Trump Is Defeating Iran And Deep State Foreign Policy

American Thinker 

It appears that Donald Trump is about to checkmate two of the most serious enemies of the United States – the Islamic Republic of Iran and the media/Democrat Party coalition. 

Trump’s carefully worked-out strategy against Iran is even now reaching its climax. To all appearances, U.S. and Israeli forces are poised to carry out a coup de main that will result in U.S. control of Iran’s economy, along with the destruction of Iran’s remaining military assets, while putting the mullahs’ government in an unsurvivable position. 

The airstrikes that opened up this campaign were the most effective in history. Decapitating the Iranian government, the IRGC, and the military immediately put Iran on the back foot. It has never recovered, even to the point that it cannot name an actual successor to Khamenei. (His son is either dead or, taking his Twelver theology seriously, had entered “occultation” alongside the Mahdi, to remain hidden until Judgment Day.) 

There is no sign that Iranian forces are under any kind of unified command. Instead, they are acting independently, adhering to outdated war plans that don’t fit current developments at all. That is, when they simply haven’t been spasming uncontrollably, as in the idiot strikes against the Saudis and the Gulf States, which should aggravate the Sunni/Shia schism for another millennium or so.

Thanks to this state of affairs, the U.S./Israeli alliance (now isn’t that a grand phrase?) has steadily attritted Iranian forces, rendering the air force nonfunctional, annihilating the navy (140+ vessels sunk and counting), and steadily whittling down the number of ballistic missiles and drones to a point where they’re now bothersome but strategically useless.

Iranian propaganda has done its best with this, well aware that the Democrats and the legacy media are their last best hope. Last week, they claimed to have downed an F-35, thus proving the worthlessness of stealth. In fact, the plane was slightly damaged and returned to base with no difficulty. If the Iranian video footage can be trusted (though it looks fake), the plane was directly overhead of the launch site, at the point where even a stealth plane would be visible to radar. 

(Nor is this comparable to the Serbian F-117 Nighthawk shootdown, caused in large part by air staff’s insistence that planes fly the same route at the same airspeed and altitude, a practice that has cost a lot of airplanes and lives, as much as it made it easier to write reports. Let’s hope they’re not repeating that. No trick at all to shooting a plane down under those circumstances.)

Our Honest MediaTM eagerly attempted to retail that story. Unfortunately, it occurred within hours of an Iranian Yak-130 being downed by an Israeli F-35, which only underlined how complete our air supremacy actually is. 

The sole remaining problem was the Strait of Hormuz, which everyone foresaw. But even here, the mullahs’ disappointment was apparent. Though the UK, particularly Lloyd’s, cooperated with the caliphate to the best of its ability, oil prices briefly broke $100/bbl before dropping. Prices are still bouncing around a little, but aren’t anywhere close to the price per barrel in 2012, which was roughly $150–180 in today’s dollars, depending on the type of oil. Allah’s magic waterway had failed them

The Trump administration offered the mullahs a list of 15 demands, as compared to the “suggestions” of previous administrations. This list, which included disbanding the IRGC and abandoning nuclear weapons development, appears to have been intended to be rejected by Iran, which duly occurred. Iran’s own offer included closing down all American bases in the Mideast and even went so far as to demand “reparations.” 

Rejection here was automatic, which came as a relief to many, such as Gen. Jack Keane, who had been somewhat concerned (“worried” would be too strong a word) that Iran would turn to its accustomed diplomatic song and dance act to draw things out. But the dealmaker has seen it all. In truth, this rejection gives him a free hand to do exactly what needs to be done.

That was made clear enough by what was occurring in the background of the diplomatic shuffle. First was the embarkation of the amphibious assault vessel Tripoli Strait-ward, with a full complement of Ospreys,  F-35s, and 2,500 Marines. It was shortly followed by the Boxer, similarly equipped. This past Wednesday, it was reported that a detachment of the 82nd Airborne was on its way. Clearly, all these units, trained and equipped for assaults against defended objectives, are intended for something big.

It’s apparent that the target will be Kharg Island, the key point – and Achilles heel – of Iran’s entire oil apparatus. Having no air force or navy, Iran cannot defend the island. Kharg will, barring an act of God, be in U.S. hands by the end of next week, at which time the U.S., in the person of Donald Trump, will have complete control of Iran’s oil imports and economy. From that point, Iran will have little choice but to wrap things up quickly. 

Some questions remain. Who is it in Iran that Trump has been talking to? He asserts that they are serious and in a position to act.  Are these the legendary “moderates” we’ve been promised for that last half-century? The Islamic Republic has a record of producing such moderates in times of crisis to befuddle and confuse the kaffirs. If they think that this will work with Trump, they have a rude awakening coming

Then there’s the matter of the “gift” these people presented to the U.S. – or to Donald Trump, which is the same thing.  Trump played this very close to the vest when announcing it, stating merely that it was “very nice” and intended for the U.S. as a whole. What it actually comprises and what role it may play in upcoming events remains to be seen. (Most recent news is that it was allowing tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a hell of a gift.)

Two matters of concern remain – matters that must be handled before Epic Fury can be termed a success: Iran’s nuclear material and the IRGC. 

Iran’s enriched uranium can’t be hidden forever, or even for much longer. It’s doubtful they’ll be able to hide it from the Mossad, which may in fact already have a good idea of where it’s at. While it’s possible that the mullahs may pull something along the lines of handing it over to Russia for “safekeeping,” it’s far more likely to be picked up over the next few days. 

As for the IRGC, it is no longer a paramilitary or security force. It is now an army of occupation, one operating in a hostile and vengeful environment. This suggests it will not have a long or prosperous future, no matter how it turns out over the next few weeks. 

If the IRGC does somehow hold out, President Trump could use some of the oil money coming in from Kharg Island to equip and train an Iranian liberation army. Such a force could be staged from the Gulf States or Kurdish northern Iraq. It could easily be supported with air cover and intelligence assets from a friendly Western power if one could be found. 

With this conflict, the U.S. media have outdone themselves. They have generally opposed U.S involvement in conflicts since the late 1960s, along with undermining American troops and belittling U.S. victories. But they have never disgraced themselves as they have done over the past few weeks, not even during the Vietnam War. 

The media have done little more than act as a conduit for Iranian disinformation and propaganda. A glance at the wire services shows a single positive report on any aspect of the war, while every accusation or claim from Iran receives a headline. When NY Times columnist Brett Stephens asserted this week that the war was going well (and the Times published it), it was treated as a source of shock.  

The same can be said for the Democrats. While all this was going on, their primary effort has been to stymie funding for Homeland Security. Think this through: at a time when the country is effectively at war with an aggressive Islamist power, and when we know with near certainty that this state has smuggled agents across the border (under the protection of the Democrats), the Dems have taken it upon themselves to cripple the internal security of the U.S. – with the legacy media egging them on. 

There was once a useful term for this, one that has been repeated too often and too loudly. But seriously, this is as close to treason as you can get without a gallows being set up. 

They can go no farther. Some kind of High Noon has to occur here. We will need to think about this. 

The repercussions of an Iranian defeat will be extraordinary. Cuba, which has likely been awaiting the outcome, can now surrender in good grace. China, with its source of oil under U.S. control, can now shelve its plans for Taiwan and anywhere else it hoped to target. Europe will not have to don the burqa just yet – unless it really wants to. But this is a topic that requires a lot more wordage than we can give it here. 

Moltke the Elder once said that no war plan ever survives five minutes’ contact with the enemy. With that in mind, we will leave it at this: If Epic Fury culminates anywhere close to how it’s being planned, it will cap the most extraordinary military campaign in modern history, one that will break the mold set in the aftermath of WW II and act as a pattern for conflict in the foreseeable future.