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melman

(7,681 posts)
23. "He was an island of sanity"
Fri Dec 21, 2018, 11:43 AM
Dec 2018

Or perhaps not.
_

"Iran is on the mind of nearly every senior Marine I’ve ever come in contact with, including Mattis. It was back in 2012, while he was still in uniform, that Mattis said that the three gravest threats facing the U.S. were “Iran, Iran, Iran.” In the years since his retirement in 2013, he’s been even more outspoken. He repeated his “Iran, Iran, Iran” mantra last April (in addition to an entirely predictable reference to the Beirut barracks bombing) during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and then explained himself. Iran, he said, is “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East,” and not really a nation-state at all but “a revolutionary cause devoted to mayhem.”"

Then, Mattis linked Iran to the rise of ISIS. “I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief,” he said. “Iran is not an enemy of ISIS; they have a lot to gain from the turmoil that ISIS creates.” What Mattis said next was eerily reminiscent of George W. Bush’s claim that because Al Qaeda wasn’t attacking Saddam Hussein, the two must be linked: “I would just point out one question for you to look into,” Mattis intoned. “What is the one country in the Middle East that has not been attacked by ISIS? One. That is Iran. That is more than happenstance, I’m sure.”

Or maybe not. Mattis’ ISIS-is-Iran claim is breathtakingly short on facts. The Iranians are arming Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, who are fighting ISIS in Mosul, and Tehran has made little secret of its opposition to the Sunni terrorist group. Back in July, Iranian television said its government had uncovered an ISIS plot to set off bombs in Tehran, leading to the arrest of 10 terrorist operatives. “The U.S. has lots of disagreements with Iran,” a senior Pentagon civilian official told me on Friday, “but what to do about ISIS isn’t one of them. We want them defeated, and so do they.”

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/james-mattis-iran-secretary-of-defense-214500

Jim Mattis appreciation thread. [View all] DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 OP
Just...shouldn't...have...done...it...Sir. Crutchez_CuiBono Dec 2018 #1
But he should have known was a fool! imanamerican63 Dec 2018 #2
+1 I think drupf knows the shit is about to hit the fan so he is windmill punching like Curley XRubicon Dec 2018 #3
I worked for a while last year with a woman who spent wasupaloopa Dec 2018 #4
When Senator Gillibrand grilled him about trans people in the service he sounded open minded. DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 #5
Thank you for actually standing up for America even at the expense of Deripaska's tragic... Anon-C Dec 2018 #6
Your last hardship tour Karadeniz Dec 2018 #7
A sane voice among the insanity Raine Dec 2018 #8
K&R! highplainsdem Dec 2018 #9
You mean the "it's fun to shoot people" guy? melman Dec 2018 #10
He said "some people", and here's the rest of the quote Polybius Dec 2018 #11
That's not the full quote melman Dec 2018 #12
Shooting is harsh... DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 #13
I don't understand the question melman Dec 2018 #14
A man hitting a woman who is presumably weaker and smaller than him is worthy of outrage DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 #15
Well he clarified it that it's fun to shoot those who beat a woman for 5 years for lack of a veil Polybius Dec 2018 #16
Look melman Dec 2018 #18
Mattis defends Iran deal as Trump considers withdrawal DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 #20
"He was an island of sanity" melman Dec 2018 #23
Thank you for your service sir.... Hekate Dec 2018 #17
No, just hell no WarWhatIsItGoodFor Dec 2018 #19
Please see post twenty DemocratSinceBirth Dec 2018 #21
I think he should have stayed instead of go because ooky Dec 2018 #22
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