Saber-rattling against Iran hits a ferocious level

Who can leash the Dogs of War before they’re let slip in earnest?  Perhaps Chinese or Russian diplomats?  As allies, both nations would be included in a regional war, and both nations excel in diplomacy.  In the past we’d heard that some of his Generals had known what a nightmare war on Iran would be for US allies…now? Who can say?

Via wsws.org May 11, 2019: ‘With B-52s, carrier battle group in place, US war against Iran on a hair trigger’ (some key paragraphs)

“The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group made its way through the Suez Canal on Thursday entering the Red Sea and the heart of the Middle East, while a US bomber task force consisting of four nuclear-capable B-52s landed on the same day at a US airbase in Qatar. The two military deployments have placed the threat of a major and catastrophic new war in the region on a hair trigger.”

“The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against US interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive US response,” Pompeo said. “Our restraint to this point should not be mistaken by Iran for a lack of resolve. To date, the regime’s default option has been violence, and we appeal to those in Tehran who see a path to a prosperous future through de-escalation to modify the regime’s behavior.”

Pompeo’s remarks were echoed by those of the recently appointed chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, Marine General Frank McKenzie, who delivered an inflammatory address to the right-wing, pro-Zionist think tank, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“Any attack on US interests will be met with unrelenting force,” the general told the Foundation, which was used by George W. Bush as a forum for defending his war policy against Iraq. Reflecting the bipartisan support for US imperialist aggression in the oil-rich Middle East, the think tank includes on its advisory board Donna Brazile, the former chairperson of the Democratic National Committee.”

Van Auken reminds readers that  year ago this month, the Trump administration had abrogated the JCPOA that had been forged among Iran and the US, Russia, China, Germany, the UK and France, and began laying down increasingly heavy sanctions against Iran in order to strangle its economy and bring it to its knees in order to install a US puppet government.  He quotes an advisory issued by US Maritime Administration (MARAD):

““Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or US military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf. Reporting indicates heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against US forces and interests.”

He then rightly advises us that the Pentagon, CIA, Israel or Saudi Arabia might be able to construct a provocation (read false flag) for attacks by War, Inc.™  But this news is chilling:

“NBC News revealed that last week top Trump administration officials convened a highly unusual summit meeting at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia to discuss the war buildup against Iran. Present were CIA Director Gina Haspel, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford, Secretary of State Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and others, US officials told the network.

The officials told NBC that the session was not convened to discuss the supposed “intelligence” about alleged Iranian plans for attacks on “US interests” that served as the pretext for the dispatching of the carrier battle group and the bomber strike force to the region. The evidence to substantiate the claims of impending Iranian “aggression” is as fabricated as that used to bolster the claims about “weapons of mass destruction” in advance of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

What were these officials talking about in the CIA’s bunker in Langley? Former CIA operations officers and military officials told NBC that such meetings at CIA headquarters are normally convened to discuss highly sensitive plans for “covert actions.” Whether such actions will be aimed against Iran and its government, or at staging a “false flag” operation somewhere in the Middle East that can be used as the pretext for a US attack remains to be seen.”

‘US deploying even more missiles to Middle East as Iran saber-rattling reaches fever pitch’, 11 May, 2019, RT.com

“The US is sending a battery of Patriot missiles to join the carrier strike group and bomber task force currently “protecting” American interests in the Middle East from Iran, still insisting the buildup is merely defensive.

The missiles and transport ship USS Arlington are being deployed to the region “in response to indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against US forces and our interests,” according to a Pentagon statement.

“The latest round of heavy weaponry joins the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and an Air Force bomber task force, both of which arrived in the Central Command region this week to send an “unmistakable message,” in the words of National Security Advisor John Bolton, that the US is prepared to unleash “unrelenting force” in response to any provocation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed the threat on Thursday, promising a “swift and decisive” response to an attack by Iran – or its proxies.

Details about the “intelligence” used as a pretext for the military buildup have been scarce, though multiple reports suggest the tip came from Israel’s Mossad, which is far from a neutral source when it comes to Iran. A CNN report on Friday claimed “intelligence has shown” Iran is “likely” loading short-range ballistic and cruise missiles onto boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which President Donald Trump conveniently declared a terrorist organization last month. The US military, CNN said, “believes that cruise missiles could be launched from the small Iranian boats.”

Mossad may not be a neutral source, but the organization sure would know how to create false intelligence that would please US war-mongers.

“”We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told Al Jazeera earlier this week, adding that Iran would not “permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf.” Last month, he warned Trump that the more hawkish members of his administration might conduct a false-flag attack to push the US into war with Iran.”

Jake Johnson at strategicculture.org on May 11, 2019 advises readers that:

“Shanahan worked at Boeing, one of the world’s largest defense contractors, for more than 30 years before joining the Trump administration.

In a move critics warned could further deepen the ties between the sprawling and immensely profitable private weapons industry and the U.S. government, the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will nominate former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan to head the Pentagon.”

‘War is a racket’ ~ Smedley Butler

While noting that Gordon Duff can be a bit (ahem) histrionic at times, thus file this under FWIW, at veteranstoday.com, May 11 he asks ‘Intel Drop: Will an Israeli Sub Sink the Abraham Lincoln?

Following paragraphs of not terribly relevant rants, then Bibi as author of the ‘fake intel’ on Iranian boats carrying missiles, etc.) he finally gets here:

“What we know:

Israel has gotten ahold of a batch of “off the books” production of a highly capable Norwegian-built missile that the US is looking at in order to deploy tactical nuclear weapons with the F35. The Konigsberg NSM or Naval Strike Missile has been sold to a number of countries, but most of the sales have been “off the books.”

Israel has 5 German-built Dolphin Submarines that are modified to carry missiles like these, and larger variants of cruise missiles as well, such as the one that hit the Pentagon on 9/11. Israel has deployed cruise type missiles from their submarines on several occasions.”

And last, from Sputniknews.com May 12 (today): ‘Iran‘s IRGC Commander: ‘If America Makes a Move, We’ll Hit Them in the Head’

“Separately, Al Jazeera quoted Salami as saying that it’s unlikely that the US will use its aircraft carriers against Iran.

He argued that Iran’s defence capabilities are “adequate and sufficient”, while the US aircraft carriers are quite vulnerable, which is why “Washington will not take a risk [using the carriers against the Islamic Republic]”.

Salami’s remarks followed a statement by Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, that he does not rule out sending the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz in light of Washington’s tensions with Tehran.

“If I need to bring it inside the strait, I will do so. I’m not restricted in any way, I’m not challenged in any way, to operate her anywhere in the Middle East,” Malloy told Reuters.”

“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has meanwhile stressed that the Islamic Republic is facing an “all-out war” due to unprecedented restrictive US economic and political measures and that Tehran “should not accept submission and should try to find a solution”.”

(cross-posted at https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js“>caucus99percent.com)