President Trump may act like a toddler in the sandbox throwing toys in tantrum, but it's because America is fast running out of options, says Bruce Bisset.
President Trump may act like a toddler in the sandbox throwing toys in tantrum, but it's because America is fast running out of options, says Bruce Bisset.
COMMENT Surely there should no longer be doubt that the madmen are in charge of the asylum.
Not content with denying the next generations a future by refusing to take climate change seriously, they're now busy throwing barbed insults, broken agreements, and the odd missile at each other – or eachother's countries, at least.
As usual, the broader Middle East is the preferred theatre of operations, where the battle to gain ascendancy and uninhibited access to the largest remaining oil supplies can only intensify.
"The fact the missiles it fired this week all landed near - but not on - US bases sent a clear message to the West: we can hurt you, but we won't unless you force us to," writes Bruce Bisset.
But likely sooner than later someone's next gambit will backfire big time, and the whole region may end up radioactive desert.
At which point I suppose the ones with the best protective suits will be the winners. Lucky them.
For some of the players, their strategies seem simple. Israel wants to survive and expand slowly into the beaten down areas around it, while Saudi Arabia wants to remain the primary manager of global oil – and annex Yemen.
Both want to keep their repressive religious regimes, and willingly jump into whatever arrangements allow such two bitter rivals to co-exist.
The Western Alliance fits the bill because it turns a blind eye to their excesses to maintain the balance-of-power status quo.
Meanwhile Russia wants, as it always has, a seaport on either the Mediterranean or the Indian Ocean or both – with direct access by road and rail, not just pipelines.
Taking control of Crimea from Ukraine ensured existing access (via the Black Sea) was secure. Likewise annexing parts of Georgia helped build access to Syria and the Persian states, in which it hopes to gain said ports.
That hope is increased by the other significant change of late (since 2016): Iran allowing Russia's use of the Hamedan airbase in central Iran, from whence Tu-22M3 combat aircraft operate.
This brings Saudi and other Gulf state targets into easy Russian range for the first time – it's a one-hour flight to Saudi's capital, Riyadh.
Iran probably doesn't trust the Russians much more than it trusts the US – which is nil – but since America has made it equally plain it will never trust Iran, the Iranians have taken the logical step of closer ties with their giant northern neighbour.
In essence, this is what the latest round of missile-throwing push and shove is about.
President Donald Trump may act like a toddler in the sandbox throwing toys in tantrum, but it's because America is fast running out of options.
The US strategy has been to try to make friends in Syria and Iraq by helping them clean up their internal messes – notably Isis (Islamic State) – and so box Iran into a corner; but by backing rebellious ethnic minorities such as the Kurds in doing so, has only created additional enmity.
As is evident by the fact a few years after the main US forces quit Iraq, it and Iran are now cautious allies. Just as in Afghanistan – at a cost of $2 trillion in that case – the supposed "democratic reform" rationale driving US involvement has spectacularly failed.
Despite US rhetoric and the odd bit of jostling, through all this Iran has played a remarkably restrained role.
The fact the missiles it fired this week all landed near – but not on – US bases sent a clear message to the West: we can hurt you, but we won't unless you force us to.
With the spectre of nuclear escalation in the background, the problem the US – and the world – has is Trump's unpredictable "diplomacy". His "great wisdom" doesn't seem to extend beyond grabbing and throwing another toy; and that, sadly, presages disaster.
