Iraq/Iran Megathread - Latest: U.S. to close Baghdad embassy

[BigSerg]

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1214292680781512707?s=19

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Picture of surreal nightmare parody painted by Reza Marashi, formerly of the State Dept Office of Iranian Affairs and currently of the National Iranian American Council:
https://twitter.com/rezamarashi/status/1214031169173348352

[Woody]

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1214287633867821058

Fantastic.  Just what we need: more conflicting information and mixed messages.  And that's not just the fault of the administration, itself.  Nobody is on the same page here.  Or, at the very least, none of the entities that should be on the same page.  

[Green Line]

Lets sanction Iraq & destroy the economy of the country that we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars over almost 20 years trying to rebuild.  The ideas keep getting better and better.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

While also threatening sanctions if the US was booted by Iraq.  

Yeah, what a genius.  

[Almost Anyone But Biden Or Trump (ABBoT but not Greg Abbott)]

https://twitter.com/TaraCopp/status/1214291544553017346

[Almost Anyone But Biden Or Trump (ABBoT but not Greg Abbott)]

While also threatening sanctions if the US was booted by Iraq.  

Yeah, what a genius.  

I think this was not approved by Trump. The letter that was sent was probably just part of normal communications between US forces and Iraq. Normally not every decision goes to the Presidential level. There is probably a tendency at the moment for people on various sub-presidential levels of the chain of command to try to re-assure Iraqis (and others) that "no, we are not really that crazy, Trump is just tweeting stuff." There may also be tactical reasons for trying to provide re-assurance - if there is confusion about the US possibly leaving/withdrawing, that might avert or delay possible attacks on US forces.

[PSOL]

It is clear that the US has lost all control of the situation there, from the top—down.

[BigSerg]

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1214298729861267457?s=19

[Almost Anyone But Biden Or Trump (ABBoT but not Greg Abbott)]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

[Reaganfan Democrat]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

Disgraceful. Breaching diplomatic protocols is where I always draw the line. The alternative to diplomacy is chaos and war.

[BigSerg]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

excellent

[BigSerg]

https://twitter.com/evacool_/status/1214301043867181056?s=19

[Badger]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

excellent

Thanks bot.

[Omega21]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

It's time the UN HQ moves to Vienna or some other place anyway.

No reason for it to stay on one side of the aisle when it can be in a fully neutral country that supports dialogue and diplomacy.

[Almost Anyone But Biden Or Trump (ABBoT but not Greg Abbott)]

https://twitter.com/thekarami/status/1214331655634112513

Iranian media has speculated about how Iran will respond. Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the IRGC, wrote an article titled “Five features of the strategic revenge on America.” The first feature is that revenge will not be limited to one action: “This revenge will not be limited to a few soldiers or damaging the infrastructure or bases of the enemy.”

The second feature, the article stated, is that revenge will not be limited to one location geographically. Soleimani was an international figure, according to the article, and active across the region; therefore, “revenge will not be limited to a few countries or West Asia.” The article continued, “American interests all around the world are prone to being attacked.”

The third feature maintains that “the result of revenge will be strategic and not tactical.” One of the end results of revenge would be “the expelling of Americans from Iraq and the region.” The fourth feature holds that those exacting revenge would be “transnational.” Given that Soleimani was a “transnational and international figure” who helped “resistance groups” across the region, these groups — even acting independently, according to the article — could take revenge.

The fifth feature, stated the article, is that Americans “can never be at ease from revenge; they must expect any type of revenge at any level — responses some of which are from Iran and other responses that are completely uncontrollable … from resistance groups.”

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Lets sanction Iraq & destroy the economy of the country that we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars over almost 20 years trying to rebuild.  The ideas keep getting better and better.

Trump threatening sanctions on Iraq is I think the dumbest thing he's done in office. Totally insane from any diplomatic perspective.

[ProudModerate2]

Video: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) talks with CNN's Wolf Blitzer and uses the word "brain dead" to describe the trump administration regarding Iran.

Click here to watch: https://us.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/01/06/rand-paul-iran-trump-bolton-vpx.cnn

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Oh damn! Israel is distancing themselves from America.

https://twitter.com/ntarnopolsky/status/1214249290303987713?s=21

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Oh damn! Israel is distancing themselves from America.

https://twitter.com/ntarnopolsky/status/1214249290303987713?s=21

Wait, Trump out Likuded Likud?

[BigSerg]

unconfirmed rumor

https://twitter.com/Global_Mil_Info/status/1214376047296368650?s=19

[Person Man]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

excellent

Thanks bot.

A butt?

[NOVA Green]

Time to fill up your gas tank, stockpile on oil for your Winter heating....

Would not be surprised to see some type of action possibly as early as tomorrow after the days of mourning are over, that will at minimum cause disruption to oil flows out of the Persian Gulf....

Glad we have a hybrid and use mass transit....

Disruption of the global supply of Petroleum is an easy out for the Iranian Government initial response, without any major military actions that could be seen as targeting US Military or political assets....

[NOVA Green]

I should also note that Russia will most likely benefit should there be a dramatic spike in Global Petroleum prices, and could easily help trigger a Recession in parts of Europe, and expand Russian Energy exports to China....

American "Energy Independence" cannot be made up solely of Alaskan Crude, Gulf of Mexico Oil, and some South Texas "Wild Cat" operations, combined with some minor fracking activities....

Petro is a global commodity, and is still a major source of Energy for most "1st world" Nations, as well as many "Developing Nations"....

The shift of global manufacturing output away from the wealthiest nations, and towards the "global periphery" will likely cause a massive global recession in the event that Trump's folly causes a sustained a major spike in global crude prices like we saw in both the early and late '70s....

China has long been energy hungry, and with their move away from Coal, probably wouldn't mind spending $$$ to a longer-term arrangement for provisioning of Russian Crude....

Surprised nobody has yet mentioned the real implications of what could be a much longer slower geo-political realignment than simply "regime change" in Iran at the hands of the Neo-Cons, which could easily last decades and continued global instability....