Fear, but not Respect


To know, is not to create.

President Donald J Trump knew he could effectively attack Iran.  He knew there was adequate support from Middle East allies. But to know, is not to create.

Something was created, of course.  It is not the desired outcome.  And along the same vein -  security arrangements are not protection.  After 9/11,  my nation strengthened security arrangements across the Middle East.  Iran placed this map on the page:


It is a delicious irony.  Our security arrangements have created liability for hosting nations.  And the need to protect our vast military assets on the ground diverts resources and brings cause for logistic scrambles each time Iran lobs a missile at our bases.  Iran knows that by creating diversionary tactics against Jordan... Kuwait.. UAE... Qatar... etc. it is an elaborate game of "Chicken".  We are blinking first.  We blinked again this weekend.

Tehran's proxies are enjoying the game.  I count Yemeni fighters on scale with the Chechen fighters along the Caucasus who traveled to Afghanistan after 9/11.  For their ferocity and skill, a measure of earned respect.
  
Iraq has seasoned Shi'a para-military components ready to do the bidding of their Marj'a to whom they owe their allegiance.  Lebanon?  Per the chatter to be found on X - Iranian operatives are also unilaterally focused on mission:  locating weakness in Israel's security net for their senior officials. It is a relief to read the conversation.  There are no weaknesses to exploit for assassinations.

To know - cannot be misidentified as equal to creating.  "Creation" - is the highest order of things. And this - is the domain of God.  What our Commander-in-Chief has "created" merely reminds us that the Devil is an opportunistic beast who travels on the wings of our folly.

On the domestic front, our POTUS has performed well.  But regarding our entrance into an entanglement; a war, with Iran, we have created a platform for fear but not respect.  Our Gulf allies are undoubtedly re-examining aspects of our bilateral agreements and treaties with regard to housing U.S. military assets.  They are courting their neighbors beyond the standard "special arrangements" which nations share.

There is a level of uneasiness - or fear - from our Middle East partners. We are witnessing an erosion of confidence regarding our ability to extricate ourselves from (now) knowing that what we have created is a true cluster f-ck.  I have no answers.   Neither do I lay claim to wisdom.  These are just my evening thoughts.

Tammy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Charlie Kirk Marcus Aurelius "Meditations" would not exist if he had been assassinated for his thoughts at age thirty-one. I would have never read Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago" if he had been assassinated for his political thoughts at thirty-one years of age. Winston Churchill would have never written "Hinge of Fate" (one of my favorite selections) had he been assassinated at thirty-one years of age. Ernest Hemingway was fifty-three years old when "The Old Man and the Sea" was published. Leon Uris was thirty-four years old when his novel "Exodus" was published. The average age of the delegates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention was forty-two.  Benjamin Franklin was 81 years of age at this time. The famous Persian poet Ferdowsi began writing "Shahnameh" when he was 37 years old and did not complete it until he was about seventy years of age.  This would be a tremendous loss not to have access to his though...
Read more
Image
Mohamed Elhassan He is powerful, made up of imperceptible layers.  He was only in his mid-teens when he first heeded the call to political action traveling to the Republic Palace of President Jafar Nimeiri seeking justice for his family. He is a well-respected Sufi.  In June,  he was awarded a Masters Degree in Islamic Studies from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar).  A recognized leader of the Kwahla tribe - with 16 million members.   Fast forward to 2010 and 2015 when he ran for President of the Sudan.  In 2015, it was my privilege to serve in a minor advisory role.  In recent years, he has given an enviable one hundred interviews with Al Jazeera Mobasha (life).   His name is Mohamed Elhassan.  I merely call him "friend". Mohamed Elhassan is president of the Sudanese Gathering Accord.  He is a man who knows his business, takes care of his business, and more importantly, takes care of his people. Less than a month ago he tra...
Read more
State of the Union:  Live Blogging Tammy and Blackfoot will begin live blogging shortly.  Grab your favorite drink and your BINGO cards and get ready to settle in for two hours of our POTUS speaking at SOTU.  We hope to keep this fun! https://opinionbytammy.blogspot.com/2026/02/state-of-union-bingo-cards.html __________________ Here we go, gang! "Gang" in the friendly family way, not in the Tren de Aragua way. President Trump and Mrs. Trump have left the White House and are on their way to the Capitol. I'm sure these past few days have been chock full of leafing through journals and diaries, and holding meetings with the inner circle for messaging strategies. Regardless of how much input his team gives him, we can always rely on our POTUS to not mince words, to lay the facts on the table and give us straight talk. Recently saw Newsom talking about Trump being an actor, and that he's a different person in different situations. Once again, Gavin is projecting his weakne...
Read more