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Here's the plain message to US policymakers, divulged in these leaks, that Risen emphasizes - "We invaded, and Iran won the war ... It’s a warning against further aggression in the region." (but which is unlikely to be heeded - US policy is too far gone in the direction of naked power and reliance on crude military measures as policy). As an extension of what Anwar Shaikh emphasizes, capitalist economic power exists to out-maneuver the competition for market share. That includes, in a turbulent and uncertain global era, maneuvering for domination over cheap labor, resources and untrammeled flow of global investment and its return in a process in which the initiating party seeks to impose more damage on the competitor/adversary than it visits upon itself, even to the point of risking unintended chaos. That is the nature of the capitalist process, and capitalist wars are an extension of that principle: ergo, "further aggression in the region" is a given; and the policy conclusion has to be that though Iran may have won the battle. we will continue, through necessary exercise of the power we have and for geopolitical and economic reasons must use, by any means necessary, to win the war in the sense that more damage is imposed than incurred. And that there is no alternative. That's what "two minutes to midnight" signifies. https://tinyurl.com/yx5dtdj6* * *JAMES RISEN:* You see in the documents several people who were Iraqis who had worked with the CIA, who were now unemployed. So they go to the Iranians and say, “I’d be happy to work with you if you pay me.” And the Iranians, in these documents, are interested in talking to them, but the first requirement they have is that they tell them everything they ever did with the CIA. … To me, the message of these documents — and I hope this is the way we’ve presented it — is the United States’ invasion of Iraq was an historic mistake, a strategic blunder of massive proportions. We invaded, and Iran won the war. That is a lesson to be learned today in how we operate in the Middle East, what we do in the Middle East. It’s a warning against further aggression in the region. … Iran had two adversaries on its borders. One was the Taliban Afghan government, and the other was the Iraqi government, Saddam Hussein. Both were enemies of Iran. We deposed both of them. It’s such a huge thing to admit to yourself, as a country, that everything we’ve done in Iraq for the last 15 years was a mistake. All these lives lost were in vain. All the money poured into there has gone for a misbegotten, tragic mistake, that we have benefited what we now consider one of our biggest enemies. It’s almost like it’s such a huge thing to admit, that nobody wants to admit it. And I think that’s the real power of these documents. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com