In endorsing Donald Trump in the pages of the Washington Post, Sheldon Adelson is up front about the fact that his opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran is of “paramount importance” to him. And that’s interesting because one of the most slam-dunk reasons not to elect Donald Trump is that it would give him control of the biggest nuclear weapons arsenal on the planet.
Now, I understand and sympathize with Adelson’s concern that Israel could be threatened or blackmailed by a nuclear Iran, and I get that a lot of Israelis are uncomfortable with Iran’s radical government enjoying any kind of legitimacy whatsoever. But it’s a problem for everyone, not just Israelis, if nuclear weapons are used, regardless of the reason. And it’s just eleventy-billion times more dangerous to give America’s nuclear codes to an ignoramus and certifiable narcissist than it is to cut a deal with Iran that is intended to cut off their nuclear ambitions and to establish a rigorous monitoring regime to catch them if they renege.
Adelson, of course, is not an Israeli. He’s an American who seems to care about American politics in part because he has huge business interests to protect, but mainly because he cares about how our policies impact Israel.
That is his right and I don’t have a problem with it except for the fact that his opinion shouldn’t count for so much more than mine.
What bothers me the most though is the selfishness of only caring about how nuclear weapons might threaten one country (which isn’t even our own) rather than worrying, first and foremost, about the bigger picture.
Donald Trump with a nuclear briefcase is just an immeasurably bigger threat to humanity than anything Iran could do to anyone, ever.
Then let him go deal with it with Israeli lives and Israeli treasure.
(I’d go firther and say if he’s so goddamned concerned about Israel’s well-being, he should move there and run for office)
Israel is perfectly able to defend itself against nuclear “blackmail”, given that they are a nuclear power and Iran isn’t. They certainly managed to handle Iraq’s nuclear ambitions, didn’t they.
In fact it is a response to Israeli “nuclear blackmail” that was largely the impetus for Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
I’m tired of being the dog wagged by the US-Israeli “friendship”; it seems that they’re the friends getting all the benefits.
I want the US president to put the US first in their priorities, oddly enough.
Unfortunately, the seers tell us that isn’t going to happen in 2016 and it’s going to be such a landslide that the earliest date for a possible change will be 2024.
This whole angry white male thing is scary. Entitled, scary white males:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pt6Bch9pGU
I’m so glad that Adelson and neo-Nazis have found common ground. Kumbaya. Now he and all the other right-wing Jews can return to calling liberal Jews “anti-semitic.”
Several countries have expressed their concerns about a Trump Presidency. Anyone care to guess how long it would take before a world united front was raised to demand Trump be removed if he practiced pushing any of his vile RW propaganda?
I have numerous friends overseas that are drawing a comparison between the current situation in the USA with Germany of the 1930’s. We all know that how that ended.
What happens if the world powers decide to stop the RW progression here in the USA? Could the USA really blame Europe for stepping in? It is their planet too you know.
Fear of the unknown is a very powerful enticement to act.
Mutually assured destruction always has been a two-way street.
would not be military actions. They know that the attempt to push us around with military force would not work out for most, and even if they won, the losses they would suffer would mean a decade or more to recover from. No that is an action they would only take as a last resort, because the out come for the planet would resemble central Europe circa 1945 at best.
The primary response would be economic, the first shot would be unhinging the US dollar as the planets reserve currency. Yes this would damage their economies, but would wreak havoc on ours. They hold far too many dollars as their reserves, which if dumped would hurt for a quarter or two, in their economies. In ours this would unleash far too many dollars returning home to the US. Where as they might have to deal with a new system of international exchange not built on the dollar, and seek new sources for exchange, we on the other hand might face very severe price inflation at the same time as a recession was decimating our economy. Think Wiemar Germany as an example of this.
This would result in a contradiction of our economy while costs for resources and labor rising. Other countries could seek alternatives to products we currently exchange with them. The result would most likely tank the stock markets and make the 2008 bank contraction look good in comparison. Any attempt at a new TARP style response, would just escalate the inflation problems. US corporations that exist more as international corporations would be forced to relocate their headquarters so as not to be seen as “American”. Foreign corporations doing business here would cut back if not simply retreat from the US.
Unemployment would skyrocket, at the same time the republican total destruction of the safety net took hold, the contraction would be even worse with no way to grow the economy.
Trump and the republicans congressional reaction wouldn’t help because tax cuts for the unemployed are not going to work. Privatizing the government and trying to push wages down in an inflating, high unemployment scenario cannot end well. No real plan would come from the ashes of this, and possibilities do exist for martial law and further extra constitutional actions to stem the civil unrest that eventually would break out.
The military actions probably wouldn’t originate from outside the US, but as a reaction to the collapse inside the US.
I’m an old man and I’ve seen a thing or
two, but Im still amazed how fast repub.s are falling into line behind the banner of someone who is clearly not prepared to be president. Perry, Graham, Jindal, They really have no principles at all, except that power is the only thing of importance. Looks like Il Duce will not get as much trouble from the elites as I was expecting. I thought I was pretty cynical about politics but these guys schooled me once again.
I’ve been thinking very much the same thing. It’s stunning, really. We’ve seen how incredibly craven and mendacious the GOP is. But it seems there’s no bounds to their cynicism and recklessness.
Let’s not forget these are the same people who loved Palin. True, she was not the nominee, but anybody who contemplated that ticket as being appropriate…..
Palin is far far worse than Trump.
.
Yeah, but as you say the VP is not the same position. Hell, for most of the job (except for that important stepping in as president thing) my dog would make a fine VP. Smarter than most, great with kids and photo ops, and a fine attack dog (if you are a small furry creature).
Seriously, there is some precedent for having a big dummy with few presidential qualities on the ticket as VP: Dan Quayle, and Gerald Ford, for instance, although Palin is in a class by herself, admittedly. At least she had a bit of political experience. Trump, on the other hand, is just unfit for any public office. I wouldn’t even want him as my local mayor.
Boo– Your opinion doesn’t count as much because you don’t have as much money as Adelson does.
Netanyahu must be very confident that he can manipulate Trump for him to trade stability for unpredictability. This leads me to believe that Netanyahu probably believes his rocky relationship with Obama would carry on with Clinton.
Is it possible Clinton and Netanyahu are not in agreement with what is best for the region? She was SOS for four years, Netanyahu certainly has spoken with her quite a bit.
There is just no way Adelson does this without Netanyahu’s input and agreement.
.
Clinton is a neocon … Israel first. It’s Trump who had cast doubt on our relationship with Israel.
Calling her a neocon is a very imprecise way of making your point. It’s so imprecise, actually, that it makes me people stupider to read it.
○ Hillary Clinton’s Neo-Conservative Foreign Policy
○ Is Hillary Clinton a Neocon-Lite?
○ Hillary Clinton: a neo-con in Democrat clothing?
and on, and on …
○ Are Neocons Getting Ready to Ally With Hillary Clinton? | NY Times |
○ When Hillary Clinton Out-Neoconned a Neocon
Netanyahu is a honorary founding father of the Israeli-US neo conservative network …. anti-Iran, breaking up Iraq, Libya and Syria. HRC is a close associate implementing neocon policy.
○ Hillary Clinton Back-Pedals on Two-States | Tikun Olam |
I’ve often written about her wrong-headed foreign policy towards the Middle-East ….
○ Learning Curve of the Clinton Dynasty, 8 Year Drought for Palestinians
Yeah, we all get it. “Neocon” is a favored term of abuse for you.
and;
Eric Zuesse
Robert Parry
Mobashra Tazamal
Jacob Heilbrunn
Russ Wellen
Richard Silverstein
among others.
No you don’t … the neocons (HRC as secretary of state included) are the abusers of human rights and wear reponsibility of hundreds of thousanda of deaths. Just like Netanyahu in Israel, a hindrance to any peace effort. Thanks to John Kerry there is some sort of diplomacy with dialogue to confront the same issues HRC faced.
○ Netanyahu Has Failed Miserably …
Heart of the Rockies has it right. Our Supreme Court decided that Adelson’s selfish opinions count for more that the selfish opinions of you or I. And state legislatures have tried to make sure we don’t get to get our selfish opinions unless we have drivers license or other suitable ID and our ballots make it through the election night vote grinder.
Adelson himself if he makes a big enough splash with his money doesn’t actually have to vote himself in order to get his views on Israel followed as policy. Maybe not to the extremes he would go, but there is a bipartisan policy on Israel that shells out $3 billion a year and looks the other way. Money is speech. Dontcha know.
On the upside, Adelson does seem to back losers.
HuffPo:
The Vultures’ Vultures: How A New Hedge-Fund Strategy Is Corrupting Washington And it’s paying off.
Well, it was already corrupt — now they’re just dickering over the price for each concession.
Puerto Rico will be migrating en masse if the island is turned over to the Vultures. ~4 million legal residents. But it might give Cuba a respite.
“Donald Trump with a nuclear briefcase . . . “
I have to go lie down now. Then I have to investigate relocating to the Himalayas.
Well, in case of nuclear armageddon, I’d go as southern hemisphere as you can – New Zealand/Australia.
Although, ultimately, I don’t think it’d matter all that much. You might get a few cold,cancer-ridden-and-hungry years at best.
Wait for it…
And that’s IF HRC is elected. Nevermind Trump.
In 2012, Netanyahu wanted to bomb Iran …
In 2013, Adelson urged the use of a nuclear weapon on Iran …
○ US should drop atomic bomb on Iran | JPost – 2013 |
My recent diary …
○ Israel Backer, Billionaire Adelson Is In
Compared to Netanyahu and Adelson, I have no fear of a president Donald Trump, on the contrary.
So you fear them, but there’s nothing to fear from a US President who agrees with them? Sound logic there.
A selfish Billionaire? Whatever will they think of next! Don’t they know that God gives Billionaires all that dosh as a reward for doing His will? Blessed are the rich for they own the world…and their stupid ass kids will inherit it. Has Trump brought out a revised Trump Gospel yet?
What you’re describing is known as Calvinism. No need for a Trump Bible.
Sheldon Adelson is the paradigm Ayn Rand hero; just compare his photo with the description in Atlas Shrugged. Who are you, Booman, to criticize him?
Something I really don’t understand the lack of discussion on in re: the Iran deal:
The deal has very little to do with Israel. It’s about the removing the rationale for the Saudis developing nukes. Nobody outside of a handful of lunatics in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem seriously believes the Iranians would immediately just haul off and nuke Israel if they got the bomb.
Lots of people do fear that, should the al-Saud feel the need to develop nukes, we’d have a nightmare on our hands the day they finally get overthrown by crazies who actually would haul off and nuke Israel (and Iran and anybody else the nutters believe is less-than-holy).
Hell, there’ve been comments to this effect from Mossad and IDF folks in the run-up to the deal.
Pakistani nukes?
Most terrifying nuclear situation in the world, IMO.
Equally to Israel possessing nukes with Netanyahu and his finger on the trigger.
History only will tell how close Israel was to bomb Iran in 2012. It was Obama only who kept Israel from spreading ME War into the Persian Gulf region. The US got bribed by Netanyahu to deliver a mass of new tactical weapons as “compensation.”
In return any peace initiative with the Palestinian people for their own independent state was torpedoed. A succes for Obama in a limited way … in the larger picture a big defeat because Obama had hoped to make headway to solve the IP issue.
The Temple Mount remains a contentious issue between the Jews of Israel and the world’s Muslims.
○ Bill Clinton explains Hillary’s policy, defends Israel | Ynet News |
Interesting what Bill said about the Israeli war crimes in Gaza, Egypt’s president Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood …. and Hillary’s role in stopping the hostilities. LMAO, what a load of bunk!