Rachel Maddow busted the Trump administration on Monday for quickly blaming Iran – without evidence – for an attack in the Middle East that the Taliban already claimed credit for.
According to the MSNBC host, among the list of attacks for which the Trump administration is blaming Iran in their buildup to war is a bombing that took place in Afghanistan, which injured four U.S. service members.
“That’s an attack for which someone else entirely, the Taliban, claimed responsibility,” Maddow said. “The Trump administration is nevertheless saying, ‘No, we think that was Iran, too.'”
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Rachel Maddow lays out how the Trump administration is blaming Iran for attacks that other groups have already claimed credit for. #ctl #p2 #maddow pic.twitter.com/mArkUjor0m
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Maddow said:
This latest announcement about 1,000 U.S. troops heading over, this follows a series of increasingly dramatic accusations from the Trump administration that seem to be intended to put us on a war footing with Iran. We talked on the show late last week about the list of violent acts the Trump administration is now attributing to Iran, including at least one attack in Afghanistan in which four U.S. service members were wounded. That’s an attack for which someone else entirely, the Taliban, claimed responsibility. The Trump administration is nevertheless saying no, we think that was Iran, too. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was questioned sharply about that this weekend by Margaret Brennan on CBS News. She pointed out to him that the Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack and there’s been no evidence put forward by the administration to back up their new assertion that secretly it was really Iran who did that and that’s one of the reasons we need to be on this newly aggressive footing toward Iran. Secretary of State insisted that he can’t share the evidence, he can’t share any intelligence that gives him such confidence that Iran is actually really responsible for that attack. Not to mention all of the other attacks they put on this list to bolster the public perception that we are on some sort of escalating march to war with Iran that they are starting.
Iran is a bigger threat because of Trump
With each passing week, it becomes more clear that the president and his hawk-filled foreign policy team are eager to start a war with Iran.
While the administration is trying to craft a narrative that Iran is responsible for the escalation we have seen in recent weeks, the rising tensions were largely triggered by the Trump administration – particularly after they pulled the U.S. out of the landmark Iran nuclear agreement.
As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley noted last month, even American allies recognize that the aggression has stemmed from the White House, not the Iranians.
As a result, Iran has shown more aggression, the region has become increasingly unstable and the United States is on the verge of another war in the Middle East.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
