By Walt Zlotow
Donald Trump is the classic schoolyard bully. Alas, instead of hurting, indeed terrorizing weaker school mates, he’s terrorizing the weaker on a global scale, both at home and abroad.
On the domestic front he’s demonizing the ‘other’ by abusing, sometimes killing decent, hardworking undocumented. He uses the Bully Pulpit, not in the rhetorical sense to uplift society promoting wise polices, but to dismantle most sensible domestic policies and institutions, and demonize anyone who crosses him.
Nearly every critic of Trump within the Republican Party has been bullied from public office. Every Democrat is slimed as a terrible, horrible person. Classic bullying.
But it’s on the world stage where his bullying is relentlessly murderous. Over 60 bombings of imagined bad guys in Somalia without a hint of justification, much less even a mention. Swooping down into pitifully powerless Venezuela to snatch its president on trumped up charges, slaughtering almost one hundred innocent people in the process. Blowing up small, unarmed boats in the Caribbean then bragging his sick, murderous rampage saved a million US lives.
But on February 28th bully Trump met match. He attacked large, powerful Iran believing the lies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and own war cabinet that Iran would collapse within days once Netanyahu assassinated Iran’s ruler. A few days turned into 39 days of bombing before Trump realized that Iran was not only surviving but winning. How? By unleashing a massive missile barrage on every US Gulf States base, Gulf States oil infrastructure, Israel, and closing the Strait of Hormuz to a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
What to do? After 91 days of humiliating defeat, bully Trump turned his bullying on tiny Oman which shares the Strait of Hormuz with Iran. Oman will be Iran’s partner in controlling traffic thru the Strait which consists of Iran and Oman territorial waters.
When asked if he’d accept a short-term deal that involved Iran and Oman jointly controlling the Strait of Hormuz, bully Trump unloaded on Oman:
“No, the Strait’s got to be opened to everybody. It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that.”
Sorry, bully Trump. Knowing Trump can no longer ‘blow up’ anybody in the region after squandering much US firepower on his lost Iran war, Oman will stand up to bully Trump just like Strait partner Iran.
Now that bully Trump has been exposed as the powerless bully he is, it’s all over for him to strut the world stage like he owns it. He’s alienated friend and foe alike with his murderous bullying, duplicitous negotiating and utter lack of credibility.
Trump’s bullying served him well in both his business career and his takeover of the Republican Party for two presidential terms. But Karma eventually comes to bullies who believe they can bully their way thru life. It’s going to take months, years, possibly a decade to undo the damage of Trump’s bullying at home and abroad. But as Bob Dylan sang long ago… ”Even the President of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked.”
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL
Also by Walt:
Trump overseeing decline of US world dominance
The Iranian people achieved decisive victory against America’s criminal war on them
Israel’s primary role in Iran war scrubbed from mainstream media
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Shamelessly stolen from The Guardian.
RandomLibertarian
6 hours ago
Out here in Vichy Washington, the media’s in absentia
They dare not tell the story straight, in fact it just gets bentier
For even Joe, on his worst day, was far more Presidentier
Than Donny from whose massive rear exudes a putrid scentier
His nonsense talk, his wobbly walk scream “de-cay frontotemp-ier”
Will no-one have the C.O. Jones to say the word ?
I still believe Cuba is next on his list to attempt to crush because he thinks (bwahahaha) they’ll be weaker than Oman. Besides, they don’t have untold barrels of oil in the ground.
Some Facts:
1.) The Strait of Hormuz was open to all marine traffic before the US/Israeli declaration of war on Iran.
2.) USA is the aggressor in foreign territory – Iran is the defender of sovereign territory.
3.) The internal politics of Iran are not the purview of the US electorate.
4.) Trump does not want the Strait of Hormuz open – he is trying to force China to buy oil from sources that USA dominates.
5.) Trump has destroyed all notions of US diplomatic integrity – bombing an “opponent” and decapitation the spiritual leader whilst negotiating for peace is the lowest of acts.
6.) Iran does not possess a Weapon of Mass Destruction – Israel does and will use it.
Uhm ….. we all should recognise that this demented geriatric convicted felon PPOTUS (Pederast Protector of the Undemocratic Sewer) is teamed up with an alleged corrupt definitely self-serving Zion@zi working to establish ”Greater Israel” between the Nile and Euphrates Rivers.
Equally important is the bald fact that both America and Israel are nuclear powers fighting against non-nuclear Iran, that has inflicted a significant defeat upon their oppressors.
For TACO Trumpery, it is a matter of ego, starting a war that is lost has happened for the benefit of the US NE military industrial complex before in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, indeed, every major conflict that the State Department has set up since 1945 with WMD, Words of Mass Deception.
I don’t know how Michael stumbled across Walt Zlotow, but it was a great day for AIMN.
I can’t recall anything Walt has said that I disagree with, and there’s much that I learned.
Michael has assembled a stable of local writers as well, that are world class.
Thank you Michael.
Mediocrates, yes, thank you as well, it’s good to list the basics of conflicts on a regular basis so they do not get lost in the fog.
Trump probably does his best work on a golf course near his home, and the infantile atmosphere of the White house sends him to sleep.
The great have fallen faster, and deeper than any of us could have forecast, and a result should be a reaction from Canberra which is not happening.
We should be very nice to China, because we could need their help when the savage one turns on us.
Thank you, Steve. That was good to hear. We can thank Noel Wauchope for bringing Walt to The AIMN.
Walt mentioned some time ago of a contact in America who has trouble getting anything published over there so I might want to get in touch with him. Walt has shown to be a very popular writer for The AIMN.
Another fact: Iran did not/does not seek to overthrow the rulers of the Gulf States. For decades Iran has traded oil co-operatively and the Strait of Hormuz has been open for unrestricted use for the international community. Trump’s threats to Oman will simply encourage the Gulf States (maybe not UAE, yet) to forge an MOU or formal agreement/alliance based on commercial integrity with Iran, such a group designed to sustain their future stability. Saudi Arabia may also align with this however UAE (otherwise known as “East Israel”) chooses to walk a different path that foolishly relies on protection that neither USA or Israel can guarantee.
Netanyahu will threaten a nuclear attack on Iran if Trump tries to withdraw from the US (destroyed) bases in the Gulf Kingdoms thus wedging Trump to stay in the region “or else”! It is not over.
Clearly, Trump puts his advanced attitudes, policies, drives, into his Big Adult Nappies, for your consideration. This turd is actually just that. Who could ever have supported, tolerated, this shitsource? Putridity lives and rules…
Hardly a surprise, yet all media is selective on their framing eg. barely mention Kushner et al in the background and sparse on regional details, to avoid confirming geographical ignorance.
Further, some outlets focus assiduously on MidEast now ie Israel, Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, but ignore other conflicts and victims by following US talking points?
One individual platformed elsewhere, linked to a US Institute on the MidEast, supposedly credible, but a cursory 2 minute check shows longstanding fossil fuel and arms maker donors in the background?
Some in other parts of indie media are either ignorant, easily astroturfed or specious in their framing and avoid any comparison between victims eg Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar etc., to blame (correctly) Trump and Netanyahu on Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, but avoid criticism of their ally Putin?
Finally, tyranny of distance for Australians, with neither proximity nor experience of victims &/or events, but then act as if we are the victims; old conservative need for victimhood and sympathy, precludes genuine empathy?
I follow Prof Sachs, Prof John Mearsheimer, Tony Kevin, Scott Ritter and others. The evidence is that Russia never wanted this war. Tried to end it quickly but Boris Johnson killed that. And was slowly drawn into this conflict. Look at the evidence about how corrupt and fascist the Zelensky regime is. And how careful the Russians are to avoid civilian casualties. To keep referring to Putin as some overlord is simply wrong.IMHO,