I'm not really sure, actually. Reading the left and right on this and you would think that we really don't do proper analysis anymore, just screaming one way or another, just beating one's chest and that's it.
I'm of the mind that perhaps it's good that there's a small part of Trump's brain that thinks in terms of some sort of business or ledger manner and says "this quagmire will be stupid and costly". Then there's the bellicose part of him (the part many white supremacists and other jingoists enjoy, and could probably switch out for a blue pill, you know?) and those two are having a cell on cell knock-down drag out fight.
Obviously we have KSA and Israel (Bibi, and the crazies there) all itching for some kind of fight with Shiites, but never forget how many people in our "Deep State"[1] probably still want to teach Iran a lesson for not towing the line of Empire.
As it was so shall it be. And ever be.
But, of course, one doesn't have to love a country (see Russia) to see that there are better ways to diffuse the situation. Much of this is a result of Trump's (and other crazies in the GOP) desire to pull out of a treaty (which means we were in violation of it) and basically jump into an act of war with his sanctions (while making sure that other countries also tow the line with respect to these sanctions).
Note, we're in violation of a treaty (probably undermining the moderate in Tehran) and are making sure other people are also in violation of it. Note, also, that such acts of war are not allowed by any UN charter that we're signed on to (if idiots who claim we're a nation of laws are to be convinced). Sure, might makes right, but then don't cover it with some bullshit facade of anything else. [2]
Of course in any of the center left's analysis of this, you don't hear about this aspect of our belligerence. Just Trump and his stupidity. I mean it's easy to get at that diaper wearing fool, but it really doesn't make for good analysis.
I spoke right before and after the election about how Trump really knew how to play the media and that most of the media (Times etc) was really just a kind of entertainment. In the end they would care more about palace intrigue rather than substance because that's their bread and butter. Indeed, it probably sells more to make some sort of palace intrigue, what was Trump thinking? piece some he said she said bullshit than to break down what exactly is going on.
Read some Hersh on this matter and you can see why even he is no longer allowed on this side of the ocean because he's willing to dig deep rather than just cultivate some relationships and get to go to WhiteHouse dinners. [3]
We're getting there. But now with something like Iran we have no clarity from the media, no cooler heads that will prevail and what happens when an American civilian dies? I'm guessing then the jingoists will try to call anyone not looking for revenge "guilty of treason" and we'll be back on the stupid train. This would most likely have happened with or without Trump. He's just a really stupid facade on this all.
Any thoughts worth considering out there?
[1] Like many things, from the term Fake News to, well, any other word of value, Trump and the MAGAts make hay of making them useless. Indeed, it's a function of language to consider mass use of a term, but it's definitely taken to the next level (or playground level) when Trump claims one word is what it isn't. Therefore I think of the Deep state as the memory of institutions carrying out foreign policy. This can include the government workers as well as the powers that benefit directly from some confrontations etc etc.
[2] I know the might makes right crowd will also claim that this right includes making up whatever shit they want, but I'm trying to bring some less crazy to this world, not trying to add to it.
[3] See, the thing is that there is a troubling trend that even the likes of me cannot deny. Corporate media is destroying actual insight into world events and this has been getting worse since media consolidation as well as 24hour media forced quantity over quality (and social media has not made things better). Of course, reading Hersh, you can see issues from the get go. Local media isn't always a panacea since we have him in Chicago in the 60s not allowed to show any news on Black people dying because of crooked cops or white supremacy and other insidious powers at work in journalism.
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