I wrote this Tweet last night.
I thought about expanding this theme here this morning. But, on reflection, there is little to add.
Trump is deluded.
He is a fascist.
He wants to fight wars against Muslims, fuelled by hate.
And Starmer appears willing to join with him.
What does he think he is doing?
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NOT IN MY NAME
If Trump attacks this could get messy very quickly. At the moment he’s still trying to extort Iran to get what he wants, his focus is on fixing the mid term elections in the US not Iran per se but a war could give him the excuse he needs to declare an emergency and cancel them.
Odds on some bombing of a nuclear site/assassination attempt but Franz Ferdinand and all that, who knows where it could lead.
Might Sir Starmer be more influenced by what he is told to do than by what he thinks for himself?
Yes
The clue is in the word “think”. Starmer was “selected” (by McSweeney etc) for having no political imagination &, I’m being charitable, for his erm “managerial” abilities.
“Thinking” (or indeed “hmm what if we do this – what are the consequences?”) was never needed.
UK support for the UStRump takes the form of a quasi-institutional muscle memory – it just reacts: “fido – fetch!” & the UK jumps to it.
Cybernetics: actions have reactions/consequences. We saw that in B.Liars participation in Iraq. The same will happen if UK joins with tRump.
Thinking is hard
I am not sure Starmer is up to it
It is doubtful if no steer has any idea of the consequences of backing Trump over action against Iran.
Arab states have been telling the USA that regime change in Iran risks destabilising the region, the closure of the Straits of Hormuz ( with oil/energy prices going sky high), Iran hitting Israel and US bases in Arab countries. Iran has a lot of missiles and drones.
It is believed that the US and Israel have not been able to replace the missiles is used in the last attack on Iran.
Take UK preparedness. The head of Air Force pronounced recently that UK fighters are not able to function properly in the Artic. It’s too cold. Makes you think how is the fleet no steer is sending to Greenland will cope. Perhaps it can only operate in the summer months?
Blindly following Trump is not a sensible foreign policy. There will be serious repercussions for the UK.
Perhaps no steer believes that pushing the international agenda will stop the searchlight being used on domestic issues like the just leaked proposal to cut funding ( dressed up as change but really it’s” we can’t afford it”) for SEND children by reclassifying autism and ADHD as Class 3 and effectively no longer “important or serious”.
Keir has said that he is definitely supports Zionism hasn’t he?
Given what we’ve seen of Zionism in Gaza, all I see is a sick form of consistency.
February 14th 2020 Jewish News:
“I do support Zionism. I said that last night. I absolutely support the right of Israel to exist as a homeland.”’
“My only concern is that Zionism can mean slightly different things to different people, and as Lisa [Nandy] said, to some extent it has been weaponised. I wouldn’t read too much into that. I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.”
“I support Zionism without qualification”
The article describes the the outcome of “supporting Zionism without qualification”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/19/gaza-death-toll-higher-than-reported-lancet-study
As with so much else, as you have already made clear for us, it’s because the Government doesn’t have coherent and comprehensive policies of its own; this time it’s a vacuum in foreign affairs. Stand by for all the “inside the tent” nonsense again.
In other words, Starmer’s Labour is just the sort ‘progressive’ government that capital and the markets want.
I have resigned myself to the assumption that the global establishment has determined only a world war will achieve the re-ordering they desire.
So does Starmer think China and Russia will just sit on the sidelines and let it happen? This is stupidity beyond belief.
Netanyahu is keen on a war with Iran, as he has elections coming up next year. Once he’s out, he’s going to jail, prisoner of power and all that. We are aware that the Israeli government has some influence over British politics and on Starmer. We are also aware of the hold the US has on our government. Let’s just put it all together and conclude that what Starmer is doing is what he is told.
Starmer has, like on almost everything ese, U-turned on Zionism.
In 2015, campaigning to be an MP he touted his Pro-Palestine credentials.
In 2019, at a leadership hustings he was the only candidate to say he was not a Zionist.
(Lee Harpin, Jewish Chronicle, 14th Feb 2020)
By the time he was running to be PM, he was a “Zionist, 100%, unqualified”.
He is an ideological jellyfish with completely fluid principles, like Groucho Marx, if you don’t like his principles, he has others.
Knowing Keir now as I do, I would predict that the UK will not support any attack on Iran directly with military power (they did not do so during the limited US strike last time), but will help with potential use of uk bases, intelligence and/or refuelling or other logistical support.
In other words, he’ll try to have it both ways. Anything short of a complete rejection of such an attack is of course the wrong choice, and one that almost no one in the UK will agree with, but since when did the UK government do anything the people actually wanted?
The flurry over the Chagos isladns might, of course, be about this.
Apologies. I was wrong about Diego Garcia.
I surmise that since Trump cannot run for re-election he does not care about the long term outcome of anything he does and is willing to burn everything down.
However, Trump has a problem. The hard core MAGA base is against all proactive foreign military action. The MAGAts want all money spent on military intervention spent not only domestically but directly on them. Also, the hard core MAGAts DO NOT want any government money spent “buying Greenland”. Trump has already alienated 90% of his Swing Voters and is slowly eroding and alienating his hard core base.
The mid-term elections in November 2026 are going to be very interesting.
They are, I agree.
If they happen.
Here’s a corrected version of the contribution I sent you earlier, with the mistaken reference to Diego Garcia removed. There is a fine distinction being made by the Government between defensive and offensive operations, and that is why agreement to using Diego Garcia is being withheld, for now. But the UK is already providing significant support. Use of bases in the UK for onward transit as well as stationing of US aircraft destined for the combat zone. Assisting in detaining tankers suspected of breaching the oil embargo. RAF surveillance flights. RAF Typhoons protecting Gulf States. Agreed broad strategy to “deal with” Iran. So distinguishing between “defensive” and “offensive” already looks rather dubious. The UK is past the point of no return, and I believe in the end will obey directions from The White House.
Thanks