Paul Schmutz Schaller for The Saker Blog
On January 5, Hassan Nasrallah stated: „ January 2, 2020 is a date that separates two stages in the region. It is the beginning of a new phase, a new history, not just for Iran or Iraq, but for the whole region.“ Obviously, this feeling is widely shared. The crime was too big, too heinous, and way too adventurist.
In the new phase, the general aim is to kick the US military forces out of the whole region. Of course, this will take some time. „Responding to the Soleimani assassination is a long track that must lead to expelling the US presence in the region; the Ain Al-Assad operation was just a ‘slap.’ ” (Nasrallah, January 12) First steps were already taken. Besides these very precise attacks on two US-bases in Iraq, there were these extraordinary ceremonies, not only in Iran, but also in other countries, notably in Iraq, in Yemen, in Syria, and in Lebanon. “Soleimani had the biggest and greatest funeral in history after that of Imam Khomeini. The funeral has strengthened the Islamic Republic and brought life again to its revolution. We are before a new birth of the Islamic revolution in Iran.” (Nasrallah) Then there was the historical decision of the Iraqi parliament that US military forces have to leave the country. I further guess that the fight against terrorism in Syria will be more and more seen as a fight against the US military presence. It is again Nasrallah who hints at this: “All suicide attacks and crimes committed by the Takfiri terrorism must be branded ‘Made in USA’.”
But there is a further question that should be taken very seriously. In my eyes, this is the question of moral values. Or, if you prefer, ideology. This is a new development. It has become clear that China and Asia are on the way to outpace Western economy. Concerning military matters, Russia in particular is – at least qualitatively – better than USA; this has become quite evident, see in particular the books by Andrew Martyanov. Concerning politics, many people will agree that Putin is superior to any Western leader. In these domains, a comparaison between Western hegemonic forces and anti-hegemonic forces is quite standard. But this is not yet the case for ideology.
Common moral values and ideology are crucial for a country. Not only has each country a government, but also some instances of moral values. They very much differ from one country to another. In China for example, there is the Communist Party which is considered as the moral instance; the more traditional morality of Confucius is important too. In Iran, this role is filled by different Islamic bodies and finally by the Supreme Leader. In Iraq, apparently, Ayatollah Sistani is crucial. In Russia, the situation is much less clear (by the way, this is true for the whole Russian system). In some sense, Putin represents the common moral values, but of course, this will need some kind of institutionalization.
In Western European countries, the views on moral values are confusing. According to polls, more than 90% think that religion is a private matter. This is believed as „modern“ while countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran are judged „backward“. On the other hand, many West Europeans are convinced that their countries are the most moral in the world and that they are some kind of a „moral compass“. This colonialist arrogance is very profound. Nevertheless, Western European countries also have their instances of moral values; these are a mixture of sciences, media, churches, and the humanitarian industry.
The combat of moral values should not be underestimated. As a Christian saying goes: „Man does not live by bread alone.“ Even if Western leaders like Trump seem to say that only money and power count, it remains capital who is considered as „good guy“ and who is considered as „bad guy“. The strength of inner convictions is significant. In (Western) business and sports, building more self-esteem is regarded as a key factor for success.
Coming back to January 2 (or the night between January 2 and January 3), I have the feeling that in the West, the inner conviction got a blow. The murder of a statesman, who was very popular in his country and was on a diplomatic mission in a neighboring country, is infamous, even for Western standards, especially as it was shamelessly vaunted by the US president. As far as I know, absolutely no moral instance in the West has condemned this open crime. No moral instance has exclaimed: „Stop. This is immoral.“ The „best“, which one could hear, was something like: “Among international lawyers, it is actually agreed that the killing was inadmissible.” (This came from Saxer, professor of international law at the university of Zurich, during a Swiss television debate.) Moreover, Western media were – and are – full of primitive hate against Iran. What were the „values“ promoted by Western political leaders during these days? Arrogance, humiliation, denigration, extremism, lies; not a single positive value. In short, the level of common morality in the West is now very, very low.
On the other hand, I was hugely impressed by the high standard of moral values of Iran and her Arab allies. They showed compassion, faith, restraint, dignity, courage, honesty. No primitive hatred, but determination. Nasrallah underlined that the „Ain al-Assad slap signifies the unprecedented courage of the Iranian leadership ever since WWII“. The fight for expelling US military from the region is assessed as a moral one. Nasrallah: “Hajj Qassem’s martyrdom has brought back the true image of the US, which is the head of arrogance, corruption and criminality in the world.” Iran and her Arab allies give the world a great example and eminent lesson of ethics, of moral behavior, of true faith, and of high ideals; this is my strongest feeling of the last 10 days.
The Western media remain influential, and with them the Western ideology. There is a long track to go in order to convince the world that the moral values of the anti-hegemonic forces are much higher than those of the Western hegemonic forces. This is one of the central tasks in the new phase after January 2. This is not only a new phase for West Asia (Middle East), but for all of us.
António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations
Dear Sir:
We ask that you direct your attention to Article 99 of Chapter 15, Charter of the United Nations
See: https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xv/index.html .
To Wit: “The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The murder of an Iranian citizen by an extrajudicial act ordered by the President of the United States qualifies as a threat to international peace and security. By not raising this issue as allowed for in Article 99, you have failed to maintain an “arms-length” relationship with the Government of the United States as required by Section1 of Article 100 of Chapter 15.
This lack of response by the Secretary General regarding the heinous act committed by Trump show the world the United Nations is a subservient body politic to the U.S. All the more reason to demand the UN be relocated outside the clutches of the American hegemon.
There’s some sort of trend going on lately about people rising their expectations on puppets? Guterres is just another puppet as Barroso was.Sure, Barroso is a war criminal too, its probably one of the few good things that Guterres can’t be accused of, however, both share the same cesspool.
“The United Nation is Zionism. It is the “super-government” mentioned many times in the Protocols
of the Learned Elders of Zion, promulgated between 1897 and 1905.
http://www.dissident-net.info/henry-h-klein-2/
Just one question for all here, and the answer lay’s to rest the question of all the rhetoric.
Why has China, not shutdown Sheldon Adelsons vast Casino’s & Prostitution rackets in Macau ( 100% China since 1997 )??
The morality of stage play they we witness, is that which is not mentioned.
Mercer ( Renaissance Capital ) one of the richest men of the world, with Simon who cracked the stock-market with math&computers was first to invest in Trump, but he became disillusioned early on, then stepped in Adelson, who became the main sponsor of Trump. Adelson is also the main sponsor of Netanyahu in Israel.
For all the posturing of Trump and the Tariff’s and killing people in Iran ( not just the general was murdered by CIA-MOSSAD ), China which is the main customer of Iran, has done nothing about the 10’s of billions of racketeering ran out of Macau by Adelson who owns Trump.
We’re told that Trump ordered the murder on Soleimani, seems that if China cared one iota about Iran, all they would have to do is privatize the casino’s in Macao, and overnight Trumps patron would be bankrupt and insolvent. China in reality has total control of the J-Mafia, because their assets are largely in their jurisdiction. So the question begs to be asked, how is it they get this ‘stay out of jail card’???
So the question begs to be asked, why is the #1 Prostitution Pimp on earth Macau, Vegas, Dubai, Qatar, 100’s of Billions of mob money why is he off radar?
Morpheus, thanks for your insights. It is all about the money for sure, and the main question is who exactly is getting the payoffs. I’m kind of on the run here, please excuse my running train of thought writing. Right now I am kind of worried about a monster (monsters) called the Shadow Government(s) of the earth, national boundaries appear to be of no concern to these creatures, and there is no politician they cannot pay off (wow, that is a really big pallet stacked high with cash you just offered me, mister! it will take a forklift to move it–nice!). Governments dearly love the taxes that casino patrons cough up, notice carefully if you will who really pays, and who gets the real tax breaks, and notice carefully how the current president once had a casino operation in Atlantic City that was fined 100 million $- plus a few years back for “money laundering”. Ha, ha, my cynicism is showing, I know. Not sure if the fine was ever actually paid. These creatures also appear to have somewhat longer lifespans than most of us, unfortunately, because of the deals they have made with their dark lord. As long as they remain useful to him. Read this and remember who said it to who: All this I will give to you, if you just bow down and “worship” Me. Ouch, don’t bend over, or ever turn your back on that one. I believe it was Catherine Austin Fitts who calculated that the budget for the shadow government is around 3 trillion annually, much of it eaten up by payoffs. Regarding Mr. Adelson, actually he is anything but “off the radar” — the guy is quite out in the open, and the question is who has the bigger ego, him or Trump? –for all of Trump’s quack, Adelson is worth far, far more than he is, and this grinds Trump to no end.
The decision to kill General Soleimani was taken 7 months ago,
because he was fighting ISI.
https://twitter.com/Ian56789/status/1217089084914642945/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3AHenryMakow&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.henrymakow.com%2F
Correction: . . . because he was fighting ISIS.
“A nation that’s no longer capable of naming names and reporting what actually happened richly deserves an economic and political collapse to match its moral collapse.” – Charles Hugh Smith
The US has been acting as an arrogant hypocritical nation internationally. US citizens have been totally brainwashed into believing the Exceptionalism meme by the MSM. Anyone talking to the average American has no doubt encountered this attitude toward the world beyond their borders. Previously, I felt sympathy for the American people’s enforced ignorance, but now all I feel is pity.
We have no way of telling what people are actually thinking.
With all due respect , Mate. What people do and what they say is a direct reflection of what they think.
I was born and educated in the US and have extensive experience interacting with my, then, fellow Americans. However, I had two advantages over the average American; I traveled extensively overseas in my work on research vessels and have had an obsession for history since age 10. I left the US in 1990, but still occasional return to visit family.
This gives me sufficient justification for my above comment. Regards
The West doesn’t bother to define its “morality” whilst imposing pseudo-“values” on the rest of the world, whether anyone wants it or not. What “values”? When confronted with a simple moral issue, brandish the flag and the yellow ribbons made in China, and use football games to promote solidarity for the rabble, around values that nobody can define.
If we can’t define “values”, how can we believe in them, much less “export” them?
You’re right, politicians and cheerleaders over here can scarcely say words like “disgrace”, that would give the game away. It’s beyond parody at this point. Speaking of self-parody, have you listened to Alex Jones lately? Here’s a guy who started as a rabble rousing community cable host in the finest muckracking American tradition, now he too is rallying around the flag, don’t forget to pray for Our President, and so on. Gore Vidal famously said that Americans lack the ironic sense. In the imperial fashion, Alex Jones goes from rags to cheerleader, and I can’t figure out what on earth the “values” he believes in, other than simplistic president-worship (Machiavelli would love this). Oh yes, and “Tangy Tangerine”.
Precedents set.
Other countries can whack anyone in the American leadership they think might cause harm to their interests. No proof required. Maybe a Tweet or two about how horrible they were after you blow them to little bits.
Pompeo and Trump are obviously imminent threats to all countries, by their own definitions.
Someone explain why this would be ‘wrong’ in the context of American actions?
Also, the treats by Iran to attack soldiers in the region is pointless. The US/EU leaders don’t care at all about the soldiers, other than if they can show their dead bodies as proof of how ‘evil’ the other guys are.
“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”
― Henry Kissinger (and every politician before and since)
The only thing that could even possibly make the US hesitate is if the US leaders start getting killed. Unless their skin is on the line, they don’t care about casualties, theirs or ours.
The moral bankruptcy of the West is now obvious to all.
All values have been steadily inverted:
Good is now bad, and bad is good. Deviancy is ok and normal is no longer envouge.
Countries like Iran and Russia in which social values have remained constant are demonized.
Fret not however, because good will prevail eventually.
The good guys and heroes like the martyr Solemanei triumph in the end.
Selah
Absolutely S-400 and the US even managed to invert socialism!
Cheers
Col
Might makes right
Only the good die young
Money talks, and bullshit walks
who wins any fight, is the firstest with the mostest
speak softly and carry a big stick
the business of merica is business
…
Long ago they called this ‘jungle law’ they called it real-politik
There was never a time in human history where the ‘good’ ran things,
Soleimani was called the ‘living martyr’ he was well aware of his fate
…
I agree that is the problem here ‘morality’ and the Russians & Iranian’s have it, and drives the ANZ (Satanists ) crazy, they want total “Sodom&Gomorah”, any country left standing for ‘good’ is a bad example to sheep all over the earth, thus its imperative to destroy the last bastions of morality on earth.
There are other places on this earth that share the morality, the only thing I can think is to pack your bags and find these places, and weather the storm. One thing is for certain the Satanists don’t breed, and their a vector for disease, so their place eventually on this earth is extinction
Truth is not the solution, Education is not the solution, for most people are too stupid to see the obvious problems in their face. This has been a perpetual problem of mankind since the beginning, much has been written for all time that in any society only 3-5% know what’s going on, less than 1% make stuff happen, and +95% wonder through life without a clue. With TV, drugs, sex-entertainment, social-media dumbing down is on steroids.
The fact that men like Sheldon Adelson OWN the USA & Israel, the fact that he became one of the richest man on earth by running Corporate Prostitution Warehouses where every child is seen as a potential sex toy, shows what kind world we really live in. A world where people are only kept alive until groomed and trained for the factorys, otherwise they’re disposed. Where entire nations are culled at any time they wish to farm a new human-herd, or eliminate opposition to their rule.
The moral bankruptcy shown by Trump will spread to the rest of American society. The failure of the “opposition” party to use this unconstitutional murder to impeach Trump shows all of DC slipping further into degeneracy. Both sides take AIPAC money and will do anything for more power and money. This will trigger effects in the US also.
Well that is fully correct.
But… But…
That is western total moral bankpcy which already led to western total economic and international influence collapse.
The full effect has not gone its full course yet.
But such collapse can not be avoided.
The heart of the western bankrucy in political term comes from US policy after the USSR fall and the aftermath vmwith Bill Clinton.
That led to 9/11 and gulf war.
The fall of USSR was the end of a centuries long cycle (the western materialism and industrial revolutions with its marxist struggle) and the beginning of a new one.
The US chose the clash of civilization.
Unilateralism.
Plundering.
Fabricated war.
Full spectrum dominance.
On top of not being moral.
And worse yet.
It has been a very very very long string of losing decisions.
All decisions were bankrupt in realpolitik and strategic and economic terms and consequences.
Now it is only the last nail in the US geostrategic coffin.
The axis of resistance is fully correct : the US being kicked out of the ME is only the bottom line of decades of losing political, strategical and moral choices of their own making.
Call it karma.
The end of it is already known.
Either WWIII.
Or westerners kicked to their home and losing global hegemony.
The world is ripe for the events to unfold.
The resistance axis only need a slight and delicate push for the full situation tipping toward western total collapse.
As such the UK, France and Germany calling the remedy of the JCPOA is truly pathetic.
Non countries getting/blurring out of history.
That is the result of a bankrupcy of a system, a polity, an elite.
Truly the end of a civilization.
Unfortunate and sad.
That being said. Once at the bottom. The situation can only get better !
However I am sure that the rock bottom has not been reached yet. The hard economic consequences are still to come go the west.
Thank you for such an enlightened article. Well written and much appreciated.