Bolton is Playing Russian Roulette With Workers' Lives

Mr. Nasty. Cowards are very aggressive when they have the upper hand

 From Democracy Now:
"President Trump’s national security adviser on Wednesday blamed Iran for mines that damaged oil tankers in the Persian Gulf this month, as well as a recent drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline. Speaking to reporters in the United Arab Emirates, John Bolton offered no evidence of Iranian involvement, instead asking, “Who else would you think is doing it? Somebody from Nepal?” Bolton also said Iran had “no reason” to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal—his comments coming exactly a year after the U.S. did exactly that. This comes as the U.S. deployed an additional 900 troops to Saudi Arabia and Qatar."

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Richard Mellor
Afscme Local 444, retired

You have to marvel at the mind of war monger and draft dodger, (often two sides of the same coin) John Bolton who claims Iran attacked Saudi ships in the Persian Gulf. For Trump fans, the Persian Gulf is next to Iran and Iran used to be called Persia and was for millennium.

Apparently the Iranians attached mines to the ships and that the "U.S. has little doubt that Iran was behind the attacks." according to the Wall Street Journal. "Who else do you think was doing it", Bolton told the media, "Somebody from Nepal?"

Nepal is not likely but certainly somebody from rogue states like Israel, numerous other family run Arab regimes in and around the Persian Gulf could including the U.S.  Iran could of course, but it hardly seems a profitable venture from their point of view. A US "official" says there were Iranian vessels in the region. Go look at the Persian Gulf and you'll get some idea why Iranian ships are in that region. 

Two world wars had put the nail in the coffin as far as Britain being a world power was concerned. British capitalism abandoned its role as policeman of western capitalism's oil. It became too expensive and could have led to serious revolts at home.  Unable to continue and pacify sections of the British working class at the same time, they passed the baton to the US. The ruthless anti-democratic nature of the region's semi-feudal ruling classes matters not when it comes to profits; the House of Saud was placed in power by the British. The Iraq war, that destroyed a nation state was very profitable for some. Contractors like Halliburton and others (Think Dick Cheney, Wolfowitz and co.) reaped a rapid $140 billion windfall thanks to the Imbecile Bush's war crimes. And Winner For The Most Iraq Contracts is.......

Most of us are unfortunate enough to be kept in the dark, not knowing the truth of the matter with so many dirty participants is troubling in itself. There will be no improvement when the official UAE findings on the event are released next week. The UAE is a collection of territories united under that banner and ruled by hereditary sheikhs from the various absolute monarchies that comprise the state. Flogging and stoning are common punishments as the state is governed by the barbaric religious code of Sharia law. Trade unions are banned and the UAE has a notorious record of abusing the imported labor that does all the work. These states are basically family businesses that rely on importing workers from poor countries and abuse including torture, rape (maids from the Philippines and elsewhere) and disappearances of critics is rampant.

These are the allies that US capitalism chooses to arm at great cost to the US taxpayer. When we hear on the news that US interests are threatened, the 1%'s mass media is not referring to the interests of US workers but US capitalists, the same forces and individuals that are waging a war against workers and public services at home.

For US workers, our interests lie in strengthening workers' organizations and independent trade unions in these countries, including Iran and Iraq where trade union and working class political activity has a long history. The  CIA helped Hussein crush political opposition in Iraq and the overthrow of Mossadegh and the installation of the the murderous Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi by the US set back trade union and political activity in Iran eventually leading to the rule of the Mullahs.

Though workers have no political party of our own here in the US, the heads of organized labor, the leaders of an organization of 14 million workers should be reaching out to and encouraging independent trade unionism in this part of the world instead of supporting US capitalism's anti-union, anti-democratic and misogynistic regimes. We can't expect that to happen as things are, because their approach domestically is the same as their approach to foreign policy, capitalists require concessions and they go along with it.

In the event of yet another war in this region that has been savaged by war for the last 30 years or more, it will be working people that suffer including here at home as we will pay for the venture through cuts in social services and living standards. The illegal US invasion of Iraq pretty much destroyed a nation state that was one of the most secular regimes in the Middle East. It is so tragic to read in the biased US media of the fragile nation state of Iraq, a state learning to govern. The US killed more than a million Iraqi's, displaced hundreds of thousands more further destabilizing the region.

It's not likely there will be a war with Iran but with the crazed Zionists in Israel, Christian Zionists in the US and mad draft dodgers like Trump and Bolton having more influence than we would give a ten year old, anything can happen.