Scott Ritter (6)

2 min

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 16: Iranophobia https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritte

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 16: Iranophobia

(https://scottritter.substack.com/p/ritters-rant-016-iranophobia)

Iranophobia is a disease foisted on the American people by the government and a compliant media. The cure is information. This disease results in war. Cured, it can lead to peace

The American population, knowing nothing at all about Russia, tends to be afraid of that which they don’t know. And then this fear is exploited by the government to pursue policies that have nothing to do with addressing any real threat from Russia, but rather creating a world vision that allows the United States to continue to

fund trillion dollar defense budgets and push for alliances that make no sense in the modern era. The bottom line is the way America interfaces with the world today we need an enemy and Russia has become the convenient enemy. And therefore that’s the role played by Russophobia.

And I’ve been working very hard to address the disease of Russophobia to come up with a, with an inoculation, an antidote, a vaccine, if you may, although that’s not a popular word nowadays, but the vaccine is truth. And I’ve, traveled to russia i’ve spoken with russians i just had a uh a virtual summit uh

with russians and the whole purpose is to show the american people that the russian people are just like they are the same once desires they laugh they cry they get angry they get happy they’re just like us and the most important thing is they want a good future for their children just like we do so

Now we deal with Iranophobia. You see, the same thing’s happening with Iran. We just went to war with Iran. I know people aren’t calling it. They just say it’s an airstrike, but it was an act of war. And remember, we are partners with a nation that carried out a much more substantive series of airstrikes, Israel,

that makes us a party to that conflict, a party to their war against Iran. Now, I’m not here to take sides, although I think everybody who follows me know that I’m on the side of truth. And when it comes to the threat of Iran and a nuclear weapon, I think Iran has truth on its side.

But what I’d rather focus on is the demonization of the Iranian people and by extension, the Iranian nation by the United States government, by Israel. And given the control that Israel has over the American media and therefore the narratives that are promulgated by the media, um,

Israel has a heavy influence on what we as Americans are exposed to and how we choose to interpret them. If you’re told to be afraid of Iran, if you’re told that the Iranian people are out to kill you, shouting death to America, then you are susceptible to believing arguments put forward that the Iranians are a

threat worthy of war. And while we may have just ended a 12 day conflict with Iran, um, this war is not over. In fact, if some of the underlying issues remain unresolved, and it looks like they will regarding Iran’s nuclear program, there’s a better than even chance that American bombs dropped by either Israeli

warplanes or American warplanes will once again be striking Iranian soil and Iranian missiles will be striking Israeli soil and maybe even the soil of American bases throughout the Middle East. This is sort of one of these critical issues. We have American men and women who’ve taken an oath to defend our nation,

who wear the uniform of our armed services. And if we allow this conflict to go forward, we’re putting their lives at risk. And I think it’s important for every American to ask the question, is this conflict with Iran worthy of the sacrifice we’re asking these American men and women to make? And in order to be able to

more sagely, wisely address this question, we need to recognize that there’s a heavy bias against Iran, against the Iranian people built into how Americans consume news, the news they get, this Iranophobia. How do we address this? I mean, the cure is actually requires long-term saturation of reality-based information to the American audience

so that they can gradually overcome their irrational fears and begin to view the Iranians as people just like themselves. Ideally, this could be accompanied by trips to Iran. I have traveled to Iran. I will tell you it’s a very safe place to travel to. The Iranian people are wonderful.

They received me as an American graciously with open arms, with no hostility. And I would imagine that the Iranian people today would do the same thing. Yes, they are upset with the American government. Yes, they may go to the streets and shout death to America. But what are they saying when they say death to America?

Do they mean death to Americans like you, like me? No. What they’re talking about is a history of American violence against Iran. In 1953, for instance, the CIA acted at the behest of the British government. which took umbrage in Iran saying, hey, the oil under our soil belongs to us, not British Petroleum. So they nationalized the oil.

The British said, that’s not right. That oil belongs to us. Hey, CIA, come in and help orchestrate a coup d’etat against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mossadegh. And we did. We overthrew them. Then we brought in the Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlevi, of the peacock throne, once again reign supreme. And for the next 25,

30 odd years, the CIA worked with Reza Shah to build a secret police called the Savak, who carried out horrific crimes of oppression against the Iranian people. When the Shah was overthrown in 1979, when Iranian militants, angry at the role that America played in propping up the Shah, took over the U.S. Embassy,

they gained access to documents that spelled out in great detail the role of the CIA, the role of the United States government in facilitating these crimes against the Iranian people. Thus was born the chant, death to America. Since that time, the United States has carried out similar acts of perfidy against Iran. And Iran has responded.

And we have a situation where, you know, our two nations have engaged in direct and indirect conflict with one another. Death to America is a chant that the Iranians shout. because they are angered at the policies of the United States government, and they continue to be angered by these policies today.

But for the American people, death to America does not mean death to Americans. I can attest to that personally. And we need to get over this hurdle. We need to understand the context in which this statement is made, because if we don’t, then we just fall victim to narrative shaping by a government openly hostile to Iran,

and a media willing to be compliant in selling the government message. Death to America does not mean death to Americans. And when we talk about the Iranian people, sometimes they’re painted as very narrow minded, ultra conservative people. I mean, one of the great things right now is that we need to confront Iran for the sake of

the Iranian women. Hmm. The Iranian women, some of the best educated women in the region, some of the most cultured women in the region, who really don’t need to be rescued by the West. Oh, the hijab, we’ll say. Well, the hijab is an issue and was an issue, but less of an issue today than it was before.

After the horrific events of 2023, where a Kurdish girl was arrested for a hijab violation and died under contested circumstances in Iranian prison, Iranian society has gone through a dramatic change. Today, you’ll see women walking the streets of Tehran and other cities not wearing a hijab and not being punished by the morality police because the

Iranian government has said our society needs to move on. Imagine that, a society that needs to move on, a society that needs to adapt to modern realities. That’s Iran. And they adapt because, believe it or not, and this is something most Americans might not be aware of, Iran is a democracy, a functioning democracy, a vibrant democracy.

Yes, there’s a theocratic overlay and If you want to run for higher office, you have to go through a litmus test of testing your religious reliability. It is, after all, an Islamic Republic. But once you pass that litmus test, it’s up to the will of the people whom you elect.

And if you take a look at almost every major national election, there is a wide range of options available to the Iranian people, moderates, conservatives, people in the middle, liberals. And the Iranian people are not homogenic in terms of who they elect. They just elected a moderate president, by the way.

So it is a democracy, and we need to respect that fact. We need to respect that the Iranian people have a say in their government, and we need to trust them to put pressure on the government to make the changes they need. They don’t need our help. They don’t want our help.

All they want to do is live in peace, just like we want to live in peace. Iranophobia. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I know of Iran? And when the government tells me to not trust the Iranian government, to not trust the Iranian people, do I believe it without question?

And if the answer is yes, then you’ve been infected by the disease of Iranophobia, and you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. Then the question is, what are you going to do about it? What I would strongly encourage every American to do Study up on Iran. Reach out to Iranians. They’re out there.

In this day and age of the internet, you can speak to Iranians online. Talk to them. Ask them how they’re doing. Human to human. What’s it like in Iran? What’s life like? They may ask you questions about America. Begin this dialogue. It is essential to have a better understanding of the Iranian people.

just like the dialogue I have been pushing between the United States and Russia, the American people and Russian people is essential to have a better understanding of Russia. We must overcome these phobias that are imposed upon us by our government, by a media that seeks to push a narrative that promotes conflict over peace.

@tobararbulu # mmt@tobararbulu

uzt. 1

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 17: The Blame Game

(https://scottritter.substack.com/p/ritters-rant-017-the-blame-game)

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 17: The Blame Game

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyP2bXpP87s)

When it comes to analyzing the results of the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran, armchair warriors like to point accusatory fingers. But it is not that easy.

Transkripzioa:

0:01

[Music]

0:11

Hello and welcome to this edition of

0:13

Ritter’s Rant. Today

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we’re going to play the blame game. It’s

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a game that many people like to play. Um

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especially armchair warriors who you

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know sit safely uh far removed from uh

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battlefields and places where critical

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decisions need to be made and they seem

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to believe that they know better than

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those who were called upon to make

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actual decisions. And right now the

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blame game features heavily into the you

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know postconlict analysis of the Israeli

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Iranian conflict. Um I think a lot of

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blame is being put on the shoulders of

0:58

the Iranian leadership. There are people

1:00

who believe that um there have been just

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fundamentally bad decisions made over

1:05

the course of the past years, decades

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even. uh that you know when seen in

1:13

accumulation uh were the cause of what

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people perceived to be Iran’s defeat at

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the hands of Israel and the United

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States. Now, let’s make sure that the

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record reflects the fact that it was

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Israel that uh was pressing the United

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States for a ceasefire. And it was the

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United States that went out of its way

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to manufacture

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a uh theatrical uh set of events uh both

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an American bombing attack on Iran and

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an Iranian retaliation.

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uh both of which were telegraphed well

1:47

in advance designed not to achieve any

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casualties or even to any extent

1:53

meaningful damage. Um you know yes Iran

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agreed to this ceasefire and there could

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be no doubt that Israel landed many many

2:01

solid punches against Iran. Um, it was a

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surprise attack, a Pearl Harbor type

2:07

event. And if people want to criticize

2:09

the Iranian government for being

2:11

illprepared for, you know, this act of

2:14

perity by Israel and the United States,

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so be it. That’s fair criticism. But

2:19

many people are saying, why wasn’t Iran

2:22

prepared, more prepared militarily?

2:25

And there’s also a tendency among these

2:28

armchair analysts and wannabe generals

2:32

uh to put blame on Russia that this is

2:35

Russia’s fault. Russia should have been

2:36

there for Iran. Russia should have

2:38

provided the necessary equipment. Russia

2:40

should have been there with a treaty

2:42

relationship. But what people don’t

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understand is that so uh Iran is a

2:46

sovereign nation, a very sovereign

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nation that possesses a lot of pride.

2:52

Um, Iran is not a nation that has a

2:55

tendency to become uh tied up in in

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entangling uh treaty related relations

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when it comes to its own self-defense.

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And Iran made a decision a while back

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that it alone would be responsible for

3:09

the defense of Iran. Russia did not give

3:12

any false promises. In fact, Russia and

3:15

Iran when they signed a uh strategic

3:18

framework agreement last January, um the

3:21

agreement was spelled out in great

3:23

detail what obligations Russia incurred

3:26

and what obligations Russia did not

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incur. Um and it should also be noted

3:31

that Russia cannot incur any obligations

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until

3:35

the treaty has been ratified by the

3:37

legislative bodies of both nations. And

3:40

while Russia moved forward to ratify

3:42

this legislative body, Iran did not.

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Indeed, it was only after Israel

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attacked Iran that the Iranian

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Parliament decided that they would

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ratify this legislation. So, what was

3:53

Russia to do? What was Russia to do? And

3:57

yet, it’s Russia’s fault that there are

3:59

no SU35 squadrons over the Iranian

4:02

airspace. Russia’s fault that Iran isn’t

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peppered with S400 or who knows even

4:07

S500 surfaceto-air missile systems. It’s

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Russia’s fault that Israel was able to

4:13

achieve the successes it did. Russia’s

4:16

not to blame for any of this. Um, you

4:19

know, if people want to criticize, you

4:21

know, negotiations and such, remember

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it’s a two-way street. Russia and Iran

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have shown that they have the ability to

4:29

move forward rapidly on uh in in

4:32

circumstances uh where both parties are

4:35

in agreement. For instance, example the

4:38

issue of the drones. There was no doubt

4:41

that Russia faced a drone crisis um in

4:45

the months following the initiation of

4:48

the special military operation. Russian

4:50

general officers will admit our drone

4:52

doctrine was out of date. uh we were not

4:54

prepared for this new reality. And I’m

4:56

talking about prefamicazi

5:00

small drones. I’m talking about Turkish

5:03

drones flying over with rockets firing

5:05

down. The Russians weren’t ready for

5:06

that reality. Um and then when Russia

5:10

had to deal with, you know, a Ukrainian

5:12

integrated air defense that incorporated

5:15

some of the best technology that NATO

5:17

could provide, uh Russia found that it

5:19

lacked a doctrine suitable for this

5:21

task. Russia came up with a concept, but

5:24

that concept required a different weapon

5:26

system, one that Russia did not have.

5:29

So, Russia turned to Iran and Iran

5:32

stepped up and provided Russia with the

5:35

assistance that was needed. It was a

5:37

mutually agreeable relationship. Uh, and

5:41

both parties were satisfied by this

5:43

relationship. But understand it was a

5:46

limited scope and scale relationship.

5:48

Just because Russia and Iran agreed on

5:51

the provision of drones doesn’t suddenly

5:52

mean that Russia and Iran are the

5:54

world’s best friends and everything just

5:56

happens automatically. No, there are

5:59

treaties. There are agreements. This is

6:01

about law. And Russia and Iran had a lot

6:05

of negotiations to do. Now, Russia did

6:07

seek to move forward, I believe,

6:09

aggressively with Iran, trying to build

6:11

a defense pact that would have Russia

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incur certain responsibilities to

6:16

include perhaps the rapid uh provision

6:19

of specific weapon systems. It was Iran

6:22

that said no. It wasn’t Russia that said

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no. Russia was saying we’re willing to

6:27

do this. Iran said we don’t want that.

6:30

We will take care of our defense

6:32

ourself. And that’s why the January uh

6:37

uh strategic framework agreement did not

6:39

have a mutual defense clause did not

6:41

have secret memorandum for the transfer

6:44

of equipment um because Iran didn’t want

6:48

it. So who’s to blame and why is there

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blame attached? Because again let’s talk

6:54

about political reality here. Vladimir

6:56

Putin, the president of Russia, has said

6:58

that when it comes to Iran and Israel,

7:00

this is an extraordinarily complicated

7:03

situation for Russia. Yes, Russia views

7:06

Iran as a strategic partner. A strategic

7:09

partner. Iran is a member of bricks and

7:12

Russia was instrumental in bringing Iran

7:16

into the bricks form. Russia has signed

7:18

an agreement the north south economic uh

7:21

corridor agreement linking Russia with

7:23

Iran through rail traffic and uh and

7:26

seabor traffic. This is of the utmost

7:29

importance for Russia economically and

7:31

geopolitically. Uh Russia views Iran as

7:35

a friend and even an ally. But you can’t

7:38

be an ally in the sense of the

7:42

classical, you know, we come to your

7:44

mutual defense unless there’s a treaty

7:46

attached. And Iran did not want this

7:49

treaty. Russia has said Israel is a

7:52

nation that has 20% of their population

7:55

speaking Russian. And if you go back to

7:57

2005 and listen to the speech made by

8:00

Vladimir Putin, the the infamous speech

8:03

in the west, the one where he said that

8:05

um the greatest calamity of the last

8:08

century was the collapse of the Soviet

8:11

Union. Everybody jumped on that to say,

8:12

“Aha, Vladimir Putin wants the Soviet

8:15

Union to come back.” Listen to the rest

8:17

of the speech. He said, “Because

8:20

overnight,

8:21

tens of millions of Russians became

8:24

homeless.” And Vladimir Putin went on to

8:26

describe his responsibilities as the

8:29

president of the Russian Federation, as

8:31

the president of the Russian nation. And

8:34

the Russian nation is beyond the borders

8:38

of the Russian Federation. The Russian

8:39

nation is a collective of people who

8:42

have shared history, language, culture,

8:45

religion. And when you take a look at

8:47

the Russian immigrants to Israel, they

8:50

are an extension of the Russian nation.

8:53

And Vladimir Putin has said so. It

8:56

doesn’t mean he’s a Zionist. It doesn’t

8:57

mean that he has caved into Israel. It

8:59

means that Russian President Vladimir

9:01

Putin is consistent in his application

9:04

of the term the Russian nation, the

9:07

Russian people. So imagine yourself

9:10

being an Iranian leader now and you’re

9:13

saying, “Do we want Russia to be our

9:15

strategic partner in any potential

9:16

conflict with Israel?” knowing that

9:19

Russia views Israel as an extension of

9:22

the Russian nation. Not that Russia

9:23

would fight against Iran on behalf of

9:25

Israel, but any conflict between Iran

9:28

and Israel would invariably lead to

9:30

Russian diplomatic intervention as early

9:32

as possible because Russia would want to

9:34

limit the harm done to the Russian

9:37

nation. So from an Iranian perspective,

9:40

you don’t want that kind of limitation

9:42

built in.

9:45

And so they said no. But they didn’t say

9:47

no in a vacuum. You see, Iran has been

9:50

preparing for this conflict since 2005

9:52

2006.

9:54

You know, the United States made it

9:56

clear after 9/11. There’s the famous uh

9:59

quotation of General Wesley Clark uh the

10:02

former commander of US forces in Europe

10:03

who said he was in a meeting with Paul

10:05

Wolawitz where they talked about seven

10:06

nations being overthrown by the United

10:09

States. Iran was number seven on that

10:11

list. And in 2005 2006, the United

10:14

States government, George W. Bush, with

10:17

Dick Cheney, the vice president looming

10:20

in the background was saying, “We’re

10:21

going to move on Iran.” And Iran took

10:24

that seriously. Many people forgot that

10:26

in March of 2006, Iran shut its nation

10:29

down, fearing an imminent American

10:31

attack.

10:33

And they divided their nation into 57

10:35

military districts, each of one of which

10:37

was supposed to be organized to survive

10:39

two years independently in case of an

10:41

invasion and occupation.

10:44

And Iran has been preparing ever since

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that time for 20 years to fight the very

10:49

war that took place over the course of

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those 12 days. So it’s not as though

10:53

Iran was defenseless. Iran had a plan.

10:55

They had a strategy. They were ready for

10:58

this conflict. They weren’t ready for a

11:01

surprise attack. Nobody ever is. And the

11:04

Israelis had prepared a hell of a

11:06

surprise attack. There’s a saying, no

11:08

plan survives initial contact with the

11:10

enemy. The Iranians had a plan, but it

11:13

would came time for the war with Israel.

11:15

That plan didn’t survive. Iran had to

11:17

adapt. In adapt they did. And for 12

11:20

days, Iran carried out a retaliatory

11:23

campaign that brought Israel to its

11:26

knees. that compelled Israel to make a

11:28

phone call to the United States begging

11:30

for the United States to facilitate a

11:32

ceasefire. So Iran did not lose this

11:35

war. Iran may not have won this war in

11:38

the traditional sense of the word, but

11:41

Iran certainly defended itself

11:43

adequately.

11:45

So now we come back to these armchair

11:47

generals and these armchair warriors

11:50

trying to find blame. There is no blame.

11:54

War is hellish business. People die.

11:58

Equipment is destroyed.

12:02

It never ends the way people thought it

12:04

would end. And now Iran’s in the

12:07

business of re-evaluating, reassessing

12:10

what it can do, what it can’t do, what

12:13

might happen, and they’re creating

12:14

another plan.

12:16

But be rest assured that if and indeed

12:20

when Israel and Iran go back to war,

12:23

whatever plan Iran is developing at this

12:26

moment in time won’t survive the first

12:29

day. Iran will have to adapt. They will

12:32

have to uh find alternative mechanisms

12:35

moving forward as all militaries do.

12:38

This is the natural state of event. It

12:40

doesn’t mean the Iranians were

12:41

illprepared and it damn sure doesn’t

12:43

mean the Russians betrayed Iran. And now

12:46

look, you know, Iran has sent a

12:48

delegation to China. And I’m sure

12:50

whatever happens, there will be people

12:52

who say, “Well, the Chinese now have

12:54

betrayed Iran.” No, nobody’s betraying

12:57

anybody. This is just a natural state of

13:00

events of affairs. It’s complicated. War

13:03

is complicated. Diplomatic relations are

13:05

complicated. It doesn’t mean people have

13:08

failed. It just means the world is a

13:11

hell of a lot more difficult to navigate

13:13

than the armchair warriors can possibly

13:16

know. Anyways, that’s been my rant.

13:18

Thanks for tuning in. I’ll see you the

13:19

next time a thought crosses my mind.

uzt. 3

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 18: Buyer’s Remorse

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritt

@tobararbulu # mmt@tobararbulu

1 h

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 19: Happy Birthday, America (No B-2’s to Israel!)

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritte

I am unapologetic when it comes to the love of my country. And I will celebrate today, not because of what America necessarily has done, but because of what America has the potential to be. We stand for something that could be great. And we have a lot of work to do to make it great.

But the first thing that has to happen is that we have to learn to love our country for what it is, a nation defined by the Constitution, by the rule of laws, by the importance of individual liberties, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are some of the foundational values we have, you know,

that all men and women should be treated equal, that we are one. in the eyes of our creator, that there is no class. There’s no upper class, lower class. We’re all the same. These are things that we should aspire to, even though we may not have yet reached them collectively. But it begins with people loving America,

loving their nation, which now brings me to the topic at hand. We have two Americans, Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, who have put forward a bill, it’s called a bipartisan bill because one’s a Democrat, one’s a Republican,

that seeks to give the President of the United States the authority to transfer to the state of Israel B-2 bombers and GBU-57 bunker-busting bombs. These are the weapons combination that was used by the United States to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure late last month. The B-2 bomber, let me just remind people,

is one of the most highly classified weapons programs in the history of the United States, even though it’s been around for some time. The specific chemical composition of the radar absorbing material that coats the surface of this aircraft and the processes through which this material is attached to the airframe remain some of the most highly classified,

highly sensitive information in the United States. And we have two ostensible representatives of the American people, seeking to transfer this technology to a foreign entity, the state of Israel. Now there’d be some people out there and say, well, wait a minute, isn’t Israel our ally? Ostensibly.

I mean, it is an ally after all that attacked the USS Liberty in June of 1967. Um, That sort of raises some questions, but there’s other things that come up. I mean, I have talked before about how the Israelis treated US Marines in the 1980s when

the Marines were sent to Beirut to help safeguard the PLO as they were being evacuated per peace agreement. The Israelis insulted a Marine officer, threatened Marines with physical violence. Is that the action of an ally? remind people of jonathan pollard the uh american intelligence analyst who stole the most sensitive secrets of the United States,

the so-called crown jewels of the American intelligence community, a book that detailed every frequency that the United States monitored globally, how we monitor, what systems, including some very expensive satellite systems. It described the encryption that’s used in these different communications mechanisms, frequencies, and whether or not the success of the United States in breaking these codes.

know the the data contained in this book cost the american taxpayers literally billions of dollars to assemble and uh it allowed the united states to gain critical insights into the actions of its enemies to predict what the you know the enemy might be doing so that decision makers could make adequate decisions in

response to preempt potential war potential conflict to make america and the world we lived in safer And John F. Pollard stole this and gave it to the Israelis. Now, why would the Israelis need this if they’re our true friend and ally? Well, the answer is clear.

They then sold it to the Soviet Union in exchange for favorable immigration status. Is this the action of a friend? Today, the world is abuzz about the J-10 fighter. China’s, you know, one of China’s newest fighters proved itself in combat, flown by Pakistani pilots against India, shot down the French Raphael,

and now could be arming the Iranian Air Force as we speak. Reports speak of up to 40 J-10 fighters being sent from China to Iran. The J-10, hmm. Could it be that the J-10 is actually a derivative of the Israeli Lavi fighter, a fighter that was being produced jointly by the Israelis in the United States in

the 1980s, making use of F-16 technology? The United States had said that it will provide Israel access to this technology so long as it’s not shared with any foreign partner. But then why did a Lavi fighter end up parked on a Chinese airfield? at the research facility of the Chinese aircraft company that today is building the

J-10 fighter. Yes, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen. The United States ostensibly could be facing Chinese military technology of an advanced nature that could put American lives at risk. And this technology was provided to China by our close friend and ally, Israel. and now we want to give them B-2 bombers.

Do you think for a second Israel will respect any declaration we make regarding non-transferability of this technology? They have never respected it in this past, and they will never respect it in the future because Israel doesn’t exist to be the friend of the United States. Israel exists to promote Israel. Again,

These are the people who spied on the White House. The Barack Obama presidency discovered dozens of listening sensors in the White House installed by Israeli agents, many of whom worked for the United States government, worked for the White House, installed in the periphery around the White House to monitor the communications and

activities of the president of the United States. Does a friend do this? And the answer is no, not at all. And that’s my rant. Why are we doing this? Why is America becoming subservient to a nation that doesn’t have our best interests in mind? There’s a reason why Donald Trump, as a candidate, as a president-elect,

reposted Jeffrey Sachs’ videos criticizing Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, noting that it was Israel that dragged the United States into endless conflicts in the Middle East that cost us trillions of dollars of treasure, thousands of lives, wars that weren’t fought for the national security of the United States, but furthering the notion of a greater Israel.

This is not what Americans should die for. And giving Israel the most advanced technology in the American military arsenal is not something the U.S. taxpayer should support. Happy Fourth of July. And remember, it’s about the birth of the American nation, the United States of America. It’s not about furthering the interests of a foreign entity named Israel.
This has been my rant. I’ll talk to you next time an idea crosses my mind.

@tobararbulu # mmt@tobararbulu

1 h

Demons

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritte

@tobararbulu # mmt@tobararbulu

orain

Ritter’s Rant Ep. 20: All Revolutions Fail

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritte

being revolutionary in nature, I bought into the promises of change. This is a man who claimed he had learned his lessons during his first term, both in terms of foreign policy and domestic policy. And he was talking about cleaning house on both fronts. I mean, we were going to get an all new foreign policy,

an America first agenda that talked about decoupling ourselves from foreign entanglements no new wars. Yes, peace through strength, but an emphasis on peace. And I thought that was a good idea. We were also told he was going to clean house here in America, get rid of the deep state.

I mean, it was after all the deep state that targeted him repeatedly in the lead up to the 2016 election, the deep state, which he claims stole the election from him in 2020. And it was the deep state that tried to prevent his reelection in 2024.

The deep state is responsible for all that, you know, ails America, according to Donald Trump. And he was going to not just drain the swamp. He was going to take the whole deep state down. I mean, gosh, wasn’t that what the Department of Government efficiency was all about? You know,

Elon Musk’s brainchild to go in there and find the inefficiencies in government to save the American taxpayer hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars from fraud, waste and abuse. This was revolutionary, and I bought into it. Shame on me. I mean, in retrospect, I should have known better.

So should all of Americans who bought into this grift. Donald Trump isn’t here to have revolutionary change. Donald Trump is here for more of the same. I mean, let’s take a look at the decoupling that he wanted to do from the entanglements of conflict. We’re knee deep in the Middle East wars.

We are facilitating an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. that is costing America not just billions of dollars, but it’s costing America its soul, its reputation, the very thing that’s supposed to make us different from others, values. We have no values if we’re supporting Israel’s genocidal policies against the Palestinians. Look at the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

We started that war. No, let me correct the record. Donald Trump started that war. This was Donald Trump’s war. In Donald Trump’s first term, he began providing the Ukrainians with lethal munitions for the sole purpose of preparing their military for a force-on-force engagement with the Russians designed to evict Russia from the Donbass, evict Russia from Crimea,

to return Ukrainian nationalist control over the totality of Ukraine’s 1991 borders. Ignoring the fact that in 2014, the CIA, together with their European partners, promulgated a coup d’etat in Kiev that led to the rise in power of Ukrainian nationalists who then declared war on ethnic Russians, on Russian culture, tradition, religion, values, language,

all at the behest of the United States. Yes, Joe Biden was the president when the special military operation started. But the events that led to the special military operation were events that took place under Donald Trump’s watch. And no matter how much he tries to push off this conflict on Joe Biden, this was his war.

Therefore, his responsibility to stop it. But he can’t. He said he didn’t want to be entangled in the politics of NATO, but we’re doubling down on stupid, demanding that Europe bankrupt themselves in order to meet Donald Trump’s arbitrary figure of 5% GDP investment in militaries that For what purpose? To go to war with Russia?

He says he’s disappointed in Vladimir Putin because Vladimir Putin actually has goals and objectives that are linked to the national security of Russia, meaningful goals and objectives, and Donald Trump can’t respect that. He wants to continue the failed policies by continuing to support this Banderist ideology that’s resident in Kiev today, Ukraine.

Now, China, all I hear about is how we’re going to build up the American military to do what? hold hands and sing kumbaya with the Chinese, or to confront them militarily, another war. Everywhere we look, this president is at war. We have bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities. This was a red line. I mean, not just in terms of,

you know, what the Iranians said, but it’s a moral red line, an ethical red line. You don’t bomb nuclear facilities, especially ones that we know aren’t involved in the production of nuclear weapons. But Donald Trump did just this. He’s not a president of peace. He’s just another American warmonger using conflict around the world to generate

profits for American defense industry. This is all about making money, making money. It is a grift, a grift, and he is a grifter, and I fell for it. On the domestic side, I mean, he said rightfully, this deficit is going to kill us, $36 trillion.

And yet he just passed the big, beautiful bill, which ups the deficit to $42 trillion and more. All the cuts that were promised under the Department of Government Efficiency have been done away with. His relationship with Elon Musk on the rocks. Why? Because Donald Trump’s not out for revolutionary change.

Donald Trump’s out to make money for Donald Trump and his cronies, the 1%. He is just the same wolf in sheep’s clothing that has always stalked the American voter. The wolf of the elite, the greedy elite, who live off the hard work of the Americans without providing any aid to the Americans.

And we’re not going to get any aid. It’s all a lie. It’s all a grift. So what do we do? Well, Elon Musk has promised or proposed a third party. Now, historically, third parties haven’t been the greatest success here in the United States. We’ve seen Ross Perot burn out. We’ve seen Ralph Nader. We’ve seen Jill Stein.

They don’t work. But Elon Musk isn’t suggesting a third party to come in and seize political power. Instead, he’s looking at a third party that can create leverage between the reality that we have a uniparty system and composed of two heads of the same snake, the Democrats and the Republicans.

Donald Trump is just another part of the uniparty system. He is serving the same masters, the same masters American presidents have always served. There’s nothing revolutionary about his presidency. It’s a very sad presidency, a disappointing presidency. So maybe a third party is the way to go. Maybe we can elect enough senators and enough congressmen so that

The uniparty can’t push through big, better bills. Instead, we can create leverage to separate these two parties, to push them off against one another. And maybe, maybe plant the seed of a real revolution. A revolution that means something. A revolution of change. A revolution that restores America to its traditional values.

Because that’s not where we’re getting with Donald Trump. Donald Trump, the revolutionary? No. As George Orwell said, all revolutions fail. They just don’t fail in the same way. Donald Trump’s revolution was a grift. The grift that I and millions of other Americans fell for. but the wool has fallen from our eyes and we see things clearly now.

@tobararbulu # mmt@tobararbulu

10 h

Ritter’s Rant 021: Friendship

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottritte