Winter of Discontent Prolonged for Dictators?

 

The pattern of precision strikes this past year against ISIS leaders, the IRGC Quds Force commander, and one or more senior proxy militia commanders not only has put the Khomeinist regime on notice but also serves as a useful object lesson to Little Rocket Man, Kim III. Notice that the promised “Christmas surprise” never arrived through the full 12 days of Christmas. Whatever Kim’s calculations, the American military just reminded him, and everyone else, that there is nowhere the eagle’s talons can’t strike.

Chris Wallace asked Secretary Pompeo if impeachment trial talk was weakening the president’s hand in foreign policy. Pompeo’ deadpan answer: “You should ask Soleimani.” Kim has enjoyed a family tradition of acting the mad dog and getting thrown nice meaty bones time after time. Suddenly he has an opponent who gets showmanship and high-pressure negotiations. And the man just had a senior official in the old axis of evil snuffed out, an official all had believed untouchable; off-limits as the game was being played.

If Kim is ever to get past the winter of his discontent, it is now less likely to be with the artificial sunshine of an open hydrogen bomb test, at least so long as Donald J. Trump is president of these United States.

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  1. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    This conversation is part of our Group Writing Series under the January 2020 Group Writing Theme: Winter of Our Discontent. Share your tale of winter, discontent, content, or maybe tell us a tale of someone done wrong by an author or film maker. There are plenty of dates still available. Our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.

    Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.

    • #1
  2. MichaelKennedy Inactive
    MichaelKennedy
    @MichaelKennedy

    Trump is so lucky in his enemies.  Pelosi complained that she was not informed in advance and Dinesh D’Souza replied, “We didn’t inform the Iranians either, and for the same reasons.”  Now Iran seems to have shot down a Ukrainian airliner with 170 dead.  None Americans.

    • #2
  3. KentForrester Coolidge
    KentForrester
    @KentForrester

    MichaelKennedy (View Comment):

    Trump is so lucky in his enemies. Pelosi complained that she was not informed in advance and Dinesh D’Souza replied, “We didn’t inform the Iranians either, and for the same reasons.” Now Iran seems to have shot down a Ukrainian airliner with 170 dead. None Americans.

    That is a great retort by D’Souza because it’s true.

    Michael, is it possible that Iran shot down the airliner?  I haven’t read that.  If we can prove it (GPS? Trajectory? Whatever), we ought to publicize our findings over and over.

    • #3
  4. MichaelKennedy Inactive
    MichaelKennedy
    @MichaelKennedy

    KentForrester (View Comment):

    MichaelKennedy (View Comment):

    Trump is so lucky in his enemies. Pelosi complained that she was not informed in advance and Dinesh D’Souza replied, “We didn’t inform the Iranians either, and for the same reasons.” Now Iran seems to have shot down a Ukrainian airliner with 170 dead. None Americans.

    That is a great retort by D’Souza because it’s true.

    Michael, is it possible that Iran shot down the airliner? I haven’t read that. If we can prove it (GPS? Trajectory? Whatever), we ought to publicize our findings over and over.

    That will probably emerge but so far the Iranians are refusing to turn over the “black box” to Boeing and Ukraine has now retracted their statement that it was mechanical failure.  I suspect it was accidental, probably an idiot with a missile.  Apparently there is a type of AA missile that blows up and send shrapnel in the form of rods or blades, which may fit the pattern seen in the wreckage.

    • #4
  5. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Austin Bay suggests Kim pay attention.

    • #5
  6. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Except perhaps for the withdrawal in Syria that allowed Turkey to gain territory and alienate the Kurds, Trumps foreign policy has been superb.  This is real application of peace through strength.

    • #6
  7. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Manny (View Comment):

    Except perhaps for the withdrawal in Syria that allowed Turkey to gain territory and alienate the Kurds, Trumps foreign policy has been superb. This is real application of peace through strength.

    Of course, there are Kurds and then there are Kurds, and then there are various postures taken by any given actor at any given moment.

    • #7
  8. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    Except perhaps for the withdrawal in Syria that allowed Turkey to gain territory and alienate the Kurds, Trumps foreign policy has been superb. This is real application of peace through strength.

    Of course, there are Kurds and then there are Kurds, and then there are various postures taken by any given actor at any given moment.

    Yes, I agree.  Depends on which Kurds.  The Kurds directly involved I understand were not the “good” Kurds, but indirectly it probably effected the good Kurds too.  I would have liked to have seen a Kurdish homeland, and I think to my non-expert eye Turkey rolling into that territory slammed the lid on a potential Kurdish homeland.  It probably wasn’t going to be anyway.

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  9. MichaelKennedy Inactive
    MichaelKennedy
    @MichaelKennedy

    There is now more evidence that the Ukraine airliner was shot down by an Iranian missile, a Russian import.

    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/iran-plane-737-crash-in-tehran-was-it-shot-down.html

    The nose cone was found in the debris field.  The is not part of the warhead so would not be destroyed.

     

    • #9
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