Iran (January 6th)

The developments in Iran have pissed me off more than anything I can remember. Here are my thoughts. This might all seem a bit disorganized, because there’s so much to talk about. Not only did Trump assassinate a foreign official, but people in media and the democratic “opposition” party have been spineless and cowardly in their response to this war crime.

Suleimani was an extremely popular figure in Iran, and an attack on him is clear call for war. Justifying the action by saying that Suleimani is a bad guy and deserved to be killed is only valid under the assumption that the US should be allowed to go around and kill anybody they deem to be a bad person. Dick Cheney is a bad person. John Bolton is a bad person. Neocons like them have caused an obscene amount of terror worldwide. If we want to rid ourselves of terrorism, we shouldn’t look farther than ending the gross imperialist forces that are ingrained in US foreign policy. After the attack, Trump threatened Iran with attacks on 52 important cultural sites. That is terrorism. The US is not by default the correct side of a conflict. In this case they are clearly the villains.

The media has been warmongering the whole time. Every journalist should have to answer to their position on the Iraq war back in 2003 before being listened to. If you supported the war in Iraq, your take is worthless. CNBC framed their headline “America just took out the world’s #1 bad guy.” The New York Times published a pro-war op-ed from a Bush national security advisor. CNN’s headlines just repeated the Trump lies about the “imminent” threat that Suleimani was without any criticism. The only anti-war voice on television right now is Tucker Carlson, who is usually a right-wing troll, but somehow outflanks every commentator on CNN to the left. Mainstream media is disgusting and should be turned off.

Most democrats pushed through Trump’s massive defence spending bill last week, which notably omitted Ro Khanna’s amendment that would have prevented any attack on Iran without congressional approval, and Barbara Lee’s proposed repeal of the AUMF (an authorization of force related to 9/11). Now Nancy Pelosi has the nerve to complain about how the strike was carried out without congressional approval. That’s the best she (and the rest of the establishment) can do because they don’t actually oppose war in Iran, and all they'll do is argue that the strategy was wrong or the procedures weren’t followed. The so-called democrats are just as much in the pocket of the military-industrial complex as the republicans. They all supported the war in Iraq and they’ll do it again. Will democrats pass the Sanders/Khanna or Omar/Lee bills to block funding for a war? I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

I’ve been skeptical about the impeachment proceedings. I never thought it would actually work and it's so narrowly focused on an issue that doesn’t really directly affect the American people. It feels like it's trying to resist Trump without actually resisting his policy. Now it's super clear to me that impeachment is justified. Trump has started an offensive war that will endanger the lives of millions in the Middle East and will needlessly kill American soldiers. If that isn’t worthy of impeachment, then nothing is. In a poll earlier this year, only 20% of Americans would consider using military force in Iran. Trump campaigned on ending the endless wars that Americans are sick of, and this should be the emphasis of all politics going forward, in the election and in impeachment.

This has been coming for a long time. Pulling out of the Iran Nuclear deal was a huge mistake. Imposing sanctions on Iran was supported by almost every senate democrat (Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Kamala Harris ect.) Only Bernie Sanders voted against it. The democrats can’t afford to run a candidate in the general who doesn’t unequivocally condemn the war in Iran. Biden, Buttigieg, and Warren have all qualified all their statements with talking about how Suleimani was a bad person. That is irrelevant. He was a foreign official whose murder will undoubtedly cause military conflict. Establishment democrats won’t be able to hit Trump on this because they are complicit. They also can’t be trusted to deal with this situation responsibly if they are in office.

As of writing this, there has not yet been retaliation, but the Iranian president says that they will “take revenge for this heinous crime.” They’ve fully withdrawn from any obligations to the nuclear deal that was preventing them from becoming a nuclear power. The crowds at the funeral for Suleimani in Iran were massive. The US has begun to detain Iranians at the border and has ordered Americans in Iraq to evacuate. This will be military conflict and there was no reasonable way to ever think that the assassination of Suleimani could end peacefully.

Love & Rage,
Joe