New York Times: Skeptical U.S. Allies Resist Trump’s New Claims of Threats From Iran
WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration draws up war plans against Iran over what it says are threats to American troops and interests, a senior British military official told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that he saw no increased risk from Iran or allied militias in Iraq or Syria.
A few hours later, the United States Central Command issued an unusual rebuke: The remarks from the British official — Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, who is also the deputy commander of the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State — run “counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from U.S. and allies regarding Iranian-backed forces in the region.”
The rare public dispute highlights a central problem for the Trump administration as it seeks to rally allies and global opinion against Iran. On Wednesday, the State Department ordered partial evacuations of the American embassy and a consulate in Iraq, despite skepticism from Iraqi officials over American intelligence showing a heightened risk.
Over the last year, Washington has said Iran is threatening United States interests in the Middle East, encouraging aggression by Shiite militias in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, shipping missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen and allowing its naval forces to behave belligerently in the Persian Gulf.
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Update: Allies fear US-Iran tensions could spark accidental conflict (AP)
WNU Editor: If U.S. allies were skeptical, they would not be doing this ..... Netherlands joins Germany in halting Iraq mission due to security threat (RT).
4 comments:
Undermining Trump-Bolton War Narrative, British General Says No Evidence of 'Increased Threat' From Iran
"Intelligence and military officials in Europe as well as in the United States said that over the past year, most aggressive moves have originated not in Tehran, but in Washington."
Shades of Iraq II and G W Bush's famous quote
"Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."
Lots of people are gullible. Trump isn't preemptively attacking Iran. Iran has an excellent deterrence with its missiles but will continue doing what its been doing for decades, destablizing the Saudi's and Gulf States, sending arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, trying to take over Iraq via Shiite militias and plotting to kill Americans in that region. Nothing new here.
US buildup is far too little to do any real damage to Iran, not their mission.
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