Bolton
is pressing Trump to start Gulf War III
Observers warned the United States
is hurtling down the same path that led to the disastrous invasion of Iraq 16
years ago following a report late Monday that President
Donald Trump reviewed a plan to send 120,000 ground troops to the Middle East
if Iran launches an "attack" on American forces or moves to develop
nuclear weapons.
According to the New York
Times, the military plan was crafted by national security adviser John
Bolton—who has repeatedly expressed support for bombing Iran, including in the pages of the Times—and
presented to the president last Thursday by Acting Defense Secretary Patrick
Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who Trump nominated last week to serve as permanent
Pentagon chief.
"The size of the force involved
has shocked some who have been briefed on [the plan]," the Times reported,
citing more than a half-dozen anonymous national security officials. "The
120,000 troops would approach the size of the American force that invaded Iraq
in 2003."
"The high-level review of the Pentagon's plans was presented during a meeting about broader Iran policy," according to the Times. "It was held days after what the Trump administration described, without evidence, as new intelligence indicating that Iran was mobilizing proxy groups in Iraq and Syria to attack American forces."
The Times report on
Bolton's plan, which one critic described as "disturbing," comes just over a week
after the national security adviser used the routine deployment of a U.S.
aircraft carrier and bomber task force to threaten Iran with military action.
According to the Times,
U.S. officials believe—without citing any evidence—that Iran was involved
in reported attacks on UAE and Saudi oil
tankers in the Persian Gulf over the weekend.
Trump seized upon the reported
incident to threaten Iran.
"It's going to be a bad problem
for Iran if something happens," the president told reporters on Monday.
"If you are worried about a new
war in the Middle East, you are in good company," tweeted Joe Cirincione, president of
the Ploughshares Fund. "In fact, you are probably not worried
enough."
Others echoed Cirincione's warning
in response to the Times report:
Iran has responded to the Trump
administration's belligerence and repeated threats with what one commentator
called "remarkable restraint."
As Common Dreams reported last week, Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani urged diplomacy in a speech detailing his nation's plan to
gradually reduce compliance with some of the terms of the nuclear deal to
pressure European countries to uphold their side of the agreement.
Trump violated the nuclear accord last May,
a move critics at the time warned would dramatically increase the possibility
of a war with Iran.
Jamal Abdi, president of the
National Iranian American Council, said in a statement late Monday that Bolton "is
methodically setting the stage for war with Iran—forcing Iran into a corner and
then readying war plans for when Iran takes the bait."
"There are two ways Bolton can
be stopped: either Trump can fire him or Congress can pass legislation to block
a war before it starts," Abdi said. "It's time for our leaders to
stop sleepwalking and the public to speak out as an unrestrained Iraq war
architect repeats the playbook from that generational catastrophe with
Iran."
