War with Iran?

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(08-01-2019, 07:19 PM)Dill Wrote: The NYT has a good recap of your recap. European nations have not responded to Britain's coalition proposal yet. Firm "no" to the US, though. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/world/europe/trump-iran-gulf-patrol.html

SSF and I are not squabbling over your facts, but their interpretation and import.

In post #352, in response to Trump's refusal to aid Britain after its tanker was seized, I asked

"I would be interested in hearing people's thoughts on how US allies and Iran will view US paralysis. If allies and other nations all now have to spend money beefing up defenses to defend tankers, won't they see this as largely the result of Trump trashing the Iran deal? Will they blame Trump or Iran primarily?"

In posts #358 and 360, I view this separation of Britain (and European allies) from the US on a matter of cooperative security as a remarkable development and would invite those following the thread to consider whether it is a precedent of things to come, e.g., diminished effectiveness of US diplomacy, usually exercised through alliances. What further consequences may be likely?

The squabbles between us concerned, first, whether asserting Iran is "responsible for its own behavior" answers the questions I have posed (I say no), second, a long digression over whether he is "refuting" my points by merely repeating my premises as if they were his own (I say no) while claiming "nothing to see here," and now, whether the seizure of the Grace 1 tanker off Gibraltar has anything to do with the trashed Iran Deal.  He says no. The last three posts I have been explaining why the EU does not seize non-EU ships to enforce EU sanctions on Syria. He thinks I was saying that the EU does not impose sanctions on non-EU nations, and refuted that with a flourish, since obviously there are EU sanctions on Syria, and it is a non-EU nation.

That's our squabble in a nutshell.

I just get more and more confused following these debates:

So the US has offered to escort ships through the strait but has refused to help Britain protect its ships?

Britain has appealed to the Union of which it is currently a part of for assistance and that's considered separating itself from the US?

You don't think Iran is responsible for its own behavior?

So the EU chooses not to seize ships they see as breaking the agreement?

Hell if I were UK I'd be looking to exit too.