“When will you ever learn?” could have been asked repeatedly of American policy-makers who, for many years now, have refused to understand that ignoring aggression and broadcasting fear in the Middle East is the surest way to encourage aggression and realize that fear.
Thank you for this excellent analysis. Israel needs to be strong and do what it needs to do to defend itself. Obviously no one truly comes to Israel’s defense, ever. The current administration talks out of both sides of its mouth.
Why doesn't he just say Iran did 9/11 and is helping Al Qaeda and be done with it? That's how much of a clown world we live in.
When will Zionist Jews ever learn? STOP THE WARMONGERING AND BACK THE FUCK OFF. This isn't going to be another Iraq, and the goyim aren't signing up for another Jewish war based on lies.
Iraq had little to do with Zionism…it was all about Bush/Rove maximizing his chances to win reelection in 2004. The truth about the aftermath of 9/11 is so much worse than the most deranged Truther conspiracy theories.
You literally have no clue what you're talking about. Look up the Clean Break Memo and who signed it. Look up who planned the Iraq war, actually even before 9/11. Perle, Wurmser, Feith, Wolfowitz, Frum. This was motivated by Israel and Zionist interests completely. Read The Israel Lobby. Please.
The same thing is happening with Iran right now. They had nothing to do with October 7, neither did the Houthis. Israel has been gunning for Iran, they're too scared to invade it themselves, so they're using the US--again. It's 2003, but it's even more obvious just how much power Zionist Jews have over the US.
This is not conspiracy. This isn't Bush/Rove. If you think Bush had any actual influence, or acted as anything other than a puppet, then you're dumb. Just stop it. It's 2024.
The reason Iraq started in the first place is because of the Zionist Jews who control US politics and especially foreign policy. I gave you the list of names. Read the Clean Break Memo.
Bush didn't choose to do anything. He wasn't the one in charge really. This was all decided before 2003, and he couldn't have stopped it if he wanted to.
Please just stop it. It's embarrassing that somebody would be this dumb in 2024.
I’ve seen reports that since the deadly attack on U.S. forces in Jordan, the responsible Iran proxy Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, has been moving its terrorists and equipment out of its camps. Just now, it seems that Iran told them to stand down (which does show who really is in charge) and so KH has announced a pause in its attacks.
If the U.S. sees this as a vindication of its go-slow approach to deterrence and does nothing, worse will come. You cannot fear escalation or widening a war when that is precisely what your enemy is doing.
What will send a message to Iran? Sinking its Red Sea spy ship that is coordinating Houthi attacks and conducting a cyber-attack on Iran’s oil refineries.
On the Gaza front, the U.S. should read Qatar the riot act and have them surrender the resident Hamas chiefs for trial in the U.S. for conspiracy to commit murder against American citizens by terror and freeze their billions. It should also demand that Hamas comply with the ICJ order to unconditionally surrender the hostages (if only to further discredit that court) and suspend hostage negotiations on the grounds that Hamas will not be rewarded for war crimes - and that this is their last chance to save their own skins by surrendering. In the meanwhile, the IDF continues to tighten the noose around Sinwar et al. holed up in Khan Younis while cutting if the Philadelphi corridor.
Why are there US troops in Jordan? To do what? For what purpose?
Why is Iran being attacked now when they had nothing to do with October 7, as Shia Persians they wouldn't support Sunni Arabs? Nobody is bombing Qatar, which hosts a literal office for Hamas in Doha where its billionaire leader lives, from the hundreds of millions Qatar has been documented to give Hamas.
Do any of you people ask yourselves these questions?
All we have, including you, is speculation. The camp in Jordan is a logistics hub for bases in Syria which are dealing with various Iran backed proxies and ISIS leftovers.
Iran is either in control or, through funding and arming. Exerts great influence over Hamas, PIJ, Hezbollah and the Houthis to name a few outside of Iraq and Syria. The Shia-Sunni divide is not absolute as everyone has seen. They cooperate when it’s to their mutual advantage and fight each other when one of the sees an advantage for their side.
Everyone should be asking questions, but two things are reasonably clear. Iran wants to be the regional hegemony, a goal which can only be achieved by destabilizing the Sunni Arab countries.
The U.S. is the only country with sufficient military might (should it choose to use it) that can block Iran and maintain the necessary level of regional quiet so that international trade, including but not limited to oil shipments, is not disrupted and the world fall into an economic depression or worse.
You realize that one undisputed facts undermines your entire screed. Before the Islamic Revolution that toppled the Shah in 1979, Iran had cordial relations with Israel. You could take commercial flights from Tehran to Tel Aviv.
Once Ayatollah Khomeini took control (and had his Leftist allies murdered as he consolidated power), he made it Iran’s implacable mission to destroy Israel. Iran made itself a mortal enemy of Israel, not the other way around. The reasons behind his decision can be debated, but not the fact that he did so.
So please spare us your ad hominem statements and your idiosyncratic narrative. The rest of us are happy to stick with the world as it is.
Oh I see! Hamas is ISIS, Iran is funding Hamas, but then ISIS decided to bomb Iran not too long ago! Part of the reason ISIS split from Al Qaeda is because they unilaterally slaughtered Shia. That's been going on for 1400 years. I'm sure they just put it aside for a few hang gliders.
Huh, that's interesting. Just tell me that Iran did 9/11 and Al Qaeda is hiding there in uranium yellow cake and tubes. That would be just as convincing. It's still 2003, the goyim believe everything. Throw in some bullshit about shipping routes and Yemen.
Do you understand that Israel has been gunning for Iran for years, and now they see an in, just like they saw with Iraq? Do you understand that Israel is who seeks regional hegemony and they're using the US as a weapon to do so, and this has been the case for years?
Are you honestly this gullible? Go talk to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. See where this bullshit got them.
The Zionist Jews who dominate US foreign policy need to back off, and you need to stop lying to push this warmongering. The US cannot afford it. If Israel wants to invade Iran (while genociding Gaza) it's going to do it on its own. No more lie-based Zionist wars.
Stop it. Nobody is falling for this, and that's why white people aren't joining the military anymore.
Brilliant, as always Ambassador. Wish this Administration would listen. But I fear not, as it’s in far too deep to admit the errors - ideological and otherwise- of its ways.
What is wrong with this Obama/Biden administration? Didn’t they learn in sixth grade that you don’t back down to bullies? Placating them only makes them bolder.
Yes, because the Iraq war went so well. The goyim want to sign up for another lie-based Zionist war which will only be rewarded with more angry migrants to the West and screeching about racism.
Michael, your site name says it all––Clarity. You have clarified in no uncertain terms the breakdown of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. looks so weak, and it appears to be by intent. The left is the party of antisemitism. It started with Obama, who no doubt is an antisemite, though he shrouds it in flowery language as it would sully his "image".
Why would any rational leader embolden Iran? What do they think would happen if you appease the Mullahs? There are those isolationists who think things will work out. The fail to acknowledg that America is in the midst of a war, it's being attacked by the world on its southern border.
All you can say is America is a shell of its former self. If the Democrats get re-elected, I fear that Israel won't survive because the level of antisemitism in the deep state and the Democrat party is ubiquitous.
Nothing will happen to Iran while Biden is still in power. American Jews will always vote Democratic regardless, and so Iran will end up with nuclear power , and that will change the game. Remember, German Jews regarded themselves German first until, unfortunately, they found Hitler did not agree to that. The only hope is for Israelis to take the initiative and strike a deadly blow to the Iranian plans for nuclear.
Sadly, you are right. I am still hoping Israel will somehow outsmart the US and Iran and press on, but with escalation on all fronts chances are slim. Israel is squeezed and its internal divisions are making everything worse. It is heartbreaking!!
if only the Republicans could get their act together and defeat the Obama policy on the mideast. I’m afraid another democrat in the white house will have terrible consequences for Israel.
Thank you Michael Oren! Few ppl study grand strategy and the basic paradoxes intrinsic to conflict. Jews at least have an excuse with 1800 hundred years of accommodative instincts to overcome. I wrote about this recently: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-diaspora-complex-needs-to-go/
One of Israel's biggest mistakes is rescinding the death penalty for terrorists. They want to be martyrs for Allah, well give it to them. Why spend a shekel on these subhumans? Also then they have no bargaining chips. Each time there is a "deal" terrorists get released from Israeli jails only to terrorize again.
With all due respect Ambassador, if Israel permitted Hamas to build thousands of tunnels under Gaza, fire rockets at their citizens, and hold the bodies of deceased Israeli soldiers for years without taking action, I think you are asking the question of when will they ever learn, to the leaders of the wrong country. Or perhaps people of moral conscience in both Israel and the U.S. are actually trying to realize the message of Pete Seeger’s song by trying to prevent war. The lesson of October 7 th is not that Israel or the U.S. should give war a chance. Obviously now the defense of Israel requires fighting in Gaza and elimination of Hamas to restore safety to the nation. The lesson of October 7th is Israel’s government failed to protect its citizens as well as all Jews and that can never ever happen again. יחד ננצח קצת מאוחר מדי
“For more than fifteen years, the United States has consistently overlooked Iran’s belligerency.” Gee, I wonder who became President fifteen years ago?
Even though I don't agree with the viewpoint of the author I was going to subscribe just to hear the other side of the argument. But there is just way too much Zionist self-delusion and self-justification here. I'll stick to Haaretz.
Put a bit differently, since you are unable to articulate a critique of Oren’s view, you’ll return to the safety of your echo chamber. It’s a loss all around.
You provided your conclusion “way too much Zionist self-delusion and self-justification here”. What’s lacking is any supporting argument to justify reaching that conclusion. Therein lies the rub.
Thank you! The US could also strike at various bases used by Iranian proxies or at the MV Behshad, the spyship which identifies ships in the Red Sea and provides target coordinates for the Houthis.
Thank you for this excellent analysis. Israel needs to be strong and do what it needs to do to defend itself. Obviously no one truly comes to Israel’s defense, ever. The current administration talks out of both sides of its mouth.
Why doesn't he just say Iran did 9/11 and is helping Al Qaeda and be done with it? That's how much of a clown world we live in.
When will Zionist Jews ever learn? STOP THE WARMONGERING AND BACK THE FUCK OFF. This isn't going to be another Iraq, and the goyim aren't signing up for another Jewish war based on lies.
Stop it.
Iraq had little to do with Zionism…it was all about Bush/Rove maximizing his chances to win reelection in 2004. The truth about the aftermath of 9/11 is so much worse than the most deranged Truther conspiracy theories.
You literally have no clue what you're talking about. Look up the Clean Break Memo and who signed it. Look up who planned the Iraq war, actually even before 9/11. Perle, Wurmser, Feith, Wolfowitz, Frum. This was motivated by Israel and Zionist interests completely. Read The Israel Lobby. Please.
The same thing is happening with Iran right now. They had nothing to do with October 7, neither did the Houthis. Israel has been gunning for Iran, they're too scared to invade it themselves, so they're using the US--again. It's 2003, but it's even more obvious just how much power Zionist Jews have over the US.
This is not conspiracy. This isn't Bush/Rove. If you think Bush had any actual influence, or acted as anything other than a puppet, then you're dumb. Just stop it. It's 2024.
The lesson Bush took from 1991 was prolong the war…he didn’t want to be a one termer like his loser father.
The reason Iraq started in the first place is because of the Zionist Jews who control US politics and especially foreign policy. I gave you the list of names. Read the Clean Break Memo.
Bush didn't choose to do anything. He wasn't the one in charge really. This was all decided before 2003, and he couldn't have stopped it if he wanted to.
Please just stop it. It's embarrassing that somebody would be this dumb in 2024.
Bush was in charge…he and Rove only cared about getting re-elected and every decision was based on polls and focus groups.
I’ve seen reports that since the deadly attack on U.S. forces in Jordan, the responsible Iran proxy Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, has been moving its terrorists and equipment out of its camps. Just now, it seems that Iran told them to stand down (which does show who really is in charge) and so KH has announced a pause in its attacks.
If the U.S. sees this as a vindication of its go-slow approach to deterrence and does nothing, worse will come. You cannot fear escalation or widening a war when that is precisely what your enemy is doing.
What will send a message to Iran? Sinking its Red Sea spy ship that is coordinating Houthi attacks and conducting a cyber-attack on Iran’s oil refineries.
On the Gaza front, the U.S. should read Qatar the riot act and have them surrender the resident Hamas chiefs for trial in the U.S. for conspiracy to commit murder against American citizens by terror and freeze their billions. It should also demand that Hamas comply with the ICJ order to unconditionally surrender the hostages (if only to further discredit that court) and suspend hostage negotiations on the grounds that Hamas will not be rewarded for war crimes - and that this is their last chance to save their own skins by surrendering. In the meanwhile, the IDF continues to tighten the noose around Sinwar et al. holed up in Khan Younis while cutting if the Philadelphi corridor.
Why are there US troops in Jordan? To do what? For what purpose?
Why is Iran being attacked now when they had nothing to do with October 7, as Shia Persians they wouldn't support Sunni Arabs? Nobody is bombing Qatar, which hosts a literal office for Hamas in Doha where its billionaire leader lives, from the hundreds of millions Qatar has been documented to give Hamas.
Do any of you people ask yourselves these questions?
All we have, including you, is speculation. The camp in Jordan is a logistics hub for bases in Syria which are dealing with various Iran backed proxies and ISIS leftovers.
Iran is either in control or, through funding and arming. Exerts great influence over Hamas, PIJ, Hezbollah and the Houthis to name a few outside of Iraq and Syria. The Shia-Sunni divide is not absolute as everyone has seen. They cooperate when it’s to their mutual advantage and fight each other when one of the sees an advantage for their side.
Everyone should be asking questions, but two things are reasonably clear. Iran wants to be the regional hegemony, a goal which can only be achieved by destabilizing the Sunni Arab countries.
The U.S. is the only country with sufficient military might (should it choose to use it) that can block Iran and maintain the necessary level of regional quiet so that international trade, including but not limited to oil shipments, is not disrupted and the world fall into an economic depression or worse.
You realize that one undisputed facts undermines your entire screed. Before the Islamic Revolution that toppled the Shah in 1979, Iran had cordial relations with Israel. You could take commercial flights from Tehran to Tel Aviv.
Once Ayatollah Khomeini took control (and had his Leftist allies murdered as he consolidated power), he made it Iran’s implacable mission to destroy Israel. Iran made itself a mortal enemy of Israel, not the other way around. The reasons behind his decision can be debated, but not the fact that he did so.
So please spare us your ad hominem statements and your idiosyncratic narrative. The rest of us are happy to stick with the world as it is.
Oh I see! Hamas is ISIS, Iran is funding Hamas, but then ISIS decided to bomb Iran not too long ago! Part of the reason ISIS split from Al Qaeda is because they unilaterally slaughtered Shia. That's been going on for 1400 years. I'm sure they just put it aside for a few hang gliders.
Huh, that's interesting. Just tell me that Iran did 9/11 and Al Qaeda is hiding there in uranium yellow cake and tubes. That would be just as convincing. It's still 2003, the goyim believe everything. Throw in some bullshit about shipping routes and Yemen.
Do you understand that Israel has been gunning for Iran for years, and now they see an in, just like they saw with Iraq? Do you understand that Israel is who seeks regional hegemony and they're using the US as a weapon to do so, and this has been the case for years?
Are you honestly this gullible? Go talk to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. See where this bullshit got them.
The Zionist Jews who dominate US foreign policy need to back off, and you need to stop lying to push this warmongering. The US cannot afford it. If Israel wants to invade Iran (while genociding Gaza) it's going to do it on its own. No more lie-based Zionist wars.
Stop it. Nobody is falling for this, and that's why white people aren't joining the military anymore.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/middleeast/us-isis-iran-general-suleimani.html
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2024/01/17/exp-hamas-isis-comparison-chance-pkg-011702aseg2-cnni-world.cnn
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/01/10/army-sees-sharp-decline-white-recruits.html
Brilliant, as always Ambassador. Wish this Administration would listen. But I fear not, as it’s in far too deep to admit the errors - ideological and otherwise- of its ways.
Literally crying out as you strike.
What is wrong with this Obama/Biden administration? Didn’t they learn in sixth grade that you don’t back down to bullies? Placating them only makes them bolder.
Yes, because the Iraq war went so well. The goyim want to sign up for another lie-based Zionist war which will only be rewarded with more angry migrants to the West and screeching about racism.
Michael, your site name says it all––Clarity. You have clarified in no uncertain terms the breakdown of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. looks so weak, and it appears to be by intent. The left is the party of antisemitism. It started with Obama, who no doubt is an antisemite, though he shrouds it in flowery language as it would sully his "image".
Why would any rational leader embolden Iran? What do they think would happen if you appease the Mullahs? There are those isolationists who think things will work out. The fail to acknowledg that America is in the midst of a war, it's being attacked by the world on its southern border.
All you can say is America is a shell of its former self. If the Democrats get re-elected, I fear that Israel won't survive because the level of antisemitism in the deep state and the Democrat party is ubiquitous.
The Biden administration doesn't know what victory is.
Israel is not allowed to have one.
Nope. Never.
Nothing will happen to Iran while Biden is still in power. American Jews will always vote Democratic regardless, and so Iran will end up with nuclear power , and that will change the game. Remember, German Jews regarded themselves German first until, unfortunately, they found Hitler did not agree to that. The only hope is for Israelis to take the initiative and strike a deadly blow to the Iranian plans for nuclear.
Sadly, you are right. I am still hoping Israel will somehow outsmart the US and Iran and press on, but with escalation on all fronts chances are slim. Israel is squeezed and its internal divisions are making everything worse. It is heartbreaking!!
if only the Republicans could get their act together and defeat the Obama policy on the mideast. I’m afraid another democrat in the white house will have terrible consequences for Israel.
Thank you Michael Oren! Few ppl study grand strategy and the basic paradoxes intrinsic to conflict. Jews at least have an excuse with 1800 hundred years of accommodative instincts to overcome. I wrote about this recently: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-diaspora-complex-needs-to-go/
One of Israel's biggest mistakes is rescinding the death penalty for terrorists. They want to be martyrs for Allah, well give it to them. Why spend a shekel on these subhumans? Also then they have no bargaining chips. Each time there is a "deal" terrorists get released from Israeli jails only to terrorize again.
With all due respect Ambassador, if Israel permitted Hamas to build thousands of tunnels under Gaza, fire rockets at their citizens, and hold the bodies of deceased Israeli soldiers for years without taking action, I think you are asking the question of when will they ever learn, to the leaders of the wrong country. Or perhaps people of moral conscience in both Israel and the U.S. are actually trying to realize the message of Pete Seeger’s song by trying to prevent war. The lesson of October 7 th is not that Israel or the U.S. should give war a chance. Obviously now the defense of Israel requires fighting in Gaza and elimination of Hamas to restore safety to the nation. The lesson of October 7th is Israel’s government failed to protect its citizens as well as all Jews and that can never ever happen again. יחד ננצח קצת מאוחר מדי
“For more than fifteen years, the United States has consistently overlooked Iran’s belligerency.” Gee, I wonder who became President fifteen years ago?
15 Years? How about the taking of the embassy in 1979 which, by international law, is a declaration of war?
Even though I don't agree with the viewpoint of the author I was going to subscribe just to hear the other side of the argument. But there is just way too much Zionist self-delusion and self-justification here. I'll stick to Haaretz.
Put a bit differently, since you are unable to articulate a critique of Oren’s view, you’ll return to the safety of your echo chamber. It’s a loss all around.
I've critiqued his view in summary. You may think I'm unable to also do so in detail, but that's just your opinion.
You provided your conclusion “way too much Zionist self-delusion and self-justification here”. What’s lacking is any supporting argument to justify reaching that conclusion. Therein lies the rub.
Thank you! The US could also strike at various bases used by Iranian proxies or at the MV Behshad, the spyship which identifies ships in the Red Sea and provides target coordinates for the Houthis.
Weak men lead to hard times.....