Quote (fender @ Jan 12 2020 05:09pm)
you simply don't do nuance, do you? just because there are indeed corporations that (shocking really for capitalist societies!) take advantage of business opportunities resulting from the lifting of sanctions does not mean that european / russian / chinese FOREIGN POLICY in regards to the iran NUCLEAR deal is determined by those interests. the hoops you're willing to jump through, in order to make excuses for trump's idiotic move... mindblowing really.
but hey, cultists gonna cult though...
Except that Russian and Chinese foreign policy towards Iran is entirely dictated by those same material and strategic concerns. Germany refuses to address Russian aggression for fear of losing gas. The EU refuses to confront genocide in China lest the CCP deny them access to Chinese markets.
Quote (fender @ Jan 12 2020 03:46pm)
i bet you don't even realise how ridiculous and arrogant that is, do you? not only because the US has been the main contributor to regional INstability in the middle east - but also because that oil simply doesn't belong to america. the US has no right (neither legally nor morally) to topple regimes, install puppets, create power vacuums, arm revolutions, to invade, bomb, drone, and occupy countries for their oil. you are NOT the good guys there, you're the main aggressors in the middle east - and have been so for decades.
no one except american and israeli right wingers thought it was a good idea to break the iran deal. if trump was actually concerned about 'stability' in the region, he would not have withdrawn from it, it's that simple. all the moronic justifications for his decision ignore that simple fact. had there been substantial violations of the deal by iran, the other signatories would have supported trump's course, because guess what: the rest of the world doesn't want iran to have nukes either.
Does the oil belong to a handful of fundamentalist clerics? Saddam? The United States isn't taking the oil by force, although there would certainly be precedent, it's paying the market price. But if Iranian greed threatens American interests (forget the global economy), then the United States absolutely has the right to intervene.
If you can't stand it, lobby the German government to take a stand. But I have no doubt that German outrage lasts about as long as it takes to impact your wallet.