Guest Post by Patrick J. Buchanan
This next week may determine whether President Trump extricates us from that cauldron of conflict that is the Middle East, as he promised, or plunges us even deeper into these forever wars.
Friday will see the sixth in a row of weekly protests at the Gaza border fence in clashes that have left 40 Palestinians dead and 1,500 wounded by live fire from Israeli troops.
Monday, the U.S. moves its embassy to Jerusalem. Tuesday will see the triumphal celebration of the 70th birthday of the state of Israel.
Palestinians will commemorate May 15 as Nakba, “The catastrophe,” where hundred of thousands of their people fled their homes in terror to live in stateless exile for seven decades.
Violence could begin Friday and stretch into next week.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Yet more fateful for our future is the decision Trump will make by Saturday. May 12 is his deadline to decide whether America trashes the Iran nuclear deal and reimposes sanctions.
While our NATO allies are imploring Trump not to destroy the deal and start down a road that is likely to end in war with Iran, Bibi Netanyahu on Sunday called this a Munich moment:
“Nations that did not act in time against murderous aggression against them paid a much higher price later on.”
From a U.S. standpoint, the Munich analogy seems absurd.
Iran is making no demands on the United States. Its patrol boats have ceased harassing our warships in the Persian Gulf. Its forces in Iraq and Syria do not interfere with our operations against ISIS. And, according to U.N. inspectors, Iran is abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal.
Iran has never tested a nuclear device and never enriched uranium to weapons grade. Under the deal, Iran has surrendered 95 percent of its uranium, shut down most of its centrifuges and allowed cameras and inspectors into all of its nuclear facilities.
Why Iran is abiding by the deal is obvious. For Iran it is a great deal.
Having decided in 2003 not to build a bomb, Iran terminated its program. Then Tehran decided to negotiate with the U.S. for return of $100 billion in frozen assets from the Shah’s era — by proving they were not doing what every U.S. intelligence agency said they were not doing.
Should Iran rashly decide to go for a nuclear weapon, it would have to fire up centrifuges to enrich uranium to a level that they have never done, and then test a nuclear device, and then weaponize it.
A crash bomb program would be detected almost instantly and bring a U.S. ultimatum which, if defied, could bring airstrikes. Why would Trump risk losing the means to monitor Iran’s compliance with the deal?
Israel, too, has an arsenal of nuclear weapons that can be delivered by Jericho missile, submarine-based cruise missile, and the Israeli air force.
Why then is the world anxiously awaiting a decision by President Trump that could lead to an unnecessary war with Iran?
The president painted himself into this corner. He has called the Iran nuclear deal “insane” and repeatedly pledged to tear it up.
The Israelis, Saudis and Beltway War Party want the deal trashed, because they want a U.S. clash with Iran. They are not afraid of war. Instead, they fear Trump will extricate us from the Middle East before we do our historic duty and effect regime change in Iran.
What is Israel’s motive? Israel fears that the Iranians, having contributed to Bashar Assad’s victory in Syria’s civil war, will stay on and establish bases and a weapons pipeline to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has launched scores of airstrikes into Syria to prevent this.
The problem for Bibi: While Trump sees no vital U.S. interest in Syria and has expressed his wish to get out when ISIS is demolished and scattered, Bibi has cast us in the lead role in taking down Iran in Syria.
Trump may want to stay out of the next phase of the Syrian civil war. Bibi is counting on the Americans to fight it.
But while Bibi may have a vital interest in driving Iran out of Syria, Iran is no threat to any vital interest of the United States.
Iran’s economy is in dreadful shape. Its youth have voted repeatedly against presidential candidates favored by the Ayatollah. There are regular constant demonstrations against the regime.
Time is not on the side of the Islamic Republic.
Fifty million Persians, leading a Shiite nation of Persians, Azeris, Baloch, Arabs and Kurds, are not going to control a vast Middle East of hundreds of millions of Arabs and Turks in an Islamic world where Shiites are outnumbered five times over by Sunnis.
For the United States, the strategic challenge of this century is not Iran, North Korea or Russia. If it is any nation, it is China.
Trump the dealmaker should find a way to keep the nuclear deal with Iran. We are far better off with it than without it.
Pat lost me when he said Iran doesn’t interfere with US operation against Isis. Isis is a US ally in the region , funded trained and armed by the US and when Syrian forces are on the verge of eliminating Isis pockets,who comes to their rescue, the good ol US military.
You would think that after 70 years the palestinians would realize the jewish state is never willingly going to give them back their “homeland”. Its gone. Its isreal now. All they do by protesting is die, and lose more territory as isreal swallows it up as a buffer zone. Move along, nothing to see here. The only way they get it back is an ash heap. Reality dictates its time to move on. Only death awaits them there. Its sucking does nothing to change that. Weak countries lose territory.
That’s what I say about California, it’s gone ,it’s Mexico’s again . Just accept it and learn Spanish.
“Friday will see the sixth in a row of weekly protests at the Gaza border fence in clashes that have left 40 Palestinians dead and 1,500 wounded by live fire from Israeli troops.”
Stats provided by the PA, and here is truth it is true:
“Operation Ajax”, 1953, scripted Teddy’s nephew- it ain’t easy being green- that’s right = those Roosevelts in the forced detention and abduction of democratically – elected Mossadeq.
The Colonel was elevated by actual elections and his democratic “coup” was soft – no bloodshed.
BP enlisted the CIA because Mossadeq was promising to nationalize the mineral rights that belong to the Iranian People- next thing ya’ know Old Nebs a gazillionaire = can’t have that. After he was kidnapped and incarcerated, the Americans gave Shah Pahlavi- a degenerate murderer, a Nookular Reactor.
The “Schismatics” forced the Shah out in ’79 and the American embassy was taken- well, so far, so good, as none of the BP personnel took the violence they enacted, too personnelly = not personnelly at all; more like American Patsies again, Patsy.
Fast forward. The Israelis released, all by their lonesome, “Stux Net”: watch Alex Gibney’s “Zero Days”.
It seems Israel’s spokesmen and cries of “Notmyyahoooo” did get Stux in a Netandyahooo or two, after all. Their treachery was discovered in Russia… stay tuned- “Nitrous Zeus” even gives the international spook community the Heeebie gajeeebers.
The Russia-Iran pipeline will prosper, as will the BRICS platform. The Curren- “Sovereign” -Cy will, no longer “Sovereign” be, according to those that pay for pee and flush elections for HRC.
The American People need awaken. We are being used ad infinitum to the designs of foreign counterfeiters. Iran is not the enemy. 1 8 6.
Iran is mohammedan, therefore it is the enemy.
Iran is an ancient country. It is a cradle of civilization and home to several great empires, the oldest of which was the world’s first superpower. Iranians are very conscious of their place in history and are very nationalistic. While most educated Iranians do not support the Islamic government and Pat is correct that the economy is stagnant, if the US attacks, it will just cause people to rally around the government.
If the US truly wanted to undermine the government, Trump would go to Tehran and normalize relations. The way to effect “regime change” is to integrate Iran into the world economy, encourage their students to study here and Americans to study and visit Iran. Since the revolution, women’s attire has already gone from burkas, to hijabs, to barely hair covering scarfs. Soon they would be gone completely, as would the government. Iran’s constitution dates from 1905 and is actually quite advanced. All it would take is some tweaking. But no….
The wonderful governments of KSA, Israel and some tiny Gulf Emirates what Iran destroyed. Attempting to do so will prove the final nail in the coffin of the US empire. Iran has teeth. Trump will see. Many Americans will die.
Trump was against the Iran deal even as a candidate. Why? To whom was he listening? To people like Buchanan? Obviously not. He was repeating the talking points of warmongers … warmongers which fill his Cabinet. Regime change in Iran is a defacto goal of the American MIC, and Trump will go along with it, if he can get away with it. Just like launching 100+ Tomahawks into Syria without even having the slightest desire to first acquire facts, so Trump is willing to trash the Iran deal. Facts mean nothing to him and it’s time all people realize what we have here.
Unbelievably, the only hope of keeping this thing from blowing up is the Europeans … all of whom realize that while not perfect, the current deal is working just fine.
Is Kushner still around the West Wing every day? Then yeah, Trump’s trashing the Iran deal.
All at the behest of the Zionists of Satanyahu.
As others have said before, Dual Citizenship should be disqualifying for any US public service or office-holding.
So the old neocon patsy buch doesn’t want to trash the trash — the phony america hating odumba , scary [a head of hair searching for a brain ] kerry , sell out for islamic appeasement , based on 100% lies and no diplomacy skills[ just bribery ] , leading to an eventual nuclear nightmare , should go unchallenged ? Oh and let’s not forget to grovel at the feet of the so magnificent europeeons who are so enlightened as to be scammed and led to slaughter by an unelected cult of narcissistic elitist psychopaths whom prefer molesting their children to building a decent society . “It ‘s working” is the most ignorant , ludicrous , docile , shit for brains , pussified chickenshit response to the totally treasonous sellout [ couldn’t get it through the senate , so another odumbo secret “negotiation” ] of trying to bind us to unverified, placating international [read globalist] biased , absolutely useless inspections . Keep on appeasing the 7th century barbarians while they plot to rape your wifes , daughters , sons and decapitate you because well , mooham …ed said they must 1400 years ago and besides you’re a neutered infidel pussified cuck anyway , go die with the surrender monkey’s …
You were right on target until the last sentence.
There are good people in Iran. It’s an ancient place and the Persians are interesting people (and their women are beautiful – so there’s that). The people of Iran are not to blame for their governments corruption anymore than I am to blame for the foolishness of Justin Trudeau. And like the Iranians we will need to create our own change here with a little help from our friends (would be great to see Soros cash no longer influencing our elections).
It’s hard to create change with Globalist money flowing into corrupt party coffers.
I hope the Iranians free themselves. They deserve it.
This “deal” was negotiated by noted patriot, John Kerry, and approved by Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Hussein Obama. I’m sure it must be a good “deal” for the U.S. then.
Idiots abound.
One scribe noted that BiBi Netanyahu has been pounding the one note drum on evil Iran getting nukes for about ten years now. Important to keep Uncle Suger cash flowing to have a big enemy. Sakers treatise on the Warmakers is a good read for all. It seems to be spot on with the number one rule to follow the money.
http://thesaker.is/the-warmakers/
let’s hope that this is all for trump to gain leverage for negotiations–