From Daniel Larison:

Spicer has managed to combine Flynn’s nonsensical statement blaming Iran for the attack with the garbage analysis I mentioned earlier in the week that the attack had been intended for a U.S. ship, and he has produced something even more divorced from reality. No U.S. ship was attacked or targeted by anyone, Iran wasn’t responsible for the attack that did happen, and yet according to the Trump White House Iran took “hostile actions” against one of our ships. This is as blatant a lie as any that Spicer has told over the last two weeks, and it is on a matter of the greatest importance. The Trump administration is conjuring up “hostile actions” against a U.S. vessel out of thin air, and they appear to be doing so for no other reason than to stoke tensions and make conflict with Iran more likely.

From Pat Buchanan:

High among the reasons that many supported Trump was his understanding that George W. Bush blundered horribly in launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war on Iraq.

Along with the 15-year war in Afghanistan and our wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, our 21st-century U.S. Mideast wars have cost us trillions of dollars and thousands of dead. And they have produced a harvest of hatred of America that was exploited by al-Qaida and ISIS to recruit jihadists to murder and massacre Westerners.

Osama’s bin Laden’s greatest achievement was not to bring down the twin towers and kill 3,000 Americans, but to goad America into plunging headlong into the Middle East, a reckless and ruinous adventure that ended her post-Cold War global primacy.

Unlike the other candidates, Trump seemed to recognize this.

It was thought he would disengage us from these wars, not rattle a saber at an Iran that is three times the size of Iraq and has as its primary weapons supplier and partner Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Since the election and implosion of the Democratic party, the real battle has been between moderate Trump voters eager to support peace, education and labor and Zionist Christofascist racists, bigots and gun nuts.  The former hoped for detente with Russia and cessation of support to moderate rebels in Syria, as well as diminution of involvement with NATO.  However, the arrival of Bannon, Flynn and Mattis signaled a pivot from warmongering in Russia to Shia Muslim Iran.  This move delights the Zionists and Christofascists with war on Israel’s natural enemy, given their closeness with Sunni Muslims.

The West used the Saudis to create the modern Islamic terrorist.  The terrorist gave the West an excuse to invade the Middle East, destabilizing it for corporate interests.  In one of the greatest unintended consequences ever, liberal governments in Europe allowed themselves to be destabilized by refugees, many of whom were young disaffected Muslim males suitable for radicalization.  Such outcomes are typical of the neocon chicken hawks infesting deep state, with whom Trump’s campaign promises meant a war which we now know will never come.

Islamophobia whipped into a frenzy by previous administrations will be co-opted by Bannon, Flynn and Mattis to support Holy War against Islam.  Detente with Russia will necessarily wither as they will side with Iran and engage proxy war, probably to great effect as we have seen in Ukraine and Syria.  Speaking of which, any hope of disengaging support in those areas is now gone,, along with NATO standing down around Kaliningrad.   So, illegal US incursions continue as before, while we add conflict with the Ayatollahs.

Likewise, Trump’s collusion with establishment Republicans in Congress is bent on resumption of the war on the poor by aiding Wall Street.  Other nominations signal and for the cessation of neoliberalism regarding the environment and education.  Moderate Trump supporters have been forsaken by Trump in an attempt to optimize Zionist and Christofascist power.

While the Left is literally going insane from the reality of what they have wrought, the ascendant Right must wage a battle between paleocon nationalists and neocon globalists.  Compassionate moderates must contend with zealous extremists who own a bunch of guns and are just itching to use them on brown and black people.  This conflict, and not the religious one, will rend families and communities in what will probably be a final struggle for good over evil.