War As Gangsterism
Escalating, Sonny Corleone-Style
In The Godfather, Sonny Corleone, played by James Caan, is a notorious hothead. When a gang war breaks out among the rival mafia families, Sonny knows only one strategy: hit back, and hit back hard, and keep hitting back.
Those two scenes came to mind as I read the threats from President Trump about Iran’s power grid, as recounted here by Caitlin Johnstone:
Trump is now tweeting that “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST…”
Iran has of course responded that if its power plants are attacked it will attack the energy infrastructure of US allies in the middle east, saying that “the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be destroyed irreversibly.”
It’s starting to look like it’s only a matter of time before the US and/or Israel does something in Iran that makes the world a much darker place than it already is. Someone’s got to rein these psychopaths in.
Nice country you have there, Iran. It would be a shame if we had to obliterate it. That seems to be the essence of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy with Iran.
If you’ve seen The Godfather, you know it doesn’t end well for Sonny. Nor will it end well for the United States if Trump and his wartime consigliere Bibi continue to choose escalation and further warfare.
It's an interesting point - Sonny Corleone style for Trump. He certainly acts that way, but is it real, or is it an act just like James Caan's portrayal? The other thing I'd note is that Sonny was a violent impulsive man, but he wasn't just talk (like when he beat up his brother in law) versus Trump, who manifests behaviors of a physical coward.
I certainly believe Trump is a malignant narcissist who listens only to his own genius mind. But those who know him personally have always said what we see isn't what he's like in private. Maybe he cultivates his image with his various outbursts and rants (that probably reflect that malignant narcissism), but he has a firm vision of what he wants to do.
UK Ambassador Craig Murray said in a recent article that Netanyahu let slip part of the end game - an oil pipeline from Iran west to Israel to ship oil through the Mediterranean. I could see the promise of the "Donald J Trump Oil Terminal" appealing to him.
But at the end of the day - maybe it doesn't matter. The supposed system of checks and balances in government has failed. Congress is beyond useless. All the billions spent on intelligence and defense have shown only a massive wealth transfer upward with careerism the primary motivation for those in positions of power.
To return to the Godfather, I fear we're going to wind up as did the heads of the 'Five Families'.
"To me, being a gangster was to own the world... For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, that was better than being President of the United States." .... Henry Hill ("Goodfellas")
"I’d rather be a don of the Mafia than president of the United States." ... Frank Sinatra