Why are we the only ones “seeing the threat?”
Why are we the ones “sending the troops?”
Troops to do what? Invade? Provoke?
Trump is doing this for Israel. If they want it so bad, let THEM fight a war. We have little to no real dogs in this fight... only if we insert them.
It’s time we treated Iran like what they are: half a world away and not a real threat! If they bother us so much, get a treaty or something like that - and get more than one major nation to sign it.
Oh, wait... We did that. It worked.
Then Trump broke it!
10
Problem here is twofold. 1) Iran and Al Qaeda are enemies.. Sunnit v Shiite. An alliance would be hard to understand. 2) This administration [and that includes Bolton and Pompeo] have absolutely no credibility. I don't believe a word they say.
9
would President Trump circumvent the War Powers Act in order to attack Iran over ginned up evidence as a campaign strategy? would he sacrifice lives to keep basking in the Presidency so as to avoid prosecution? does he act guilty? does he issue orders compelling others to protect him, even by illegal means? does he make the most serious false allegations against his perceived political enemies? would he stop at nothing to protect himself from the consequences of his own deeds? does a majority of his Cabinet see he is seriously unabke to meet his responsibilities and places himself above the nation? 25 45 now!
2
What is it about this administration that seems to be seeking any opportunity to do the bidding of Saudi Arabia and maybe do a favor for Israel. Attack Iran.
Whose interests are being served?
And where are the Saudi troops and the sons fo the Saudi Princess' ready to hurl themselves into battle for MSB and the Sunni faith?
And will the United States fight this war with a credit card? And later cut benefits in America? The safety net?
To keep those horrible Tax Cuts for the very rich?
Will my post be printed?
4
I always thought it was very wrong and very damaging of Reagan and Gingrich to tell us we couldn't trust our government (except Republicans, of course) but, now, my first thought is to disbelieve anything this administration says.
2
I'm afraid the American public is still none the wiser, and will simply hear "Al Qaeda" and "Iran" in the same sentence and start festooning the country with flags again, just like after 9/11.
After all, what is America without war? It gives us purpose, identity, and most of all, a common enemy. And it's still the best way for an incumbent president to get re-elected
If true, this is at least mildly alarming. But more alarming still is the certain knowledge that Saudia Arabia has far stronger ties to the terrorist organization. That, along with the Khashoggi murder, should be the chief focus of concern. Saudi Arabia is no true ally to our nation, no matter what Trump, both Bushes, and others claim.
9
we need to follow the people of Hong Kong. millions need to march on Washington, DC. storm the Bastille. this insanity must stop. Trump truly wants to be like President Xi. a forever despot. so far, he's winning and most Americans just don't believe it.
3
Congress is right to be skeptical. Al-Qaeda is a Sunni organization that has long opposed and fought followers of Shi'a Muslims (which are found in Iran). It seems more likely that IF Al-Qaeda is involved, they are trying to get the US to move against the enemy (Iran) rather than work for Iran. How many AlQaeda members speak fluent Farsi?
7
Funny how the majority of 9/11 attackers came out of Saudi Arabia, but we invaded Iraq and never held the Saudis accountable. Now, Trump is selling arms to and cozying up to the Saudis, but claiming that the Shiite Iran is in cahoots with the Sunnis of Al Qaeda, the kind of match-up not very likely in the Muslim world.
11
I can see it now.
Declare war based on professed Al Qaeda involvement with Iran
Declare national emergency because of war
"Postpone" elections
4
Iran is fighting Al Qaeda in Syria and is killing these terrorists by the dozen.
Of course there are ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, the tie is the straight line of an Iranian bullet that kills these terrorists.
When the US makes accusation like the one we see from Pompeo now, it is time to put the harshest sanctions onto the US and treat them US like North Korea.
What we see here is the US looking for a reason to go to war against a country that has done nothing wrong.
Not only when compared to the murderous and terrorist behaviour of US allies like Saudi Arabia in the region.
Iran has stuck to the JCPOA as agreed on, it was the US that tried to change the rules and committed fraud against the agreement.
What the US is doing here is to do the dirty work of MbS and his allies in the GCC to overthrow Iran.
At the same time the US are waging an economic war against the rest of the world.
It really is time to stop the US before they will - again - start yet another illegal war and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians just because they have a president who needs to be re elected.
If there is a definition of madness, it is US foreign politics.
And that is not just true for this administration.
10
So much for "lessons learned." "Evidence" was concoted to provide a rationale for Bush II's invasion of Iraq. This current administration's bellicosity is just more of the same. Our administrations need to rely more on the diplomatic element of national power, over and above the military. We have already done enough damage in the Middle East; find a better way to bring order to that part of the world instead of aiming to tear it even more apart.
1
If Trump goes to war with Iran, US military runs the risk of losing public support and its credibility as a force for good. Also, if the current Iranian government is toppled by American force, there is no guarantee that stability will ever return to Iran OR Trump/Israel/MBS will like the outcome as the world witnessed with Iraq, Libya and Egypt. Plus, how prepaired the US is to accept the flood of refugees streaming from a population of 80 million? And how are they going to rebuild Iran itself? Iranian people are suspicious of outsiders to the core because of US led Mosadegh fiasco and British and Russians trampling on Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Trump/Pompeo/Bolton understand that Americans do not want to pay with their blood and treasure for another trillion $ war that is morally wrong from the start and totally unjustified. Lesson has been learned from Iraq fiasco.
3
The Iraq war was a fiasco with uncountable consequences (Isis being one of them).
A war with Iran would much worse.
Bring back the Iran deal. It's the only way for peace.
4
The ties to al Qaeda are Western ties, against Iran. Iran has been fighting al Qaeda. The multi-fractured Western side has parts that support al Qaeda, hiding behind the idea that the factions they support are merely aligned with al Qaeda. It is Saudi Arabia that originated al Qaeda, not Iran. Remember 9/11? That was Saudis, and not one Iranian. Turkey has latched on to at least some parts of al Qaeda, because it is a rival of the Kurds, and "an enemy of my enemy is my friend." Israel has denied supporting al Qaeda in Syria, but many reports say it does. That is not at all Iran, it is the very opposite. Why? Because it fights Hezbollah, and see the Turkish reasoning.
9
the very affirmative nature of the title isn't good.
2
There is no doubt that the Trump Administration would use any interpretation of Presidential power to make war Full stop and period. And this administration has made war more likely. -Rudy
1
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
--9 terrifying things Donald Trump has publicly said about nuclear weapons... And now he has the codes.
https://thinkprogress.org/9-terrifying-things-donald-trump-has-publicly-said-about-nuclear-weapons-99f6290bc32a/
--Nuclear weapons: experts alarmed by new Pentagon 'war-fighting' doctrine
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nuclear-weapons-experts-alarmed-by-new-pentagon-war-fighting-doctrine/ar-AAD7NX4?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout
--The Pentagon believes using nuclear weapons could “create conditions for decisive results and the restoration of strategic stability”, according to a new nuclear doctrine adopted by the US joint chiefs of staff last week…
--Alexandra Bell, a former state department arms control official said: “This seems to be another instance of this administration being both tone-deaf and disorganized.”…
--The doctrine has been published in the wake of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from two nuclear agreements: the 2015 joint comprehensive program of action with Iran, and the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia. The administration is also skeptical about a third: the New Start accord that limits US and Russian forces strategic nuclear weapons and delivery systems, which is due to expire in 2021.
Meanwhile, the US and Russia are engaged in multi-billion-dollar nuclear weapon modernization programs.
4
Fake news.
donnie has ties longer than the ties between Al Qaeda and Iran.
4
Only his base would be stupid enough to believe that lie
6
Let all his red hat supporters go and fight overseas to defend his theories.
9
For the "There oughta be a law category":
No US troops can be sent to invade a country most of our citizens can't find on a map.
6
Anyone says this has no clue about the Middle East and Islam.
Al Qaddafi are Salafist Sunni who think Shia Iran are heretics.
It is a bit like the IRA supporting the British!
6
@Kevin Niall then why does Iran back Hamas?
There’s certainly a great deal of Iranian support for Hamas," including funding which Hamas may use to buy rockets and other materials through underground channels.
Also the houthi rebel Iranian proxy militia is about 30% Sunni
"Illuminator", If you want to talk about Hamas, and those Gulf states that supported its fighting and provision of aid vis a vis the Palestinians and Israel (this hot issue pulling in funding from assorted sources including prominently nations you conveniently omit) , really, here's a bit about it: "About half of Hamas's funding came from states in the Persian Gulf down to the mid 2000s. Saudi Arabia supplied half of the Hamas budget of $50 million in the early 2000s,[116] but, under U.S. pressure, began to cut its funding.After 2006 Iran's willingness to take over the burden of the shortfall created by the drying up of Saudi funding also reflected the geopolitical tensions between the two. After 2009, sanctions on Iran made funding difficult, forcing Hamas to rely on religious donations by individuals in the West Bank, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia."
This situation does not any more condemn Iran than Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi's extensive roles in Hamas and Al Qaeda, and in worldwide madrassas teaching terror make them stand out. Not to mention their prominent son Bin Laden, who attacked us, where Iran never has.
8
So we are now being told the Shiites and their mortal enemies the Sunnis are in cahoots to terrorize the United States? Do these stupid war mongers believe we are that stupid?
I guess some people will say anything for a little war profiteering.
Vote Democrat in 2020.
8
@kirk Hamas is a Sunni militia in Palestine.
Hamas is a militant and political organization currently in power in the Gaza Strip. According to Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, "Hamas is funded by Iran. It claims it is financed by donations, but the donations are nothing like what it receives from Iran.
This assertion by our corrupt and habitually lying government is absurd and terrifying. Absurd if there is any understanding of Sunni/Shiite relations. Terrifying that chickenhawks in this joke/nightmare administration would use this as an excuse for war. Have we learned nothing after being lied to in 2001?
As a reminder: after serving in the National Guard for four years, Bolton served in the United States Army Reserve until the end of his enlistment two years later. He wrote in his Yale 25th reunion book: "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."
Trump and his bone spurs should be ashamed.
8
So the same old war thugs of our government are trying to pull another fast one. Trump is not fit for duty and we all know this. The half wits who follow him will never see the truth. These dangerous people need to go ASAP. Our allies and the American people will never support another brutal war. We are Damned as long as this sociopathic, cruel, lying, charleton stays in office. Traitorous jerks.
6
Are the deplorables ready to watch their children fight and die for damaged oil tankers and the prestige of the former host of the Apprentice? I think so. Wine moms and Nascar dads secretly coveting a blue star (up to five) to display on the window next to the front door? Perhaps. Red-Hatted maga trolls between the ages of 18-24 ready to feel the rush of legitimacy that comes with a uniform and the means to legally kill the Other? More than likely. Appealing to a sense of humanity, historical context, theological doctrine or plurality among the third of this country willing to make such a sacrifice is at best naivete and at worst self aggrandizement at the expense of the deliberately misled. In the immediate aftermath of the Kent State massacre it was seen as an event that had good people on both sides. (Heard that one lately?) This country only came to realize the immensity of our mistake in Vietnam as the death toll mounted and the duplicity of our leaders (on both sides of the aisle) became impossible to ignore. To suggest that the folks at that rally last night are willing to listen to an oppositional dialogue suggesting their viewpoint has been manipulated by a cretinous real estate huckster is an exercise in ruinous solipsism. These folks are real and their minds will not be changed until they are psychically and bodily maimed by the voice telling them what they've always wanted to hear. Buckle up butter cup, the next 502 days are going to do our collective heads in.
8
I think this news is really scary.
2
I was a pot smoker when I was younger. There are more than 16,000 days in 45 years and I must've smoked on every one of them. I got caught once. It's legal where I live now, but I don't smoke anymore.
What's that got to do with Iran? Just because Mueller couldn't prove collusion doesn't there wasn't any. It almost certainly just means they hid it well enough to avoid getting caught. Don't forget, Putin had a long career as KGB operative and is well schooled in the art of deception.
Iran is a major ally of Russia in the Middle East. Putin would no more allow Trump to invade Iran than the US would allow Russia to invade Israel. But there are people in the Trump administration, like Bolton and Pompeo, determined to go down that road ignoring the fact they'd also be going to war with Russia. At least in the background.
I wouldn't put it past Bolton and Pompeo to try to fabricate an excuse to make it happen. Congress should treat Trump admin reports of Iranian threats with skepticism. Just like Americans should not be naive enough to believe Trump when he says no collusion.
5
@JimmySerious: What has pot smoking to do with any of this?
2
Next thing you know, Iran will be trying to purchase significant amounts of yellowcake uranium from Africa.
7
Al Queda is Sunni. Iran is Shiite. Need I write more?
7
@Steve Bolger, if you want the president of the United States to understand you, yes. Large print, pictures, and a Diet Coke will be required. As well as no contradictions with his guts or previous delusions. And no coughing, of course.
9
@Steve Bolger
Actually Hamas is Sunni and backed by Iran also the houthi rebels are made up of about 30% Sunni
The republicans will manufacture any scenario that seems to suit their purposes at the moment. It may change the next day and change again the day after that. It has very little to do with what we call facts. Facts and truth have no meaning to this administration, except when they seem to support their own designs. Believing them is usually a ridiculous thing to do. Quite useless, and sometimes dangerous. Remember that for them, the end justifies the means. Period. Anything goes as long as it gets you where you want to go. Sad, but this is where we are at the moment.
4
I dont believe the administration. Shiite and Sunni muslims don't get along well. More lies to make the case for war prior to the 2020 election.
5
Congress should quickly claw back emergency and other broad, discretionary powers given the President -on war powers, immigration, spending, and other matters.
The powers provide flexibility needed in normal times, but require a President capable of sound, objective judgments. Trump has proven not only to make decisions based on emotion rather than reason, but also has a very warped sense of reality about conditions and events.
4
Of course the uninformed American public will believe this. Especially the president’s base, which would not understand the nuances of Mid East politics.
For instance, Al-Qaeda is a Sunni organization which has the destruction of Shiites as one of its goals. And Iran, of course is Shia dominated just as Iraq is. Remember the link between Iraq and Al Qaeda that was drawn up by Condi Rice?? Never existed as it turned out?
This is truly Fake News Mr. President.
8
Given Trump's distrust of and disdain for the US intelligence community, you must wonder where he's getting his intel. He's been on the phone again to Putin perhaps?
3
Sunnis and Shias are competing for dominance in the Islamic world -- the Saudis supporting militant Sunni groups and Iran funding Shia forces. Al Qaeda is a Sunni group; its founder Osama bin Laden was a Saudi Sunni related to the ruling clan.
Since Iran and Saudi Arabia are mortal enemies, it seems a bit improbable that Iran is working with a Sunni group such as Al Qaeda that has strong Saudi ties. Even some Republican members of Congress should be able to figure this one out. The assertion of a Iranian tie to Al Qaeda is such palpable nonsense that making it only serves to underscore the unreliability and desperation of the administration's entire warmongering charade.
7
The same lies that got us into the disastrous Iraqi war. This administration could cost us a half million lives over the next six months.
6
Iran is now with Al Qaeda.
This was the same baloney that Bolton and Dick Cheney, our then Vice President, used in tying Sadam Hussein with Osama Ben Laden, in successfully getting the US to invade Iraq with the killing of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
Our Republican Lying Warmongers sure know how to play "The Oldies but Goodies".
8
Peter, you know that those tag team matchups in the WWF aren't real, don't you?
1
The tanker mining couldn’t get any support for War: now a fabricated story linking Iran with Al Queda is being created by the Trump Administration to justify military action - Ridiculous! Hello WMD. Hello Gulf of Tonkin. This is criminal!
5
Sounds like a new iteration of the old Nigerian yellow cake sales to Iraq, methinks.
2
That makes NO sense. Al Qaida is SUNNI, backed by Saudi --which hates Iran. Iran is SHIITE.
The morons in the Trump administration are pretending that they would work together when they kill each other every chance they get?
Wow...another clear lie if you know facts about the Mideast tribal mentality. Trump just gave Saudi Arabia, who financed 911, NUCLEAR technology. Now THAT is nuts!
5
United States also has ties with terrorists, actually with several terrorists groups. I guess there are good terrorists and bad terrorists. Has United Nations defined who are good terrorists and who are bad terrorists? Does Iran has ties with bad terrorists as defined by U.N.? This needs to be resolved in U.N. Security council. Then and only then we can take military action.
2
We really need to investigate the ties between Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda. I suspect Iran would be happy to provide Donald with their opposition research, which he'd be happy to embrace, surely?
3
Ok, if anyone had any doubts as to how far the US government would go in its lies about Iran, I think we have the answer. Perhaps Pompeo would like to accuse Iran of the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations too, and add in the crucifixion of Jesus to Iranian crimes? Maybe the Iranians made MSB kill Khashoggi!! Iran is behind global warming and school shootings! I know it's far from funny but the outlandishness of the lies are simply breathtaking. More concerning is that when the propaganda becomes so hysterical it is indicative of the level of military menace. It would be appropriate to recall the lie about the Iraqis ripping babies out of incubators in Kuwait just before the US unleashed its slaughter. I'm sure Pompeo would have been the first to tell the lie.
5
I guess my first comment was too straight forward for them to print ... this is garbage ... it's amazing how stupid these war mongers are. I would bet Bolton & Pompeo are right now trying to figure out & put in play some scheme, incident, in which Americans are hurt, even killed, and than blame Iran. Next they'll be telling us Iran was responsible for 9/11. Why didn't you ask the candidates about this in your 18 questions ....
6
So Iran is in cahoots with Al Qaeda because that will...somehow help them get out from international sanctions? Honestly, it’s one thing to lie; it’s another to come up with a lie that’s so transparently ridiculous that the entire global community is laughing at you. This administration is simply pathetic.
3
The Fascist Republicans have determined that the only way for their Dear Leader to win election is to start a war. In true Fascist Fashion, they are using propaganda, lies, and fear-mongering to justify their behavior. Just another day in The Fascist States of America.
5
Not sure why everyone is pro Iran
During the eight year Iran-Iraq war, Tehran very quickly learned its army was no match for Iraq’s. When Iraqi minefields began claiming Iranian soldiers, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini concocted a scheme to reduce these losses. He encouraged Iranian children to volunteer for a special force known as the Basiji. Lightly armed but more often unarmed to avoid the loss of weapons, the Basiji were trained to form human waves to march through Iraqi minefields towards the enemy. This process—through the sheer loss of numbers of children—eventually cleared a minefield, providing Iran’s professional soldiers an unencumbered approach route to Iraqi defenses.
Most of these children were illiterate and from poor families in the countryside. Often, their only asset prior to enthusiastically sacrificing their lives was a plastic key given to each young martyr—told by his Basiji trainer, it was to open the gates of paradise in the afterlife.
Khomeini ordered 500,000 plastic keys from Taiwan for this purpose. During the war, he sent 450,000 children to the front. This “man of the cloth” undoubtedly found it more wasteful to have ordered 50,000 extra keys than to have ordered tens of thousands of innocent children to their deaths
1
@Illuminator*** it's not that everyone is pro-Iran. But when it come to this they have been straight and even patient. Everyone on this planet except Saudi Arabia, Israel & the U.S. are sick & tired of starting wars for no reason. And this one could get out of hand very fast. This country has done nothing to us, and in fact helped us In Syria & Iraq to rid those countries of ISIS & Al Qaeda.
5
@Doctor Woo
Iran is responsible for the deaths of more than 600 U.S. service members in Iraq from 2003 until 2011, according to a Pentagon report provided to the State Department.
"These casualties were the result of explosively formed penetrators, other improvised explosive devices, improvised rocket-assisted munitions, rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms, sniper, and other attacks in Iraq."
The revised death toll means that Iran is responsible for 17 percent of all U.S. troops killed between 2003 and 2011, Hook claimed.
Of the weapons that Iran is accused of providing Shiite militias and other groups in Iraq, the most deadly were explosively formed penetrators. This type of improvised explosive device fires a slug of high density metal at an extremely high velocity, giving the projectile enough energy to pierce any U.S. track or wheeled vehicle.
U.S. troops were attacked by EFPs most often in parts of Iraq that were predominately Shiite, such as Sadr City.
They killed US troop. So many naive people out there, the Iranian government is more dangerous than the Sinaloa cartel.
I assume you got all this info straight from Pompeo, or his buddies. All those US servicemen were killed by the government who sent them there to kill and die -- Washington.
4
The Trump administration did it to itself. For 2 years now, we have put p with a president and Republican administration that lies, and then lies about lying.
I wonder if you read the story of the boy who cried wolf to Donald Trump if he could even understand and explain it. There really is a bolt missing with the way Trump thinks.
Why are Trump and his warmongers like Bolton and Pompeo so hell bent on beating the war drums to start an outright war with Iran--especially when the US has been stuck in the Afghanistan-Iraq-Syrian wars with no end in sight?
The time is now for Congress to reassert its power and authority and demand that the US can not go to war without congressional debate and approval. All Trump is doing is trying to use the excuse that Iran has ties to the terrorist group Al Qaeda as a loophole to push us into another miserable war in the Middle East.
Why?
To take attention away from the Mueller report findings and the terrible job Trump is doing as president?
To gin up a splendid little war to try to unite the country so Trump gets reelected again?
Something to do with pleasing Netanyahu and Israel as well as the oil industry in the US?
One thing for sure, the last person to believe about almost anything is Donald J. Trump. And just because his lackeys lie and swear to it also, does not make it true.
3
This situation is redolent of the misrepresentation and fabrication that got us into a reckless war with Iraq in 2003. Remember being told by our national leaders that Iraq was in plotting with Al Queda, and was a credible threat because of a massive WMD program?
Like Iraq, Iran presents a target that Americans find thoroughly unsympathetic. Also, it's a country that our so-called friends the Saudis consider an enemy. Unlike Iraq, which we probably attacked for reasons related to oil, I fear that the President may be spoiling for war with Iran to improve his odds for re-election and to forestall further investigation of his administration. After all, who can investigate a wartime president?
It pains me to be so cynical, but I think this dishonesty of this President knows no bounds.
2
So the Sunnis in Al Qaeda now have ties to the Shiite Iranians? These two groups have hated each other for almost 1400 years and now we are to believe that they have made peace with each other?
This is a bigger lie than Iraqi WMD and the Tonkin Gulf combined. But when we have chicken hawks sending other people's children to die for Saudi oil, they will say anything to beat the drums of war. I wonder how much is owed to our Saudi "allies"?
3
Don’t majority of troops and their families vote Republicans? Are they thrilled that every time their party comes to power they get sent to exotic places to fight?
1
@Bogey yogi, many don't like him. His bone spurs win him no honor, and their high regard for General Mattis makes Trump's gross disrespect of that man unpopular as well. There are surely right-wingers in the military, but many are not. And none want to kill or die in a shameful falsely gunned up war.
2
Who is going to stop Trump from plunging the country into another war? His hawks’ unproven claim that Iran may have ties to al-Qaeda could allow the US to go to war with Tehran without Congressional approval, under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), a law passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to go after al-Qaeda.
Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son and an al-Qaeda operative, Mahfouz Ibn El Waleed had apparently sought shelter in Iran.
According to the Middle East Eye – Jamal Khashoggi had written for its website for two years – Iran took in a few al-Qaeda members. It, however, felt that their presence could be used as a bargaining chip with the US. In December 2001, Iranian officials told the US that they were willing to hand over the militants as a gesture of goodwill.
The US reportedly denied that offer, and one month later, George W Bush declared Iran as part of the "axis of evil".
Mark Twain had apparently said: “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” The international community has learnt the 2003 lesson. And the US?
3
This is deja vu all over again. Iran signed the same agreement that the U.S. did regarding the further development of nuclear weapons and the U.S. under Trump, et, al., backed out. This is such a sickening abandonment of a treaty and diplomacy. Does Trump even know where to locate Iran on a map?
2
Who can forget how the Bush Administration lied about Al Qaeda in Iraq and Saddam's WMDs as a basis for war. Need I mention the African "yellow cake uranium" fiasco or the Al Qaeda/Iraqi agent meeting in Eastern Europe that never happened? Al Qaeda did appear in Iraq but only post-conflict after the US Command dismissed Iraq's Bathist military officers and reversed the power base in the country leaving the Shia in control. The former Iraqi military took their revenge first as Al Qaeda in Iraq and then as ISIS.
To think that Al Qaeda, a Sunni enterprise would be allied with the Iranian Shia--their religious antagonists--is pathetically beyond belief. The Sunni-Shia emnity is some 1400 years old, baked into Muslim history.
European leaders must be dumber than a stick according to our State Department and Pentagon officials: Trump's lying contagion has completely infected the current U.S. leadership enabling them to weave realities to suit their regime-change objectives; isn't that how statecraft is practised?
The spread of nuclear capability to adversarial nation states may turn out to be a good thing after all. If we can hold a gun to everyone else's head why shouldn't they have the same option? If Kim Jung Un's nuclear capability could turn big bad Donald Trump into a fawning admirer, Iran gaining nuclear weapons might not be such a bad thing after all.
Fear for their own survival may be the one thing that checks the aggression of the Trump Administration.
1
The ties between Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda are 1000x stronger than the ties between Iran and AL Qaeda, both historically and today. The Trump administration can say these things because most Americans are Middle East illiterate.
4
Where does the NY Times come up with, "some republicans lawmakers ... to place limits on the president's war powers."? If that was the case, they would. We wouldn't be talking about it. It would be a fait accompli. Republicans say one thing and then throw their support behind Trump.
The lie worked in 2003, why not 2019?
3
If Obama and Holder had prosecuted W and Cheney we might not be in this situation. Here is the delayed price we are paying for our unexplained leniency toward those two criminals.
2
You know this story sounds awfully familiar... So I spent a little time on google and came across this blast from the past: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/9-11-commission-questions-iraq-connection
2
HERE WE GO AGAIN.
2
The Trump Administration is totally corrupt. The Al Qaeda terrorists are Sunni Muslims from Saudi Arabia and the Iranian People are Shi'a Muslims. The two sects hate each other worse than the Irish Catholics and Protestants hated each other during the Irish civil war. There is no way that Iranian government or people would support or be members of Al Qaeda.
3
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... Seriously folks, this is about as convincing to anyone with any understanding of the Middle East as the argument that WMDs are still in Iraq. NYT, you had better get it right this time!
3
I know that Republicans, in general, are pretty dense and really love a good war, but the rest of us are not that ignorant and have a very clear memory of the lies that brought us into the expensive, deadly and completely useless war in Iraq. One of the problems we have is that we didn't hold our rulers responsible for their war crimes, which has given a green light for others to repeat their disasters with little concern for personal responsibility. The good news is that Democrats, in general, are not so ignorant and if this administration wants to drag us into another stupid and wasteful war, they will encounter a great deal of resistance, and if they are successful in their war mongering, there will be serious consequences once the conflict is over and the lies are uncovered. We know there are lies involved. After all, just look at the liars in charge. I think America and Americans are sick of the military industrial complex and would be quite happy to find a reason to dismantle it.
1
Yes, we saw that with 43. He lied. 45 and his merry minions are as well. As the saying: "first time you fool me shame on you. Second time you lie to me, shame on me." (yes, I do believe that the original word was "FOOL" but it better fits here with the word "LIE."
It's really the third time counting the other Texas President, LBJ.
1
His polls are down so war.
2
Yeah, right, and pigs can fly, too. The administration is counting on Americans being apathetic, ignorant, stupid, gullible, and having short memories. No doubt some Americans are all of those things but Congress is not so there is no excuse if they do not stop a war with Iran. I've said since Trump was elected that Republican presidents since Reagan do three things: pass a huge tax cut for the wealthy, start a war, and wreck the economy. Trump has one down and he's fast working on the other 2. I almost hope he succeeds because then Democrats will win for sure in 2020.
2
Wow, not only is this administration cooking up a lame ruse to blunder into a catastrophic war -- they can't even think of an original lame ruse.
4
I never thought I would wonder at a moment like this, whether to believe the Administration. I don't. This is issue should go to the UN for discussion and investigation. The Administration which has issued more lies than any other should not be leading us into a War. I am old enough to remember Colin Powell telling the world he was absolutely confident of the information he was presenting. Is it coincidental that the Drums of War are beating as the President's poll numbers are sagging. I think not.
65
@Elinor: Colin Powell also advised Hillary Clinton to establish her own State Department web server.
3
@Elinor, yes, Steve, the state department servers were hacked many times, often by Russians. (Putin never thought the Cold War ended. Still doesn't.) And Powell let Clinton be blamed and never told the truth about the situation. Party over country again.
5
So, now it seems that another key Trump advisor, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, is recommending de-escalating the Iran conflict. Yes, this is where we are. An absolute uninformed, incurious, racist President running the country by watching Fox News or listening to like minded corrupt individuals like Netanyahu, or his son-in-law , or Alan Dershowitz.
2
I’m reminded of David Brinkley, standing in Arlington National Cemetery, thousands of graves around him, as far as the eye could see - stark white memorials contrasting the rich green lawn - cautioning the nation, “So the next American President who wants to announce he’s taking this country to war, maybe he should do it from over there - or perhaps there,” and gestured at one or two clear spaces amongst the fifty thousand graves of U.S. service-women and men who died in another conflict, killing millions of others - supported by now proven-to-be lying American Presidents. For those of you too young, that was Vietnam.
12
The idea of Iran supporting Al Qaeda is very wrong to those who understand the issue.
First there is the obvious ideological conflict between the two groups.
Iranians are Shia Muslims, whereas al Qaeda is Sunni Muslim. The ideology behind al Qaeda believes Shia Muslims like the Iranians are infidels. Trump is either too ignorant to realize this or he hopes the American people are.
Furthermore do you know who does have a history of supporting the puritanical ideology of Al Qaeda? The same country who wants us to go to war with Iran in the first place - Saudi Arabia & the royals like Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud.
It happens that Prince Mohammed bin Salman has the ear of our president and especially Kushner. And coincidentally Trump is promoting this idea about Iran & al Qaeda on the day the UN released a report essentially pointing the finger at Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the Khashoggi killing. It is too convenient for the US's case for war with Iran and too convenient for the Saudis' needs to seem in any way true.
5
Here we go again, another privileged ignorant son, who never served a day in his life for this country, wants to go to war, to prove his manhood, get re-elected.
What has happened to our country that voters buy these grifters?
3
Trump the bone spur military genius has no comprehension of what a war with Iran would grow to become. Russia, Iraq, Syria, and possibly China would want a part in such a war. Russia goes for the Baltics, China goes for Taiwan while Iran invades the northern gulf states. The US goes bankrupt when we lose this war and our currency collapses. Thank you republicans for letting Trump steal the presidency. You had better shut him down before it's to late.
4
Where’s Dick Cheney now?
This group isn’t so smart, they prove it every day. First lesson would be the difference between a Shia and a Sunni. They’re counting on us not to know either.
2
So wait, Iran, a fundamentalist Shia nation, has ties to a Sunni terrorist organization? Well, it's about as believable as anything else this adminstration says.
5
remember the fable " The Boy Who Cried Wolf " ?
neither trump nor anyone in his cabinent has any credibility
here at home or internationally
what a sad fact that is
3
How interesting lets start the disinformation to start a war. Read the news last night the US has lifted sanctions to allow Iran to supply energy sources to that wonderful failed state Iraq that the US and its socalled coalition destroyed for what reason. Gee, how did that work out? I love people Rosalie Lieberman that Iran would have nothing to lose. You are so right having your country totally destroyed and about a million slaughtered that is what they want. Try this on for size Al Qaeda members are Sunni and Iran Sheites they hate one another, but I guess in this case they forgave one another. The fliers on 9/11 were all rich Saudis and it was the Saudis that Bush let out of the country the same day before he knew who was responsible. As for Trump of course he wants a war then it will be anyone who says the war is wrong is not backing the troops. Try reading a good book on the Vietnam War (one that I served in by the way) back then it was the communists and if we don't stop them they will be in Hawaii. With Reagan it was Central America if they stop them they will be in Texas, then the fake WMD and of course it was the Gulf Of Tonkin gee there never were any PT boats. Americans need excuses and this one by Pompeao is the granddaddy of them all. Of course he also spoke in church that God had picked Trump so lets bring on a major war for the coming. Frankly first make all the Boltons, Trumps, Pampeos put their kids. How how stupid are Americans going to be? Jim Trautman
12
How many Americans have to die so Donald Trump can have another term? The calculation seems to be that a war with Iran will do the job. A Shi'a/Sunni alliance is their "weapons of mass destruction" and just as much of a lie.
5
After decades of outrageous lies, the government wonders why no one believes a word they say and conspiracy theories thrive.
1
Al Qaeda and ISIS are both Sunni organisations. Iran is a Shia state that has a mortal enemy in Sunni Saudi Arabia which is also backed by other Sunni states. Pretty basic and obvious isn't it? The suggestion of Iran and Al Qaeda as allies is akin to saying the British Army and the IRA are buddies.
7
So, just to be clear, the lying Trump administration is claiming that Al Qaeda, who regards Shiites as heretics, has made a deal with the world's leading Shiite regime? Remember how Saddam Hussein had "ties with Al Qaeda" too?
6
I like Barrack Obama. But he didn't hold the criminal financial men who wrecked the world economy accountable, and they're back. He didn't hold the war criminals accountable, and men like them are putting the same deadly, dreadful plans in motion now. If someone tougher had been president, I think he or she might have brought the con men down. You can't let justice slide without the cruel and wicked taking advantage of your failure to stop them. Now they will be very hard to stop. If we can. And last time was a pale shadow of what looms before us now.
3
Beat the drums, guys. Al Qaeda? The same group we've been funding in Syria to bring down Assad?
3
Deja Vu. Here we go again. Rerun the script. Can't these folks hire new writers. The last thing an authoritarian regime like Iran would want to associate with is something as uncontrollable as Al Qaeda. Next we'll hear that ISIS is a branch of the Revolutionary Guard even though they're Suni.
2
Liars liars liars liars.
I cannot muster up anything intelligent anymore. Makes me despair.
4
@LS, don't. That's when you lose.
1
Oh! Silly me. I thought we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq for that already.
4
While it seems unlikely that a deal could be made between Al Qaeda, an organization which hates Shia with a consuming passion, and Iran, the only Shia majority country in the world, there is a historic precedent for such a deal.
Winston Churchill, who was the worlds leading anti-communist in the 1930's, cut a deal with Russia to fight against Hitler. Why? Because it was in their mutual interest to do so.
After Hitler was defeated, Churchill turn, once again, turned on Russia, famously inventing the term "Iron Curtain".
Is it possible, that both parties hate us, more than they hate each other? I would say that is very possible - after all, they could always go back to killing each other, after they damaged us; and they must aware of the weakness in our nation at the present time - any fool could see it, and only a fool would have created it.
1
@Peter Zenger, you think they believe they'd win a war against us? No. They don't want a nuclear armed nation with a military that massed advanced nations would fall to in a hot war. No one would win. Unless Trump should keep his office that way. Iran is neither suicidal nor insane. But your idea that Iran and Al Qaeda would deal with each other to "damage" us kind of is.
1
@jb
I certainly agree that they could not win, but they have a lot of internal pressures that they have to deal with - especially Iran.
I'm not saying that they would get together in a plan to damage us, but rather in a plan to "defend" themselves, and then, in the ashes, they would start to fight among themselves.
War is always a bad deal for all sides involved - it's an irrational process left over from the hunter gatherer era, when there was just not enough to go around.
All of these countries - their pride aside - would be very wise to cut a deal with us. Saudi Arabia does already have a deal with us. It certainly has not hurt them economically, but I doubt that the revenue it is fairly distributed - all evidence points to the contrary.
I'm sure the Saudi family itself is not about to join up with Al Qaeda, but a lot of the "left outs" might be interested in that.
1
Just as Trump used an emergency declaration to get around congressional budgeting, his administration is now preparing to use a bogus claim of terrorism to justify an attack on Iran without congressional approval.
If we’re lucky, Putin might intervene.
A spineless Senate led by a white collar mafia is unlikely to work with the House to put a lid on this. Not when they have so many unqualified bogus judges to process.
6
The madness of tying Shia Iran to its enemy the Sunni Al Qaeda speaks volumes of the contempt in which this government holds the people. It doesn't matter, they think, that they put absurdities before us to justify the prospect of the deaths of huge numbers of human beings. Trump and his friends believe their power has no bounds and that no one can oppose even madness and murder from them. "Losing" babies, caging toddlers, imprisoning children-- they've been permitted. Destroying alliances and giving their "love" to vile dictators has not been withstood. There are no bounds to the lies Trump's followers will insist are true. Who will stop him? It is past time. For God's sake, republicans, do you have no decency or honor left? What dreadful prices will you make the world pay for your gains?
6
Al Qaeda leader Bin Laden was found and killed in Pakistan some ten blocks away from a major Pakistani military base. Leadership of Taliban which kills Americans and everobody else on a daily basis is based in Pakistan. Financial support to Al Qaeda comes from Saudi Arabia and UAE. And now Trump/Pompeo wants to bomb Iran for Al Qaeda connections? Never knew money could buy so much and MBS has lots of it. What hurts most besides these illogical reasoning is that America was the forebearer of consciousness while Saudi Arabia has been the complete opposite.
3
How many times will America get suckered into wars for pure politics?
6
Skepticism is good. I totally support it, and regularly practice it.
For example, I subscribe to the NYT, and Breitbart. I won't get into an argument about which is better. I'll just say that I read both with a mix of belief and skepticism.
But politics is a different world. Skepticism quickly morphs into belligerence, or worse. I only pray both sides will work together for the common good.
It would be a refreshing change.
The only ties regarding this attempt to start a needless war with Iran under false pretenses are those between Donald Trump's bank accounts and Saudi Arabia.
5
Where are the NY tax records that Congress subpoenaed and that legislation passed? Did Cuomo sign the bill?
1
It’s time to march, folks. American democracy hangs in the balance.
5
They'll burn a trillion dollars and kill 5,000 Americans for this, because they want to. That's the only reason they need.
2
Who thinks Trump won’t use his own idea to bump up his votes during an election year?
Barack Obama will attack Iran in the not too distant future because it will help him win the election
~ Trump Nov 14, 2011 (repeated 14X)
https://www.salon.com/2019/05/17/trump-warned-us-a-desperate-president-would-attack-iran-to-win-re-election/
7
Oh, good grief, next Pompeo will be telling us the ayatollahs are fugitive war criminals to boot.
2
Sunnis hate Shias and Shias hate Sunnis. Just how dumb does the administration think that Americans are?
5
@McCamy Taylor Very.
6
The claim is laughable. Al Qaeda barely exists anymore, but is still the go-to bogeyman to try to scare normies.
3
There is a connection between the Trump campaign and Russian hackers. Can we prosecute them all as one entity? Thanks for reminding us of the consequence of being connected to thieves and murderers. I just hope that this little dog and pony show does not distract congress.
2
Ridiculous.
Ever know someone who is absolutely miserably failing at something, or maybe a lot of somethings, and rather than address his shortcomings and try to correct them he focuses all his attention on a senseless pursuit thinking that’s the solution to his problems? That’s America.
2
As most people will recall, Saddam was supposed to have had ties to Al Qaeda. Now, his mortal enemy, Iran, is supposed to have ties to Al Qaeda. The truth is that Al Qaeda hated Saddam for being too secular and hate Iran for being Shiite.
I mean, we are a common foe to AQ and Iran. But to suggest that we could fight Iran based on the 2001 9/11 Authorization is just absurd.
5
Oh, so the Shiites and the Suni's now get along? Pompeo has become such a stooge of the Trump organization, and apparently a lap dog to John Bolton that he would deny decades of historical fact. It's no surprise that he was pumped up by the Koch brothers when he first entered politics.
3
Of course they do, didn’t we hear this about Saddam Hussein. I guess this is a requirement before we invade.
4
This stinks to high heaven - too much like the lead-up to the Iraq war (will the hawks ever learn); even worse, none of the Trump officials have covered themselves with glory or honesty (given the many shenanigans and shady dealings of Cabinet), so why should they be believed now . . . worse, I see Saudi hands all over this push for war. And the Saudis have a history of duplicity and double-dealing and dishonesty - the puppet master really of the White House.
4
Hey, the US had “links” to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in the early days of Russia’s involvement in Afghanistan.
So I guess that means that Pompeo, Bolton and Trump can attach the US.
4
The US and the UK were the main sponsors of Jihadis and Islamists going back nearly a century. Islamist thugs were CIA assets used to kill nationalists, trade union and student activists, and suspected 'communists' across the Muslim world long before Al Queda or the Afghan war. Islamist right-wingers supported the Saudi dictatorship and puppet monarchies created by the Brits. Look up the photo of Eisenhower and Said Ramadan, head of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the White House in 1953. They were the attack dogs for imperialism until no longer needed after the collapse of the USSR. Cast aside they turned and bit their former masters. Al Queda/IS have murdered far more Shi'a than Westerners. They recently carried out major terrorist attacks in Iran. The idea that the Iranians are working with them is utterly absurd. May as well assert the Vatican is part of the plot!
2
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
Former porn star Stormy Daniels says she had an affair with President Donald Trump in 2006, a year after he married Melania Trump and just months after the first lady gave birth to Barron. Stormy reported that he did not use a condom with her... a porn star!
Porn star Stormy Daniels is taking a victory lap after Michael Cohen's guilty plea. Here's a timeline of Trump's many marriages and rumored affairs.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-melania-stormy-daniels-affairs-marriages-timeline-2018-3
The warning signs of Malignant Narcissism :
1. Success At Any Cost. Close relationships show a failure to treat people kindly for the promise of a grandiose, yet superficial success.
2. Narcissists may be hyper-sexual, often in relation to power and control. Incest is frequently reported as well as a lack of regard for partner and boundaries.
3. Incessant Blaming. Lack of personal responsibility is a key sign and narcissist will play ‘the victim’ even when he has hurt someone else.
4. Violence. Since their ego is so fragile to begin with, any criticism received feels like an attack. They fight back much harder than what is doled out. Someone who uses violence frequently, demonstrates lack of impulse control and may also have multiple addictions.
5. Manipulation. Pitting people against one another for the ultimate goal of loyalty is often used by narcissists. In this case, loyalty often means isolation.
1
Since when a Sunni terrorist group works with a Shi'ite Muslim country? Maybe the Mullahs fr Iran converted to Sunni Islam. Trump, Pompeo and Bolton think Americans, and Europeans, are so naive to see that it is impossible for Iran to have links to Al Queda, or ISIS, for that matter.
Now, if they were to say Saudi Arabia, the number one exporter of Islamic terrorism has links to Al Queda, that can be believed. To this day, the US, through thress administrations, have ignored the fact the Saudi Arabians were responsible for 9/11, not Iran, not Afghanistan, not Iraq, not Libya, but Saudi Arabia. And, Bush, Obama and Trump all kowtow(ed) to the despots that run Saudi Arabia.
Besides control of OPEC, what does Saudi Arabia hold over the GOP, Democrats and the US government, for the US to continue give Saudi Arabia Going as far to ignore its genocide in Yemen, and a number of other Islamic hot spots.
2
There is a proverb"Before eating his siblings a bear smear them with mud " Trump administration is trying to justify the world and especially it's base (given the ignorance they will get whatever he sells) that Iran is country that shouldn't exist in this world and he's trying to support his reasons by affiliating them with Al kaide which is ridiculous. What a pity is his base will suffer from his politics after everything finished like before getting pleasure from heroin without thinking the consequences.
1
It’s all quite simple actually — This entire presidency is just a big case of ‘tiny-hands syndrome.’
5
The CIA overthrew the democratically-elected government of Iran in 1953, and susequently set up prison camps run by Savak. Stasi was a gentleman's club compared to Savak. The torture and human defilement at Abu Ghraib was decades in the making.
Then we shot down an Iranian civilian airliner with close to 300 innocent souls aboard, in 1988. The suggestion that the United States is the victim of Iranian aggression is patently absurd, and backwards. Mike Pompeo is trying to sell us Colin Powell's snake oil. Don't you dare let him to it, Congress.
8
Yes. Iran supported ISIS.
They have links or ties to Al Qaeda.
They bomb innocent civilians, including children...and have set up an embargo so that millions will starve.
They execute many, many people who adhere to a different form of Islam than the majority in their country.
Until 2014, Jews who stepped upon their "holy soil" would have been executed.
Women who led the fight against not being able to drive in their country (finally approved last year) are all now imprisoned.
Whoops. I said "Iran" above. My bad. I meant Saudi Arabia.
9
So let me get this straight: we're supposed to believe that Iran, a predominantly Shia country, and Al-Qaeda, which adheres to the most radical form of Sunni Islam, are in cahoots together??? Next up we'll be told that the earth is really flat.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid."
2
@Terry Garner Peterson The debt outstanding is that nobody with a brain cell will believe a single word the government and it's pet media say.
Israel has more ties to Al Qaeda than Iran, Israel was working w/ AQ against Bashar Assad.
3
Soon the Trump administration will blame Iran for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
This sure looks like W.M.D.s 2.0.
Trump, Bolton and Pompeo are the three stooges of diplomacy.
2
Iran has ties to al Qaeda the same way as the Vatican has ties to some fundamentalist protestant church.
1
I will believe that one when "Pigs Fly"
When hard line Sunnis align with hard line apostates we will have
entered a new world. Oh wait, a mean hard line Shias not
apostates.
Why isn't the "Honorable" Colin Powell serving time in Leavenworth? Didn't he appear before congress to tell us about Weapons-Of-Mass-Destruction? What about Dick Cheney's box of Yellow-Cake?
Can we at least be skeptical enough about Pompeo to threaten him with prison if he forges ahead with another war?
2
Since he has no faith in US intelligence, I wonder where he gets his information.
3
Yeah let's get us a good ole war started just in time for the election. these people are going to get us all killed.
1
WAIT A MINUTE Al Qaeda is Sunni and Iran is Shi'ite! Those two sects of Islam are mortal enemies. This remark is possibly the most ignorant of the many ignorances dumped on the public by Trump and his puppet Pomp-and-Circumstance Pompeo. At least Pompeo knows how smile and speak in a civilized, educated way! I'm sure that middle Eastern experts are doubled over with guffaws about this blooper of the decade!
1
Prove it, Mr. President.
2
It's too bad, because this administration has absolutely zero credibility on anything. You lie constantly, and people stop believing what you have to say.
3
As Steve Wonder sang: “Iraq, Iran”. Same tune and rhyme. Just a different GOP band performing.
You see, this is the damage that is done when one lies virtually every minute of every day. None of us know for sure if there is any truth to any of this, but based on their pattern of lying about everything over and over and over, we can only assume Trump, Pompeo, Bolton, Barr and their underlings are lying about this.
96
Why won't the administration release detailed evidence of their claims?
2
While truth is in the eyes of the beholder, ALTERNATIVE FACTS are the reality. Tomorrow If they say that Mar-a Lago, Palm Beach is the nation's capital and not DC, we got to believe them.
2
I’ve already seen this movie. The best version is still the one with Woody Harrelson, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman.
2
George Stephanopoulos’s interview rendered Trump unworthy of trust, a liar and a bully. Pompeo said “There is no doubt there is a connection. Period. Full stop.” And has lost all credibility. The whole world knows that Al Qaeda, is the mortal enemy of all Shiites and Al Qaeda and ISIS routinely execute Shiites as they are Wahhabi Sunnis who consider Shiites apostates. Apostates offend God in the Wahhabi sect.
It is possible that Al Qaeda attacked the tankers. It makes more sense to accuse Al Qaeda as both Iran’s leaders Rouhani and Khamenei were meeting Japanese Prime Minister Abe when the attack occurred. But Pompeo and other war mongers have been confusing the American public by suggesting that ISIS and Al Qaeda are colluding with Iran. This is just nuts. Right now, Al Qaeda is fighting Iranians in Yemen.It may be an existential necessity to impeach Trump, to prevent a war with Iran. Pompeo and Trump know that China and Russia and Turkey and South Korea are not going to permit any unilateral actions against Iran based on fraud.
Pompeo’s statements make it likely that the attacks were carried out by anyone else in the region than Iran.
2
I am afraid that one day soon we are going to wake up and find that bombs have been dropped, whether we approve or not. They know that they can get away with anything.
2
I want to see the Declaration of War first. Trump does not have dictatorial powers over the military. The military is not an arm of the executive branch.
39
@Bar1 Sadly, it is. And Trump is the commander in chief.
5
@Bar1 Are you sure? I think he is the "commander in chief". beleive it or not! Ask MacAthur how that worked out for him...
4
@Bar1 He really doesn't need to declare war
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military at all times, whether or not there is a formal declaration of war, from Article II, Section 2, which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President’s constitutional powers are quite broad in the context of limited military action.
The War Powers Act, which Congress designed to limit a President’s power to commit U.S. troops to combat requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war.
The President can conduct military operations for 60 days. Then withdraw forces for 30 days after that. To give you some perspective;
The U.S.-led coalition sent 177,194 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May 2003. About 130,000 arrived from the U.S. alone, with about 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers, and 194 Polish soldiers.
The invasion and neutralization of the Iraqi Army only took roughly 41-43 days.
3
If the Saudis, right wing Israelis and their American supporters want War with Iran tell them to suit up and let Adelson pull out his checkbook, America has paid through the nose for decades in support of this crew, time to cut them all loose.
15
Yep, just ask the former SoState Colin Powell to present the facts to the UN. Here we go again.
11
The Iranians did nothing to save the dinosaurs from extinction and none of them have an alibi on the night the Titanic sunk.
12
A Trumped up war in the Middle East. Armed goon squads sweeping the country for a program of “mass deportations.” Rapidly growing popular neo-fascist hate groups. A President ‘in love’ with the world’s most brutal despots and openly envious of the untrammeled powers of surveillance-state authoritarians, ‘rulers for life,’ former KGB spooks.
Is this a great country or what?
14
My gosh not again. Every disagreement brings out the buzz word Al Qaeda. Pompous Pompeo is out of his element as Sec. of State. He found his ideal job at the CIA where at a discussion at Texas A&M he said we lie, we cheat, we steal, we even have workshops for it
6
Boy this administration is reaching....
We don't believe it.
6
The war mongers peddled the line of a connection between the enemy of the day with Al Qaeda before. It was completely false, with intelligence data cooked by Cheney and Bolton. It is amazing they have resurrected the line in order to justify a war with Iran. Even papageno asserts the lie with the same kind of confidence Cheney exhibited. “There is no doubt there is a connection. Period. Full stop.” What ever intelligence that underlies that assertion was, if history is a guide, cooked by Bolton. I guess Bolton thinks he got away with it once, he can do it again, particularly with papageno standing in Cheney's shoes. Now that Judy Miller is no longer at the Times promoting the administration's lies, I hope the paper's reporters treat the assertion with the disdain it deserves.
6
Plus, they help migrants flee Central America and try to migrate to the US. And, they have Obama’s REAL birth certificate, the one from Nairobi, but they are keeping it hidden. And, they wanted Hillary to win.
Oh, yes, Iran is bad, bad, bad.
Trump is deciding if he needs to start a hot war and kill people in order to get reelected.
Lord, help us.
7
GOP can only use fake Al Qaeda ties to start wars every 20 years, they have wait 2 more years, thats the rules
9
New York Times you assisted Bush with headlines like this. Please stop.
“Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda, Trump Officials Tell Skeptical Congress”
“Unproven and unlikely ties to justify war!” Would be a better title. Then explain the reasons why... also then explain Bolton, Pompeo and Kushners actions to get us into a war and the past support for regime change in this admin.
4
The ignorance of this administration is breathtaking. Iran has as many contacts with the ultra-sunni Al Qaeda as the old IRA Provos in Belfast had with the Ulster Volunteer Force. Aside from blowing up each other's pubs. Can only guess that the Trumpers are grasping at straws bogeymen.
2
Hass the gap between Sunnah and Shiite narrowed?
2
What about Saudi Arabia? Are you also going to invade it?
9
If you still trust anything that Trump has to say, I have a bridge I can sell you.
7
It's interesting to see how many commentators think that Middle Easterners are automatons controlled by religious diktats who lack the capacity to even consider working with each other on occasion when they might have common interests. No doubt, some might be surprised to hear that such things as Shi'a-Sunni intermarriage is actually not too unusual even within that region, and that upon meeting they *don't* automatically compete to see who triggers their suicide vest first.
Here's question for those who reflexively assume they must be perpetually opposed to each other: what enabled Stalin and Hitler to work together despite virulently opposed doctrines? Is this something only that Europeans are capable of, while non-Europeans must be attached to some -ism and follow them unflinchingly, without reason, unless pushed by Western imperialists?
Consider, for instance, parts of the Iranian establishment might have been aware that al-Qaeda would have difficulty recruiting or operating within Iran, that it was violently opposed to the KSA, that it was also violently opposed to US presence in the region, and that it was willing to conduct operations that nation-states would be reluctant to do so. Is it inconceivable that there may have been a tacit tolerance for them so long as they did not attempt to attack their hosts? Or is rational consideration not allowed for Muslims?
Irrelevant - the case for war should be iron clad and necessity driven, not based on what-ifs. The facts as they stand do not preclude cooperation, but they most certainly do not lend strength to the conclusions that are being jumped to either.
The same group of liars, telling lies similar to the lies used to justify years of war in Iraq.
7
Where is prince Jared and his Middle East peace plan? Run princess, run! Take those cucumbers from your eyes, step out of the milk bath, put on your Valentino suit and get over there! Or is there no profit to be made, no possibility of a trump tower in Tehran?
7
Over 10000 false or misleading claims made by this president. Only a fool would trust with this administration has to say.
8
This is ridiculous. AQ and the Iran government hate each other more then either hates the United States. Trump and his people are lying about a connection between them.
6
I'm waiting for Pompeo to testify that Iran has ties to, and is actually directed by, Lucifer, who is seeking to thwart God's divine plan for Trump. That plan is for Trump to become King Omnipotus and hold dominion over the whole world.
If you think I'm just kidding, you missed this:
"US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said it is "possible" that President Donald Trump was sent by God to save Israel from Iran. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network during a high-profile trip to Israel, he said it was his faith that made him believe that."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47670717
A golden throne is already waiting for Trump, although it is not perhaps the one he would prefer:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jan/26/why-would-trump-turn-down-golden-toilet-white-house-guggenheim-maurizio-cattelan-america
4
Yeah right, and I have some real estate in Florida. Oh wait, that's Trump.
This just reminds me of "Saddam has weapons of mass destruction". Apparently officials still think we are as dumb as 2001.
4
As a selfish man will impoverish his family and often bring them to ruin, so a selfish king brings ruin upon his people and often plunges them to war,
Thackeray, Vanity Fair
3
This is absolute nonsense! There is no way Iran (Shia) would join forces with Al Qaeda (Sunni). If anyone were to help Al Qaeda, it would be the Saudis.
Our agreement with Iran was working, they were complying. We are closer to war with Iran because of Trump's sheer incompetence and the war hawks in his administration and the Republican party.
And they're asking us to support sending our service men and women over there to die over a lie, AGAIN?!? Has this government lost it's collective mind?
4
What a joke, that Shia Muslims in Iran, who have been at odds with Sunni Muslims for centuries, would some how align themselves with a weakened Al Qaeda, which is Sunni to the core and been backed from the beginning by Iran's enemy Saudi Arabia? This makes me laugh out loud, louder than when the Bush Administration was touting 'weapons of mass destruction' in Iraq. Bottom line: this current lie is less than pathetic.
2
The problem with having a president who is a pathological liar, and who has no regard for the truth, is that nothing he says is believable. I’ve served in the Middle East, and Iranian regime is a threat to its neighbors and to the free navigation of the Persian Gulf. So what? Why is that a major concern to the US? Isn’t the nature of the Iranian regime a matter best settled by the Iranian people? After a generation of mindless stupid wars in the Middle East, it’s time for the American people to finally say enough is enough.
3
It’s pretty sad that I, a veteran of the actual war involving Al Queda, am more inclined to believe them than the weak, incompetent President. Turns out that lying over 11,000 times has consequences
10
Trump’s motto: if at first you don’t succeed, lie, lie again.
9
So a totally Sunni organization loves Shia?
5
REMEMBER how Saddam Hussein was also 'accused' of having ties to Al Qaeda(?)
Al Qaeda was 'invented' in Saudi Arabia(...Sunni).
ISIS leaders are Wahabi Muslims, and they are Sunni(.)
The terrorists responsible for 911 were from Saudi Arabia(.)
Certainly Iran is countering US MidEast 'agenda' with proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and others, but the the foundation of terrorism is in Riyahd(...not Teheran)
WHY(...?) There are $5 Trillion reasons(!)
1
The Liars in the Presidency are fully engaged in what they do best- lying.
2
So now we're supposed to believe Iran and Al Qaeda are in cahoots because...what? They're both Muslim? This despite over 1300 years of Sunni-Shiite conflict, not to mention ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen? Despite lack of support from foreign policy and intelligence analysts. Just Mike Pompeo trotting out a few cherry-picked documents carefully redacted and presented without context?
The media, including the New York Times, have to be more persistent, diligent, and proactive in debunking this kind of nonsense. Responsible journalism isn't just parroting everything the administration says without comment, as was the case in 2003 lead-up to the Iraq War. Responsible journalism must also include scrutiny.
2
I am sure Iran has ties with the iceberg that sunk the Titanic.
6
US has ties to Al Qaeda. US gave visas to Al Qaeda 9/11 attackers and allowed them to get flying lesson on US soil. We can look at accusations from all different biased angles, can't we?
3
More likely is that Al Qaeada attacked the tankers to try to draw the US into a war with their enemy Iran.
3
There was a connection between Saddam and AlQaeda. Period. Full stop.
NOT!
Now Iran....
3
Sure. Fool me once...
Dear Defense Department: we’re not falling for it again.
5
Many cogent comments here re the bald-faced lies inherent in the WH's attempt to link AQ with Iran, but Trump's cult is allergic to that kind of fact-based reasoning. And, the WH knows that their transparent lies will be accepted as gospel by their cultists .
3
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
34 years ago, a KGB defector chillingly predicted modern America [BigThink]
https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/34-years-ago-a-kgb-defector-described-america-today
--In 1984, Bezmenov gave an interview to G. Edward Griffin from which much can be learned today. His most chilling point was that there's a long-term plan put in play by Russia to defeat America through psychological warfare and "demoralization". It's a long game that takes decades to achieve but it may already be bearing fruit.
The whole process follows 4-steps:
STEP 2. Destabilization (2-5 years): does not care about your patterns. Essentials are attacked – Defense, Economy and Polity. (Trump,the GOP and the Kochs are attacking the US)
How Trump Walked Into Putin’s Web [The Guardian] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/15/how-trump-walked-into-putins-web-luke
--In June 2016, Steele typed up his first memo. The headline read: US Presidential Election: Republican Candidate Donald Trump’s Activities in Russia and Compromising Relationship with the Kremlin. Its text began: “Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting TRUMP for at least 5 years. Aim, endorsed by PUTIN, has been to encourage splits and divisions in the western alliance.”
2
Right out of the Iraq War 2 playbook by Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld...
Except that Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo hasn't got the merest fig-leaf of credibility, 'believability', or integrity -- and they haven;t had any for Years!
The danger of these war-mongering grifters taking the world into (another) war is real and terrifying!
2
"Wag The Dog"
Have the public focus on false events abroad to get attention away from White House misdoings.
2
Honestly, I see huge differences between America and Iran. Unfortunately, I'd believe the Iranians over anything this administration tells us.
Is "moral authority" gone forever? Christians. You believe in the likes of donald and say he's the next coming of Christ?
Those of us that are objective are beginning to believe America's moral authority is falling at a pace that will soon have us wondering if we believe Iran over our own government. Or, in reality, is Christianity really any better than any other religion out there? Really.
Laws? If the President is a criminal and is allowed by Congress to not only go unpunished but actually be protected against punishment then why should anyone obey the law? Why should anyone pay taxes?
I'd take the word of a "street person" over any single individual in donald's family, administration, or party.
The country is very sick. One knows this fact when one actually sees Fox News speak out against the evil that is donald. And Fox is the primary reason we're in this mess in the 1st place. All for the almighty dollar, or as Christians look at it: Jesus = $, the new Christianity.
When will the "real" Christians speak up. Was Jesus a Republican? Are you sure?
1
Here we go again.... All the right words to instill fear and revenge...
1
Iran (Shia)?doesn’t have ties to Al-Quaeda (Sunni).
But you know who does? Saudi Arabia
2
Deja vu all over again! Hey America, as with the last scam in Iraq, expect no support for this manufactured march to war against Iran from Canada!
1
Shades of Iraq2--remember when Saddam was Al Qaeda connected?
Why not go to war with the place that started Al Qaeda--Saudi Arabia
1
Isn't it funny how the Republicans want to go after every Arab country except the one in which the majority of 9/11 terrorists were born- Saudi Arabia?
1
Of course, the plan here is for the Administration to be able to declare war without Congressional approval using the 9/11 authorization against terrorism.
The Admin knows the only way to get a war going is to make it a fact before Congress has anything to do with it.
2
Is there no lie that Americans will not believe, when it is used to attack an individual or a people who we are already prejudiced against to begin with?
1
"Lawmakers are wary of officials using links between Iran and Al Qaeda as a pretext for war because the administration of President George W. Bush talked of links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda in 2002 to build a case for the invasion of Iraq. There were never close ties between the two."
Ya think??
What year do Pompeo, Bolton, and Trump think it is? Do they believe Congress and the American people are seriously going to fall for this line again (well, I wouldn't put anything past Republicans who refuse in almost every way to stand up to this lawless administration)? We are no longer living in the post-9/11 fog, and even back in 2003, many of us knew the push to invade Iraq on the pretense of Al Qaeda connections was total bunk.
Of course all that said, I still fear this horror show of an administration is about to get its way and take us into another endless, disastrous war in the Middle East.
“The Trump administration might argue that some military strikes against Iran do not require congressional permission. One potential such action would be a bombing of the Natanz nuclear facility”
Bomb an operational nuclear power plant? The U.S. truly is crazy.
1
I'm quite sure that covert operations (American / Israeli), are currently underway in Iran, and an attack date is being discussed.
That quiet street in the photograph, and the buildings, will soon look like some of the bomb and artillery damaged streets and buildings we so "gloriously" destroyed during the Bush / Cheney / Rumsfeld atrocities we allowed occur in Iraq.
If I was advising the Iranian government, I would tell them to make a public announcement in a special United Nations meeting, that they are open to full unfettered American / Western Alliance / UN inspections of all their military, and nuclear research facilities, and that they will agree, unconditionally, to abide by any and all requests to end, and hand over, any equipment and materials found to capable of being used to create weapons of mass destruction.
Regrettably this will not be allowed to occur, not because it's pie in sky, but because if it was thought that such might be considered by the Iranians, I'll bet that some act of war, more than lighting up a few tankers, would occur, and look to be directed against United States interests.
One thing for sure, with all of the conflicts we've been supplying weaponry for, these past 17 years, winding down to near zero, except for the weapons we have been selling the Saudis to kill Yemeni civilians, the military / industrial complex is pressuring Trump and his minions to get going already !!
Weaponry sitting in warehouses makes no money, don't you know !!!
1
Contrary to popular belief Pompeo and other officials were not lying. They were simply telling alternative facts.
1
This administration frequently reminds me of Churchill's famous saying about those who forget (or ignore) the lessons of history being doomed to repeat it.
It wasn't that long ago that another Republican administration desperately seeking a pretext for war with Iraq, accused that country of somehow being linked to Al-Qaeda. The accusation seemed far fetched at the time and was clearly proven to be untrue. But even that false assertion of coordination between Sunnis was more credible than the current claim of a Shiite-Sunni alliance.
This administration has totally destroyed its credibility by their frequent demonstrably false assertions and statements and their absolute lack of shame or contrition when the lies are exposed. I have a hard time believing them even on those rare occasions when their statements appear quite plausible. When they make ridiculous and illogical claims like this, I simply shake my head and pray that Fox news will eventually speak truth to trump's base.
1
It makes no sense and it is just another justification for war.
Al-Qaeda is Sunni and Iran would never be involved with them.
No matter what, it is never an excuse for war, the Middle East is
a disaster already, mostly created by us. I recently read that we are spending 32 million an HOUR on waging wars since 2001.
It is insane, we have done so much harm around the world and we have nothing positive to show for. How many more refugees can
Europe and the Middle East absorb. It may be the end of Democracy in Europe. We have not won a war since 1945.
Enough is enough. When will this country finally stand up to the barrage of lies and make truth count for SOMETHING?
2
I don't think the Iranians have connected with Al Qaeda--the only thing that could make make such an improbable thing happen would be, say, an existential threat from the likes of Trump.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan resigns, and the Secretary of State goes to Florida to talk to Central Command.
Is Mike Pompeo down there stumping for a target to be re-framed as an Al Qaeda threat response (attack) plan?
It's concerning that (1) Pompeo quickly issued his "threat to international peace" hyperbole to address a sketchy, early account of tanker attacks and (2) now, he and unnamed Pentagon officials make a connect-18-years-of-dots case to Congress for "a pattern of ties" between Iran & Al Qaeda.
Pompeo's boss is or acts generally clueless. Clearly, if US action transpires, the President's finger prints will be there and will be the ones that matter. But, taking complete responsibility does seem problematic for Donald J. Trump. Complete charge, even more so.
The 88 retired generals/admirals who endorsed Candidate Trump did so because they assigned Clinton as contributor of hollowing-out of military. Sadly, they knew that presidential leadership would matter most, but left that unrecognized in their endorsement.
War is profitable.
Follow the money.
2
Remember the Tonkin Gulf incident when the US military and our government distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
No. Al-Qaeda is a Sunni organization. Iran is Shi'ite. The two sides are currently in a proxy war. That makes no sense.
Everything Trump does is motivated by his desire to get
re-elected and avoid being exposed for the criminal he is.
What’s good for America is a second thought for him.
1
Didn't they say it had "ties with Iraq", just before that little invasion? The one that would have "paid for itself", according to Donald Rumsfeld?
Looks like the pre-invasion go-to procedure is to tell the public whatever target one wants to bom has "ties with Al Qaeda".
Time out. Stop. This is a complete and total lie.
The Trump team must be getting desperate. It is true that Iran allowed some escaping relatives of Osama bin Laden to stay in Iran for a time, but this is a far cry from Iran having ties to Al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda is an extreme reactionary Sunni faction of the Hanbali school of Islam. They are Wahhabi/Salafi in orientation (the Wahhabis and Salafis claim that they are different, but they espouse the same extreme views). They espouse killing of Shi'a Muslims as "not a sin," because they view Shi'ism as heretical. They have made this pronouncement many, many times. Persecution of Hazara Shi'a Muslims in Afghanistan is directly related to Al Qaeda and Taliban calls to murder them.
So is it even slightly plausible that Iran is somehow tied to Al
Qaeda?
Republicans and neoconservatives tried to make this false equation during the Bush administration as a way to convince Republicans to attack Iran and effect regime change. This didn't work then, and Congressional representatives, no matter how much they dislike Iran, should not buy this utter garbage argument. It is being promulgated for the same aim as in 2003--namely to garner support for regime change in Iran.
Message to Congress: Don't buy this utter lie!
2
We know beyond doubt the nationalities of the 9/11 terrorists who destroyed the world trade center.
15 from Saudi Arabia
2 from UAE
1 from Lebanon
1 from Egypt
Now pompous Pompeo is saying Iran was involved.
Do these manipulators believe history can simply be erased?
Apparently among the maga horde it can.
16
Hey, do Trump & Pompeo & Bolton not realize that Al Quaeda is a Saudi organization? Stop the war mongering, No new war.
9
Iran fought al Queda on the ground in Iraq. They fought ISIS too. This administration is packed with liars and grifters it seems. No problem weaving whatever web suits them if they think it will advance their agenda.
If going to war based on lies is impeachable, we should spare the country that and impeach him now--impeach the whole lot of them.
9
I remember this. Bush said the same thing about Iraq. Why is people laughed at him. Then he changed his life and found evidence of mass distraction. Guess what Trump will do next?
6
Pompeo does not come close to the gravitas of a Colin Powell. Pompeo went straight from backbencher congressman to Secretary of State.
It seems to me that we have put Iran in some kind of special category of evil. I don’t see how this is justifiable for many reasons. The Iranians don’t seem to be nearly as barbaric as our ally Saudi Arabia, with their extremist Wahhabism. Even if Iran was to obtain nuclear weapons, it doesn’t seem that they would be any more inclined to use them then we are, and probably less likely to. We spend ungodly amounts of money on our military and it doesn’t seem to be for the benefit of most Americans. How is it justifiable to have sanctions against Iran while at the same time supporting Saudi Arabia? I know that they hate Israel and would like to see it destroyed. That hate is shared by many others in the region, including Saudi Arabia. I doubt Iranian hatred is being extinguished by sanctions. I suppose we get oil a little cheaper because of this, but if we had the trillions we spent on our military endeavors, we could afford more expensive oil and many other things. Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex taking over our country, apparently that was a great prophecy, that should be continuously repeated. We Americans need to realize that we are being manipulated and conned constantly, in order to keep spending tremendous amounts of money on our military, and much of it wasted and unnecessary.
15
I totally agree. I would go further. Iran is not as barbaric as the US is.
1
@Tim Phillips:
It goes back to World War 2. Although Saudi Arabia was neutral it was also close to Germany throughout the war, then they joined the Allies in 1945. Good timing, huh? Iran supported Germany during the war (but not the anti-Semitism) and ended up getting invaded by the British and the Russians, to protect Persian oil from falling into German hands. That set up the dynamic: Saudi Arabia our friend, Iran adversary.
1
I think you're right. Many of the Iranian people like the United States and dislike their own government. If we bomb them, we're just making all of the Great Satan propaganda true.
1
The GW administration claimed (without evidence) that Sadam Hussein had ties to Al Qaeda and got us into a disastrous war.
As others have pointed out, Al Qaeda is a fanatical Sunni organization that has committed numerous atrocities against Shia and other non-Sunni Muslim groups. The likelihood that Al Qaeda has ties to Iran is very, very slim.
Al Qaeda does have deep connections to the Saudi elite and it is quite likely that some of the people that Trump and Kushner do business with are directly connected to Al Qaeda.
7
Let me get this straight.
It's justifiable to go to war with Iran because they allegedly have "ties" or "links" to Al Qaeda.
But we're not touching a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Yemen.
Yemen is divided into three parts: (1) a part controlled by its Sunni regime, (2) a part controlled by Houthi rebels, a Shiite Muslim group, and (3) a part controlled by AQAP (Al Qaeda Arab Peninsula).
Saudi Arabia shares a border with Yemen and could easily attack AQAP if it were inclined to do so (and isn't that the justification for selling them weapons...that they're allegedly a good partner in the fight against terrorism?). But they did nothing whatsoever agaisnt ISIS and have done nothing whatsoever against Al Qaeda (which is perhaps due to the fact that they're all Sunni Muslims).
The only attack I can remember against AQAP was by the Americans, and Navy Seal Ryan died in that attack. So the US has to send its troops half way around the world to attack AQAP when its alleged ally against terrorism lets them fluorish despite being a few miles away?
And now we'll take on Iran because they allegedly have ties to that Sunni Muslim terrorist group?
The world has gone mad. What else is new in Trump world?
8
While Iran would not work with Sunnis, there is the possibility that Iran supports the Taliban because they destabilize other countries. Countries Iran would like to see disrupted to eliminate them as threats.
3
@Larry We've been doing the same thing for 100 years. Is that your best argument?
2
Congress needs to act to block the Trump administration from taking steps to any War with Iran. Who could possibly believe anything this administration says about any country.
6
As an aside, I believe the USA should put forward a solid effort to dispense of the “rising star” hamza bin laden. I think that star should go “boom” as soon as the opportunity presents itself. The guy should be extinguished. Focus on that, please.
2
The Trump administration has no credibility on the world stage.
He is thought to be pandering to the Saudis and Israeli government in challenging Iran.
Nothing would please the Saudis and Israeli government more than to have the U.S. destroy Iran for them, using our military and funding.
Congress needs to get grip on this.
6
We've seen this episode before. It ends badly.
8
if it were so.... the problem of course is that none of these wars will ever end. What next? Whose next?
1
You’re absolutely right - an industry of war, lubricated in blood.
So we should believe Trump officials when Trump does not believe our nation's intelligence data? And just like Bush, Congress should not question the information and just go along with it because the Trump administration is so honest and forthcoming? Yeah, good plan.
3
Where is this intelligence coming from? It looks like another WMD story, that led us to war with Iraq.
All news surrounding Iran, has been building up fast over the last several weeks. With this very recent news, that Iran has ties to Al Qaeda, leads to some questions.
Are we now that desperate to attack Iran, or go to war with that country. How credible is this story on a Iran - Al Qaeda alliance? If there were to be war, on whose behalf will that be? Who is pushing or instigating us to do so?
Mr. Trump has sometimes said, other countries should take care of their problems. That America comes first, and we should take care of ourselves. If that is the case, we are seeing mixed signals here.
We suspect it is Saudi Arabia and Israel who have a problem with Iran. Why are these two countries not addressing their problems? They have also either directly or indirectly, influenced the US to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal. Now, we can only suspect both countries are bent on dragging the US to do their dirty work. Possibly, to bomb places in Iran, create devastation. Leave the country in ruins, create loss of lives, and displace people of their homes and their livelihood. Not forgetting the risk to our own military and assets. This is what we have seen with our involvement in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Yet, if they are not mistakes or blunders, there was nothing to learn.
Here we go again. It happened in Iraq, in Vietnam, and in many of our previous wars. The warmongers find a pretext for going to war, and so we go to war blindly. When will we ever learn?
3
What an obvious and clumsy attempt to provide an "anti-terror" pretext for war with Iran. (Remember how AQ supposedly was working hand-in-glove in with Saddam Hussein?) I don't believe anything that Pompeo or Bolton (much less Trump, but he can't string two coherent sentences together) have to say about intelligence findings, and I say that as a retired intelligence analyst.
6
It would appear that Pompeo, like his boss, does not read an history. The September 11 bombers were mostly Saudis, there’s the whole Sunni-Shia thing that separates Iran from Al Qaeda but Trump listens to “Yosemite Sam” Bolton who wants a war with Iran so the facts don’t seem to count. More people are going to die senselessly because of these chicken hawks yet Congress just sits back and, so far, does nothing to call them out.
1
This is another descent toward an Orwellian dystopia. While it is blatantly obvious to anyone who knows anything about the Middle East that Al Qaeda and Iran are enemies, the Administration apparently thinks that they can change that fact by mere assertion.
Pompeo here is a representative of Orwell's Ministry of Truth.
4
@Ken The Administration believes in alternative facts, remember?
1
@Ken:
From the Ministry of DisInformation: "Al Qaeda is now a Shiite terrorist group supported by the Iranians. The Iranians also have WMD and had something to do with 9/11, probably. Looks like we'll have to go to war, again."
Instantly 35 million followers believe every word.
Hong Kong has taken to the streets when their government has tried to enact legislation that is both oppressive and authoritarian. And that citizen-effort appears to have been successful. There should be such citizen-efforts here, coast-to-coast.
8
@Michael C. I agree. Americans are too nice and timid to take to the streets. This is Condoleezza Rice and her “mushroom cloud” all over again.
3
I sure am happy (not) that the Senate is strutting around writing letters to Mr. Trump telling him that he has no authorization to go to war.
When push comes to shove, the noodle spined Senate will let Trump do just exactly anything he wants to. Even if the House voted to deny that authorization, Mr. McConnell would tuck his head inside his shell and refuse to bring it up for a vote.
As long as Americans in Kentucky (McConnell's State) like the idea of sending their kids off to be killed in the MIddle East because of Iran/El Qaeda lies, we'll have the Grim Reaper to thank for a lot of our problems.
7
I applaud the efforts of members of Congress to reassert their constitutional role of deciding whether the U.S. takes military action or not. This is desperately needed but I still don't see exactly how Congress can stop Trump in his tracks before the guns start firing. There are too many loopholes, and there is too much history of Congress letting Presidents have their way. And McConnell will block any meaningful legislation.
The President can take "emergency" military action if our forces abroad are attacked. And yet I have seen no discussion about pulling our military out of the Middle East as much as possible. Wouldn't it be reasonable to draw down our forces over there very significantly? Wouldn't that be a big step towards reducing the risk of war?
We don't need Middle East oil any more. I hear vague words about "protecting our interests" in the region. Well, let's get down to brass tacks about what those interests really are and whether they outweigh our national interest of not prosecuting another stupid and disastrous war. I want to hear that argued, openly, before Congress.
But it seems all we can do is hope against hope that Trump means it when he says he doesn't want a war, and that he doesn't let warmongers like Bolton push him into it.
I also hope Trump has and retains high confidence that he is going to win re-election up until the night the returns come in. Otherwise he WILL play the war card.
1
@John Q Public
The war card, I like that. Reduces the world's problematic uncertainties of jousting for power and survival to a game of entertainment and gambling.
The novice, trump and company, wants a war with Iran but has no clear ideas to the magnitude and gross involvement that any attack on Iran will yield. trump also fails to comprehend that other players that will jump in and out of the game as the stakes escalates to a bloody and deadly win and lost that may be repeated again, two generations into the future. But trump doesn't care because it's not his money he's betting with ... or his children.
1
Why would Iran have ties to an organization thats fighting against them most of the time? This makes no sense, unless you want to use a certain authorization of military force.
2
Trump will announce that the CIA also found evidence that iran supports the Irish Republican Army, the Basque ETA, the German RAF and, worst of all, the US Democrats..
4
I tell you, this guy is dangerous. If he thinks he might loose the election, he couls start a war just to get everybody behind him. The timing would not be now though. He would probably wait for spring 2020.
It is easy to win reelection after starting a foreign war.
1
The claim by Pompeo, who is former CIA, that Iran and AlQaeda have links is laughable.
Iran is Shiite, Al Qaeda is sunni. Saudi Arabia has ties to Al Qaeda. Saudi is Sunni. Bin Laden was related to the Saudi royal family.
This ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture." Almost every group that the US government considers to be a terrorist group practices Wahhabi Sunni Islam.
The CIA has links to Al Qaeda, it helped build, fund and arm it. The CIA helped create the Mujheddin to play games with the Russians. Al Qaeda came out of the Mujheddin.
2
Al Qaeda is Sunni which is what Saudia Arabia is. There is no way that Iran would side with this group. This would be akin to Israeli Jews joining forces with Hamas. But, Trump needs to create this narrative so that Iran will be decimated by SA, Israel and the US. People wake up--remember Bush, Cheney and the WMD's? You Republicans never learn. Shame.
1
Al Qaeda blew the Twin Towers to pieces and they Saudi- linked not Iran. The Saudis have been trying to convince their BFF Jared Kushner along with Bibi in Israel to start a war with Iran.
2
I’m failing to see how a potential illegal attack on Iran secures or insures my freedom. More young people in body bags is the real American carnage.
2
@Tom Baroli: There's nothing "potential" about the illegality. If Trump and Co. follow through on this, they all become war criminals, just like the one they recently pardoned.
1
Mr. Pompeo ... stressed ties between Al Qaeda and Iran: “There is no doubt there is a connection. Period. Full stop.”
It's a "slam dunk," right?
@Virginia
actually , a " cakewalk "
What's next, Iran has ties to ISIS? Or, better yet, Iran was behind 9/11?
The more Trump, Pompeo, and Boilton open their mouths; the more they look like liars and fools.
For all we know, Saudi Arabia or Israel were responsible the tanker attacks. Saudi Arabian were responsible for 9/11. Saudi Arabia has been going after Shi'tes in the region. As fro Israel, Netanyahu, like Trump, needs a major diversion from his own scandals. Both have a lot to gain to pull the US, and its allies, into a war with Iran.
I am glad Europe, and the UN, are very cautious about what is coming out of the Trump Administration. Let's face it, as far as those entities are concerned, Trump has zero credibility.
1
If there are concrete, absolute facts that have been throughly vetted for veracity to support any and all statements, make them available to the public.
Otherwise- shut up.
1
Seriously? Two words: Sunni. Shia.
Iran follows Shia.
Al Qaeda follows Sunni. So did ISIS - which is why Iran fought against ISIS.
Amazing that one of the strongest forces aligned with us in a fight the West had to win, is still Trump’s fervent enemy.
Israel wants it. Saudi Arabia wants it - and Trump is the faithful lapdog of both!
4
Another war base in lies and manipulation to invade another sovereign country but the real problem are the one willing to die for a fake freedom and in a our way of life
Just one more lie, one more self-serving tall tale, from the most mendacious administration in American history. Don't believe a word of it.
3
It’s one thing to lie to the country, enrich ones cronies, and obstruct justice. But to start a potentially disastrous war with a strong power, over false manufactured pretenses, is entirely a crime of a whole different magnitude. This man, and his administration are traitors to their country. We cannot wait for the elections. He is far too dangerous. Impeach now!!!
3
"Iran has Ties to Al Qaeda"?
I guess they're thinking that if Bush-Cheney sold a war pretending Iraq had ties to 9/11...
3
Am I mis-remembering or didn't our president assure us that Al Qaeda had been defeated? Now we need to worry about them aligning with Iran?
So much nonsense and lies from our leader, I can't even remember if this was one of them.
3
Skepticism is a given. The truth? In November, 2017, NBC aired a story of Iran-Al Qaeda ties, found in the documents recovered when Bin Laden was assassinated. On Nov. 11 of the same year, the Atlantic ran an article detailing much of that material.
None of the commenters know more about this than the above. The real truth isn't clear. An illogical connection? Of course, but not when the common enemy is the same.
So glad to know that most of the commenters accept Iran's version of the "truth". Does President Trump really know what he's doing? Won't answer that, but war is the last thing that would help his re-election campaign. He doesn't want it, but the Iranians may feel they have nothing to lose with a war.
14
@Rosalie Lieberman "So glad to know that most of the commenters accept Iran's version of the "truth"."
Iran's version? No, it's the version of every defense expert, foreign policy expert, and generally every sane person with some basic education regarding Middle East politics.
20
@Rosalie Lieberman I have to request you and others look up the perpetrators of September 11 2001, it wasn't that long ago.
14
How could anyone possibly presume to know what Trump really wants? His entire adult life is a web of deceit. Believe him at your peril.
19
There is no reason why these groups would work together considering the Sunni-Shia divide.
41
@Fincher Exactly. what motive would Iran have to work with Al Qaeda? What next? Are they working with ISIS? What about Saudi Arabia. I guess all muslims are the same in the Trump Administration's eyes...
Come on now. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
@Fincher not true, when it comes to terrorism the Mullahs illegitimate regime occupying Iran, even collaborate with communists.
Congress should immediately void the 2001 authorization for the use of military force. The credibility of this administration and the Republican Party is virtually non-existent.
56
Iran is Shia; Al Qaeda is Sunni. For this reason alone, it is Inconceivable that Iran will ever help Al Qaeda. In fact, for this reason alone, in the early days of the Afghan war, Iran was surreptiously helping the Bush 43 administration in places like Mazar-e-Sharif on the Iran border. If anyone is aiding Al Qaeda its Saudi Arabia and UAE, both Sunni countries.
60
"Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda, Trump Officials Tell Skeptical Congress"
They must think that they can convince us that the 15 hijackers from Saudi on 9/11 were really Iranian.
Next, they are going to be telling us that the WMDs that Iraq was supposed to have had (but which were never found) are sitting in Tehran.
Then they will tel us that "a war with Iran will be good and so easy to win."
Trump knows better than the generals, right?
70
When the Trump administration critically needs our trust, will they get it? We've been lied to constantly for over two years. Who can blame us if we're all skeptical of any statement coming out of the White House? The whole administration lacks credibility.
21
Didn't Trump say a few years back that the US should have kept the spoils of the Iraq war?
“We go in, we spend $3tn, we lose thousands and thousands of lives, and then … what happens is we get nothing. You know, it used to be to the victor belong the spoils.” (The Guardian, 2016)
I have little doubt that is part of this scheme to start a war with Iran.
15
Why would a Shiite regime in Iran support a fundamentalist Sunni group with roots in Saudi Arabia?
24
This shouldn't even be up for debate.
They are absolutely going to invoke the AUMF and let the lawyers argue about it later.
Pompeo and Trump have been manipulating public opinion to show an Iran- al-Qaeda connection for months making transparent their accusations against Iran.
There was more compelling evidence for the al-Qaeda Saudi connection than these 'intelligence' nuggets from Pompeo and "officials" but we didn't invade them.
Yet we are allowing ourselves to be pushed into destabilizing an entire region, invoking acts of terrorism and war that favor the same dangerous 'friends' and our own warmongers.
Another terrible consequence of the GOP selling their soul, and likely a few bad polls.
13
Sunni and Shia allied together would be like Joe McCarthy teaming up with Joe Stalin. Pompeo is lying, as is his boss, if they claim otherwise.
So why an apparent run-up to war with Iran?
(1) Our armed forces are well paid, well trained and armed to the teeth. Trump has to do SOMEthing with them to justify their existence and expense--besides fence painting on the Tex-Mex border.
(2) Traditionally, Americans have been loath to trade leaders in the midst of a war. Getting embroiled with Iran would almost guarantee Trump a second term.
Good politics! But perhaps deadly for this nation's future.
15
@CABOT Not good politics this time. The whole scam is too obvious. Backing out of the multi-national nuclear agreement, siding with the oil rich murderous Saudis, provoking Iran with devastating sanctions and attempting to enlist the whole world against Iran. Two years of constant lying, ruining relationships with our democratic allies, and pandering to authoritarian leaders. Only a few depraved Trump fans will go along with this unconscionable ploy to get reelected.
1
There is no realtionship between Iran and Al Qaeda and there never will be. As partisans of different sects they hate each other. In addition, neither needs the other for anything.
Now Saudi Arabia just might be in bed with Al Qaeda, since the Sunni fundamentalist evil started and comes from there.
26
There is a relationship. They are mortal
enemies.
2
The time has come for every enlisted man to resign from the US armed forces, and no new recruits sign up. Would you be willing to lose your life so that Trump and Pompeo can claim victory over Iran for concocted attacks on oil tankers, just to rally Trump’s base?
16
@Irving Franklin - Let his supporters join.
1
@Irving Franklin
The draft will return after 44 years absence.
These allegations are not just false but ridiculous. Iran is a Shia nation and Al Qaeda considers Shia the "thorn in the throat of the prophet". Iran-backed parties and personalities were the main target of AQ in Iraq.
If we want to look at a country that has assisted jihadist movements in Syria, let's look at Operation Timber Sycamore through which the US funnelled weapons including BGM-71 TOW missiles to head-chopping Sunni fundamentalist groups like AQ ally Nur al-Din al-Zenki Brigades. Some of those TOWs are now in the hands of Al Qaeda's Syrian branch Al Nusra.
There is no lie so absurd these clowns won't trot it out to try to drag this country into another pointless and unjustified war. The worst thing is that many of those in their Congressional pinhead audience can't tell the difference.
--
11
Isn't Iran Shiite?
Isn't Al Qaeda Sunni?
Aren't both fundamentalist versions of their factions?
Don't they hate each other?
This is another lie, since the Gulf of Tonkin from last week didn't quite stick.
13
Not much of a jump from Twitter-happy to trigger-happy. Congress has received sufficient signals from the administration that an attack on Iran is in the cards. The jokers are wild. Defang the trump card and stop that nefarious game.
8
Go back to the war in Iraq, and read that these suspicions existed then. Some weapons found amongst Al Qaeda were allegedly Iranian/had their markings. Why support an organization that they themselves dislike? Because it was fighting with the Americans and killing them.
Proof? I certainly don't know, but I clearly remember reading two articles suggesting this was happening during the Iraq war.
1
This Administration has been looking for any excuse for regime change in Iran since Day 1. First is was nonsensical claim that Iran was attacking shipping, which would be totally counterproductive to its own interests. Now they are trying to link Iran to the Al-Qaeda bugbear. If they hadn’t subverted the independence and integrity of every other federal agency for ideological objectives we might be inclined to give this “intelligence” an iota of credibility. Fortunately for us, they don’t have anyone of the stature of Colin Powell to sell this nonsense.
9
Here's the thing, Secretary Pompeo.
I will try to explain this very, very slowly, so you can understand. [For further help, please consult Juan Cole's recent column, "Informed Comment," on the topic of Shia/Sunni conflicts.]
Right, Mr Secretary, here's the thing:
Iran is a Shia country, whereas Al Qaeda is a Sunni organization. There is very little possibility that these two opposing parties would ever wish to collaborate in thwarting US interests in the region, because, you see, they hate each other.
Shia.... Sunni.... different and opposing factions within the Muslim community. Opposing, as in unlikely to wish to collaborate.
Is that clear? Please, Sir, do read up a bit on the Muslim community in the Middle East.
8
@David Zimmerman
He knows this. He's hoping that most Americans don't.
1
The likelihood that Al-Queda whose followers adhere to an extreme branch of Sunni Islam and Iran which follows the Shia branch of Islam working together would be very low. Given the historical and theological hostilities between the two branches, it would be like Southern Baptists deciding to come under the jurisdiction of the Pope.
9
Trump and the corrupt group he has told over 9,000 lies since taking office. If you believe Iran has ties to this group you will believe any lie Trump will tell you.
15
Is there any shame left? Anywhere in the political establishment in this country? So, the Saudis with most of the attackers of 9/11 have no connection, and Iran does? Wow.
It’s getting laughable! You have to feel sorry for the parents of American soldiers who keep being sold these lies for their children to match off into desserts so these politicians can play their games. It’s criminal.
16
"No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly."
" Tariffs are "paid for mostly by China, by the way, not by us."
With a late-term abortion, "the mother meets with the doctor. They take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully. And then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby."
"Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda"
"Mexico is paying for the wall"
"I had the biggest inauguration crowds"
72
@Still Waiting for a NBA Title Democracies elect the leaders who most capably mirror the irrational fears and prejudices of the largely ignorant electorate with propaganda. Trump read Mein Kampf and it shows in his attacks on Muslims, Hispanic Immigrants, the free press and on his political opponents. He is the American Caudillo and he is every bit as corrupt, ignorant and incompetent as Maduro and Chavez before him in Venezuela. Worse, he is very capable of doing to America what those men did to Venezuela.
2
@American Akita Team
"Trump read Mein Kampf"
Not a chance. But maybe somebody told him one or two of the highlights.
1
@Paul do your homework. He read the book and that is where he gets his Nuremberg style rallies and his propaganda tactics and strategies from and his use of the "immigrant" as the scapegoat for all of society's ills.
this administration can not be trusted to wage a war. constant lies. all of the time. when will citizens take to the streets? a general strike sounds like a good plan to get the message across.
41
@L'historien
The citizens of Hong Kong can do it in an orderly and peaceful manner. Why can't we do the same?
8
@Wanderer - Because half of our country is shouting, "Lock her up!", that's why. And the other half is sweating bullets that Trump will win again.
1
Trump & Co have already cried wolf far too many times. It’s a sad reality, but nothing they say can be accepted on face value at this point.
32
Nothing like a war to help a President's reelection chances (yes, I'm that cynical). North Korea is off limits because that would mean taking on China. Iran is kind of hanging out there by their lonesome, it would please Trump's paymaster Saudi Arabia, divert attention from his failed policies at home, and comes right out of the Third World Despot's Handbook. Yep, a 'Short Victorious War' is just what is called for.
Hmm. . . perhaps best if we don't mention Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq, or perhaps our negotiations with Israel and Palestine either.
18
@Bruce1253 - I don't understand the argument that a war in Iran would help Trump when he is already at war in Afghanistan and has not finished that up in two years. ISIS still exists even though he claimed he would wipe them out in a month. And of course, as you mention, N. Korea is walking all over him using the most powerful weapon of all - flattery.
A Sunni and Shia walk into a bar...wait...that is probably the only thing they agree on. No drinking. They pretty much oppose each other in every way.
The Trump administration claiming the Iranians support and work with Al Qaeda or even the Taliban is patently false. Pompeo and Bolton are working overtime in find a workable excuse to bomb or invade Iran. They should not be believed.
What they are letting slide by, hoping no one would notice, is that our Military has uncomfortably worked with the Iranians (Shias) in the fight against ISIS (Sunnis) in Iraq and possibly in Syria.
22
Again as in the Invasion and occupation of Iraq, John Bolton it the architect of this, he has stated that Iran is our enemy and he wants war to change that. As with Iraq, even though the intelligence agencies and the spy planes could not find any evidence of WMDs, he was the one who got Bush and Cheney to say otherwise, all he wants to do is bomb someone, he is a criminal, an international war criminal.
Donald the swindler would like nothing more that to appear tough so he thinks Iran is an easy target, they will not run away like the Irqui's did, they will fight. Further more, the rest of the world will not support this, China has interests in Iran, as does Russia.
18
Sadly, if there is any truth to this, no sane person will believe it. We could be sorry but .........more likely not.
8
As long as we have a largely invisible "volunteer" army, recruited from the most depressed areas of the country, and at this point, no different than Blackhawk mercenaries, we will have this sort of cavalier foreign policy. With a mercenary force, it doesn't matter if today's friend is tomorrow's foe or vise-versa, as long as that paycheck clears, which aligns perfectly with Trump's mood swings. If we ever did, fighting for democratic principles is a thing of the past.
11
@stan continople
You are mistaken in assuming that Trump's lack of a moral compass also applies to our military.
I'm glad to see the long and illustrious tradition of manufactured reasons to start wars is still flourishing. Also great to see us support the progressive countries of the Middle East like Saudi Arabia in their just wars against those regressive Tehranis.
19
@Ram Kaushik
If you mean this to be sarcasm, I totally agree with you. Bolton and Pompeo are warmongers and who knows what could be found if their dealings were truly investigated. Follow the money.
What rewards will Pompeo get for the following action:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-childsoldiers-exclusive/exclusive-overruling-his-experts-pompeo-keeps-saudis-off-us-child-soldiers-list-idUSKCN1TJ25H.
With the US it is do is I say and not do as I do.
How can we accuse any country for human rights violations when we are one of the worst offenders.
4
Satire in case it wasn't obvious.
1
Gee, I thought Al Quaeda was sponsored by the Saudi ruling class to deflect criticism from their own behavior not matching the religious law they claim to follow.
11
Here we see the price of constant lying by this POTUS. When faced with a need to make a case for international action, how are we to discern that the claims being made this White House are believable? This particular claim just does not pass the logic test of the last two decades.
4
Ah, this is what I was waiting for.
Al Qaeda, the last-resort coercion weapon, that CIA, Pentagon and prior US presidents have used to hammer at Congress and the people.
We have not forgotten..."Iraq has weapons of mass destruction." Yeah, right.
And this is laughable.
Al-Qaeda and their ideology is derived form Wahabis, strict Sunni sect. They don't see eye to eye with Iran, Shi'ites, dot.
Al-Qaeda must be cackling with glee. US is going to take on their old enemy for them.
And Iran is not Iraq, mind you.
They have survived such a long time with sanctions of one kind or another. Also, remember this is one of the rare Muslim countries, that has never known colonialism.
They are not going to lie down lightly.
We couldn't get our act together in Afghanistan, we think we can take on someone who may have nuclear arms.
They started their nuclear program long time ago.
What do you think, they have been sitting idle?
8
@Ash.
When the cat is away the mice will play. In this way the cat (Shanahan) has been kicked out and the mice (Bolton and Pompeo) are playing.
Since we haven't had a cat capable of doing it's job, the mice are destroying the house.
Unfortunately, animal control (Congress) does not have the courage to do it's job and control the mice.
I thought it was Pakistan that gave shelter to Al Qaeda when we went after them in Afghanistan, and it was Iran that refused to shelter them.
Oh wait! Pakistan has atomic bombs and is 4 times as big as Iran. Also Iran has all that oil.
No, the bully's choice to deflect from all the Trump woes has to be Iran. I understand now.
9
Those congressional representatives on the fence about impeachment would be compelled to favor it if Trump begins hostilities against Iran on such preposterous charges. It is too great a moral outrage.
6
@CFB
Unfortunately, impeachment won't solve the problem because Pence will become president, a fate I wouldn't want to wish on any citizen of the US.
@Wanderer - Pence would be far better because he would not Twitter all night long about the Prince of Whales.
And if Trump is impeached, Pence would be stained by it and would be as weak as Gerald Ford. He would not win reelection.
If we fight Iran, we'll have to fight Iraq as well, since we gave Iraq away to Iran when we took out the previous regime and created the vacuum Iran was perfectly ready and willing to fulfill.
5
Prepare trump supporters for endless war, do you remember the Iraq war? I guess his supporters forgot the enemy this time is not an easy one American hegemony!
4
Iranians are almost all Shi'a Muslims -- as is their leadership; Al Qaeda is a Sunni sect. Given the history of Shi'a-Sunni relations, any claim that Iran is supporting Al-Qaeda should be met with a GREAT DEAL OF SCEPTICISM.
8
@Phil
We have a president who doesn't read, so how would he know the difference?
3
Right. Sure. I suppose Pompeo found Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
8
Seems we've been down this road before...and learned nothing.
11
I wish the NYT had emojis rather than just the recommended link. Then we could easily tally what your readers think of this ridiculous claim. I would give it a haha emoji but there's really nothing funny about this psychopath telling lies that will likely result in the death of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians and military personnel on both sides. It is unfortunate that we here in North America have never actually had to experience what warfare means to the civilians. If the hawks had had their homes bombed out and their families killed in a war they might be less eager to start one, especially one as unjustified as what the Trump gang is promoting.
8
@me, myself and I
09/11 was just a tiny example of what war is like and what we have inflicted on many other countries. After all, we have to keep our arms manufacturers in business.
1
@me, myself and I Try to picture numerous anger and sad emojis.
Here we go again. President Cheney did it in 2003 making Bush send Colin Powell to the UN to GUARANTEE Iraq had nuclear chemical and biologic weapons at their fingertips. Now Trump is setting us up for war with Iran under the same baloney arguments. We will definitely be at war in time for Trump to get the uneducated in the US behind him for the 2020 elections. Make America Suckers again.
7
@Tom - Interesting about the support. I just checked the comments at Breitbart and they are overwhelmingly against war with Iran.
About 1 in 10 will say that a war can be won in 15 minutes to 72 hours but they are quickly reminded that Afghanistan still goes on along with Libya and Iraq.
Next they will try to convince us that Canada was our Cold War enemy.
8
Anyone remember all the “proof “ we had of Iraq’s possession of wmd’s?
7
Considering that some of the same liars who lied us into a trillion dollar war that killed hundreds of thousands and wreaked havoc on the region are back in power; considering that "let's move on" Pelosi is currently back in the same position singing her old kumbaya tune (harmony by good-ole-boy Biden) about non-existent bi-partisanship to pass an agenda that will never see the light of day under the anti-democratic stranglehold of the Republicans; considering these things, this just may work. Rally 'round the flag! Don't criticize the "president" when we're at war!
3
Well, there is an election campaign to run. If you can't point to any accomplishments, you can always drive patriotic sentiment higher by starting a war. "Support our troops, vote Trump/Putin 2020."
8
@Philo Mcfadden - But...Trump is already at war in a few different places and hasn't won a single one yet so why support him in another endeavor that he can't find on a map?
Pompeo is lying. Full stop. It's really that simple.
18
What I am saying is that Trump has gone fishing and Democrats are taking the bait. Trump benefits from conflict and disorder, and the Democrats are contributing to this by their unskillful (yes I am Buddhist) response. Opposing evil causes it to grow (Tao te Ching).
2
It is sickening to me as an Iranian-American to see the Democrats in Congress believing the terrorist regime in Tehran over our own intelligence services. President Trump's strategy of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime is his most effective action as President and it is working. The Iranian-American community is much more supportive of this path than the Obama appeasement strategy.
8
And war in Iran will help what?
16
Yes but you do not have to suffer the effects of Trump's actions like someone living in Iran would. You are not suffering through shortages and skyrocketing inflation that has destroyed your life savings. You do not have to worry about being killed in a "surgical air strike" gone awry. You sound much like the Cuban expats who have supported the embargo on Cuba for decades even though it has caused much suffering for the Cuban people and done nothing to topple the regime there. Look at Iraq after the war there. Do you really think the average Iraqi is better off than they were under Saddam? , Would you move to present day Iraq. Will you move back to Iran if Trump succeeds in turning into Iraq 2?
18
Donnie doesn't believe his intel agencies.
7
Ludicrous is the only word I can think of the ongoing U.S. spotlight and sanctions on Iran, a country that has not invaded any other country in over three decades.
Ludicrous is also the only word I can think of when it comes to U.S.'s lovey dovey relationship with Saudi Arabia. A country that is the cradle and source of modern terrorism.
88
@Farnaz
Their money is good enough to pay for the lovely dovey relationship with tRump, his family and the war hawks in our government.
Why do you think tRump's first state visit was to Saudi Arabia? Let's not forget that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
5
@Farnaz you meant Iran hasn't attacked any country in 300 years not three decades.
2
The Onion may have said it best: "Kevin Bacon Linked To Al-Qaeda"
65
Will war with Iran cause enough civil disorder that the 2020 elections can be called off?
14
So it would seem that a reasonable ploy to get re-elected would be to start a war that overlaps the election. Only once as far as I can remember, has the incumbent not been re-elected during a time of war and that was when Lyndon Johnson abdicated his party for re-election in 1968. My overseas friends noted that their foreign hosts would understand how G.W. Bush could be elected initially but to be re-elected mystified them. I pointed out this that was the case with the march to war with Iraq and his re-election. They say that history doesn't repeat itself but that it rhymes... I wouldn't mind hearing a version of Trumpty Dumpty about now.
14
@Agent X - But he is already at war so how does he benefit from starting another one that he can't win?
@Agent X
Your friends should know that G.W. Bush was elected initially by our Supreme Court after Republican terrorists in suits invaded and stopped a Florida recount (in Dade county).
1
Good grief, Trump and his band of pirates are trotting out the old "ties to Al Queda" lie that Bush used as a basis to invade Iraq.
Do these people think we'll fall for this a second time, oh wait, Trump's voters believe anything he says. Got it. Bombs away.
55
Trump has connections to Putin.
27
Why do articles on Trump always quote that the President says this or that like in this article which quotes that he does not want war with Iran. Whatever Trump says is meaningless in that the next day he will say or do the opposite. Trump feels and sees that his reelection is in trouble and a war is the answer. That's good for Trump. If it is good for the country is of no importance to
him.
25
We fell for the lies of Colin Powell. The drumbeat starts , panic and fear reign, and rational thinking disappears. NO NO NO To conflict in Iraq. Do not send our children to war for Trump's vainglory.
28
Can we please find people that understand the difference between Shiites and Sunnis to run our Middle East policy?
The animosity between those two religions goes back hundreds of years and is far deeper than any problems Iran has with the U.S.
There is no way that Iran is allied with All Qeda.
On top of that, there was no Al Queda in Iraq until we took down Saddam Hussein because Saddam thought that religious extremists were a threat to his rule. After we created a power vacuum, Al Queda in Iraq was formed, and that morphed into ISIS. These are all Wahabi, which is the Saudi version of Sunni. That is the extremist terrorist propaganda j that our ally Saudi Arabia exports all over the world
Shia Iran helped Iraq and the U.S. defeat ISIS.
Most likely, Trump's re-election strategy is to start a war in Iran or Venezuela to boost his popularity.
DON'T FALL FOR IT.
DON'T LET TRUMP START A WAR.
83
Trump and his administration have no respect whatsoever for the authority of Congress. Moreover, whatever action Trump takes, Republicans in Congress, as well as a few Democrats will back him up.
The only power left is the power we have in November 2020 and I am not betting on that either.
11
Congress long ago abdicated any intention of governing the country or exercising its power to declare war.
Make no mistake at all.
There is not a republican in office who would dare to limit Mr Trump's intent to wag the dog by creating a Gulf of Tonkin incident. Not one.
With the republican politicians strong adherence to the power of the party superceding the power of the US Constitution, we can expect anything from Cadet Bone Spurs.
16
egad! History does not just rhyme.
5
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Quds have sheltered Al Quaida in Iran when it suited their interests to destabilize US interests in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, SA, UAE, Kuwait etc, but the relationship is one of convenience and is fraught with fissures and mistrust and double-crosses. However, it should be understood that Iran is exporting revolution and sewing the seeds of war across the region just as Napoleonic France did in the first two decades of the 18th century. Back then France was winning until it got involved bloody Spain which proved to be a bleeding ulcer, much like our endless wars of attrition in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to use our sea power, air power and diplomacy to affect realities on the ground with limited SOF and allied ground support in order to maintain stability, but we cannot wage land wars in the region as the geopolitical boundaries are meaningless given linguistic, ethnic, religious and tribal affinities which straddle boundaries. We have no strategy or goals in regard to Iran which of course means that we are reacting tactically to Iran instead of executing on a strategic approach. Trump has been an absolute disaster for American national interests and is administration is the most incompetent and corrupt since Grant and Harding were in the White House.
8
@American Akita Team
This is not "Planet United States" but we are acting like it is while our country turns into a rust bucket.
1
In the face of slumping "ratings" and Florida rally walkouts, don't be surprised if this military parade happy "president" starts a war to boost his numbers.
He don't care about you or your kids, just himself and Ivanka.
Back in the Bush II days the Pentagon would tell anyone who'd listen that Iran, not Iraq was the problem ... they didn't understand why we were going after the latter.
While that may still be true today, any action now would have Trump stink all over it. And that little Pompeo, too!
13
No, you know who has ties to Al Qaeda? Saudi Arabia has ties to Al Qaeda.
Sixteen of the nineteen Al Qaeda hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, as well as the ringleader himself, Osama bin laden.
And instead of just punching their frequent flier cards and giving them VIP air travel out of the country on 9/12, the U.S. should have more forcefully detained the Saudis who were living in the United States at the time and found out more about those ties.
38
Hmm. I remember when the Bush administration was saying that Saddam Hussein had ties to Al Qaeda. Will Kellyanne be hitting the talk shows warning us of mushroom clouds? Will Pompeo go before the the U.N. with false intel to drum up international support? (At least no one will have to trick Pompeo into doing it.)
17
2003 called and it wants it's huge lies back.
20
We'll soon hear that the Shiite Iranians were behind 9/11. Never mind that 17 of the hijackers were Saudi. Never mind that the Saudis support AlQaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, etc.
And the gullible US public will fall for it again. Meanwhile the Trump administration wants to sell nuclear technology to the Saudis. What could possibly go wrong?
21
The President wants war/that's what he's aiming for/It's like Duck Soup/and here's a scoop/he won't need to implore.
2
Congress? Vote to strip Trump of some power? Get real.
6
Iran is a country that sponsors terrorism. This link is not surprising. It is simply taken for granted. But anyone opposed to Trump will cry foul. It is actually funny how the media, the liberal politicians, and their lemmings will take ANY side that opposes Donald Trump. Comical.
1
@Duane Mathias...."Iran is a country that sponsors terrorism."....Instead of going blah, blah, blah, would you please provide some examples to support your claim. If what you say is true, it shouldn't be that hard.
12
@Duane Mathias
The U.S. is a country that practices and sponsors terrorism. So, what conclusion would you suggest?
11
@Duane Mathias Even if Iran sponsors terrorism (and you need to be specific about that) al-Qaeda would not be the terrorists it would sponsor. They are enemies and are at war with each other elsewhere in the region.
10
I thought everyone knew that Al Quaeda, spelled backward, is Rouhani. There’s your proof, right there.
6
Sure it is. The major SUNNI terrorist group, a Wahhabi Sect terrorist group started by Saudi Arabian government and OBL is linked to Iran, the Shi'ia country. This government will say any thing to get us into a "hot" conflict with Iran. Lying is the chief method of propaganda.
13
Most alarming is the administration’s total lack of understanding the very nuts and bolts that construct the region’s architecture. Iran is Shiite, Al Qaeda is Sunni, oil and water, and they don’t mix. Either Pompeo is inept at his job, or he is to put it mildly, a liar
12
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on ME!
This is driven by the following: Bolton, Pompeo, Saudia Arabia and Israel.
20
These are bald faced lies! Al Qaeda is a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim organization. Iran is a Shiite Muslim country. The fundamentalist Sunnis consider the Shiites to be heretics and even worse than the Jews (in their view).
John Bolton has a sick fetish for war in the Middle East. He is an enemy of the state in my book.
Mike Pompeo is a radical fundamentalist evangelical who believes war in the ME will bring about the rapture and the return of Jesus to save Christians.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/politics/pompeo-christian-policy.html
Another multi trillion dollar war in the ME will eventually devastate the U.S. economy due to the massive debt that will be added onto the already massive debt we have.
NO MORE WAR!
22
Bolton and Pompeo just shook their 2002 talking points about Iraq out of mothballs, dusted off their Windows XP operating systems, and hit edit-replace "q" with "n". Voila, here is your fresh war opportunity, all ready for chest-thumping approval by the American populace and profiteering by military contractors.
I didn't believe them back then, and I sure don't believe them now. Meanwhile, the murderous Saudi regime is our BFF in the Middle East, and Mohammed Bin Salman is a progressive wonder. How stupid do you really think we are?
17
Maybe. But Trump has ties to Russia... white supremacists... other enemies of the US...
8
Mike Pompeo, the Dick Cheney of the Trump administration, will get us into another war based on misinformation, misdirection, and hype. Only a fool would believe his evidence and consider his council.
9
Fake photos, ties to Al Qaeda... They must be reading from the same play book as George W Bush. Ties between Shiite Iran and the extreme Sunni group are as unlikely today as ties between the secular Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Stupid people think other people will believe stupid lies, and immoral people start stupid wars.
9
The AUMF was passed in 2001 and has since been used to as a pretext to invade Iraq as well as well as to send troops to Syria, not mention actions in several other countries.
Now, 18 years later, it looks like the plan is to use it to start a war in Iran. I would be very surprised if Iran, a Shiite country and the main rival to Sunni Saudi Arabia, would give Al Qaeda free rein in their country. We should be extremely skeptical of these claims as well as those that Iran is responsible for the recent tanker attacks. Even if they are responsible, Congress, not the President, should be the ones to authorize military action. The Trump administration wants to start a war with Iran, a country with 5 times the population of Iraq? This is madness. Congress needs to pass bill immediately to end the AUMF.
26
@Dave
Spot on. Although expecting Americans to understand the cultural animosity between the Sunnis and Shiites and which country represents which is probably to much to hope for in our current media environment.
10
The idea that the Iranians have ties to Al Qaeda is simply implausible. if there are any ties they're loose and nothing to go to war over at this point. Besides, the Saudi's are duplicitous friends and I'd question any intelligence they've been providing to Trump.
25
Seems like we've seen this movie before, only last time it was Iraq. Can we actually believe anything this administration says?
It is correct to say that Trump's friends (and personal financial benefactors) the Saudis were behind 9/11.
When will the truth come out?
22
Here we go again, WMDs and ties to Al Qaeda. We need to do a short history lesson for the stable genius. Iran is a predominantly Shia country, Al Qaeda is Sunni. Sunnis and Shias are enemies. Saudi Arabia is Sunni, Iran is Shia thus the reason for the two sides being enemies and supporting opposing militias in Yemen. Yes, they are both Muslim but they had a schism starting around 632 AD and becoming full blown In 680. From that time forward the Sunni and Shia were like the Protestants and the Catholics except they never stopped killing each other.
8
Election coming. + Unfavorable polls = Wag the dog.
16
Prosecute Bolton for his first round of lies about Al-Qaeda, and then prosecute him again for this round. Unfortunately for the chicken hawks, there is no Colin Powell to carry the administration's lies in a believable vessel this time around -- everyone in this administration is a total liar and the world knows it. The real America must fight against this administration until it is gone!
20
Here we go again. The NeoCons in 2003 claimed Saddam Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda as a pretext to the Iraq War. FALSE. These same NeoCons aren't even creative by throwing out the same line this time with Iran. If you want a link to Al Qaeda, try Saudi Arabia.
13
Which military group will Donald Jr and Eric Trump be sent to defang Al Qaeda?
It's about time that the "Bone Spur" Trump family put their "skin" in the game!
14
If they're concerned about links between Iran and Al Qaeda, just wait until they find out about the links between Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda.
18
Fool me once, (although you didn’t) shame on you. Fool me twice...you didn’t fool me once...you people are really from another planet!
8
Now wait, I was thinking Pompeo said that Al QUAEDA was supported by Hilary Clinton? Or is it Joe Biden? Okay, I get confused.
8
"One potential such action would be a bombing of the Natanz nuclear facility, an option debated over the years"
The Allies found in WW2, and the US found again in Vietnam, that bombing "factories" does not stop production. The equipment inside, the trained workers, and the knowledge base are no dependent on any one building.
Even if we blew up some equipment, what would that really gain us? They built that equipment, and we know they now have a lot of spares taken out of production per Obama's agreement.
Bombing would not blow up anything that matters over the longer term.
This is a longer term problem. We are worried about them getting The Bomb in years, not next week.
Thus, bombing could only make this worse. What do we do after we bomb? Diplomacy?
5
We the American citizens are not very smart. We elect politicians who spend trillions in Afghanistan and Iraq and now are clamoring to go to war with Iran. This serves external interest of the Saudi's and the Israelis but not the US people except the military industries who have spent millions lobbying the US government. In the end China will rise and replace us and we can only bale ourselves.
26
Well said and spot on. The far right Trump fanatics won't agree. They're in bed with the Russians and Donnie, all nice and cozy.
7
Hmmm. Where have we heard this before? The warmongers will never quit trying to feed their beast. In this case, even Trump’s base would likely revolt over a war with Iran. Such a conflict would make the Iraq war seem like child’s play.
Democrats need to call out this endless warmongering and force Trump to contradict Pompeo and Bolton. Pass the popcorn please...
6
“Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,” the documents said. “While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) takes seriously the threat of terrorism within Saudi Arabia, it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority …
“More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT, and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources.”
A third Wikileaks file appeared to show a private speech that Hillary Clinton made in 2013. In it, she said: “The Saudis and others are shipping large amounts of weapons – and pretty indiscriminately – not at all targeted toward the people that we think would be the more moderate, least likely, to cause problems in the future.”
9
At least Al Qaeda and Saddam were both Sunnis. Even though the claim of a link was another Bush lie it was plausible as Sunnis are on the same against Shiites. A claimed link between Al Qaeda and Iran seems more in the category of laughable. The Bush administration before the Iraq War at least had some credibility. The Trump administration has zero. Less than the boy who cried wolf if that is possible. Using the 2001 agreement on Al Qaeda to fight ISIS was a stretch. Using it to start a war with Iran would be ridiculous. The war mongers in the Trump administration much be held in check.
4
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
John Gartner, Ph.D. is the founder of Duty to Warn, an organization intent on warning our country that we are in dire trouble due to our president’s mental instability. More than 60,000 mental health professionals have signed John’s petition, which states:
“We, the undersigned mental health professionals, believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States. And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 4 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
President Trump argues he is above the law. A thousand prosecutors say he’s wrong [LaTimes]
As of Wednesday, more than 1,000 former federal prosecutors had signed a statement explaining that, in their professional judgment and based on the facts described in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report, President Trump would have been criminally charged with obstruction of justice if he were not the president. This public outcry from such a large group of prosecutors — who have served under Republican and Democratic presidents — is unprecedented and indicative of overwhelming expert agreement on the evidence and law supporting charges against Trump.
10
We won't get fooled again. Cheney started the big lie when he was president so he could settle an old score with Husein. The war also ensured he would stay in power another term.
With another election year coming up, t.Rump and Co. are trying the same play to keep themselves in power another four years. If they insist on invoking the 2001 act and go to war, congress would have to begin impeachment procedures and I think there could be enough Senators to agree on impeachment.
I believe that this administration will resort to scorched-earth tactics if they think it will keep them in power. Republicans with any conscience need to let the administration know now that they would not allow America to go to war based on another big lie.
9
Republicans with a conscience? Huh?
Going to war with Iran without explicit congressional approval would be an extremely impeachable offense as far as I’m concerned. More so than any other awful thing this man has done. It’s a blatant disregard of the constitution on one of the most serious decisions a government can make. The President is not a King and war authorizations are a critical part of that.
8
Iran also has ties to the US military.
After 9/11 who helped (and offered to do more) against our enemies finding haven in Afghanistan? Iran? Yes.
My "selective recall" pales in comparison to Pompeo's.
Funny how with the wheels turning, fully greased and slimed, the way he wants, Bolton suddenly is nowhere to be found.
Neo cons win. Again.
America and the world lose. Sorry Iran. Sorry American soldiers who will be needlessly killed by the fanatics in this administration.
Maybe Israel will help us come to our senses? Oh wait.
5
A couple of facts:
- Iran is an overwhelmingly Shiite country, and despite some attempts at pan-Islamic reconciliation by Iranians, they are largely feared and opposed by Sunnis, which make up a majority of the world's Muslims
- Iran has the majority of the world's Shiite population and has for centuries seen itself as the protector of the world's Shiites
- Iran has long been an enemy with and actively fought against the Taliban (persecuted Shiite Hazara in Afghanistan), ISIS (persecutes Shiites and opposed to Syria's Bashir government), and Al Qaeda (supported Taliban regime, opposes Syrian government, launched numerous terrorist attacks against Shiites in Iraq).
- Of the 9/11 hijackers, none were Iranian. 15 of the 19 were from Saudi Arabia, however, as was Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda.
7
Iran is overwhelmingly Shi'a. Saudi Arabia is overwhelmingly Sunni. Wahabism is a extremist form of Sunni, and ISIS and Al Qaeda are overwhelmingly Wahabi. The Trump Administration has decimated the ranks of skilled State Department professionals so doesn't even know these basic facts.
8
Al Queida has connections to Saudi Arabia. All these terror groups are Sunni not Shia. Americans, sadly, know a lot of about the religious lunacy of the Mid-East thanks to endless war there.
8
Cue the military band. Unfurl the flags.Decide what tree to put your ribbon around. Here we go again.
3
@RNS
Yes, we are being conditioned starting at an early age to adore the flag and demonstrate unfettered patriotism at any opportunity. The results are that since 1776 the US has been at war 222 years out of 239. Something to be proud of?
1
Conservatives don't believe in science and obviously they don't believe there is anything to be learned in history books. Pathetic.
9
This administration now has less credibility than a snakeoil salesman
6
Shi'a and Sunni getting together, yet Shi'a and Sunni are fighting proxy wars in various places in the Mideast.
Sounds like another WMD-esque plan they are formulating to utilize the war powers act.
3
Trump flunkies telling bogus stories to beat war drums against Iran. Hard to believe anything coming out of the White House.
4
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
Michael Cohen admits he paid tech firm to rig online polls for Donald Trump in 2014 and 2015 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2182614/michael-cohen-admits-he-paid-tech-firm-rig-online
US President Donald Trump’s estranged former lawyer said on Thursday he paid a technology company to rig Trump’s standing in two online polls before the presidential campaign.
3
Break out the Freedom Fries folks! It's 2003 all over again!
4
The same claim was made about Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, who did not have any ties at all. Iran has been fighting Al Qaeda all of these years as well. Get a grip Washington and stop lying.
6
The intelligence on this coming from the none other warmonger, John Bolton. A liar then and a liar now.
6
Okay this is getting pathetic.
10
Remember who Trump really is... not the person(?) he's selling.
President Trump has made more than 10,000 false or misleading claims [WashingtonPost]
Behind the Narcissist Mask: The Liar, Bully, Coward and Fraud
--The Mask: an emotionally stunted child with an adult savvy for ruthless manipulating.
--The Narcissist Liar: Liars who continuously attempt to control others’ perceptions of them and, when they can’t, resort to nasty, often violent reprisal. He may cast himself as a highly principled person, but in reality he is only concerned with his own needs and is too weak to face life’s truths, especially those that threaten his defenses. Talks a good game, but when it comes to the truth, he stonewalls, blames, shames others and deflects accountability.
--The Narcissist Bully: Classic bullies who ambush, attack without cause, and prey on the most vulnerable within their grasp, usually those who love and depend on them, namely their spouse and children, who as a result carry lasting emotional and psychological trauma.
--The Narcissist Coward: Cowards who are fundamentally terrified of themselves and anyone who might see through their mask.
--The Narcissist Fraud: By nature who lies, exaggerates, and brags about themselves and denigrates others to bolster their image. They hate themselves but hate others even more, and everything they do is in service of asserting a superior face no matter what reality exists inside themselves or within their family.
21
Bolton & Co. would make a used-car salesman blush.
15
Creating a need for conflict and war to take the attention away from the environmental needs and the investigations!
14
"In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran." - 11:48 AM - 29 Nov 2011 - stated on twitter by Donald J. Trump.
Let's also skip over the part where the U.S. is actively selling weapons and funneling money to Saudi Arabia, which was HEAVILY involved in the events leading up to the 9/11 Terrorist attacks
36
It has way passed the time to overthrow this illegitimate Mullahs' Terrorist regime occupying Iran Today.
More than 95% of Iranians oppose this medieval Mullahs'terrorist and Mafia regime, and will participate in its overthrow with the Unites States forces.
It has been proven that Akhond Ali Khamenei, the God-Father of this Mafia regime Occupying Iran today, is a mass-murderer, 40 years ago, he has set Cinema Rex, in the City of Abadan, South of Iran, on fired, that murdered more than 350 Iranians. He is also without doubt an active collaborator of Al Qaeda.
2
@John
And passed time for the Saudis and North Koreans and don’t forget Putin and al Assad.
3
@Jesse James, Medieval Mullahs' illegitimate and mafia regime occupying Iran today is an enemy of the United States and the Free World and a collaborator of Al Qaeda.
1
@John, Do you know anything at all about the different religious factions of Islam? Anything at all? Shia, Sunni, Sufi, Alawites, Kurds........Surely you must know that Al Qaeda is a Saudi invention.
4
It's really galling to see this so-called commander-in-chief calling the shots on putting young americans in the military in harm's way as part of his willy-nilly foreign policy in the ME. A deliberative war coward, trump himself evaded sacrifice through blatant graft not once but five separate times in the Vietnam war ... a draft dodger par excellence. 58,220 americans sacrificed their lives as he carried on his self-serving hedonistic life style with absolutely no regrets or second thoughts.
11
Next line of garbage info will be ‘ we have to go to war’
over my cold dead body
7
Only the dimmest of Americans would buy this nonsense.
13
This is what they said about Saddam...and it wasn't true.
Now they expect us to believe that a Sunni organization that kills Shia Muslims...like the Iranians...whenever possible, is connected to said Iranians. The same Iranians that have been working hard to eradicate ISIS...formerly called Al Queda in Iraq. It beggars belief.
14
Yeah of course, Shia Iran has ties to extremist Sunni Al Qaeda!! The US government is actually the one who had previous ties to Taliban, not Iran.
Not this time.
10
Stop lying to the American public.
7
Bolton is a reckless warmonger amply demonstrated by decades of reckless bellicose bombast, yet another in a long list of trump blunders in hapless cabinet appointments
10
I think the Onion summed up the disbelief the best with: “Trump claims Iran behind attack on Nancy Kerrigan”
10
Donald Trump is a liar by nature and nurture.
Every member of the Trump Administration is also a liar by nature and nurture.
What is meant by Iran having ' ties to al Qaeda ' is probably firmly based in Zionist Jewish Israelis and Sunni Muslim Wahhabi Saudis wanting American blood and treasure wasted in a war with Shia Muslim Persian majority Iran.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney misled America into a war in Shia Muslim Arab majority Iraq by lying about an Iraqi connection to 9/11/01 and Iraqi WMD's.
Trump has ties to and is beholden to Israel, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
13
This is called “National Enquirer” Intelligence assessment.
7
Didn't we go through this after 9/11? When the nation was more ignorant about Shia and Sunni schisms in Islam, we thought that maybe Iran and Al Qaeda could be in cahoots, but then we learned.
There is and remains no possible way that Al Qaeda extremists would ally themselves with the nation of Iran. Trump's people are the worst liars going.
7
It is hard to believe all the lies that Trump, Pompeo, Bolton and their Saudi, including the butcher of Yemen and the executioner of Jamal K. tell. Countries that are directly connected to Al-Qada are Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states. How many of the 9/11 hijackers were from Iran?
8
@Shim
How many of the 9/11 hijackers were from Iran?
0.
3
No. The symbiotic relationship is between the rogue monarchial regime of Saudi Arabia (pre-dating the murderous Mohamed Bin Salman and his senile father) and Al-Qaeda. The proof is September 11, 2001.
Saudi Arabia funded Al-Qaeda and funded/is funding the radical Sunni orthodoxy known as Wahabism throughout the Islamic world (and beyond), encouraging terrorism. Saudi Arabia is the most prolific funder of terrorism, and is engaged in horrific genocidal actions against civilian Yemenis.
Bin Salman is guilty of murder, jailing, beheading and crucifying Saudi dissidents.
Shi'a Iran is ideologically and politically opposed to Al-Qaeda, and any attempt to link them is nothing but a pretext to wage war against Iran.
There is no connection. Period. Full stop.
14
Maybe this latest laughable hype is merely Trump's way to try to scare Iran into appearing to capitulate to him or get its Supreme Leader to rattle his sabre at us. We are supposed to disregard fifteen hundred years of often and continuing violent conflict between Sunni and Shia claimants to Mohammed's mantle and now believe that there is "proof" that al Qaeda and Iran are in cahoots. Only Trump's base, many of whom have no idea of that deep division and can only see them as all indistinguishable jihadi Muslims(!!) will buy this. I hope the Democrats stand up to this attempted fraud.
3
Yum, " Yellow Cake " with two scoops of Ice Cream.
LIARS.
8
@Phyliss Dalmatian
They should definitely try some. It's delicious!
1
Wouldn't Trump do better to claim Iran was being run by Mexican "Rapists and Murderers"?
Then he could have Iran pay to build the "wall" through tarriffs.
7
Face it, fellow Americans. President Trump, may his tribe decrease, is going to start a war with Iran in order to hang on to his office. If we're in a gung-ho war, we will keep the president we have, no? Let's make that a real NO.
6
Why Trump continued to speak! No one believes any words from his mouth. As a person, when you're caught lying and don't or won't admitted that you lied, your words are worthless.
2
A lie travels from Russia to the Oval Office around the US before the truth will out:
https://news.usni.org/2019/05/01/panel-russia-will-reap-benefits-from-iranian-oil-crackdown
3
Please stop this insanity
2
Trump needs a war to get re-elected in 2020. Is anyone really surprised at these early machination?
13
Summer reruns or the Evil Sequel starring the Trumped Up Regime
In the shadow of 9/11 a formerly-honorable General Colin Powell stood before the UN warning the world about WMD, selling his soul for the corrupt Bush regime and Cheney Inc.
Now the new evil iteration - on steroids, stars a known liar, SOS Pompeo (pun intended) once again warning us using the familiar dog whistle buzz words of the Axis of Evil.
This will be a test of American skepticism and reality checks.
This will be the most important test of the compromised Republican party - will they send our national treasure to a war that can't be won, to an area that a match will create a nuclear wildfire that can't be stopped until we're all gone?
6
I seem to recall folks trying to tie Al Queda to Iraq after 9/11 as well. If Al-Qaeda regards Shias as heretics, why would anyone believe they'd want anything to do with Iran?
4
@Stephen Ford ....At least Saddam Hussein was Sunni.
2
@W.A. Spitzer Saddam was a Baathist, a secular socialist movement that has all but disappeared. The Baathist and the ultra religious Al Queda were also enemies. It made no sense, nor does this current nonsense.
2
@Larry Segall....Hussein may have called himself a Baathist, but his army officers and main body of support came from the Sunni population of Iraq (as opposed to the Shiites or Kurds).
and Iraq has WMDs.
4
Yeah, and ??! guess what Osama Bin Laden was on the CIA payroll at one time - a fact our government did not want publicized so no surprise he was murdered instead of arrested and put on trial.
Pompeo is a Cheney wannabe hellbent on war with "The Islamic Republic of Iran" (the only way he will refer to the country). It was necessary for someone with the reputation of Colin Powell to wave vials at the U.N. to get us into Iraq and we all know how that turned out. The country will not support Trump in this misadventure because we don't believe a word he or anyone in his administration says. Nevertheless, we - as well as the Iranians - have been warned.
5
Let Trump and his National Security Team take us to war. Let all the MAGA hat wearers be the first off the boats and planes to get in the fight. The day the MAGA hats and their sons and daughters are over in Iran fghting, so Saudi Arabia and Israel don't have too, Trump's base abandons him.
5
Here we go again.
Let's get the ball rolling with a blast from the past, courtesy George W. Bush: "Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
Times like these, where's Mark Twain when you need him?
3
Right. And Iran also helped Saddam stash his WMDs..
3
The flagrant deterioration and rudeness of political discourse, in the mainstream media, is the whole responsibility of the bad-losers.
These bad-loser pundits even take the side of the enemies of the United State, such as; China, Cuba and Mullahs in Iran, just to oppose anything that President Donald Trump's administration decides.
Majority of the voters are taking notice of this illogical and completely sick behavior of democrats by not voting in the future elections, for any candidate belonging to these out of their-mind-democrats.
1
@John: It’s Trump who sets the tone with his incessant lying and juvenile name-calling. Calling him out on this with facts and disapproval is not rude and does not constitute a deterioration of political discourse. We may not like Iran but it was abiding by the nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of. That was illogical, as was pulling out of the TPP that could have reigned in China, or sharpening relations with Cuba that for long hasn’t been the stronghold of Communism that it used to be. Talking about taking the side of enemies: Do you think that Trump’s buddy Putin has the best interests of America in mind?
7
@Anna Just listen to the latest very rude comments of, Bernie Sanders, and naturally very rude Joe Biden.
1
Pompeo is so Bush league.
3
Iran and al-Qaeda. Right. Is this a Marvel studies production?
1
Al-Qaeda a Sunni organization )Saudi/Yemeni roots) would never side with Iran, a Shia dominated country. Pompeo is just bloviating.
3
RLW
Chicago just now
"The Persian Gulf is not America's problem, and not in America's interests. "
Sure! Like what was happening in Europe in 1939 was not of American Interests. When will you learn
ISIS is descended from Al Qaeda, including former members of Al Qaeda. SO Iran spends blood and treasure to put down the Sunni Terrorists of ISIS but supports the Sunni Terrorists of Al Qaeda? Sorry, Trumpites, we need proof, your word is unacceptable.
4
First Bush with his lies about Iraq and ties to Al Qaeda, now this. It's deja vu all over again. Give me a break.
2
MBS’ fingers must be tired from all of the puppet strings he’s been pulling.
6
Give this man a gun and boots, tell *him* to go fight a war in Iran. Don't let him send your children.
7
This is exactly what happened with us and Iraq in 2003. We're going to start another illegal war and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people as a result. Be ready.
2
" senior administration officials had “talked about Iran providing safe haven to Al Qaeda.”
Read as: senior administration officials LIED (AGAIN!).
Al Qaeda came from SAUDI ARABIA, home of the 9/11 terrorists. NOT IRAN. That those would be cohorts is an unbelieveable LIE.
3
When Bush 43's administration sold the country on going to war with Iraq they may have cherry picked faulty intelligence but they at least had a defendable excuse. There really was some believable intelligence about Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction.
This time we can hope it is just lies, unbelievable lies. Whatever anyone who has followed the Middle East thinks about Iran--The idea that they are working with Al Qeada is based on ignorance or wanton stupidity.
We have fairly good evidence that wars that begin with lies and have a tendency to not end well. I am afraid we are about find out what happens when the ignorant are led by the wantonly stupid.
The United States seem to be rapidly declining as a reasonable world power. The accusation of the Trump government that Iran is an ally of Al Qaeda sounds like a manipulative twist to distract from the proven connections of Saudi Arabia with this terror organization. Remember 9/11 or Saudi Arabias financial support of the jihadists in Syria etc etc. Looks like the US government is a vehement ideological partner of Saudi Arabaia, the declared foe of Iran, and a top buyer of US military hardware. The interventions of the US in the Middle East represent a history of of terrible mistakes. Starting with the toppling of democratically elected Mossadegh of Iran in 1953 by CIA and British agents. Or George W Bush's war against Iraq or Obama's war against Libya. And in these days against Syria or Jemen. The results are so terrible that one can not find a single point to justify these actions.
6
Smells a lot like Colin Powell's assurances that there were WMDs in Iraq. We didn't out that was fiction until the war was well underway. Trump would love a war as a diversion and campaign theme. It might be the only way he could get re-elected.
3
If Trump thinks the citizenry will just go with the flow like in 2002 when everyone was still in shock after 9/11 and there was actually some good will toward the government, then they are in for a very rude awakening.
3
not worried. all trump cares about is getting re elected and putting our kids in harms way is not the path for that.
2
As the great Yogi Berra once said: “It’s deja vu all over again.”
3
I've heard this one before. How many unjust wars will be fought using 9/11 as justification? Here are the facts:
0/19 hijackers: from Afghanistan
0/19 hijackers: from Iraq
0/19 hijackers: from Iran
15/19 hijackers: from Saudi Arabia
2,372: US military deaths in Afghanistan
31,000: civilian deaths in Afghanistan
4,424: US military deaths in Iraq
460,000: civilian deaths in Iraq
$7 billion: the amount of military aid to Saudi Arabia that Trump approved over the objections of Congress
The human cost of a war with Iran, which had nothing to do with 9/11, would be catastrophic. Meanwhile, Trump is fueling conflicts in the Middle East involving so-called allies.
I can already see the next argument after we are drawn into this quagmire: you don't change horses midstream. What a bloody way to get reelected.
7
Oh c’mon, people in State and CIA know better than this by now, this is obvious Trumpian foolishness trying to use the memory of 9/11 to exploit people. This is pre-2006 thinking of what Al Qaeda is, that they’re a coherent force concentrated in one area. They aren’t, they’re more like a flag or a name for lone wolves or radicals to rally around. They’re not sat in a camp in Iran - Al Zawahiri is probably still in the Hindu Kush or Waziristan (ask Pakistan, I bet they know...). Islamism does not an Al Qaeda make. This is pure fearmongering.
AQ is also Sunni, has been designated as a terrorist group by Iran, and are not known to particularly get on with Iran. Iran would see them as a threat. If a population are increasingly angry at sanctions, Americans and their own government, you really think they Al Qaeda-aligned people hanging around?
But of course, it’ll probably have the effect they want, like in 2002-2003 when it was yet another reason to invade Iraq. “And it’s all just a little bit of history repeating itself”.
1
I just hope the Trump Administration will finally reveal the connection between Martians and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
We deserve to know the truth.
2
The Trump administration will do whatever it takes to please his buddies MBS and Bibi - even at the cost of American lives. I am beyond disgusted.
4
Is this what Putin told them? The problem with Trump's challenging all our intelligence agencies credibility on Russian interference in 2016 election, is that you diminish our credibility on all others matters like Iran. This may be to complex a concept for a serial liar like Trump to understand.
1
“They wanted to deny you the future that you demanded and the future that America deserves and now is getting, ...They want to destroy you and … destroy our country as we know it. It’s not acceptable, and it’s not going to happen.”
-- Trump at rally (to cheering supporters?)
Man, conversations have to increase en masse to Trump supporters. One has to be a cult follower to buy his stuff.
3
Not so long ago Saddam Hussein also had. Weapons of Mass Destruction and we wage a costly war; billions of dollars and an extraordinary number of casualties. What did we accomplished?
Republicans are again beating the war drums and the Military Industrial complex are licking their chops. It is time to fill their coffers again.
2
That war accomplished exactly what it was intended to do: create massive profits for defense contractors and the politicians who invested in those industries and distract the country from how incompetent the president was. It had the side benefit of creating ISIS so fighting them could further boost profits. Any human suffering was merely a side effect that was not relevant as it did not affect the bottom line. Looks like this administration is sticking with what works.
How many more Presidential administrations are going to cry wolf before Americans wake up and realize that all the wolves have been living in the White House? How many have died and been permanently maimed by American instigated wars in Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. etc? Congress has The responsibility to CHECK the information and balance false claims against the facts and consider Amerca's interests before allowing another war to begin to support the political ambitions of a failing presidency.
4
And the White House (Trump) bases this on what? Intelligence from the very agencies he says he doesn’t trust? Speaking of trust, it is evident that the chronic lying has caught up with the White House as it tries to convince allies that Iran is culpable. When it is actually critical, will our allies (the few we will have left) actually believe us?
6
Sounds like the war machine wants more profits at our expense. And Trump's voters will gladly empty their pockets for them.
4
The world has already suffered through Georg W. Bush's Iraq War because all but a few Congressmen believed false information provided by the Bush Administration. We should never be fooled again like we were by Bush-Cheney. Enough saber rattling by Bolton and Pompeo. Let the Mid-East sort itself out without American interference. No more war to satisfy the egos of politicians. Trump was right when he wanted to be an isolationist and keep us out of foreign entanglements. The Persian Gulf is not America's problem, and not in America's interests. We don't need foreign oil. We all need clean energy
20
"Iran is a majority Shiite Muslim nation while Al Qaeda is a hard-line Sunni group whose members generally consider Shiites to be apostates. The two have often fought on opposing sides of regional conflicts, including the Syrian war."
This paragraph ought to be right up top. It strongly suggests that Trump's claim about Al Qaeda and Iran is not only a lie, but an old, recycled lie, with a disgraceful history going back to 9/11 and the Bush administration's campaign of lies about Iraq.
We know for a fact that the Trump administration's primary rhetorical mode is lying. That critical fact needs to be emphasized more strongly by the media. This otherwise worthwhile story misses a chance to do that.
38
Somehow everyone has "ties to Al Qaeda", except of course the nation that helped give birth to that organization.
If Al Qaeda as the brainchild of Bin Laden, then it is to a significant degree a Saudi creation.
US intelligence has traced Al Qaeda funding to various Saudi's. The Wahabist Imam's of Saudi Arabia have been the theological supporters and purveyors of jihad by Al Qaeda.
And the offshoots of Al Qaeda like the El Nusrah Brigade that fought against Syria were simply renamed and supported militarily and financially by the Saudi's.
This is simply a replay of the Bush/Cheney effort to adopt the neocon plan to justify another war in the Middle East.
And let's not forget that when that administration was warned by FBI field agents of the pending 9/11 attack they responded by trying to fire the agent. They wouldn't let anything get in the way of their plans for war in Iraq.
Hopefully the congress and the American people are wise to these games and will respond accordingly.
337
@Drspock Al Nusra was never funded by Saudi, the only group Saudi backed in Syria was the now defunct Jaysh al Islam. And just because a Saudi national led Al Qaeda does not mean the government is behind it. Is Egypt supporting Al Qaeda too because Al Zawahiri
3
@madeleine...."And just because a Saudi national led Al Qaeda does not mean the government is behind it"..... And just because the government of Saudi Arabia doesn't formally back Al Qaeda and ISIS doesn't mean that isn't where the money is coming from.
24
@Drspock: Al Qaeda is run by Sunnis that hate Shi’ites. Iran is Shi’ite. To say they are working together is like saying the New IRA is working with Protestants.
187
Pompeo may be a West Point graduate and former CIA director but he must have had a brain drain since those times. Bullying creates the resistance in the population of a foreign state necessary to withstand sanction and shortages as we have seen in North Korea and Iran. Pomeo should be warned he looks more like Trump's clown than secretary of state. I think we are close to a major fissure in our foreign policy with Europe, China and Japan working to preserve sanctions with Iran by buying its oil. Congratulations to Rupert Murdock for cloaking the most illiterate leader in modern times from critical review as he prepares for a war to help his presidential campaign.
9
@Ray his arrogance is in competition with his stupidity
2
Iran is an evil country. Iran’s ambition to become a nuclear power in the Middle East have long preceded any sanctions of the US. Iran wants to be the dominant power in the Middle East, and US/EU citizens don't quite understand that Iran's ambition's have to do also a lot with the centuries old war between the Sunnis (Most Muslim countries) and Shiites(Iran) fractions in Islam. Iran is a fanatic Shiite trouble maker with militant proxies in Lebanon(Hezbollah), Syria, Yemen, the Far East and Africa. A nuclear Iran will be far more dangerous than North Korea. Iran must be taken out with or without ties to al Qaeda! Anyone who thinks nuclear deals can do it is utterly naive.
1
A lot of wild claims without any proof.
7
@lieberma, are ypu prepared to send your own children or grandchildren there. How many decades will we need troops there? How many Americans and Iranians will dies as a result? How much will it cost the Pentagon? What instability will it cause in an already unstable? Why do you think it is OK to let Iran resume it's nuclear program which had been curtailed successfully by the JCPOA?
5
@lieberma So genocide for 80 million Iranians is you plan? Or we just invade and take over?
Why isn't nuclear armed Pakistan on your radar? Their intelligence services actually aided Al Qeuda and the Talliban.
How about nuclear armed Israel, who just take over other countries territories and then build "Trump" monikered settlements?
6
It’s somewhat encouraging that some Republicans aren’t entirely buying into the jingoistic war-mongering that the president and SecState are selling.
Can anyone actually imagine a war helmed by Donald “I know more than my generals” Trump? He of the “I alone can fix it”, a/k/a the “stable genius”?
In 2002-03, Congress, in a vengeful, heated rush to avenge 9/11, yielded up its check on presidential war-making. W. lied to us. His SecState, Colin Powell, lied to us. Trump is a liar and Michael Pompeo is no better. Why should the president or his representatives be believed about Iran’s intentions? Iran has as much contact with the Taliban as I have.
14
Everything that comes out of this administration is a lie, this included. There is no evidence for coordination between Iran and Al Qaeda, they are ideologically opposed.
This administration's rushed attempt toward conflict with Iran is both weak and desperate. The supposed attack on oil tankers is a pathetic and flimsy reboot of the Gulf of Tonkin incident. This new attempt to equate Iran and Al Qaeda smacks of the Bush administration's cherry picking of intelligence and outright lying when they attempted to tie Saddam Hussein with Al Qaeda. It was a colossal lie then, and it's a colossal lie now.
At this rate, I expect Colin Powell to show up next week with a scary vial full of "something dangerous" he can wave around on camera.
14
'Did you hear the news? Iran has ties to Al Qaeda'
'Yes, I heard. Trump officials said it, so it must be true'
'By the way, did we ever find those Iraqi WMD's?'
'Didn't you hear? They were found in the Gulf of Tonkin'
5
Those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
It’s really a shame that our country is constantly abused by the people entrusted to do the right thing.
No one was held responsible for taking us into an unnecessary war based on fake evidence in the Iraq war.
As long as there is no accountability, there is no deterrent to this abhorrent behavior.
Pompeo, Bolton, and Trump have no morals or ethics to restrain them.
419
@Grove
So, it falls to us to do that job. We the people need to be ready to take to the streets in massive protest if these bozos try to start a war. I'm talking about a general strike.
Be ready to stand up for our democracy, or lose it.
64
@Steve W Looking at recent US history, taking to the streets won't work. Just look at women's rights, LGBT rights, et. al. Thousands take to the streets, make a lot of noise and the politicians just lay low for a few days (or as Trump did in London, say it never happened) to re-emerge 'status quo.' I like the European idea of a general strike.
23
@Steve W
I would like to see a general strike on a few issues. Wealth inequality and bogus wars certainly being in the top three. But I don't see the American public willing to do so...for anything. Sad.
28
You don’t get to pick and choose what you believe from intelligence sources and expect anyone to believe anything you say. The Trump administration has no credibility or “clothes”. Congress, ala Mitch McConnell, needs to refuse to allow this president and administration to do anything until the American people are allowed to vote in 2020.
140
@SRD
Yes and the media has to stop acting like the Trump administration ever tells the truth. These people love lying so much that if the truth would help them, they would lie anyway.
9
@SRD - that Mitch McConnell line? Best irony of the decade. If you aren't doing stand-up - you have missed your calling.
3
@SRD
"Mitch McConnell, needs to refuse to allow this president ..."
That's a joke, right?
4
Highly unlikely as many have said. Trump has called wolf way too many times so nobody will believe him even if it were true. He has made the world a much less safe place.
5
In re: invoking ties to terrorism to justify war. Heard that one before. And it worked out exactly how well?
5
This claim has absolutely no credibility whatsoever. If Al Qaeda has ties to any middle eastern country, it is Saudi Arabia where most of the 911 hijackers were from. Nothing this administration claims is remotely believable.
Congress needs to stop the Iran war train from leaving the station ASAP. We need to get our Congressmen to wake up and stop this now! This war is completely unnecessary.
13
Usama bin Laden was a Saudi national, and so were fifteen (?) of the 9/11 hijackers.
“Iran is a majority Shiite Muslim nation while Al Qaeda is a hard-line Sunni group whose members generally consider Shiites to be apostates.”
The penalty for apostasy is death, last I heard. Doesn’t seem like the most natural of friendships. Quite an easy way to exploit a widespread misunderstanding of history as a means to start a war, though.
9
@ubique -- another GOP president, another attempt to foment war fever against some Muslims. Most Americans don't even know where these countries are, much less the differences between Sunnis and Shiites. The only difference now might be that whereas Bush and co. had to bamboozle the ignorant, Trump, the rapture-desirous Pompeo, and "No rice paddy for me" Bolton (with Barr's blessing) will just blow right past the flimsy excuse of AUMF in yet another war of distraction. Mentioning the fact that 15/19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis just makes their eyes glaze over; don't even think about how much money the Sheikhs have given/continue to give ol' Don and his golf course in the UAE...
1
Do you know who has close ties with Al Qaeda ... SAUDI ARABIA. Don't forget that the 911 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia .. not Iran ... not Iraq. And now your president is going to march you into a war that will only benefit Saudi Arabia and Israel, on a false pretext about a Sunni Arab terrorist organization being linked to Iran which is predominantly Shiite. Both Bolton and Pompeo have always wanted to attack Iran and this is the false pretext they are setting up. It started by unilaterally pulling out of the non-nuclear agreement, re-instituting sanctions on Iran and any company that does business in Iran and it is now ending with a ginned up intelligence about links between Iran and Al Qaeda.
Before you send you kids to fight and die in Iran, for two countries who won't send their kids, you had better question the real reason.
16
On the bright side, this Administration's attempt to lay a cover story in advance may be the first evidence of any awareness that there may, in fact, be legal limits on what it can do. Oh, Happy Day!
4
Yesterday he said, “We got a lot of things going on with Iran”, as if he was talking about opening a casino in Atlantic City. This is a very dangerous man.
7
Iran definitely has ties to Hezbollah. But they’re mortal enemies of Sunni extremists like al Qaeda and ISIS. You know who has direct ties to, and supports al Qaeda and ISIS? Saudi Arabia
9
@Nima....Add the Madrassa in Pakistan and the Taliban to groups funded bu Saudi Money.
1
Sorry, Al Qaeda is Sunni-based. Sunni, as in Saudi Arabia. Instead of going to war with Iran, I suggest the United States press for extradition of Fahad al-Thumairy, Omar al-Bayoumi, Osama Bassnan, Mohdhar Abdullah and other Saudi government officials who allegedly assisted in planning and financing the September 11, 2001 attacks.
14
No. Just no. Stop. Let me use the refrain of conservatives when Democrats speak of any of their priorities. We. Are. Broke. We cannot afford any more wars. Period. We're just going to have to stick to the wars we already have going on.
7
Not possible. Iran is Shia, Al Qaeda is Sunni. The same situation existed in Iraq and looked what happened there.
15
@Marcus Brant BINGO!
2
@Marcus Brant....Well sort of. Iraq is slight majority Shiite, but Saddam Hussein and his personal army were Sunni.
Of Course Iran supports Al Qaeda, Iran supported the Taliban and of course Iran is responsible for thousands of deaths of US troops after 9/11. Its true because the President, his staff and Fox News says so. The American public have been given a steady diet of "fake" news by this administration. The truth hardly matters anymore.
Additionally, the US Congress gave the President a blank check for war- one that doesn't require Trump to get approval- as long as he can say Iran & Al Qaeda and not laugh.
9
@Umar you're right, the truth hardly matters anymore
4
Exactly what net purpose does war with Iran serve? Who gets what and at what cost?
15
Dear Joe,
The first profiteers would be weapons manufacturers, and the U.S. leads the world in that field. Trump is also counting on profiting by winning the election as a wartime president. Once Iran was beaten into relative submission, with just eternal guerrilla warfare going on, the oil fields would be harvested by major U.S. oil companies, and they would profit greatly from that control.
People who would not do well include the American taxpayers, who would pay the trillions in costs, the thousands of American military members who would die or be seriously injured, Iranians, and the entire Middle East which would see a rise in terrorism and instability. Also, Europe would be hit by further waves of tens of millions of refugees.
6
This makes no sense, but when has that ever mattered?
14
Anyone who believes these assertions from the Trump regime is either hopelessly gullible or is complicit in the deceit.
16
How is secretary ofSTATE Pompeo running around as if the intel agencies have reported to him? Why is he discussing potential military operations with generals and congress? Did he decide he is in charge? Even Bolton has disappeared. Where is the Director of intelligence? Where’s acting SecDef? Where are the joint chiefs? Does Trump know?
5
It's just lie after lie after lie with this administration.
Remember when we thought nothing could ever be worse than Bush.
This Trump GOP fiasco is an outright attack on democracy and it's institutions.
11
Insulting our collective intelligence is a Trump hallmark. Al-Qaeda has ties to Saudi Arabia, not Iran. But Trump’ll never say that.
13
Remember the Niger uranium forgeries used to falsely create a link between Saddam Hussein and Sept 11 2001 so Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz could invade Iraq under false pretenses ?
Welcome to the latest Republican war lie to start a new bankrupting war.
When your GOP poll numbers are sagging, it's always good to start a war and send American boys and treasure to die in the Middle East.
One again, it's time to impeach the current reckless Trump Administration for driving America over yet another Republican cliff of horror.
The current Administration is a desperate runaway train of political desperation, amorality and emperor's insanity.
27
The Democrats suffer from a severe case of myasthenia. They can’t even get Hope Hicks to talk.
And with respect to hope I have none for this country except maybe hoping it disappears.
1
We've been here before.
LIE to the American public.
When you receive information that a country (Iraq, Iran) is NOT planning to attack, does not want to BE attacked, disregard that information. Out a CIA agent. Drag her husband through the mud. Lie to congress, lie to the American people. Drum stuff up to support your position to want to go to war.
Trump and Pompeo and Bolton WANT war. They want to fight. Well, they want OTHER people's sons and daughters to fight, THEY won't fight.
They are lying to us. The Saudi Sheiks want us to attack Iran, and that's one of the reasons we're marching down this path. The Sheiks and the Russians have Trump by the you-know-what. It's money. It's photos. It's business. They're all sick.
NO WAR NO WAR NO WAR
19
Trump really wants to avoid going to prison. Too bad our country is going to get sent to war as a result.
15
This is getting scary because it's literally the same exact narrative Bush started with to get us into war with Iraq. Suggesting Saddam had some link to Al Qaeda, which in reality didn't exit.
14
How do you deal with blatant lies? And the American people, who are busy and don’t have the time or inclination to follow all of this, are easily fooled?
And where are the Democrats?
8
By their reasoning we should have been bombing Pakistan for the last 18 years.
8
I'm sorry, there is no credibility: I just can't believe anything this administration says.
13
The Iran-Qaeda alliance is an old saw that keeps resurfacing no matter how many people discount it. But that's usually on the crackpot internet, not at the top of the State Department. I hope the people who thought Mike Pompeo was the adult in the room are choking on his rattles, stuffed dolls, and fingerpaints the same way those who told us Barr was an institutionalist have had to make public mea culpas.
Mike Pompeo should be dragged in front of Congress and made to describe, under oath, the stand off between al Qaeda -- then the defense ministry of the Taliban government in Afghanistan -- and the Iranian military massed on the Afghan-Iranian border in 1998 and Iranian aid to the Northern Alliance subsequent to that up until September 11th.
And if he can't recite what happened from memory, he should be impeached and removed. He's a Freedom Caucus nihilist and an insult to high office in the United States. He knows more about the Rapture than he knows about foreign policy, and the Rapture is the Christian version of the founding philosophy of the ISIS caliphate.
Any senator or congressperson who believes the trash Mike Pompeo is talking should be primaried and thrown out of office. The man is a serious fraud with a crackpot mind.
19
The problem with telling so many lies is that nobody believes you anymore. Imagine that?
9
Sunni Al Qaeda has ties to Shia Iran.
Yeah, right. And Mexico is going to pay for that border wall, too.
28
Here go again.
False accusations of ties to Al Qaeda (just like Saddam Hussein ?).
Bad interpretation of events and photographs of boats on water (just like the Gulf of Ton Kin).
Stop the nonsense.
8
Most rational people will realize these are outrageous lies. Iran is a Shiite nation, and al Qaeda is a Sunni terrorist organization, and the two sects' fundamentalists despise each other. Iran has never provided anything to al Qaeda, although they do support Shiite terrorist groups like Hezbollah.
Unfortunately, outrageous lies got us into the worthless Iraq war too, so despite the facts, I fully expect America to do the dumb thing, believe the ridiculous lies, and go to war with a nation that is no threat to us. Once again we will destabilize the Middle East further, assist terrorist organizations worldwide in the process, spend trillions on a worthless war, and wind up more hated by the world.
9
Once we start a war with Iran they will
become a threat. They will do untold damage to our country. For our own sake in the long run I hope so
We need to be punished and Iran is quite capable
1
I am up for whatever is the best way to end the corruption and bastardization of our government. This lying president and his mendacious team of incompetents have to go.
We didn't have to withdraw from the treaty. We didn't have to impose sanctions.
Is the best way to serve American interests to fulfill Bolton's (Neocon) dream of regime change in Iraq? I don't think so, and most Americans I am sure believe the same.
8
We are witnessing Trump's Last Stand. He is at the end of his rope, and the law is closing in on him.
6
Nope. Al qaeda is sunni and Iran is Shia. They don’t get along. Lies and ignorance par for the course for the trump admin.
12
Can't believe they're pulling that old sawhorse out again.
I thought the debacle that followed W's dissimulation about Iraq and AlQaida would make even the most outrageous falsifiers bite their tongue. But no, here they're at it again. The more things change...
52
“Any relationship between Iran and Al Qaeda is one of convenience and not a real alliance...” Exactly. Sunni extremist groups hate the Shia. But the enemy of my enemy, as the saying goes. For example, the cooperation between the Iranian military and al Qaeda/Taliban in the Afghan Herat region, as well as the prior loose operational alliance between al Qaeda and Iranian led Shia militias in Iraq (all with the shared goal of killing US troops, of course), has been extensively reported on. That the former CIA Iraq analyst turned congressman is proclaiming disbelief this could be continuing suggests more political disingenuity on her part than sincere skepticism.
5
So the way it worked was, there was no tie between alQaeda and Iraqi Shiites; the Bush administration lied about that to invade Iraq; and the after the invasion there were ties between alQaeda and Iraqi Shiites.
The lesson is that the US made itself a enemy common to two groups that would never see eye to eye on anything else. So if you don’t want Iran to have ties to alQaeda, don’t have a war.
5
@Beantownah. Seems to me the the terrorists behind 911 were for the most part Saudis. Not one Iranian. And we are selling weapons to the Saudis. I think you have no idea what you are talking about.
2
This is horrifying and likely influenced by Trump failing in re-election polls. Nothing like a good old unnecessary, Trumped up war by Republicans as a tactic to stay in power. The American people must not let this happen.
We remember Vietnam - We lost
We remember Afghanistan - Bush missed Bin Laden and the Taliban is alive and well
We are still in Iraq after 18 years in a war that started under false pretenses
All these wars, started by Republicans, were failures that cost American lives. Does anyone think Trump isn't willing to squander more American lives in an attempt to stay in office or appease Israel?
34
Let's not forget the immense cost for Iraq that bush and republicans lied about. Roughly 6 TRILLION dollars all in. Not to mention hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded Iraqi's and around 4,224 Americans killed and about 31,952 Americans wounded. It's doubtful any sons or daughters of republican leaders are in those numbers. BTW none of the republican neoCONs advising bush/cheney were veterans. And today with the exception of pompeo (naval academy graduate, but never involved in war action), none are veterans. In particular the chicken hawk Bolton and little Stephen Miller to name but two.
Hypocrites and spineless, soulless LIARS that's what republican leaders are these days.
None remotely like Bob Dole or John McCaine. I didn't agree with their political views but certainly respected them as war hero's and men. Sure can't say that about any republicans in the house or senate these days.
3
@Mary
Exactly. And, in 2011 Trump accused Obama (via tweet, of course) of planning to start a war with Iran in order to influence the 2012 election. He should remember that Obama didn't need that kind of false boost to win that election.
2
So much for lessons learned from past mistakes.
28
Stay tuned: Next, Trump will claim that Iran has ties to the Central Park Five.
112
@Tom B. Best comment, Tom.
3
It doesn't matter that to the vast majority of the thinking world this is a profanity worthy inaccuracy... the sound bite has been created and is now on loop across conservative media... Iran and Al Qaeda will forever be linked and that link debated.
Done and done.
12
This is crazy
Al Queda is a Sunni terrorist organization , Iran is a Shia nation and even the most casual observer knows of the intense rivalry between Sunni and Shia.
Al Quaeda is a creation of Wahibism , an extreme religion from Saudi Arabia and tolerated by the Saudi Royal family who of course hate Iran.
Simply put any collusion between Iran and AlQueda is highly unlikely.
Another false conspiracy by this corrupt Administration which will do anything to avoid working through Congress and is turning this country into a dictatorship
31
@Carsafrica
Yes but will Fox News and right wing media repeat the lie until the alternate reality sticks.
6
@Carsafrica
Agreed. The argument that the enemy of my enemy would explain an association between the two is weak and needs hard evidence. Because both groups hate and attack American troops does not mean they are working together.
2
Amazing they can argue that there was Collusion between Iran and Al Queda, but not between Trump and Russia.
105
This Iran thing has all the earmarks of a Trump/MBS/Kushner conspiracy to increase MBS's control of the region and is far more transparent and ham handed than the Bush Iraq WMD debacle that got us into the Iraq war.
25
Here we go again! Cheney kept claiming that Saddam was in league with Al Qaeda, the press would catch him in a lie and he'd mumble something then go right back out with more lies.
Pompeo and Bolton are both definitely stupid enough and evil enough to start a war with Iran.
What sort of game is Trump playing? Does he like having a war on the back-burner which he can go all in on if nothing else is working for him? Is he using these guys as a foil so he looks good by comparison?
Some folks still think a war would be politically good for Trump. I'm definitely not claiming to be able to predict the reaction of the American people but it doesn't look like a slam dunk. There would be a lot of resistance, a lot of skepticism and Trump doesn't have any credibility with a majority of the public.
15
I can't stand either Bolton or Pompeo but neither are stupid.
Self and trump serving hypocrites, definitely.
Intellectually corrupt, absolutely.
Should they be in power... advising the pompadour clown tweeting away in the White House... definitely NOT.
Yup..definitely back to the future. Well we all knew they would cook the books for war. It makes lots of money for rich people and shrouds the dumbling president in patriotism just when there is an election coming.
No secret here. We have all been watching them bush whack this trail. The only disappointment is such a lack of imagination; they are using George W.'s GPS and map.
14
It is stunning, really, the lack of imagination on display from this White House. If they are really serious about ginning up an excuse to go to war, couldn’t they come up with some new lies to start spreading? Why rely on moldy oldies from the Iraq invasion? Pathetic!
166
“Moldy-oldies” - I gotta steal that one sometime :D
1
@MValentine How soon until we hear that Iran has WMD?
9
The situation is so fluid because of the relentless forces in the US, Israel and the Persian Gulf to overthrow Assad in Syria. Al Qaeda and ISIS were called into the war in Syria and turned a civil war into an international proxy war. Which will not be allowed to end because the US and its friends will not allow Syria reconstitute itself to its international borders. Iran has been a major adversary to Israel since Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. This was a stinging defeat to Israel and led to the creation of Hezbollah. The Saudi Arabia fostered the growth of al Qaeda prior to 9/11. Al Qaeda is one of the combatants against the Houthis in Yemen.
12
@c harris
Al Qaeda and ISIS are both in Yemen but have we ever read about Saudi Arabia attacking these groups? No, Saudi Arabia attacks the Houthis who are indigenous to Yemen
2
Iran may not have ties to Al Qaeda. However, should Iran be forced into a war with a US using a Trumped up reason Al Qaeda may on its own initiative use the war as a cover for launching world-wide attacks on US assets. Also, North Korea may view any US action against Iran as a rehearsal for an attack against it and either launch a preemptive strike of its own or help Iran speed up its nuclear weapons development.
14
This is not just bone-headed but also insulting. The Trump regime apparently thinks that no one knows the difference between the Shiites and the Shia (or that the two are mortal enemies), and that Iran is predominately Shia, and the stateless Al Qaeda are mostly Shiites.
I'm by no means the first commenter to point this out, but I think the Times and the rest of the news media out to put this fact further up in their articles -- way further up, like in the first or second paragraphs.
28
@PaulB67
Al Qaeda is Sunni, Wahhabi specifically, not Shiite. The terms "Shiite" and "Shia" are interchangeable, not two different things.
Probably an honest mix-up on your part, but I just want to be sure, because as you note, the distinction is very important.
6
@Enki: Thanks. I'm so mad I got everything mixed up.
Let’s get this straight - Al Qaeda is is Sunni-Wahhabi and Iran is Shia. The Sunnis attacked us on 9/11.
Today, this is a tribal war that is focused on Shia Muslims getting a “crescent” footpath to the sea through Syria and dominance in the region. We have allied ourselves with Sunnis who own a lot of oil.
The Sunnis are investing in Kushner and Trump real estate and so are the Israelis, both of whom now know they can buy the American presidency. Trump has allowed this to happen, but so did Bush and Cheney.
A handful of politicians, aligned with corporate interests have been “bought” by these countries. It is about money; not the betterment of the region or humanity but money. Certainly not about ending green house gasses.
If Congress does not stop participating in the looting it will go on and on. Especially with Pompeo in charge, an Evangelical who believes he will not go to Heaven if Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel. He is also flat out greedy. End of lesson.
218
@H.A. Hyde
bravo
10
@H.A. Hyde
Thank you for repeating the history lesson I actually learned during a World Politics class in the early 1980s.
When I first read the headline about Al Qaddafi (Sunni based and founded mainly by disaffected Saudis) being affiliated with Iran (mainly a Shia based society), I immediately thought to my teachings. No Way!
So, who is promoting this lie? Mike Pompeo.
Wouldn’t he know this lie is blatantly obvious....former CIA Director, Harvard law grad, US Military Academy? He definitely should.
Why did he lie or obfuscate the facts? Simple....he is/was following orders from the most dangerous man in the USA.
Who is this dangerous man?
If you are a Trumpite or Trumpster or Betsy Devos and haven’t followed the logic thus far....PLEASE DO NOT VOTE in 2020.
Thank you!
14
@Michael kenny No one other than a cadre of under educated Trumpians is going to believe that Iran has connections to al Queda. No one in the world.
So if Pompeo and Bolton choose to go to war with Iran, we will be going on our own.
And while H.A. Hyde has it right, I think the situation is actually worse than he/she describes, for while both the Saudi's and Israel know that they can buy and sell our president and significant parts of our Congress, the Russians also have control over our president, probably because they have evidence of his criminal conduct.
Revealing money laundering would cost Putin little, but would be catastrophic for Trump.
3
The Iranians? Mr. Pompeo seems to be getting his countries mixed up. His assertions might make sense if "Iran" was replaced with "Saudi Arabia".
Of course, he knows that. As does the rest of the world, outside Trump's cult. I only wish those inside it would care enough to let the truth penetrate, before Trump starts a war and throws the world further off balance. Or that the Democrstic leadership of Pelosi and Schumer would grow the spines necessary to call the world as it is and do their duty. Both in this case (to stop this absurd warmongering) and in general to even give one iota of an adequate response to the tyranny of the far right in America. I have no faith that any of this will happen, of course. Less than no faith. History provides more than ample justification for despair in both cases. I can only dream. Please, for humanity's sake, prove me wrong.
30
So many people write in decrying the possibility of a trumped-up war and acting as though they are ready to play the part of victim.
SNAP OUT OF IT!
Get ready to take to the streets in massive protest. Get set for a general strike the minute the administration tries to start something.
Our democracy hangs in the balance. Will you stand up for it?
Are you ready to fill the boots of the greatest generation? Or will you see our country go to the dogs?
Have courage, stand up, and march.
162
@Steve W
Yes Yes Yes. We all must rise up against this!
11
@Steve W
Yes and anyone that thinks we should patiently await the next election to vote Trump out needs to understand that there might not be an election.
It's not about the wall. The wall is an excuse for Trump to test his emergency powers, because abusing emergency powers is how every wannabe dictator cancels elections and suspends the Constitution.
I have spent decades researching the dictators that we have installed in countries from Iran to Guatemala, and Trump is following their playbook to the letter.
"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till is gone."
Save your Constitution from the Party of Trump.
7
@Steve W
I remember marching before the Iraq war to try and stop it. There we’re hundred and of thousands marching here’s in NYC and worldwide.
Republicans just distracted the media and used scare tactics, and ultimately ignored the massive protests. If they’d want war (which they always do) they’ll find a way to get it.
8
"Iran is a majority Shiite Muslim nation while Al Qaeda is a hard-line Sunni group whose members generally consider Shiites to be apostates. The two have often fought on opposing sides of regional conflicts, including the Syrian war."
It took 13 paragraphs before the basic facts exposing this patent lie are finally stated. Why isn't this stated at the beginning? If Trump were claiming that Iran and Israel, or North and South Korea, were secretly allied in furthering some nefarious aim, the claim would be immediately debunked. Yet here Pompeo's false allegation is treated respectfully.
61
@Matt
That is how corporate media sells the lies that start the wars.
The NY Times put all of the Bush Administration lies about Iraq on the front page, while all of the articles explaining that they were lies were buried in the International Section which they know no one reads.
Now they keep assuming that he Trump administration is telling the truth, when all they ever do is lie. Ask yourself why they do that.
Look at how they sold Barr's lie about the Mueller Report clearing Trump instead of treating them with the skepticism that the media is supposed to get any government with. Even when the Report came out they couldn't bring themselves to say, "Barr lied."
There is no "liberal media," only corporate media that does what is good for corporations. Follow the money and read between the lines.
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If we attack Iran, we will do it alone. No other nation would help us, and they shouldn't. And it would be a disaster that makes the Iraq fiasco look like a birthday party.
NO MORE MIDDLE EAST WARS!
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Where is the Senate? Either stand up for Americans or resign.
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@casablues Forget standing, just resign.
Like we'd trust anything the liar Trump says..... He has ruined any credibility the US has in world affairs,..... or domestic affairs, ...or his personal affairs.... He's explicitly has said before that he thinks it is better to say what he thinks helps his story, without any concern for where the truth may lie ....
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Al Queda and Bin Laden were Sunnis. Iran is Shia. Kind of like oil and water. Also, Saudi Arabia is Sunni. Any connection?
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Right...a majority Shia country is supporting Sunni extremeists...does this administration think everyone is stupid?
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@Jon They don’t think, they KNOW that trumps supporters are ignorant of any facts regarding the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims. And they are right.
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They will grasp at any straws, real or fake, to Star their war. Countless young lives will be lost AGAIN, and for What? What is in it for these warmongers?
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John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are determined to attack Iran and it appears with President Trump not smart enough to know he is playing with fire, it will happen. If a short 16 years after the disaster of Iraq, America lets this happen again, it will be the ruin of our country.
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@Jack
If we attack Iran they will respond with asymmetric warfare and we will then respond with more bombing. There is no endgame here only the senseless drumbeat of war by flag wrapped pseudo-patriots like Bolton who will willingly send others kids into his conflict if we don't stand up to these chicken hawks.
A veteran.
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@Jack the timing of all this seems more than a little suspicious. With elections looming and the aftereffects of the Muller report not going away a distraction is needed, no matter what the cost.
Meanwhile the Big Oil Mafia must be licking their chops at the thought of lucrative oil leases (a la Iraq) when Iran is "liberated" and opening their check books to ensure King Donald has all the ad money they need to win another election.
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@Jack
The buck stops with Pres. Trump
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Where have we heard this before... Apparently they can’t think of a convincing reason to start a war with Iran, so they are just copying the Bush administration. I don’t actually want them to come up with something plausible, but their limited brain power and lack of imagination is somewhat amusing.
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@SkL
"Amusing" - NOT. A war with Iraq is just a means of trying to get re-elected, period. Who wants to vote against a president in the middle of a war?
1
The Republican playbook: 1. Cut taxes for the rich. 2. Reduce health care for poor. 3. Lockup immigrants. 4. And always the go to Hail Mary....start another war in the Middle East.
Anyone tired of winning yet?
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@Dean Grey Everybody at Arlington.
1
@Dean Grey Chris Hedges, the former New York Times reporter, wrote the book titled War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. That sort of sums it up with few who have any skin in the game.
In another part of today's paper (6/19) we are told that Trump's new campaign looks like "back to the future." Well....here we go again. Baldly fabricated lies to justify a war that is not justified.
This set of lies smacks of Dick Cheney's assertion of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq pre 2003. Haven't we learned anything about these foreign policy hawks who live to send other people's children to their death?
Trump would be better off recalling part of his 2016 appeal -- his promise to end all these wars. If he follows Pompeo and Bolton he could well undermine his own campaign.
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@historyprof
Trump is not following Pompeo and Bolton - they are following him to ensure Trump's re-election.
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Really!
From the boys who have been crying wolf from day one.
No one believes this administration.
No one will ever give them the benefit of the doubt, they have proven themselves not worthy.
And worse they have bought the US low and made it a pariah on the world stage.
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Fantastic, another administration that can’t tell Sunni from Shia. Not that it matters, they want war at any cost.
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@sedanchairThe Saudis are probably overjoyed! Trump and his family are in their pockets. They are looking forward to being armed to the teeth by the Administration.
The likelihood of a politico/religious war looms. More military deaths ahead.
Also, nothing came of their dismemberment of a journalist and we have apparently forgotten about the nation that bred the 9/11 terrorists.
Hopefully DJT will be a one term president. In any case, his legacy and place in history will be the opposite of what he hopes for!
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Al Qaeda has ties to Saudi Arabia NOT IRAN!
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@Alan Burnham, This cannot be repeated enough! The Saudis support the worst jihadi terrorist groups (Boko Haram, ISIS, alQaeda, Taliban) and spread the fundamentalist version of Wahabist Islam all over the globe via madrassas. Anyone who pays attention to the different versions of Islam would know this. The Wahabists consider Shiites and Sufi's apostates and prefer to kill them off.
Pompeo is a bold faced liar!
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@Alan Burnham
Our government has been covering up for the Saudis ever since 9/11.
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A common election maneuver for Republicans when they are down in the polls is to start another war. I’m already against the next war.
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The relevant section of the 2001 authorization read: "That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons."
The use of the past tense (planned, authorized, committed, aided) tells me firmly that, almost 18 years later, this is not and never can be used as justification for future adventurist attacks on Iran. As the piece points out, Al Qaeda is a Sunni operation, not Shia. Of course, Trump's Sunni BFF (MbS) will provide all the 'intelligence' he needs to infer the link.
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Right. The "link" is that they are both groups of Muslim people from the Middle East. A good enough reason for the Trump administration to hate someone.
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Wag the dog is written all over this.. this guy would do anything not to lose this election
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@solomon True. Losing the election probably means prison for him and at least some of his precious broodlings.
2
This is ridiculous. The rest of the world is totally skeptic and horrified of this rhetoric, the lies, and the drum-banging. Iran is not posing a threat. There is NO evidence that they attacked the two ships. Only America is playing this dangerous & stupid card. This is Iraq and the Gulf of Tonkin all over again, only this time with TOTAL idiots in charge. Stop this now, please.
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@A. Brown Nor were there pictures in American media that I have seen showing Iranian ships attempting to put OUT the fire on the side of the burning tanker, our media prefers to show the burning ship for days on end.
Are we THAT stupid? Maybe we are but God I hope not.
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@Kelly Sutton lets keep god out of it. That's the problem in the first place.
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"The question of whether Mr. Trump might strike Iran..."
Don't we have ANYTHING to say about this? We got fooled into invading Iraq, are we really going to allow one human being to do the same thing again?
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No! We will not be dragged into another pointless war.
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@Sloan Kulper Seriously who will prevent it if not massive demonstrations by the public?
At minimum, the Senators should be forced to show their hand in it!
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@JB fully agreed and I believe this would be a fully worthwhile protest
Outside of a few inner circle the country does not support a military engagement, certainly not in the Middle East. Then we have allies who have no appetite even if they believed Trump. Even Republicans are on the sidelines on this one.
9
The Saudis are the largest financiers of terrorists such as Al Qaeda and ISIS around the world. They also spread radical Wahhabi teachings to radicalize people. The US supplies weapons and air support for Al Qaeda in Yemen for the genocide of civilians, targeting schools, hospitals and school busses. The US is the mercenary military for the Saudis because of their support of trading oil in US dollars( petro-dollar), making it the reserve currency since a deal made with Nixon.
Sadly even now “bonesaw” bin Salmon can even butcher a journalist and still be our favored ally, even though 15 of 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi( NONE Iranian). Yet now the US is ready to go to war with Iran that has been fighting back against Al Qaeda aligned terrorists in Iraq and Syria. What have we become as a nation.
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@Steve
Iran last year threatened to go off the Petro-dollar. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Venezuela have faced the US military for going off the Petro-dollar.
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@steve No War with Iran. Trump has moved 2500 troops to the Mid East. Pompeo is making threatening speeches. Only Congress can declare War. No war with Iran. Ray Sipe
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@Steve
Iran last year has threatened to go off the Petro-dollar. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Venezuela have faced the US military for going off the Petro-dollar.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/petrodollar-warfare-the-common-thread-linking-venezuela-and-iran/255123/
“The U.S. is able to dictate these econo-warfare policies through its disproportionate control of the world financial system. Iran has been sounding warnings about this strategy for some time and has been a vocal advocate of creating a new global financial system that will bypass U.S. control of the existing global financial system. Iran, though, is not the only country interested in such an arrangement. Russia, China, and Venezuela have all found themselves facing arbitrary economic penalties levied by the U.S. and have also taken steps to wean the world off the dollar and use alternative currencies to conduct business, a global trend that could seriously impact U.S. dominance over the world economy. But in order to understand where “King Dollar” is going, we have to understand where it came from.”
13
Bolton and Pompeo will do an end run around Trump as Cheney did around Bush and get their war with Iran. THese corrupt Trump officials easily lie to get their way and one incident is all they need to get MSB ruling Tehran . Kushner is making millions on his deals with MSB and he has the presidents ear, fire Comey, fire Mueller are all Kushner ideas . THe sleazy money grubbing grifter is cashing in big time ready to throw young Americans into harms way .
44
@REBCO Someone needs to inform Trump about the consequences of Vietnam to LBJ and of Iraq to GWBush. Their approval tanked. Trump will never go for it.
9
@A. Brown
He just needs the bump from the initial invasion to get through re-election.
By the time the war becomes truly unipolar they can figure out how to blame it on the Democrats.
By the way, the media has spent 16 years telling us that the Democrats voted for the Iraq war. Google the Congressional record and count the votes. That bit of common wisdom is a lie. A majority of Democrats voted against the Iraq War Authorization.
2
First the US put crushing economic sanctions as a catalyst for protests and an eventual regime change.
Then they dictate sovereign nations like India and China and South Korea among many others to stop importing oil from Iran even though it is a better deal for them.
Then the US brings war ships to Hormuz and hope that Iran will strike them and use that as a pretext for war.
And now, they say Iran has ties with AlQaeda. US has bigger ties with AlQaeda in a way that it trained them and supported. Anyone who knows history will know that AlQaeda is opposed to Iran.
What levels of madness will this administration descend to have a war?
70
As far as they need to, sadly.
3
Really. Since Iranians are Shia and Al QAeda is Sunni that would be basically impossible.
Remember Bush/Cheney gave congress false information to green light bombing Iraq. Don’t belTrump and Pompeo. With Trump losing to most Democrats in the polls, they will do anything to stay in power including sending your son or daughter off to another losing Middle East war.
23
This claim makes no sense at all. Al Qaeda are radical Sunnis. The Iranians are Shia, bitter enemies of the Sunnis since the 8th century. Any "ties" would be purely accidental.
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@Jamyang Splain that to the former brain donors running the show at the WH.
16
@Jamyang - I'm sure both Al Qaeda and the Iranians are shaking their heads in disbelief at this.
6
I feel as if I've lived through this before... Next the Trump camp is going to say that Iran has weapons of mass destruction and that god told him so.
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