Bolton
is likely to push for the creation of a new sectarian state out of
Syrian and Iraqi territory, now that the groundwork has been laid and
the path largely cleared to building a “new Middle East.” Iran is
currently the only country in the region with the potential to foil
that plan.
by
Whitney Webb
Part
7 - Adelson’s man
However,
beyond Bolton’s past and rhetoric, his commitment to the Israeli
government – even when that commitment directly conflicts with the
positions of the U.S. government – confirms that war may well be on
the horizon. For instance, Danny Gillerman, the former Israeli
ambassador to the UN, stated last Sunday that Bolton, while he was
serving in the Bush administration, was prone to “direct fire on
his own forces,” — i.e., the U.S. government — in order to
advance the goals of Israel.
In
addition, Bolton’s close relationship with Republican
billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson, who has financially backed both
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald
Trump, also indicates that war with Iran is on the agenda. As
MintPress recently reported, Adelson has long promoted Bolton and is
the man largely responsible for H.R. McMaster’s exit and Bolton’s
subsequent appointment. Unfortunately, Adelson’s views on U.S.
foreign policy, particularly in regard to Iran, are extremely
dangerous.
For
instance, while the negotiations that eventually led to the Iran
nuclear deal were taking place, Adelson advocated for a U.S. nuclear
attack on Iran without provocation, so the U.S. could “impose
its demands [on Iran] from a position of strength.”
Per
Adelson’s plan, the U.S. would drop a nuclear bomb in the middle of
the Iranian desert and then threaten that “the next one is in
the middle of Tehran” to show that “we mean business.”
Tehran, Iran’s capital, is home to nearly 9 million people with 15
million more in its suburbs. Were Tehran to be attacked with nuclear
weapons, an estimated 7 million would die within moments,
significantly more than the number of Jews killed during the
Holocaust of World War II.
Any sort
of diplomatic engagement with Iran, according to Adelson, is “the
worst negotiating tactic I could ever imagine.”
In other
words, Adelson – who is currently one of the most influential men
in U.S. and Israeli politics – has called for dropping nuclear
weapons on a country, including its heavily populated capital city,
for no reason other than to show that the U.S. “means business.”
Given their close relationship, it is unsurprising – but
nonetheless alarming – that Bolton has more or less echoed
Adelson’s positions, calling for preemptive strikes against Iran by
either the U.S. or Israel and flatly rejecting a diplomatic solution.
Adelson
— as well as the far-right Israeli government and, by extension,
Bolton — wants regime change in Iran for two main reasons. First,
Iran is a major supporter of Palestine and the Palestinian cause.
Palestine resistance group Hamas has consistently praised Iran’s
aid to Palestine, and Iran’s foreign policy — a foreign policy
born out of Iran’s many decades under the brutal rule of a
U.S.-backed dictatorship — has demonstrated time and again its
support of self-determination and its resistance to U.S. empire. Of
course, Israel, as well as the U.S., are diametrically opposed to
self-determination, particularly in Palestine.
Second,
Iran has become a regional economic power, even when it was under
heavy sanctions, which led the country to diversify its economy.
Since the sanctions were lifted after the adoption of the Iran
nuclear deal, Iran’s economic clout has continued to grow, as have
its natural gas exports. In addition, Iran is set to become a major
supplier of natural gas to the European Union, with European gas
companies recently leading the push to develop the world’s largest
gas field – jointly held by Iran and Qatar. Thus, Iran is an
economically resilient and powerful country that is not only fully
capable of resisting the ambitions of Israel — as well as the Gulf
monarchies that have become increasingly allied with Israel — but
also intent on doing so.
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