(no subject)

[timelets]

The situation with Iran is much more serious than I thought, esp. given the current US confrontation with China.

https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1139621984264839168

Comments

[juan_gandhi]

Seems like he needs a big distraction.

[timelets]

It's not about him any more. Iran has its own game and might force a showdown, knowing that we have little international support and no desire for a prolonged confrontation.

[malobukov]

Technical term is “wag the dog”.

[tijd]

It has been half a year without the secretary of defense. The acting secretary is no match for John Bolton, who is hell-bent on the war with Iran. The war is his Bolton’s raison d’être for working in the government.

Shanahan’s critics say he has ceded too much authority over major decisions to Bolton, a security hawk and experienced bureaucratic gunslinger.
Last month, for example, the Pentagon was overruled on the decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, which was supported by Bolton and Pompeo.
Even worse, Defense Department officials with direct knowledge of Shanahan’s operations said, he has tolerated a practice by Bolton and the National Security Council staff of calling Pentagon underlings and inserting themselves deep into the chain of command. That means the people who work for Shanahan are unprotected from interference by White House staff, who are not in the military’s chain of authority.
https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/06/14/shanahan-defense-trump-pentagon-1365843

[gracheeha]

Ситуация очень серьёзная, поскольку Европа готова покупать иранскую нефть за евро:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dollar-powers-american-dominance-rivals-are-building-workarounds-11559155440?mod=article_inline

https://www.wsj.com/articles/german-foreign-minister-in-tehran-to-salvage-iran-nuclear-deal-11560176802

До сих пор Америка этого не допускала и, хрен знает, как далеко она пойдёт, чтобы сохранить долларовую гегемонию. А уж что из этого выйдет, один только Бог знает, но, боюсь, что ничего хорошего. :(