TEHRAN, May 20 -An American writer and political commentator says US President Donald Trump's “overriding objective is getting reelected” to the White House in November next year and he even could launch war against Iran or Venezuela in an attempt to achieve his goal but “waging war on Iran or Venezuela would be madness.”
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Stephen Lendman made the remarks in an email interview with Press TV on Monday while commenting on Trump’s dipping approval rating and his saber-rattling against Iran.
“Trump's overriding objective is getting reelected in November 2020. If he thinks war on Iran or Venezuela will help him, he'll likely support what cool heads in Washington and Pentagon commanders strongly oppose,” Lendman wrote.
“Polls show Americans are war-weary but not to the extent that they'll vote a US president out of office for continuing to wage them because their minds are manipulated by US media propaganda,” he stated.
“Television where most Americans get their so-called ‘news’ reports little on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and other geopolitical issues -- other than bashing Iran and Venezuela at times but focusing mostly on domestic issues, politics most of all and what I call junk food news -- so most Americans know little or nothing about either country,” the analyst revealed.
“In my judgment, waging war on Iran or Venezuela would be madness. Both nations can hit back hard, in the case of Iran against US regional forces and facilities, along with being able to rein hellfire on Israeli cities, military sites, and nuclear facilities,” he said.
“The last thing Trump wants is body bags returning to the US, media angrily reporting about it as happened in the months following the 2003 Iraq war,” he added.
“I believe the US WILL NOT attack either country. At the same time, with lunatics like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton running Trump's geopolitical agenda, anything is possible,” he noted.
According to reports, Trump is angry with Bolton and Pompeo who are pushing the United States into a military confrontation with Iran.
Earlier this month, Trump grew angry about what he sees as warlike planning that is getting ahead of his own thinking, according to a senior administration official with knowledge of conversations Trump had regarding Bolton and Pompeo, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
“They are getting way out ahead of themselves, and Trump is annoyed,” the official said. “There was a scramble for Bolton and Pompeo and others to get on the same page.”
Bolton had been a vocal advocate of regime change in Iran before joining the White House last year. Pompeo, a former CIA director, believes in gunboat diplomacy and strong-arm tactics towards Iran.
Trump “wants to talk to the Iranians; he wants a deal” and is open to negotiation with the Iranian government, the official told the Post.
“He is not comfortable with all this ‘regime change’ talk,” said the official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
On Sunday, Trump said he does not want to go to war with Iran, but would not allow Tehran to have nuclear weapons -- a goal the Islamic Republic has never pursued.
"I don’t want to fight. But you do have situations like Iran, you can’t let them have nuclear weapons -- you just can’t let that happen," he added.
Trump once again threatened to destroy Iran if the Islamic Republic attacked its interests in spite of Tehran saying that it was not seeking war.
His most recent tweet appears to be a shift in tone just days after he said he was interested in diplomacy and wanted to avoid war.
“If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!” he tweeted.
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