Bulletin N° 874
Grenoble, 6 January
2020
Subject: The Murder of Qassem Soleimani: "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."
Dear
Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
Please
find below suggested articles and essays which may shed some light for a better
understanding of these dark times.
Sincerely,
Francis
Feeley
___
Professeur honoraire
de l'Université Grenoble-Alpes
Ancien Directeur de
Researches
Université de Paris-Nanterre
Director of The Center for the Advanced Study
of American Institutions and Social Movements
(CEIMSA-in-Exile)
The University of California-San Diego
http://www.ceimsa.org
(1)
“War With Iran”
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/war-with-iran/
by Chris Hedges
published on January 3,
2020
(2)
“
‘He was sent to us’: at church rally, evangelicals worship God and Trump ”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/03/trump-florida-evangelical-rally-king-jesus
by Richard Luscombe, in Miami
published on January 4,
2020
(3)
Trump
Says US Will Not Leave Iraq Until Baghdad Pays for American Air Base, Threatens
Sanctions
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52811.htm
by Sputnik News
published on January 6,
2020
The
Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to support the expulsion of all foreign troops
from the Iraqi territory and cutting off ties with the US-led international
anti-terrorist coalition due to the Friday's assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of
the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Bagdad.
“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base
that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it [...] We
will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make
Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame”, US President Donald Trump said Sunday,
while he was traveling from Florida
(4)
“Iran
war protest: 70 US cities rally against Trump airstrikes in Iraq”
by Grace Hauck and
Chris Woodyard
published on January 4,
2020
“Soleimani’s Death Could
Galvanize Shia Coalitions Against
One ‘Foreign Aggressor’ — The U.S.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/narges_bajoghli_qassem_soleimani_assassination_iran
with Narges Bajoghli
&
"Trump’s
Killing of Qassem Soleimani
Means 'Rules of the Game Have Totally Changed' in Middle East
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/ghaith_abdul_ahad_iran_iraq_soleimani
with Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
published on January 6,
2020
&
“Former
Top Bush Official: I Saw the March to War in 2003. I’m Seeing
the Same Thing with Iran Now”
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/lawrence_wilkerson_iraq_war_soleimani_assassination
with
Lawrence Wilkerson
published on January 6,
2020
&
"Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Qassem Soleimani Worked with U.S. in Fight Against Taliban & ISIS"
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/lawrence_wilkerson_iraq_iran
with Lawrence Wilkerson
published on January 6,
2020
(6)
“The
US unwittingly helped create Qassem Soleimani. Then they killed him.”
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/477423-us-soleimani-assassination-consequences/
by Scott Ritter
published on January 3,
2020.
(7)
“Putin’s Hour Is At Hand”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52808.htm
by Paul Craig Roberts
From:
Mark Crispin Miller
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2020
Subject: [MCM] Could Trump be playing chess over Iran?
From Vladimir Golstein (on Facebook):
“Trump's Preemptive Strike
Against Neocons, or Is He Playing Chess?”
Granted that Trump is not
the most educated, sophisticated, or knowledgeable person on the planet, he is
surely very savvy, and people-smart. Just the way he zoomed through Republican nominations
and won the 2016 campaign testifies to his tremendous skills and certain
intelligence, that his myopic critics refuse to acknowledge.
So in light of that, how
to interpret his decision to assassinate the top notch Iranian General Soleimani?
What follows is pure
conjecture - -just based on my intuition and certain patterns of Trump's past
behavior.
We remember how he decided
to bomb Syria on the basis of some fake accusations of chemical attack. He had
everyone in his family, let alone in foreign policy establishment bugging him
to strike. So he did. But after that he did not escalate. In other words, by
his aggressive action he immediately shuts the opposition and establishment up.
He sends a message to his base that he can be tough,
he sends the message to Pentagon, that he wants them to be strong. But he does
not push it further. By his instincts, he does not want a big international
confrontation. He is not a sicko like Hillary or
Albright. In other words, he wants his cake and he wants to eat it too.
Why can't the same pattern
apply here. The Neocons, or
let call them The Netaniahu party of the State
Department and Sick Tanks establishment are immediately disarmed. They can be
gloating, or blaming the victim, or demonizing Iranians, and doing their usual
nonsense, but they are off his back. Military can walk proud, his base is
happy, since their man has shown that he is a top dog. And last but not least,
Democrats are incapacitated. All they can do is to bleat -- in the form of Liz
Warren -- that yes, Soleimani was an awful man, but
there should be procedures and consultations. Something that most of Americans except the intelligentsia pussy-hatters would just
pooh-pooh. In other words, impeachment is neutralized, there is no serious
foreign policy challenges --since the opposition of the war-mongering democrats
has no teeth, so Trump is in the driver seat.
Granted, all that was
accomplished by the murder of a human being, who was highly influential and
admired in many quarters, and granted that it can escalate into total chaos,
but if it does not, then indeed, Trump has his cake and eats it too. A gamble? Yes. Cynical murder? Yes.
But that's politics.
In other words, if Iran
bites the bullet, if neither Netaniahu nor Pompeo provoke further violence -- then Trump might succeed
in getting what he wanted: -- reducing army's exposure to harm's way, showing
that he is a top dog and so is his military, shutting up the opposition (from
both neocons and neoliberals) and sailing into 2020
White House.
As I said, this is just an
attempt of non-linear, non-partisan analysis. I prefer to understand something,
rather than partaking in echo chambers or showing off my impeccable virtues.
(9)
“US
Kick Starts Raging ’20s Declaring War on Iran”
by Pepe Escobar
published on January 3,
2020
(10)“The Human Cost of War on Iran”
The bodies of Vietnamese men, women and
children piled along a road in My Lai after a U.S. Army massacre on March 16,
1968. (U. S. Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle)
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/01/05/the-human-cost-of-war-on-iran/
by Elizabeth
Murray
published on August 24,
2012
(11) “U.S. Will
Come To Regret Its Assassination of Qassim Soleimani”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52794.htm
by Moon Of Alabama
published on January 3,
2020
(12) "Trump
‘united’ Iraqis, Iranians by killing Soleimani"
with George Galloway
(13) “Joint message
of Iran, Russia and China to the world”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52805.htm
by Alireza Majidi