It is particularly bloody to use an official statement of sympathy over a terrorist attack as a vehicle to promote war against the victim country, but that is exactly what the Trump White House did today after dual attacks in Iran left at least a dozen civilians dead.
In a breathtaking display of cruel indecency, Trump’s team used the attack as an occasion to stick the boot in and blame the victims.
Wrote the White House:
We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.
In other words, too bad you got killed but because we determine your government to be "state sponsors of terrorism" you got what you deserved.
When was the last time Iran or Iranian allies attacked the US or US interests? If we count Beirut, it’s been over three decades. Why exactly is Iran a "state sponsor of terrorism"? Because they haven’t buckled under aggression from Saudi Arabia and threats from Israel?
Blaming the victims in Tehran for an attack undertaken by ISIS – which ironically has ties to the biggest state sponsor of terrorism, US ally Saudi Arabia – shows the rest of the world just what kind of monsters control our foreign policy in Washington. The rest of America should be ashamed and disgusted by those who claim to rule over us, "promoting freedom" in our name.
Daniel McAdams is director of the The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.