“One of the most discouraging aspects of the filling out of the Donald Trump cabinet is the array of Iran haters that seem to be lining up in the foreign policy and national security areas. Trump has been personally advocating sensible policies relating to Russia and Syria but he appears to have gone off the rails regarding Iran, which just might be attributed to those who are giving him advice.”
Former CIA Phil Giraldi
Former CIA officer Phil Giraldi just wrote a very interesting piece about the Trump Cabinet and Iran. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“A reversion to the relationship that prevailed prior to last year’s signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) between Iran and the so-called P5+1 consisting of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the European Union would be undesirable, to say the least, but that appears to be what is likely to develop.”
As usual, the analysis of the former CIA analyst is factual and right the money. Here is a quick summary of his article.
RELATED POST: Former CIA Analyst Philip Giraldi: ‘Morell’s bluster deserves a bit of a fact check’
Donald Trump denounced the JCPA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) between Iran and the so-called P5+1 consisting of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the European Union ] as a bad deal and vowed to tear it up upon taking office.
Donald Trump has said that the nuclear deal with Iran is so bad, he is close to wondering whether it was done poorly on purpose.
“It’s almost like there has to be something else going on. I don’t think there is, I just don’t think they’re competent.”
Here is a video of Trump talking about Iran and the Nuclear Deal.
A Bad Deal. Really?
Meir Dagan (30 janvier 1945 -1 7 mars 2016 ) was a director of the Mossad (Israel’s intelligence service). Dagan was highly critical of a military strike on Iran nuclear facilities and praised Obama for the JCPA.
“President Obama’s approach has bought Israeli more time than any military strike — on Iranian nuclear facilities — ever could.”
RELATED POST: Ex MOSSAD Boss: Cyber-attacks far more efficient than bombs
“An Israeli attack on Iran before other options were exhausted the stupidest idea,” Dagan stated.
Michael Flynn
Former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) head Michael Flynn, who will be the Trump National Security Advisor.
Phil Giraldi describes Flynn as he most prominent Iran hater and also the most outspoken.
“Flynn, also an unapologetic Islamophobe, has said that Iran represents a danger to U.S. national security and that our friend and ally Israel lives under the threat of total annihilation from Iran…something the United States must never allow.”
Flynn’s testimony on Iran before the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa on June 10, 2015 is just 16 pages long but it is very clear that Flynn has little ‘sympathy’ for Tehran.
“I believe that Iran represents a clear and present danger to the region, and eventually to the world—they are still a U.S. State Department designated Islamic state sponsor of terrorism, they have and they continue to violate international sanctions, and they continue to spew hatred in their rhetoric coming from senior members of their government—to include their top Mullahs.”
“And as I stated above, we, the United States of America must comprehend that evil doesn’t recognize diplomacy and nations such as Iran will still maintain the intent of achieving nuclear weapon status.”
Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo will head the Trump’s CIA. Giraldi points out that Pompeo is “more-or-less on the same page when it comes to Iran.” Pompeo supports new sanctions on the country and, regarding his appointment as Director, he had only one comment to make and it related to the JCPA.
“I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.”
As in the case with Flynn and DIA one has to wonder what kind of “objective” intelligence CIA will be producing under Pompeo.
RELATED POST: CIA Director Mike Pompeo — Who Is Who in World Intelligence and Security Agencies?
GOSINT — Giraldi is 100% correct. Here are the facts: Mr. Pompeo has been a staunch opponent of the agreement the United States and five world powers struck with Iran in 2015 to significantly limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for the lifting of international oil and financial sanctions. In a July 2016 op-ed article that was published on the Fox News site, Mr. Pompeo wrote that the United States should “walk away from this deal.” [NYT]
General ‘Mad Dog’ James Mattis
Retired Marine General James Mattis, who is being considered for a senior position in national security, possibly as Secretary of Defense.
“Mattis is yet another Iranophobe who opposed the JCPA and calls Iran a rogue state that constitutes the “greatest threat” in the Middle East.
As part of the evidence for that assessment he cites Iran’s alliance with Syria, which is at least in part directed against America’s enemy number one ISIS, demonstrating once again how Establishment Washington has difficulty in understanding what constitutes actual national interests. Mattis, in fact, denies that Iran is actually fighting ISIS.”
Giraldi’s Warning
“The thought of reverting to a state of unrelenting hostility towards Iran is disconcerting.
One recalls joint CIA-Mossad operations between 2010 and 2012 that assassinated four civilian scientists connected to the country’s nuclear program as well as the creation of the Stuxnet virus that threatened to spread to other computers worldwide.
It is generally accepted that Israel’s Mossad planned and prepared the killing of the scientists with a little help from the U.S., attacks which were almost certainly carried out by associates of the radical Marxist group Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK).”
CIA Director John Brennan
In a BBC interview, John Brennan — the director of the CIA — has warned US President-elect Donald Trump that ending the Iran nuclear deal would be “disastrous” and “the height of folly”.
John Brennan
Regarding Donald Trump’s incoming team over their position taken during the campaign to abandon the nuclear deal with Iran, Brennan said:
“I think it would be disastrous. First of all for one administration to tear up an agreement that a previous administration made would be unprecedented.”
“I think it would be the height of folly if the next administration were to tear up that agreement.”
Brennan argues that rolling back ing the Iranian nuclear deal will undermine American foreign policy. Simply stated, the US would win nothing and would risk much as the decision will embolden hard-liners in Iran and threaten to set off an arms race in the Middle East by encouraging other countries to develop nuclear weapons. [Saudi Arabia comes to mind…]
Henry Kissinger
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger believes that a revocation of the Iran nuclear agreement would benefit Iran more than the United States.
“I would not have made [the agreement], but we will not get a great deal out of ending it now.”
REFERENCES
CIA chief warns Trump: Scrapping Iran deal ‘height of folly’ — BBC 0/11/2016
President Trump and the Iran Nuclear Deal — FP
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