Will Donald get his signature war?

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As he continues to poke Iran with a stick, Donald Trump says he doesn’t want to go to war. But considering his military build-up, his insistent trash-talking of IRAN, his sanctions, his cuddling with Saudi Arabia (and Israel), his otherwise disdain for Muslims, is Donald looking to do something that he might feel would appear “heroic” in the minds of his white-supremacist nationalists where self-anointed machismo reigns? Is he trying to time things carefully in accord with the 2020 election? Does he want a signature “Trump War” to win him a place in history books (as I suspect)?

Just the other day, a twin attack on tankers (of other nations than ours) in the Persian Gulf (between Saudi Arabia and Iran on map) was blamed by Trump on Iran. Also, Iraq had to get Trump’s permission for a 90-day waiver to continue with vital energy imports from neighboring Iran. Trump reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions on Iran’s energy and finance sectors in November.

On the map will be seen looming SAUDI ARABIA, where Donald seems to worship the splendor of royal hedonism, dictatorial (and sometimes deadly) deprivation of human rights, ongoing misogyny. He sells a lot of arms and munitions there in an attempt to disguise as an economic benefit his affection for those such as the dominant prince responsible for the murder of an American journalist. Journalists, of course, are continuously described as “enemies of the people” by Donald, here in our own country.

Also on the map is YEMEN where the Saudis are making use of American missiles and other weapons to kill thousands (also slowly starving millions via an embargo on humanitarian aid). Coincidentally, the target of this assault is an Iranian political faction.

Regarding Iran et al: 1,500 additional U.S. troops were deployed to the Middle East in May. An additional 1,000 were ordered to the region in mid-June after Iran said it would exceed the limits of uranium stockpiles unless European countries helped it circumvent American sanctions. lran has been continuing to abide by terms of a 2015 Obama-era nuclear pact, from which Trump withdrew—then reinstated heavy uni-lateral sanctions.

Donald arbitrarily withdrew the U.S. with dramatic much-publicized flourish In May 2018 from the nuclear agreement (with which other countries involved continued to honor), saying the deal wasn’t tough enough. Since then the administration has steadily imposed ever harsher sanctions on Iran’s economy, which has sharply declined. Until recently, Iran has held up its side of the original bargain, still in force with five other countries: freezing much of its nuclear activity in return for relief from harsh sanctions.

Iran now is essentially threatening to shorten its timeline to develop a nuclear weapon, which Donald has said he would take military action to prevent. He took office vowing to solve nuclear crises in both Iran and North Korea. But he has done little regarding North Korea, other than occasionally praising the character of dictator Kim Jong Un.

I picture Trump dreaming of domineering a war room by over-riding the advice of military advisors who actually read and understand critical information—pointing to his own “stable genius” and fabulous “gut instinct.” Undoubtedly simultaneously holding pep rallies to brag about his “bold decisions” and denigrate his critics.

The above map also includes ISRAEL, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu June 16 announced naming a new settlement in the controversial Golan Heights after his "great friend" Donald Trump. Donald beams in that sort of spotlight. A huge sign including “Trump Heights” was ceremoniously unveiled. The Golan Heights, which was seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, is regarded as illegally occupied territory by the global community. The UN Security Council has deemed Israel's administration of the area "null and void and without legal effect," and the UN special envoy for Syria recently reiterated that position.

Not on the map is PALESTINE, not yet generally recognized as a nation separate from Israel by various governments and cartographers. It’s a mystery whatever happened to the supposed Israel-Palestine peace accord supposedly being formulated by one of Donald’s advisors, his son-in-law Jared Kuschner. The situation sort of blows away justification for Jared’s hanging around, in this particular glaring example of Trump-family nepotism.

On the map here also is IRAQ where we’re still involved militarily since 2003 when George W. Bush initiated his personal grandstand war there.

And then there’s SYRIA, where we continue to be outplayed by Russia and bloody dictatorial President Bashar Hafez al-Assad, who has reigned for 19 years.