JOHN CHUCKMAN COMMENT: SAUDI ARABIA AND THE UNITED STATES AND IRAN AND ISRAEL - WHAT REALLY DRIVES THIS SET OF RELATIONSHIPS? - WE NOW HAVE THE VERY OPPOSITE OF ENDING SENSELESS WARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST UNDER TRUMP'S LEADERSHIP - HE NEEDLESSLY EXPOSES US TO THE EXTREME DANGER OF THE BIGGEST WAR OF ALL THROUGH HIS TIRELESS SERVICE TO ISRAEL'S SPECIAL INTERESTS - WAS GENERAL SOLEIMANI'S ASSASSINATION AN ISRAEL SPECIAL PROJECT?

John Chuckman


EXPANSION OF A COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY CRAIG MURRAY IN CONSORTIUM NEWS


“The USA’s Slavish Saudi Allegiance Against Iran

“The assassination of a top Iranian general reflects a U.S. foreign policy tied to Saudi interests”


I like Craig Murray as a writer, but this piece comes as quite a disappointment.

It focuses on Saudi Arabia as being at the center of America's hostility towards Iran. Israel gets slight mention.

I believe Mr. Murray has put the cart before the horse.

The attention America lavishes on Saudi Arabia has much to do with Saudi Arabia's special relations with Israel, relations which have no long history. Saudi Arabia, before 9/11 was the source of a lot of hostility towards Israel, in everything from publications and speeches to support for various groups.

You find none of that now. It began to quiet down after 9/11 when the Saudi Royals realized how vulnerable they were to American invasion, a much more attractive invasion prospect than the hardscrabble land of Afghanistan. America could easily have manipulated facts like the (purported) nationalities of many of the plane hijackers (Saudi) into a reason to invade and steal the greatest quantity of oil ever stolen.

The Crown Prince took the new direction in Saudi international affairs even further. He made it his focus, recognizing opportunities for personal aggrandizement. Nothing good happens to anyone in the Middle East who does not happily support American policy, and that includes supporting America’s privileged imperial colony at the east end of the Mediterranean.

As we’ve seen in the Neocon Wars, those deemed not adequately warm towards Israel tend to get bombed and paved over.

As an interesting side note, Trump, the candidate who sensibly spoke against the wars in the Middle East, has now so completely compromised himself serving Israel’s special interests - interests often in conflict both with America’s own long-term interests and with the rule of international law - that it seems just impossible America can be extricated from the mess. Indeed, we now have the real possibility of the biggest war of all breaking out, and what has happened was completely avoidable.

Just look at Israel making no objection to the biggest arms deal in history recently between the Crown Prince and Trump. That could not have happened years ago. Israel’s influence wouldn’t have allowed the deal even to be proposed. Israel dearly loves the Crown Prince, and that has a lot to do with Trump’s smiling, back-slapping support for the tyrant.

The Crown Prince earned his bloody laurels with projects largely related to Israeli interests, projects such as the terror in Syria, with his generous support of mercenary, fake-jihadi outfits like al-Nusra and ISIS, groups whose main purpose has been to attack governments the United States and Israel wanted hurt.

Genuine jihadi types would, of course, instead be attacking Israel and the corrupt feudal princes of Saudi Arabia, but, somehow, magically, they never do.

Projects like bombing Yemen or arresting the visiting Prime Minister of Lebanon and forcing his resignation. Saudi Arabia frequently finances American schemes in the region, and I’m sure that whenever Netanyahu needs a tidy sum under the table for a dirty project, he has only to ask.

The real reason for Israel's seething, relentless hatred of Iran comes from the fact that that country, with a population the size of Germany's, is just naturally at the center of the region’s affairs and arrangements, a position Israel arrogantly regards as its rightful place. After all, it does represent the American empire, doesn’t it?

The immense blunder of America’s Iraq invasion, heavily lobbied for by Israel’s Ariel Sharon, ended up making Iran relatively even more important in the region by eliminating a strong adversary. Saddam Hussein was secular in his viewpoint. Now Iraq is dominated by the politics of a population which is about two-thirds Shia Muslim.

There are influential Israelis who would just love to see America go to war with Iran. Trump’s series of hostilities and humiliations towards Iran for more than a year does tend to work in that direction, or, at least, to create situations where a “happy” accident might happen. Wars do often happen by something being tipped over at a risky moment.

Remember, Iran was the last country listed on the secret Pentagon document General Wesley Clark spoke of seeing years ago, countries that were to be toppled in upcoming years.

The assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani is called an Israeli project by several reliable observers. There is a report that the very target coordinates for the drone were given to its operator by an Israeli. Likely Trump had very little time to make this monumentally stupid decision, having been advised that a brief window of opportunity was open.