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Post by jdredd on Oct 8, 2018 23:33:56 GMT -5
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-04/peugeot-maker-halts-iran-expansion-yielding-to-u-s-sanctions"PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, has suspended its push into Iran, becoming the latest major European company to pull back after the U.S. canceled a nuclear accord with the Islamic republic. The French automaker has begun closing down its joint ventures with Iranian carmakers Iran Khodro Co. and Saipa, it said in an emailed statement Monday. PSA said it is asking the U.S. for a waiver, with the support of the French government. The retreat follows similar moves by French energy companies Total SA and Engie SA in response to President Donald Trump’s decision last month to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran. PSA’s financial targets won’t be affected, as Iran sales represent less than 1 percent of revenue, the manufacturer said. However, the impact will be felt by consumers. PSA has about a 30 percent share of sales in the market, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares told shareholders in April."
I must confess I always had a soft spot for Peugeot, having driven one from 1972 to 1985. But this makes me kind of ill that the spineless businessmen running Peugeot are bending over for Trump's bullying.
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Post by jdredd on Feb 14, 2019 14:34:41 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/opinion/iran-forty-years-revolution-moderate.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"This should not be a military campaign. But it can be a campaign of economic pressure, to put Iran’s leaders to a fundamental choice between their ideological ambitions and the needs of their people. It can be a campaign of diplomatic pressure, to underscore that a regime that routinely flouts the rules of civilized countries can’t be treated as one itself. It can be an intelligence campaign, to continue to expose and subvert Iran’s efforts to acquire and field strategic arms. Above all, it has to be a human-rights campaign. Liberals and progressives should not find it difficult to join conservatives in championing the rights of women in Iran, particularly women removing their headscarves in public and courageously facing the consequences. Nor should it be difficult for liberals and conservatives alike to call attention to the plight of Iran’s political prisoners, much as both sides were once moved to action by the plight of political prisoners in the Soviet Union or China or South Africa. Back when there was an idea of something called the free world, led by the United States, Americans cared about such things, and were willing to act. It is not too late for Americans to do so again, when so many are still in the dark."
Here is the NYT's columnist from Israel continuing the anti-Iran drumbeat. He's trying hard to enlist libs in the bullying of Iran. They went along with the Cold War, didn't they? Another great Republican idea. I think this guy is having Cold War Nostalgia.
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Post by jdredd on May 8, 2019 11:31:14 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/us/politics/iran-nuclear-deal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage"The announcement by President Hassan Rouhani came exactly a year after President Trump withdrew entirely from the 2015 agreement, which limited Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear fuel for 15 years. But Mr. Rouhani did not follow Mr. Trump’s path and renounce the entire agreement. Instead, he notified European nations that he was taking some carefully calibrated steps, and that he would give Europe 60 days to choose between following Mr. Trump or saving the deal by engaging in oil trade with Iran in violation of American unilateral sanctions. “The path we have chosen today is not the path of war, it is the path of diplomacy,” he said in a nationally broadcast speech. “But diplomacy with a new language and a new logic.” This could be fun! My money is on Europe being vassals of Trump. Democrats: crickets.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 31, 2019 17:21:29 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/baghdad-protesters-us-embassy.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=World%20News"BAGHDAD — Protesters broke into the heavily guarded compound of the United States Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday and set fires inside in anger over American airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend. The protesters did not enter the main embassy buildings and later withdrew from the compound, joining thousands of protesters and militia fighters outside chanting “Death to America,” throwing rocks, covering the walls with graffiti and demanding that the United States withdraw its forces from Iraq." For weeks Iraqis were protesting Iranian influence, but with one strike bomb-happy Trump turned them against the US. And over one American kill-for-profit contractor.
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Post by Turk on Jan 4, 2020 12:29:29 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/baghdad-protesters-us-embassy.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=World%20News"BAGHDAD — Protesters broke into the heavily guarded compound of the United States Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday and set fires inside in anger over American airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend. The protesters did not enter the main embassy buildings and later withdrew from the compound, joining thousands of protesters and militia fighters outside chanting “Death to America,” throwing rocks, covering the walls with graffiti and demanding that the United States withdraw its forces from Iraq." For weeks Iraqis were protesting Iranian influence, but with one strike bomb-happy Trump turned them against the US. And over one American kill-for-profit contractor. Shocking you put so little value on life. Not one American life is worth the whole f'ing country of Iran or Iraq. Nevertheless let's start from the top. Starting with the pre nuclear agreement. In about 2016 the Obama admin pushed to funnel money seized ($5B+) via illegal sales of oil to various countries back to Iran. According to a congressional subcommittee investigation, they used global financial systems to convert illegal seized funds to Euros to secure the deal. Next, the CIA and military assets covertly procured weapons to fund rebels in Syria. These rebels are Shi’a tribalist who became ISIS supporters and now fill today's Pro Iranian rebels in Iraq and Syria. EU investigators found that most all weapons seized from ISIS originated from these covert US purchases. So we funded ISIS and the pro Iranian rebels. Its also important to mention that during the last administration, we sought to build ties with “moderate” Hezbollah leaders to push that same BS agreement. In doing so, Obama and Brennan turned a blind eye to the hundreds of millions being funneled in drug trade money that funded Hezbollah. They killed project Cassandra that for years tracked the sales and indicted the culprits, even setting the main guy loose to continue funding terrorist to date. As you know, this is a branded terrorist organization, given a pass to sign an agreement that was never adhered to. Lastly, as for embolden. The brazen acts by Iran have followed a pattern; from proxy fighting in Iraq and Syria, to taking American hostages in international waters, to seizing ships in international waters, to shooting down drones in international space, to killing American civilians, to storming a US embassy. When we failed to act, last admin, the acts increased. When we acted with restraint in this administration, a certain party now complained about lax response, now we act decisively, and those same people complain its to harsh. You need to look to the previous corrupt killing administration for "bomb-happy" That last guy killed more civilians than the previous administrations. Obama even killed an American citizen on foreign soil without due process. That's murder. If Obama had any sort of backbone we wouldn't be in this mess.
I'm reciting this from previous research and memory of such, so some details may be left out, but nevertheless fact. It isn't "Trump The Terrible" it is "Obama The Weak" BTW The low-life, scum-bag that Trump took-out in 2011 was invited to the WH for tea with his homey Obama. And as pointed out above it was much more than one American www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2049534/statement-by-the-department-of-defense/And the NY Times is full of crap. There was dancing in the streets and praise for Trump in Baghdad metro.co.uk/2020/01/03/dancing-streets-baghdad-killing-top-iranian-general-11994660/
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Post by jdredd on Jan 4, 2020 23:11:51 GMT -5
www.nationalreview.com/corner/iran-is-not-iraq/But the notion that the United States is now on the precipice of a “world war,” or even another Iraq War, is simply scaremongering. Iran, like Iraq in 2003, is in no position to fight a full-blown conflict with the United States. People have probably forgotten that we annihilated the Iraqi army within weeks. The United States is a military hyperpower with the ability to atomize virtually any fighting force it pleases. (It feels ridiculous writing that sentence. I had assumed most people understood this basic truth. After spending time on Twitter today, though, I realized I’ve been operating under a misconception.) The decade-long disaster that cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in Iraq was not a war, but a misguided and mishandled social engineering project and police action that was meant to install “democracy” to the region. As far as I can tell, there’s no evidence that Trump, or anyone else, has any appetite to invade Iran or force regime change. Many brave Iranians are already trying to do that on their own. It’s simply that Trump, who showed plenty of restraint with Iran, couldn’t ignore Iran’s behavior anymore. This is the consequence of eight years of Obama pandering to the mullahs. Let’s remember: Not only did Trump’s predecessor give Soleimani — a man who specialized in mass murder — a pass, but helped fund his terror apparatus with ransom money. It’s no wonder that Soleimani functioned with impunity. Only days after orchestrating an attack on the American embassy, the head of the Quds Force, a U.S.-designated terror organization, felt free to drive around Iraq. Not anymore. As Eli Lake points out, Trump has effectively erased the distinction between Iran and its terror proxies. It’s about time. I agree with this guy. Iran can't do sh*t to us.
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Post by Turk on Jan 5, 2020 19:33:26 GMT -5
Agree Iran is nothing more than background static. If they f' with Trump there will be no Iran, unlike the last prez that would suck anything offered.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 8, 2020 23:58:22 GMT -5
So is that it, then? Iranian allies kill an American contractor, we blow up an Iranian general, Iran's allies shoot off a couple more harmless rockets, and Trump says "Ok, we're even"? At least the Iranians are smart enough to know their options were zero.
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Post by jdredd on Mar 21, 2020 17:44:26 GMT -5
I suspect the chances of Trumpty the Clown attacking Iran have dropped considerably now that C-19 has made his reelection not such a sure thing.
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Post by jdredd on Jul 21, 2020 13:10:07 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/opinion/china-iran.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"Make no mistake: The China-Iran relationship has long been important for both countries, contributing for example to Iran’s nuclear and missile advancements. And whether in the form of formal partnership agreements or simply ad hoc cooperation, those relations are very likely to grow closer yet in coming years, as China tries to project power westward and Iran seeks to insulate itself from the debilitating effects of American power and enhance its own regional influence. But while the deepening of the Iran-China relationship may be inevitable, the United States shouldn’t let it be easy for either Tehran or Beijing." There is one advantage China has in the Middle East that America doesn't: China has no Israel albatross around it's neck.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 1, 2021 20:29:56 GMT -5
www.newsmax.com/politics/rouhani-trump-soleimani-dead/2021/01/01/id/1003940/"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that President Donald Trump will be dead ''in a few days'' during a speech to his Islamic nation’s cabinet as the first anniversary of the killing of a general in the country’s military approached. Rouhani’s Wednesday speech, excerpts of which were posted in English on the Iranian presidential website, called Qasem Soleimani a ''martyr'' and ''moderate leader with tact.'' Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Force — described by military specialists as an unconventional war and clandestine operations unit — was killed in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020, that was approved by Trump." Yeah, let's go after Iran. They are so much easier to bully than China.
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Post by jdredd on Mar 27, 2021 11:36:34 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2021/03/27/world/middleeast/china-iran-deal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage"China agreed to invest $400 billion in Iran over 25 years in exchange for a steady supply of oil to fuel its growing economy under a sweeping economic and security agreement signed on Saturday. The deal could deepen China’s influence in the Middle East and undercut American efforts to keep Iran isolated. But it was not immediately clear how much of the agreement can be implemented while the U.S. dispute with Iran over its nuclear program remains unresolved." "“For too long in our strategic alliances, we have put all our eggs in the basket of the West, and it did not yield results,” said Ali Shariati, an economic analyst who until recently was a member of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce. “Now, if we shift policy and look at the East, it won’t be so bad.” Ha-ha! China is helping Iran get around America's bullying! Sorry, Israel. Sorry, Saudi Arabia.
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