By Patricia Lee Sharpe
Saudi Arabia, the arch enemy of Iran, claims that Teheran has sabotaged two of its ships, and Donald Trump, who’s been dying for an excuse to attack Iran, is ready to go to war.
Is it too late to make the Saudis impound the ships and get the gashes examined by an incorruptible, neutral party?
Meanwhile, until the damage is verified by such non-U.S., non-Israeli, non-Saudi and non-Emirati experts, is it too much to ask that all references to such allegations be put in quotes? As claims, not established facts.
The American people and our best journalists were deceived over the Tonkin Gulf incident in Viet Nam. We were deceived about WMDs in Iraq. Haven’t we learned our lesson?
And what is that lesson? When U.S. government hawks want a war they lie to the American people. Deplorable, but true.
And nobody wants the Americans to pulverize Iran more than the Saudis do. So, isn’t it prudent to take their war-mongering allegations with a grain of salt and tons of skepticism?
The Saudis. You know, the Trump family’s ignoble besties in Riyadh. Especially the king-in-waiting, that super charmer who had a Washington Post journalist killed and dismembered, the one who turned a civil war in Yemen into a surrogate war against Iran, the one who throws women into jail for advocating their right to drive, etc. etc. A real sweetie.
I can’t believe that I’m the only one to point this out, and I admit I haven’t scoured the web to see who's previously broached the subject, but it doesn’t matter. In this case, repetition is needed. Shouting in the streets, from the housetops and from the web is needed. A little tweeting wouldn't hurt either.
In the absence of strong corroboration, DON’T BELIEVE THE HOUSE OF SAUD.