Week 165 - Unintended Consequences

This week as the country was on the brink of war  with Iran, we stood alone, with the Trump regime having neglected to  consult with our allies in Europe or the region. Reporting indicated the  decision to strike that precipitated the latest crisis was made by  Trump and Trump alone, amid his shrinking circle of less experienced but  more compliant national security experts. After Iran retaliated, Trump  seemed flat-footed, saying he would address the country that night, then  backing off. The next morning he addressed the nation in a speech which  he seemed to struggle to deliver, full of lies and misinformation, and  which clarified little on strategy or the reason for the escalation. One  of the numerous unintended consequences of the escalation was a downed  Ukrainian Air plane, with 176 passengers killed over Tehran in the fog  of war.

The basis for the strike was in dispute during  the week, as the regime failed to provide Congress or the American  people with information to back their ever-changing rationale. By the  end of the week, the regime indicated it was threats to U.S. embassies  that led to the strike, with Trump specifying, without providing  evidence, four embassies in total. Reporting also indicated there was  another planned strike the day Soleimani was killed, targeting a senior  Iranian military official in Yemen, that failed — indicating a broader  attack may have been underway, and further muddying the regime’s account  of events.

This week former National Security Advisor John  Bolton offered to testify in the Senate impeachment trial, which Trump  later said he would likely block, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  scheduled a vote to send the articles to the Senate. Republicans  continued to largely stand behind Trump, even as he nearly brought the  country to war without reason, and as the impeachment trial is set to  get underway.

Read the full list: https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-165/