And it was a piece of cake to get to this point. All we had to do was cancel the nuclear agreement, and then send in our navy! MAGA!
While it is of course necessary to determine who exactly did the attack, especially before lives are risked, let’s not kid ourselves that a 9/11 Truther-type thermite inside job conspiracy is plausible.
It seems unlikely, certainly. That said, it’s not like Iran is the only party in the region who would like to blow a few holes in US warships.
Well, now I question whether you’re following the news. US warships were not involved.
You trust Saudi Arabia that much to rule them out completely?
He didn’t say anything about a conspiracy theory. He said it could be a false flag. These have occurred several times. There is no reason to associate them with a conspiracy theory.
Even in Iran attacked the Saudis, it would be foolish for the US to continue its provocations against Iran and its nuclear-armed allies.
Well, I’m sure this is reassuring: Trump says US not ramping up for military conflict with Iran
This isn’t about trust. It’s about tin-foil hats that some people want to wear when the topic of war comes up.
I suggest you write to news outlets, like the BBC, and ask them to remove the inverted commas around the word “sabotaged” and other words and phrases.
It is more so about embarrassing credulity amongst the public that has led to real consequences for the victims of the US military.
They use a ton of odd quotes in that article. I’m not fixated on one use more than any other. if you want to be the punctuation-marm, have a “blast.”
Wikipedia provides several examples of false flag operations used as pretexts to start wars, so it really is a thing.
Saudi Arabia’s bin Salman would love to go to war with Iran with the active participation of the United States, and possibly Israel. Bin Salman has already shown boldness and recklessness in his foreign adventures, such as the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and the kidnapping and forced resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister. These Saudi actions were so outrageous and brazen that they were described in commentary as “dumb” and “crazy”.
So I have an open mind about who perpetrated whatever happened, until presented with some evidence one way or the other. I would be inclined to put the Iranians as the prime suspects, at this early stage, but would not rule out any of the principal regional actors who have vested interests in provoking conflict.
You, however, are proposing a closed-mind analysis, ruling out one possibility for reasons you have not yet outlined, before even seeing any evidence. Why do you rule out the possibility that this could be a false flag operation?
I said the cause should be investigated. I’m not in favor of throwing out conspiracy theories in the absence of facts, as you have done.
The Iranians have been accused of sabotaging the ships, and they have denied it and called for an independent investigation, while hinting that “a third country” could be to blame. How can that be a conspiracy theory to present their version of events?
My post raising the possibility of a false flag operation was in response to a post reporting of news that a U.S. team had concluded that “Iran or Iranian-backed proxies used explosives to blow holes in four ships.” Surely both sides in a conflict situation should be heard, and one side’s argument should not be ignored?
Each side should then present the evidence of their claims for us to pass judgement on.
Oh, well if Iran denied it, then we’ve got a stone cold whodunnit on our hands.
Maybe Trump can make a call to Rouhani and then tell the media that Rouhani swears it wasn’t him.
US sanctions affect more than US trade. The US is threatening to go after any company and country that is continuing business with Iran, refusing to extend waivers to countries that have, up unto now, continued buying Iranian oil, with the declared intent to “shut down Iranian oil exports completely”.
The EU is trying countermeasures to this, but US sanctions are still continuing to severely reduce the activity of EU companies in Iran, so the situation is already fast moving towards a state where the deal might as well be completely dead as far as the Iranians are concerned.
Sure, Marco. <slap> I ain’t looking’ for a fight here, Marco. <slap> It’s up to you if this is a fight or not. <slap> Entirely up to you. <slap>
What do you think Senator Rubio is doing that is the geopolitical equivalent of slapping Iran in the face?
“They made me do it!”
Party of personal responsibility, my ass.