Western Leaders CAN’T SLEEP – Panic is Spreading
As Trump Prepares Iran Ground Assault, Expert Warns He’s ‘Run Out of Options’ for Victory
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Trump’s problem is that whatever the claims he might make about the damage to Iran’s nuclear and military capacity, which is substantial, the regime survives, the international economy has been severely disrupted, and the bills keep on coming in.”
President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to launch some kind of ground assault on Iran in the coming weeks, but one prominent military strategy expert believes he’s heading straight for defeat.
The Washington Post on Saturday reported that the Pentagon is preparing for “weeks” of ground operations in Iran, which for the last month has disrupted global energy markets by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz in response to aerial assaults by the US and Israel.
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The Post’s sources revealed that “any potential ground operation would fall short of a full-scale invasion and could instead involve raids by a mixture of Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops” that could be used to seize Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub, or to search out and destroy weapons systems that could be used by the Iranians to target ships along the strait.
Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Post that taking over Kharg Island would be a highly risky operation for American troops, even if initially successful.
“I just wouldn’t want to be in that small place with Iran’s ability to rain down drones and maybe artillery,” said Eisenstadt.
Eisenstadt’s analysis was echoed by Ret. Gen. Joseph Votel, former head of US Central Command, who told ABC News that seizing and occupying Kharg Island would put US troops in a state of constant danger, warning they could be “very, very vulnerable” to drones and missiles launched from the shore.
Lawrence Freedman, professor emeritus of war studies at King’s College London, believes that the president has already checkmated himself regardless of what shape any ground operation takes.
In an analysis published Sunday, Freedman declared Trump had run “out of options” for victory, as there have been no signs of the Iranian regime crumbling due to US-Israeli attacks.
Freedman wrote that Trump now “appears to inhabit an alternative reality,” noting that “his utterances have become increasingly incoherent, with contradictory statements following quickly one after the other, and frankly delusional claims.”
Trump’s loan real option at this point, Freedman continued, would to simply declare that he had achieved an unprecedented victory and just walk away. But even in that case, wrote Freedman, “this would mean leaving behind a mess in the Gulf” with no guarantee that Iran would re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Success in war is judged not by damage caused but by political objectives realized,” Freedman wrote in his conclusion. “Here the objective was regime change, or at least the emergence of a new compliant leader… Trump’s problem is that whatever the claims he might make about the damage to Iran’s nuclear and military capacity, which is substantial, the regime survives, the international economy has been severely disrupted, and the bills keep on coming in.”
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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Pope Leo Delivers ‘Rebuke’ of Pete Hegseth With Anti-War Palm Sunday Sermon
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.”
Pope Leo XIV used his Palm Sunday sermon to take what appears to be a shot at US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In his sermon, excerpts of which he published on social media, the pope emphasized Christian teachings against violence while criticizing anyone who would invoke Jesus Christ to justify a war.
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“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Pope Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
The pope also encouraged followers to “raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace.”
While speaking at the Pentagon last week, Hegseth directly invoked Jesus when discussing the Trump administration’s unprovoked and unconstitutional war with Iran.
Specifically, Hegseth offered up a prayer in which he asked God to give US soldiers “wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” adding that “we ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.”
Mother Jones contributing writer Alex Nguyen described the pope’s sermon as a “rebuke” of Hegseth, whom he noted “has been open about his support for a Christian crusade” in the Middle East.
Pope Leo is not the only Catholic leader speaking against using Christian faith to justify wars of aggression. Two weeks ago, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said “the abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time.”
“War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars,” Cardinal Pizzaballa added.
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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Thanks to Trump’s Iran War, Over $100 Billion Has Been ‘Siphoned From Ordinary People’ to Big Oil
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“The case for windfall taxes has never been clearer,” said 350.org’s chief executive.
An analysis released Monday estimates that oil and gas price spikes driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran have so far cost consumers and businesses around the world over $100 billion—money that has flowed into the coffers of some of the wealthiest, most powerful fossil fuel companies on the planet.
The new analysis by 350.org finds that, just over a month into the war, consumers and businesses have lost between $104.2 billion and $111.6 billion to rising oil and gas prices—an estimate that the environmental group acknowledges is likely conservative, given it doesn’t account for “wider knock-on effects, such as rising fertiliser and food costs, declines in economic output and employment, or broader inflation driven by fossil fuel price volatility. ”
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The more than $100 billion, 350.org said, “has been siphoned from ordinary people to oil and gas companies.”
“On top of the incalculable suffering of families and communities torn apart by the war, ordinary people around the world are paying an extraordinary price through fossil fuel-driven energy spikes,” said Anne Jellema, 350.org’s chief executive. “Over $100 billion has gone straight into the pockets of fossil fuel companies, while families struggle to afford energy and basic necessities.”
“The case for windfall taxes,” Jellema added, “has never been clearer.”
The analysis was published as global oil prices rose again following a weekend missile attack on Israel by Yemen’s Houthis and Trump’s threat to “take the oil in Iran,” signaling another potential escalation in a war that has already killed thousands, sparked an appalling humanitarian crisis, and destabilized the global economy.
One key beneficiary of the chaos is the fossil fuel industry, which is set to reap billions in windfall profits thanks to rising oil and gas prices. Reuters reported late last week that analysts covering Chevron, Shell, and ExxonMobil have significantly raised earnings estimates for the fossil fuel giants in response to war-fueled price surges.
“US shale producers and other companies without major operations in the Middle East should gain the most, benefiting from higher prices without costs associated with shut-in production, stranded tankers, or expensive repairs to war-hit facilities,” Reuters noted. “Still, executives said the big profits will probably not boost their planned capital spending on new production.”
Earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress introduced legislation that would impose a windfall profit tax on large American oil companies and return the money to consumers in the form of quarterly rebates. The bill stands no realistic chance of getting through the Republican-controlled Congress, which is awash in Big Oil campaign cash.
“American consumers are once again getting squeezed at the gas pump as President Trump’s war of choice in Iran sends gas prices soaring and money flowing to his Big Oil donors,” said US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate. “We should send any big windfall for Big Oil back to the hardworking people who paid for it at the gas pump.”
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Trump Floats More War Crimes With Threat to Target ‘Possibly All Desalination Plants’ in Iran
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Attacking civilian infrastructure, and acutely desalination plants, is a war crime,” said former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. “Will American armed forces accept orders to do so?”
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to destroy every desalination plant in Iran along with the country’s energy infrastructure, which human rights organizations and legal experts say would be a grave violation of international law and a war crime.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned that if Iran’s government doesn’t agree to a deal with his administration “shortly,” the US military will “conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells, and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.’”
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Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote in response that “attacking civilian infrastructure, and acutely desalination plants, is a war crime.”
“Will American armed forces accept orders to do so?” he asked.
Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group, wrote that “the categorical and retributive framing of this threat to attack Iranian infrastructure makes clear that this is a threat to commit war crimes.”
Trump’s Monday post marked an escalation of his previous threat to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, specifically its power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully reopened. The US president initially gave Iran 48 hours to capitulate to his demand, but he later pushed his arbitrary deadline back to April 6, claiming progress in diplomatic talks with Iran.
Iranian officials have repeatedly denied that any direct talks with the US are taking place and rejected the administration’s proposed 15-point ceasefire plan.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, senior director of research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns at Amnesty International, said last week that by threatening strikes on Iran’s civilian infrastructure, the Trump administration is “effectively indicating its willingness to plunge an entire country into darkness, and to potentially deprive its people of their human rights to life, water, food, healthcare and adequate standard of living, and to subject them to severe pain and suffering.”
“When power plants collapse, horrific consequences cascade instantly,” said Guevara-Rosas. “Water pumping stations would stop functioning, clean water would become scarce, and preventable diseases would spread. Hospitals would lose electricity and fuel, forcing surgeries to be cancelled and life-support machines to shut down. Food production and distribution networks would collapse, deepening hunger and causing widespread food scarcity. Many businesses would also shut down with devastating economic consequences, including mass unemployment.”
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told The New York Times that he sees “no difference between what Trump is threatening to do in Iran and what the International Criminal Court charged four Russian commanders for doing in Ukraine.”
“Trump is openly threatening a war crime,” said Roth.
In June 2024, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for top Russian commanders accused of “the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects.” The judges cited “a large number of strikes against numerous electric power plants and sub-stations were carried out by the Russian armed forces in multiple locations in Ukraine.”
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US has already targeted Iran’s water infrastructure, specifically “a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island.”
“Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted,” Abbas wrote in a March 7 social media post. “Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The US set this precedent, not Iran.”
Iran is among the most water-stressed countries on the planet, and large-scale US strikes on the country’s desalination and power plants would make conditions significantly worse.
While “only a small fraction of Iran’s water supply comes from desalination plants,” Grist’s Frida Garza wrote last week, “strikes on its power plants would indeed hamper the country’s water supply.”
“Without electricity,” Garza wrote, “water treatment operations could not run.”
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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