2020: US Empire Continues To Set Middle East On Fire, and the View from the Vermont Frontier (REAL NEWS)

Publisher’s note: Welcome to 2020, which promises to be an eventful year in geopolitics. The US Empire is currently engineering coups (Bolivia) and attempted coups (Venezuela) in South America, and fighting SEVEN wars in seven countries in the greater Middle East and Africa, not including the Global War On Terror (“a war that will not end in our lifetimes,” as former VP and Halliburton BOD head Dick Cheney intoned more than a decade ago). Here on the Vermont frontier, we are watching the US Empire publicly assassinate via drone attack Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, one of the most popular public figures in the greater Middle East for his role in protecting not only Iran but the entire region from being overrun by ISIS. Why would the United States commit such a brazen and provocative act? Anti-Trumpers are quick to call out Trump for “wagging the dog,” staging the attack to fire up his base and distract from the Dem leadership’s ill-advised attempt to impeach him. This explanation seems simplistic at best, given the complex geopolitical contexts here, and the many players in the mix: ISIS, Iran, Iraq, the Shia Axis of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, Israel, the Gulf Petro States, the United States and Beyond. While the US imperial cable “news” outlets push pro-war propaganda 24/7, a few smart US and Canadian journalisms are hard at work giving us credible and reliable information. Begin with a historical snapshot of Iraq/Iran/US relations here by the Centre for Global Research.

To celebrate REAL news being done in North America we include solid indy news links on this vital and emerging geopolitical conversation below. If you like to read, check out former US marine and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter’s analysis o the Iran situation here. Ritter’s key point here:

For many analysts and observers, Iran and the U.S. are on the cusp of a major confrontation. While such an outcome is possible, the reality is that the Iranian policy of asymmetrical response to American aggression that had been put in place by Qassem Suleimani when he was alive is still in place today. While emotions run high in the streets of Iranian cities, with angry crowds demanding action, the Iranian leadership, of which Suleimani was a trusted insider, recognizes that any precipitous action on its part only plays into the hands of the United States. In seeking revenge for the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, Iran will most likely play the long game, putting into action the old maxim that revenge is a dish best served cold.

If you like maps, and like to watch stuff, find great context below the fold. US journalists Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, Rania Malek, and Ben Norton are among our best indy news reporters, and Jimmy Dore and his crew make geopolitics funny even as they call out the US empire for “setting the Middle East on fire.” Listen closely, and support their work. Free Vermont, and long live the UNtied States.