Is the Trump White House Preparing for Full-Scale War?
After deploying a destroyer to the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to wipe out Palestinians, and acts of aggression in the Middle East, it seems war is knocking on the door
In addition to growing the military’s offensive posture at the U.S.-Mexico border in what increasingly feels like acts of aggression, the Trump administration has been going a little further across the Middle East. While many argue U.S. actions in the region are appeasement of Israel’s colonialist ambitions, the vast natural resources in the area are beneficial to corporate interests in the United States, the world’s largest military weapons supplier.
On Monday, a press release from the Department of Defense (DOD) highlighted some details about recent airstrikes against alleged Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15. The airstrikes killed at least 53 people, including children, and injured more than 100. The Houthis, as many already know, have argued that they are defending Palestinians and recent attacks on Israeli cargo ships in the Red Sea are in response to Israel cutting off aid to Gaza.
“Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command forces initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to restore freedom of navigation and re-establish American deterrence," Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said.
What many seem to be overlooking is that the attacks in Yemen are part of a broader strategy to go to war with Iran, as Ken Klippenstein points out in one of his most recent articles. Klippenstein also spotlighted a February 28 bombing run by B-52 bombers in Iraq that was to serve as a warning to Iran.
Two days later, B-52s flew alongside Israeli warplanes and practiced refueling during long-range missions in what Israeli media said was aimed at “readying the Israeli military for a potential joint strike with the US on Iran.” Iranian state media reported that the U.S. failed in its mission saying, “The US and its allies used B-52 bombers to scare Iran, which they failed to do.”
Recent sanctions against Iran and corporations in several countries “to further impose maximum pressure on Iran” also speak to the increase in aggressive tactics instead of diplomatic solutions. We often see aggressive sanctions used as a precursor to military action and the overtly dangerous language from the Trump administration makes it more worrisome.
These escalations suggest a thirst for war in the Middle East within the Trump administration which has made it abundantly clear that the attacks in Yemen will continue as it accuses Iran of being responsible for everything wrong in the region. Earlier this week, Trump said he intends to hold Iran accountable for any attacks conducted by the Houthis. This blame game suggests Trump’s cabinet is gunning for full-scale war.
In partnering with Israel, they show what the motivations are. It will be a war for territory and the usual theft of resources – what the West plus Israel are known for. This time, however, U.S. plans don’t only include Israel but also Arab partners. According to Klippenstein, those plans include different levels of war and many different contingencies.
“The plan also includes many different contingencies and levels of war, according to the documents, from “crisis action,” meaning response to events and attacks, to “deliberate” planning, which refers to set scenarios that flow from crises that escalate out of control,” Klippenstein said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s attacks on Palestinians have only escalated despite the so-called ceasefire that never was. The genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank have not ceased as men, women, and children have continuously been slaughtered by U.S.-provided munitions. While this has been happening for decades, for more than a year since Israel began its campaign of all-out destruction of Palestinians, the U.S. has gladly abided by it.
Two recent stories at Drop Site News highlight what Palestinians have gone through since Donald Trump gave Israel the green light to begin bombing Gaza violating the tenuous ceasefire. One story comes from Abubaker Abed who relayed his reporting and eyewitness account to Jeremy Scahill. The other is a report from Palestinian journalist Rasha Abou Jalal.
These stories are significant because they’re rarely told in U.S. news media. Understanding the harm being done is critically important for readers, journalists, and anyone with an opinion on what is happening. Informed decisions cannot be made by ignoring one side of the equation, whether it be from ignorance of the issues, or outright Islamophobia and anti-Arab animus.
A statement from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) on the bombings in Gaza denounces the actions and calls out Trump for claiming to have an aversion to war but has chosen to “bankroll and enable Netanyahu’s genocide.” The statement also calls for an “immediate end to military funding and support to Israel from the United States.”
“People everywhere demand peace, yet our elected officials drag us deeper into war,” the statement reads. “The Middle East is being pushed to the brink, and the world allows the violence to escalate, unabated, allowing Israel to act with total impunity for decades.”
At a time when the current administration is using militaristic language to discuss everything from immigration and cartels to Palestine and free speech, it’s alarming to see the U.S. increase its offensive military posture on multiple fronts.
Whether it’s a U.S. Navy destroyer and a rapid response Stryker team with 3,500 soldiers at the U.S.-Mexico border, dropping bombs on the Iran-Iraq border, allowing Israel to continue its genocide, or the escalated rhetoric toward China, the Trump administration seems to be salivating at the thought of starting a full-scale war.
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The problem with the military, outside of its lethal ability to control who is speaking, is that it can be used by any kleptocrats to push a company like Halliburton into the Fortune 500, that too big to fail USA casino, and out of whole cloth create new fortunes in the carceral state, today for having committed no crime, broken no law, and not fit the NSA’s definition of terrorism. $2.5T every year down the billionaire drain because we don’t have priorities like affordable housing, medical debt or child welfare and nutrition.