The $2bn (£1.5bn) a week that Donald Trump was spending on his reckless war in Iran could have funded saving more than 87 million lives, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday.
He also warned the normalisation of violent language, such as threatening to bomb Iran back to the stone ages, was very dangerous since it encourages every “wannabe autocrat” to use similar threats and tactics, including the destruction of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Military theory suggests otherwise. If we beat the crap out of autocrats then that will dissuade autocrates.
We’ll, I guess it’s his own fault for setting such implausible targets.
In future try for something less ambitious, instead of 87 million go for some achievable number like a couple of dozen.
Even Superman or The Flash would struggle at saving 2.8 people a second for a whole year and this war has only been running six weeks.
Superman is an obsolete non-renewable resource.
I definitely think wannabe autocrats will have looked at Venezuela and then Iran and thought, ‘Tell you what, I fancy some of that.’
The US has always had the power to do this but until now it has been hamstrung by imaginary constraints imposed on it by agenda-driven lawyers, professors and chatterboxes.
Yesterday the USN warned a blockade busting Iranian freighter to turn back or else, and the freighter carried on.
Previous administrations would not have imposed the blockade and would certainly not have fired shells into to engine room of the recalcitrant ship, but Trump’s did.
I find it highly refreshing.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence (according to the Telegraph), quite a few Iranian linked ships are making it past the US blockade. Now it could be that, for whatever reason, the yanks want those ships to pass. But if not, it’s time to sink one. And when I say one, I mean every one.
Of course it could also be that the yanks don’t have enough ships to properly enforce the blockade . . .
I’m pretty sure they have the ships. The one they stopped was a known sanctions breaker and turns out (they claim) to have been carrying dual use material on board.
If they were really bothered and didn’t have enough ships, the Yanks would send in Apaches or A10s.
So these boats are obviously being let through.
De Whitehouse is denying that ships are getting through, so maybe the story is just journalistic malfeasance. Hard to believe, I know.
The “normalisation of violent language, such as threatening to bomb Iran back to the stone ages” only works if you actually have the capability. Does Iran have that? No, as it turns out. Does the US? Well, yes they do. It’s not a nice threat, but it’s credible.
It is not impossible for Iran to get its hands on a nuke, perhaps from Krazy Kim?
Nothing’s impossible, but the surveillance on both is huge. If that fails, the Israelis have people inside Iran who can tell them what the Ayatollah had for breakfast; I’m pretty sure they have people who would tip them the wink.
Not even Krazi Kim is mad enough to try, *if* his chino-russian Managers even let him…
Should he even try, China and South Korea would share a border within a week, *where* depending on how fast US/S-Korea and China can move their troops in.
But Krazi Kim full well knows who greases his hamburgers… And if he doesn’t… wellll…..
Art of the Deal
After negotiations, Trump agrees to bomb Iran back to the late Bronze Age.
Ha ha – very good Otto
The population of Iran is around 93 million according to Worldometer, so if the mad mullah regime gets toppled then the Donald will have dramatically improved even more lives.
That’s prorated to the entire world population for $200B.
Why do he have such bloated budgets then?
And how many lives would be lost or severely damaged worldwide by the consequences of a MullahBomb or two going off?
Normalisation of violent language? I note that it tends to be whitey who moderates his language. We’ve all become accustomed to most non-whites raving like implacable tantruming toddlers.
Cunt.
Apropos of which, as I think Otto pointed out yesterday, it’s quite likely the Iranians were discombobulated by Vance’s approach. They’ve never experienced anything like it. Warning them not “to try to play us” was masterful.
could have funded saving more than 87 million lives
What are their names?
Mohammed
“DRUMPF should moderate his language, otherwise people who chant ‘Death to the Jews’ and ‘Kill the Boer’ while toting AK-47s might be emboldened to use threatening language” – some pedo guy from the UN
How did they come up with that number? Did they throw a dart at a bingo card?
Looks like a false precision fallacy, though 87 million isn’t very precise.
This is such a trashy argument. The US spends trillions every year. Spending on one item has no effect whatsoever on other spending. Double-ought zero. We can fight wars AND save lives.
Should Fletcher actually present a program that can ‘save more than 87 million lives,’ he can get funding. If it’s believable. If it’s not subject to graft. If the local governments want their people helped. If Mnangagwa isn’t going to just give the money to friends and family.
Given this reality, I think Fletcher is lying, and knows he’s lying, and knows everyone else knows he’s lying. And smiling because the Guardian doesn’t mention it.
AND go to the Moon.