U.S. stupidity is usually, as now, followed by worse stupidity

By Martin Love

NORTH CAROLINA - It is enough to make a rational, sentient person ill to witness Mike Pompeo telling Iranians he is “with” them, as he did again recently. Excuse me but I hope Iranians are not so deluded to imagine for a second that the U.S. government under Trump gives a gnat’s ass about their welfare. And yes, the U.S. is cheerleading the apparent outbreak of protests in Iran, allegedly over the price hikes in the cost of Iranian gas to consumers.

Come on, Iranians, one must insist from afar, all must realize that the entire thinking, feeling, free world, the world that abhors U.S. cruelty and economic sanctions, stands with Iran and yes, that includes standing with the leaders of the Islamic Republic provided they maintain their cool as they oppose U.S. and Zionist imperialism and sanctions?

Understand that, citing several examples among many, the U.S. is not “with” the people of Bolivia or Venezuela or Hong Kong or any other country UNLESS U.S. government and corporate bidding is done completely, even if it means the cancellation of any real “democracy”. Realize that the U.S. was proclaiming after the coup d’état in Bolivia that “democracy” had been restored to that country, which is a miserable and sad joke since the new self- proclaimed, non-elected president is a blonde, non-native floozy. Seventy percent of Bolivians have been disenfranchised just like over half the people living west of the Jordan River, the Palestinians, have been long disenfranchised and attacked (for over 70 years).

Iranians, any smart outsider must think, need to hang together and remain tough. This is not the time to be fearful nor is it a time for disunity. I say the U.S. government under Trump is cutting its own throat. True, the cutting may be far too slow as too many worldwide from Hong Kong across the Middle East to Cuba to Bolivia to Chile and many other places suffer under U.S. or proxies’ policies, but those policies are so draconian and wrongheaded that they cannot stand for long the world’s scrutiny.

One glaring example was Trump’s unilateral decision this week to declare that Zionist “settlements” on stolen land in the West Bank and the Golan are not “illegal”, that henceforth because his Administration says so, they are perfectly legal. Of course the U.S. does not get to decide unilaterally what is legal or illegal internationally. Extant, long-established international law, established over decades by many countries and legal scholars, does. A pinheaded cretin knows this. Some have opined that there will never be peace in the Mideast with this latest outrageous Trump declaration.

From afar one reads of protests in Iran against the gas price hikes. But one also reads that there are protests against protests over the hikes in Iran, like in Zanjan.

The knee jerk, ignorant reaction of many in the West is to wonder why Iran with so much in petroleum resources can’t continue to subsidize inside Iran? Well, first, one must note that Iran can’t “print” fiat “money” willy nilly like the U.S. does with its Federal Reserve Bank, which is not “federal” at all. The alternative is the printing of extra money but without any increase in productivity. This merely would cause even greater inflation, which is currently running at over 30 percent in Iran. Inflation hurts the poor, students and others on fixed incomes the most, and especially affects goods imported in to Iran.

One explanation comes from an Iranian friend who is not currently living in Iran. He claims that the price hike was reasonable and was aimed and freeing some funds for redirection to the very poor in Iran who are suffering the most from U.S. sanctions, and also to try to stop corrupt individuals in Iran from taking advantage of formerly the almost free gas in Iran by smuggling. He adds, however, that such radical pricing moves might better be discussed months in advance and before implementation to obviate discord and shock, and the suddenness of the implementation this month was in error. (But of course it’s impossible to foresee what specific issues will arise under sanctions well in advance. The government must be able to respond quickly, as necessary.)

One thing Iranians, despite the pain, can absolutely rely on: The Trump Administration and the U.S. generally look increasingly foolish and even stupid with recent moves. Such stupidity may be sustainable for a while, but not forever. The world is disengaging as fast as it can from U.S. diktat and imperialism. This ultimately bodes well for Iran.