Iran to Trump: ‘No unconditional surrender, no ceasefire, no negotiations for you’

 

Iran to Trump: ‘No unconditional surrender, no ceasefire, no negotiations for you’

 

Trump is seeking an exit from his lost war against Iran. US bases are being systematically damaged in 6 neighboring nations. Israel is suffering the most serious damage in its 78 year existence with no end in sight. Both the Gulf States and Israel are running out of defensive weapons. So is the US. But Iran is not running out of missiles used to pummel nearby US facilities and especially Israel. The more urgent quagmire facing Trump is the impending economic collapse from the cutoff of Middle East oil due to his criminal as well as senseless war to destroy Iran.   

 

Rejecting calls from several countries, likely encouraged by Trump, for a negotiated ceasefire, Iranian Defense Minister Abbas Araghchi said there will be no negotiations with America until the root causes of the war are addressed. They include an absolute guarantee that the US will never attack Iran again, will take responsibility for the war, end draconian sanctions and leave the Middle East in peace.

 

Araghchi argued the current attack, like the first one last June 13, was conducted during fake negotiations to keep Iran unprepared for a dastardly sneak attack. That worked last June but not last month. Now the US has been caught flatfooted by Iran’s devastating counter offensive and desperately seeks an off ramp. Araghchi made clear there is no off ramp short of capitulation to its reasonable demands. .

 

With the US and world economy headed into economic freefall, Trump called an emergency news conference to shore up the collapsing stock market. He blathered endlessly how he’s winning bigly and will soon prevail against a demonic Iran seeking to take over the entire Middle East. No one believed a word he said because not one word made sense or was believable.

 

Trump’s attack on Iran may be the most self-destructive attack on a country since Hitler invaded Russia nearly 85 years ago. Forty-six years ago the US bankrolled the Iraq invasion of Iran. During 8 long years Iran suffered over half million casualties but ultimately fought Iraq to a draw. Araghchi alluded to that stamina and determination to prevail against the Yankee invader when he told Trump ‘no unconditional surrender, no ceasefire, no negotiations for you.’

 

Will Trump listen…or will he continue down the road to perdition?

Trump, Netanyahu down to last card in criminal Iran war: mass murder destroying Iran

Trump, Netanyahu down to last card in criminal Iran  war: mass murder destroying Iran

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister began their second war on Iran in 7 months with just 2 war crime cards to play.

 

The first card was the US, Israeli version of Blitzkrieg from the air. Kill Iran’s beloved leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demand surrender, then wait for the 90 million Iranians to capitulate to new masters Trump and Netanyahu. That was projected to take just about 72 hours.

 

As expected, millions of Iranians came into the streets following Khamenei’s assassination. But not to welcome the grisly invaders bombing them. It was to show near total support to the Islamic government, cheering them on to inflict as much retaliation possible to repel the Trump Netanyahu criminal tag team.

 

And they are succeeding, causing massive damage to US military facilities in Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait. Saudi Arabia and UAE. All 6 are running out of defensive interceptors provided by Uncle Sam. Why? Trump is giving them all to himself and his war partner Netanyahu. When this is all over, the Gulf States will never again trust America for their defense. They may even tell the US to vamoose the region PDQ.   

 

Iran is also bombing Israel night and day, giving Netanyahu, flying around the region 24/7 to avoid Khamenei’s fate, a taste of what he visited on Palestinians in Gaza for 2 years.

 

That leaves Trump and Netanyahu with their last war crime card to play. Bomb Iran to smithereens till there is no more Iranian weapons or personnel left with which to retaliate.

 

Big problem facing America and Israel is size. Both Israel and US military facilities nearby are compact in size making them easy targets, while Iran, the 17 largest country by area, has their tens of thousands of missiles scattered and largely unreachable.

 

Now that Iran has chosen to fight to the death rather than capitulate as expected, the advantage may be tiltng in their favor. Rumors surfacing Trump is pondering an off ramp to stop the bleeding he has no way of controlling.

 

Worst case scenario remains that Netanyahu may get so desperate facing unfathomable defeat, he escalates to war crime card 3...nuke Theran.   

Walt Zlotow   West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Chicago Tribune editorial ‘Israel’s rationale for change in Iran is clear. But the American rationale is murky indeed’ is a masterclass in deflection from the unfolding catastrophe in the Middle East

Chicago Tribune editorial ‘Israel’s rationale for change in Iran is clear. But the American rationale is murky indeed’ is a masterclass in deflection from the unfolding catastrophe in the Middle East

 

It starts with the title. Calling a horrific war that is killing thousands, destabilizing the Middle East, possibly crashing the US economy, even risking nuclear war, “change”. is astonishing in its denial of reality.

 

The Trib defends Israel’s rationale for launching all out war on Iran as “self-evident” national security concerns. What is self-evident is that for decades Israel has been calling for destruction of the Iranian regime, if not the entire country, to remove Israel’s last hegemonic rival for Middle East supremacy.

 

What is also self evident is that Israel has been plotting this war with President Trump thruout his second term. They sucker punched Iran last June by attacking while conducting fake negotiations. Iran’s tout defense forced Israel to demand Trump affect a ceasefire.

 

They both tried again by infiltrating the Iranian protests over the economy last December. Provoking a violent government response was to be the fuse to justify a second attack to achieve regime change. But the government quickly quashed the protests and regime change 2.0.

 

Three months later the US and Israel once again used the cover of negotiations to launch all out war that has backfired spectacularly.

 

The Trib errs in quoting local Israeli official Elad Strohmayer that ”the military bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States enjoyed very wide support among Israeli citizens” Nonsense. The Israeli populous is fractured by Iran’s devastating response causing widespread destruction. Military morale, already degraded from endless deployments to in Gaza and Lebanon, will only get worse due to all out war in Iran. The outlook for a stable Israeli citizenry and government is bleak.

 

The most outlandish statement in the long editorial is “only a fool cannot see that the vast majority of Iranians wanted this regime to be removed from their lives.” But only those not fools can see a near totally united 90 million Iranians who are successfully punishing the US and Israeli war mongers determined to destroy them. 

Nether the US nor Israel has an exit strategy for their impending failure in Iran short of totally destroying it, possibly even with Israeli nukes. That, and not narrative devoid of reality on the ground should be addressed in the next Trib editorial on this unfolding catastrophe 

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Back on its heels, will Israel nuke Iran?

 

Back on its heels, will Israel nuke Iran?

 

Trump’s deranged war on Iran is spiraling out of control. US bases are being pounded, neutralizing their ability to monitor, much less shoot down Iranian drones and missiles. But Iranian firepower is no threat to the US homeland 6,000 miles from Iran.

 

Not so for Israel which is being devastated by Iran’s enormous stockpile of drones and missiles. Having been dastardly attacked by Israel and the US last June while negotiating in good faith, unlike Israel and US, Iran was ready for dastardly attack 2.0.

 

Assassinating Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, the leader who issued a Fatwa prohibiting nuclear weapons, was astonishingly stupid. It had the opposite effect of encouraging the Iranian people to rise against the Islamic government to allow delusional Trump to pick a US puppet successor.

 

Iran’s response has been ferocious, creating both physical chaos and now societal unrest thruout Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu, hoping to avoid Khamenei’s fate, is spending most of his time flying around the region while communicating with his beleaguered government and military. He doesn’t plan to go down with the Israeli ship of state.  

 

Netanyahu is seeing the existential threat he unleashed upon Iran boomeranging back on Israel itself. That conjures up the worst nightmare scenario of this nightmare war. Will Netanyahu dip into his stock of 300 nukes and drop one on Tehran to stop further Israeli disintegration they brought upon themselves?

 

This possibility should have the hair on fire of everyone in the Trump administration promoting this senseless, self-destructive war. Then again, some of them are so deranged they view their folly as a holy war which will create Armageddon, bring Jesus back to earth to lift up to heaven those who believe, while us sane folks fall into hell. This madness is being fed to bewildered soldiers in dozens of military stations in every service branch.

 

2,473 nukes have been exploded in tests since the 2 nukes America fired in anger destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago. There are many reasons for this insane, unprovoked, criminal war to be ended. Topping the list is keeping Netanyahu from making nuclear explosion number 2,477 the first to obliterate a city since number 3 obliterated Nagasaki.

 

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Good grief…Jesus freaks taking over military indoctrination

 Good grief…Jesus freaks taking over military indoctrination

As a non-theist I both respect freedom of religion and demand separation of church and state.

Most violations of the latter concern relatively minor infractions such as school prayer or posting the 10 Commandments in the public square.

Never in my life could I imagine our government promoting America’s grotesque, criminal war on Iran by telling military personnel in all the services that this war is God’s plan to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,”

This was not one-off insanity by a rogue military leader. The
Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) reports over 100 complaints from 30 military installations about their commanders’ instructions. One NCO complained their commander “urged us to tell our troop this was all part of God’s divine plan and supported it with numerous citations from the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”

While Christian nationalism has simmered on the back burner of the military for decades, under fanatical Christian Nationalist and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, it’s now official US military policy. Hegseth is egged on by irreligious President Trump, who cynically uses Christian nationalism to justify his warfare in the Middle East on behalf of Israel.

You do not have to be a non-theist to oppose this religious madness Trump and Hegseth infect our military with to promote endless war in the name of God. You just have to be a decent, morally centered person.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Trump’s 3 day ‘quickie’ war turning into a 3 year catastrophe

Trump’s 3 day ‘quickie’ war turning into a 3 year catastrophe

President Trump bet his entire criminal attack on Iran as a quick 3 day operation which would force Iran’s capitulation. Kill its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the 90 million Iranians would rise up against their government and make peace with new master America

It has backfired spectacularly. The vast majority of Iranians have rallied around the Islamic government. When Trump demanded Iran surrender, the remaining government publicly told Trump ‘Go to hell.’ Instead they have launched thousands of missiles and drone explosives on US instillations thruout the region. American deaths and injuries are occurring. They are successfully bombing America’s criminal war partner Israel, the real mastermind of this self-destructive war. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz which will quickly destabilize the world economy over oil pricing. Iran’s attacks on US resources in the Gulf States will possibly destabilize the entire region.

Trump, realizing he’s both failed and trapped, is becoming increasingly more detached from reality. The US is already running low munitions to fight a long war, but Trump claims we have enough to fight multiple wars “forever”. But he quickly contradicted himself by claiming any shortages are due to negligence of his predecessor he only refers to as “Sleepy Joe”. This from a debilitated president falling asleep at public events. He’s cut off all trade with Spain because they refuse to help Trump wage his criminal war. Trump hints at boots on the ground in Iran, setting congressional critics’ hair on fire.

Why doesn’t Iran fold against the largest military in the world and its criminal war partner Israel? Simple. After trying to negotiate peace with these two brutal, vicious countries for decades, Iran realizes both represent an existential threat to their existence. Facing obliteration, Iran has decided to go down fighting, taking America and Israel with them.

Knowing it was coming, Iran has been preparing years for all out war. It’s has tens of thousands of missiles and drones scattered and well-hidden to prevent US, Israeli destruction. The US, Israeli hunters are now becoming the hunted. US embassies in the region, some already under attack, are telling their staffers they cannot help evacuate them.

Trump has nearly 3 years left in office. His failed 3 day quickie war to destroy Iran as an Israeli hegemonic rival may turn his last 3 years into an unrelenting personal catastrophe. Alas, it may also be a catastrophe for Israel, America, the Middle East, possibly the entire world.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL

Marco spills the beans…’Bibi made us do it’

 Marco spills the beans…’Bibi made us do it’

In 4 days of immoral, criminal war on Iran, the Trump administration changes the rationale every day, indeed almost every hour.

The most preposterous comes from supreme American warmonger Marco Rubio who masquerades as Secretary of State while every fiber of his damaged soul plots endless war.

“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the United States, Israel, or anyone, they were going to respond and respond against the United States. If we stood and waited for that attack to come first, before we hit them, we would have suffered much higher casualties. And so the president made the very wise decision. We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,”

Rubio could not have been more disingenuous. He’s pretending we’re a neutral observer that will be involved if Israel attacks and must attack first to avoid US casualties. . He knows full well the US and Israel have been plotting together to destroy Iran for decades. He's spent the last year as Secretary of State involved in that war plotting. The US wants to extend its dominance over the entire Middle East while Israel wants to eliminate its only hegemonic rival in the region. Together the US, Israeli tag team  seeks to accomplish both imperialistic goals.

 

The combined attack February 28 was a replay on steroids of the smaller combined preemptive attack last June. Since it didn’t accomplish regime change and Iran’s destruction, Netanyahu and Trump decided to launch an all out war to the death. This time Americans are dying along with Israelis, and the shutdown of oil production and transit may send America spiraling into a major recession.

Since few Americans are buying into this madness, rejecting one Trump justification after another, Rubio came to the rescue. ‘I’ve got it’ he proclaimed. ‘We’ll tell the public that we had to attack because it was the only way to save American lives after Israel attacks Iran. We're simply playing defense.'  

Rubio’s logic would be hilarious if not for the fact that it guarantees US body bags coming home as a result of Rubio’s self-licking ice cream cone.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

 

The Trib’s long editorial on Trump’s unprovoked, immoral, criminal war on Iran gives tacit approval to it without a hint of its murderous criminality. “Trump and his Israeli partners knew what they did not like in Iran and we don’t disagree.” That sure sounds like an endorsement of criminal war that should have Trump and his partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the dock at The Hague for war crimes.

 

Trump’s attack had nothing to do with defense of America’s national security interests. Alleging Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led a repressive, theocratic, medieval regime is not a justification for launching preemptive war.

 The Trib accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism when, unlike Trump, Ali Khamenei didn’t bomb 7 countries in 2025 killing untold thousands. If the Trib is concerned about sponsors of terrorism, a good starting point is Donald J. Trump. 

 The Trib notes that Ali Khamenei “threatened the security of Israel,” but fails to note that Israel killed over a thousand Iranians in their 12 day preemptive war last June. Ali Khamenei and Iran were never a threat to Israel’s security. They represented a potential rival to Israel for Middle East dominance that had to be eliminated with American firepower and now American blood. Being a hegemonic rival is not grounds for preemptive war.  

 

Trump’s ongoing, murderous war aside, the Trib focused instead on Ali Khamenei’s “plans for a nuclear weapon.” Why does the Trib ignore that Ali Khamenei not only forbid nukes, he signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 which guaranteed Iran would never get one. Guess who blew up that signature Obama achievement? Donald Trump in 2018. Reason? The JCPOA prevented regime change demanded by Israel to be implemented by the United States.

 It took 8 years but that regime change is underway in a grotesque criminal war that will kill many thousands, possibly destabilize the Middle East and likely drive up energy prices in America to recessionary levels. 

Now with 3 Americans dead and 5 seriously wounded due to Trump’s criminality, the Chicago Tribune might consider a follow up editorial titled ‘We will not miss the President of the United States. His only plan was endless, senseless war.’

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Obama Center defiles Jackson Park, Hyde Park, Chicago

Obama Center defiles Jackson Park, Hyde Park, Chicago

 

Lived in Hyde Park for 10 years and marveled at its architecture, both old and new. Uplifted by the famed UChicago campus every day I traversed it 4 years as an undergrad. The surrounding Hyde Park neighborhood was filled with architectural gems.

 

While visiting my Hyde Park sister Saturday, we took a quick mile hop to see the Barack Obama Presidential Center. As we approached by car I exclaimed “Is that ugly slab arising out of Jackson Park the BOPC?”

 

It sure was. We exited the car for a closer look. With each step it became uglier than first viewing. The inscription halfway up intended to inspire was so scrunched together as to be near unreadable.

It was the most hideous public building I’ve observed in my 81 years. As one always offended by ugly buildings that will last beyond our lifetimes, I’m thankful I will never see it again. It takes top prize in buildings I wish were never built, surpassing previous contenders for ugliest, the Thompson Center in the Loop and the renovated Soldier Field on the lakefront.

 

I have no quarrel building a presidential library. I’ve visited those of Honest Abe, James Garfield (located in his home), FDR, Truman, Ike, JFK and Gerald Ford. All were decent to inspiring (Fords') architecturally and were befitting of the president they honored. The Barack Obama Presidential Center is not.

 

I do hope the completed BOPC will benefit the community and serve historical presidential and American scholarship.

 

But a word of caution to Joe Biden, Donald Trump and the architects they select to design their presidential libraries. Don’t do ugly.

 

Walt Zlotow   Glen Ellyn IL