there could be in the future, saying he wouldn’t divulge what the U.S. may or may not do.
“President Trump ensures that our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests,” Hegseth told reporters during a news conference.
“But we’re not dumb about it. You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years.”
Hegseth Translated
We may be incredibly stupid about this. But it’s not really up to us.
We will do whatever Netanyahu asks.
More Lies of the Day
Trump was not and is not interested in a peaceful deal. Trump listed a set of unnegotiable demands that no nation would accept. Take-It-or-War it is not negotiation. It’s a set of demands.
Those demands were set by Israel. Trump embraced them.
Iran agreed to no nuclear weapons.
And Trump called “fake news” any reports that denied total destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
It was Trump, with cheerleading from Netanyahu, who did not want a deal.
And with Trump cheering for regime change, telling Iranians to revolt and the US would back them, what the hell is the true mission but regime change?
So now, Iran doesn’t want to negotiate. Why negotiate with a liar?
Iran Updates
- Four U.S. troops have been killed so far, with President Trump warning more casualties are likely.
- Iran’s security chief said Tehran “will not negotiate” with the U.S.
- More than 500 Iranians have been killed by U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to the Red Crescent. Lebanon said 31 people were killed by Israeli strikes, and several deaths were reported from Iranian attacks in the region, including Israel and the U.A.E.
- Qatar said it halted LNG production after intercepting two Iranian drones targeting a key energy facility.
- Oil and European natural-gas prices jumped, U.S. stocks dropped and gold futures rose over 2%, as Wall Street braced for the economic fallout.
- Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways and Dubai-based Emirates are restarting a handful of flights out of the U.A.E.
Strikes Damage Tehran’s Emergency Services Headquarters, Medical Facilities
Strikes damaged Tehran’s provincial emergency services headquarters and hit medical facilities overnight, Iranian state media said, as Iran’s capital entered its third day of war under mounting civilian strain. The emergency building on Iranshahr Street sustained “very serious damage,” according to the spokesperson for Tehran Emergency Services, who said adjacent structures were also struck. Several emergency personnel were injured, though most were reported to be in stable condition.
Iranian state-affiliated media outlets shared images that they said showed the aftermath of a strike on Gandhi Hospital in Tehran. The footage depicted medical staff transferring newborn infants from the facility, along with visible damage to the hospital building. State media also reported strikes in other Tehran neighborhoods, publishing photographs showing damage to residential buildings.
If blowing up hospitals is not peace seeking, what is it?
Stepping Back to Obama
Reader Jon accurately comments “Let’s never forget that the Obama administration created a treaty with Iran that ended their creation of bomb creating materials for 30 years. The international body responsible for ensuring compliance was given full access to their facilities and found the Iranians in full compliance. Let’s never forget that Iran has never attacked the United States outside of the Middle East, and only after the United States murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, Syrians, and Afghanis. Let’s never forget that the murders of these innocents, along with the murder of innocent Iranians has the full support of the death-thirsty evangelical Christian community.”
Correct.
I have discussed this many times, and that is an excellent summary by Jon.
The Obama Doctrine; An Astonishingly Good Deal? “Only Rand Paul Could Do Worse” Says Senator Graham
Flashback April 5, 2015: The Obama Doctrine; An Astonishingly Good Deal? “Only Rand Paul Could Do Worse” Says Senator Graham
An Astonishingly Good Deal
My position is the same as that of Vox writer Max Fisher who says This is an Astonishingly Good Iran Deal.
- Iran will give up about 14,000 of its 20,000 centrifuges
- Iran will give up all but its most rudimentary, outdated centrifuges: its first-generation IR-1s, knockoffs of 1970s European models, are all it gets to keep. It will not be allowed to build or develop newer models.
- Iran will give up 97 percent of its enriched uranium; it will hold on to only 300 kilograms of its 10,000-kilogram stockpile in its current form.
- Iran will destroy or export the core of its plutonium plant at Arak, and replace it with a new core that cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium. It will ship out all spent nuclear fuel.
- Inspectors will have access to all parts of Iran’s nuclear supply chain, including its uranium mines and the mills where it processes uranium ore. Inspectors will also not just monitor but be required to pre-approve all sales to Iran of nuclear-related equipment. This provision also applies to something called ‘dual-use’ materials, which means any equipment that could be used toward a nuclear program.
Deal Fact Sheet
The deal is even better than described above. Here is the Fact Sheet of the agreement.
Iran nearly walked out because the US would not agree to end all sanctions.
Only Rand Paul Could Do Worse Says Senator Graham
Bloomberg reports Only Rand Paul Could Do Worse Says Senator Graham.
“The best deal, I think, comes with a new president. Hillary Clinton would do better. I think everybody on our side, except maybe Rand Paul, could do better,” Graham said on CBS’ Face The Nation.
Obama’s Nuclear Deal With Iran
July 17, 2015: Obama’s Nuclear Deal With Iran: Rare Victory for Peace or Foolish Compromise?
Historic Deal
On Tuesday, President Obama, World Powers, and Iran agreed on a Historic Nuclear Pact phasing out economic sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Republicans Blast Deal
The Bustle reports Republicans Respond To The Iran Deal With Every Bit As Much Vitriol As You’d Expect — And Then Some.
Democrats Lukewarm
Not even the Democrats seemed pleased with the announcement. The Hill reports Dems Hold Judgment on Iran Deal.
Is Anyone Else Happy?
Yes, Me.
So is David Stockman, libertarians in general, and anyone, regardless of political party, who can think clearly.
I have not thought about it this way before, but if no one in Washington is happy, I probably am.
War Mongering Fools
It’s high time both parties party rid themselves of warmongering fools like Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, and Bob Menendez.
Rubio and Walker are particularly troubling. In the past I have praised Walker for taking on the public unions in Wisconsin, but I cannot support anyone with warmongering views as extreme as his.
They claim among other things “The US cannot trust Iran”.
If they had an ounce of common sense, they might ask the question: “Why the hell should Iran trust the US?”
Lesson for Hypocrites
US hypocrites have some nerve bitching we cannot trust Iran, when Iran has every right not to trust the US!
War in Iraq
In 2003 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz said “the war could be done on the cheap and that it would largely pay for itself.”
Here we are trillions of dollars later and counting. And ISIS is a direct result of that stupid war with Iraq.
Rare Victory for Peace
Due to political divisiveness, political leaders are never willing to say the other side did anything right.
That’s why I will never be a political leader. I bash Obama often enough, and for many things. But I equally bash the warmongers who have been wrong every which way, and virtually every time!
This was a rare victory for peace.
I am proud of the fact that I stood against the Vietnam War, I was against the War in Iraq, and I have been on the right side of the Iran debate from the beginning.
I echo Ronald Reagan’s former budget director David Stockman who says All Praise To Barack Obama For Stiffing The War Party—- Peace Is Finally Being Given A Chance.
Trump’s Top General Says Iran Honoring Nuke Deal
Flashback, September 26, 2017: ForeignPolicy reports Trump’s Top General Says Iran Honoring Nuke Deal
“The briefings I have received indicate that Iran is adhering to its JCPOA obligations,” Gen. Joseph Dunford wrote in answers to questions in advance of his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, using an acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday joined other members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet in confirming that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal that has put a temporary halt to its nuclear weapons program.
IAEA Says Iran Abiding by Nuclear Deal
April 19, 2019: IAEA Says Iran Abiding by Nuclear Deal
“Iran is implementing its nuclear commitments,” said Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency has had access to “all the sites and locations in Iran which it needed to visit.”
Iran Honoring the Deal?
- US State Department: Iran honoring the terms.
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Iran honoring the terms.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Iran honoring the terms.
- Arms Control Association: Iran honoring the terms.
- All US European allies: Iran honoring the terms.
- Every other signee of the accord: Iran honoring the terms.
Had Trump made the same deal with Iran, most of his supporters would have cheered it. But Trump always thinks he can negotiate a better deal.
Now We Have War
Q: Why?
A: Because Trump scrapped a deal that even Trump’s top general said Iran was honoring.
Q: Why did Trump scrap the deal?
A: He said he could make a better deal.
Q: What was the result?
A: After scrapping the Obama deal, Iran restarted enrichment.
Q: Then what?
A: War silly. It’s where we are now.
Q: Will it take troops on the ground?
A: Hegseth says it might.
Q: But what’s the mission?
A: No one even seems to know.
Q: Isn’t this inflationary?
A: Yes.
Q: What will this cost?
A: Hegseth says “But we’re not dumb about it. You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years.”
I guess anything less than 200,000 people for 20 years will be a success. No matter what it costs.
According to Plan
This all went according to plan. How to Start an Unnecessary War in Three Easy Steps, 12 Important Corollaries
Meanwhile, what is the mission?
Allegedly it’s peace. Trump Says “War Will Continue as Long as Necessary” to Achieve Peace
Can I say I told you so?