{"id":67260,"date":"2020-01-06T00:12:58","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T00:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=67260"},"modified":"2020-01-06T00:28:15","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T00:28:15","slug":"the-ping-pong-possibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=67260","title":{"rendered":"The Ping-Pong Possibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ by Charles Cameron<\/strong> — Soleimani’s death prospects — does my title sound like the title of a Ludlum novel? Good! ]
\n.<\/p>\n

I’ll do this all, or mostly, in tweets — things are happening fast enough that just watching my twitter stream is keeping me pretty busy.<\/p>\n

Okay: there’s a whole lot of mirroring<\/strong> going on. Commenting on the assassination of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani<\/strong>, President Trump <\/strong>tweeted<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have…..<\/p>\n

….targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To which a senior IRGC officer just responded<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“If [US President Donald] Trump retaliates to Iran\u2019s revenge, we will strike Haifa, Tel Aviv and wipe out Israel,” said Mohsen Rezaei.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

About Mohsen Rezaee<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In both cases, we have threats<\/em>, which we might say fall half-way between words <\/em>and deeds<\/em>, and which may also be pure bluster<\/em>. It’s a thriller, to be sure, given President Trump<\/strong>‘s propensity to exaggerate in both speech and action.<\/p>\n

More mirroring, as commentator Wajahat Ali<\/strong> tweets<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Trump promises to blast 52 Iranian sites for the 52 American hostages held over 40 years ago. Does Iran respond by threatening 53 US sites for the US backed coup of Iran’s democratically elected leader Mossadegh in 1953? <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, as Evan Kohlmann<\/strong> teeeted<\/a>, there are more reasoned voices on the Iranian side<\/p>\n

Iranian military official Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan<\/a>: “We will not enter into an all-out war with America under any circumstances and we will respond appropriately to the U.S. strike. Iran’s response will be based on wisdom and reason and will be deterrent and influential.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No mirroring there — no ping-pong, no tit-for-tat, just restraint — an “appropriate” and “restrained” response.<\/p>\n

And breaking symmetry<\/strong> completely<\/a><\/p>\n

Former Ambassador John Limbert<\/strong>, one of the 52 Americans taken hostage by Iran in 1979, says “I for one want no part of the president’s posturing about Iran.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

**<\/p>\n

As Jenan Moussa<\/strong> tweeted<\/a>:<\/p>\n

:Expelling American troops from Iraq was a main objective for #Soleimani. <\/p>\n

Cynically what Soleimani couldn’t achieve in life, he might well achieve it by his death.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Iraqi lawmakers have indeed voted for US troops to be expelled from Iraq<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But look, there’s more going on there — there’s death mirroring life<\/strong>. And if you’ll take a moment to break from national security concerns, death mirroring life<\/strong> is precisely what Jean Cocteau<\/strong> shows us in his great film Orph\u00e9e<\/strong>:<\/p>\n