Thread by @StefSimanowitz

Over the last 24 hours #Trump has sacked the entire Pentagon civilian leadership

Mark Esper was fired by tweet on Monday & replaced with Miller

Over the last 72 hours, Trump has also sacked the heads of the agencies that oversee nuclear weapons & electricity/natural gas supply.

https://twitter.com/rabrowne75/status/1326284851268489217

In addition, Ezra Cohen-Watnick ex aide to #Trump’s 1st national security adviser, Michael Flynn HAS JUST BEEN APPOINTED undersecretary for intelligence

Cohen-Watnick is a Trump loyalist & was backed by Bannon & Kushner when McMaster tried to push him out
google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.thea…

Ystdy, Devin Nunes' aide Michael Ellis got a key position NSA general counsel. He’s faced accusations of politicizing intelligence

Today, Nunes aide Kash Patel involved in Ukraine scandal & in discrediting the Russian investigation, went to the Pentagon.
wsj.com/articles/white…

General Anthony Tata, has moved into the Pentagon's top policy role, taking over the duties of James Anderson, who resigned on Tuesday

Tata’s nomination for secretary of defense for policy over the summer was withdrawn because of bipartisan opposition.
cnn.com/2020/11/10/pol…

As well as John Anderson, #Trump has also fired Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Joseph Kernan & Pentagon Chief of Staff, Jen Stewart

There is speculation Deputy Secretary of Defense, David Norquist, could be next on #DonaldTrump target list.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has repeatedly said the military will have no role in the elections, had a meeting with joint chiefs & combatant commanders around the world in the wake of Esper being fired

Will Miller be fired next? axios.com/milley-tv-anch…

Mark Milley isn’t in the chain-of-command & is duty bound to follow orders from his civilian superiors

As Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff he only has an advisory not an operational role

If Trump refuses to leave office the military's loyalty to the US Constitution may be tested.

In theory, Trump will be forced to leave office on Jan 20 whatever Christopher Miller says.

But Presidents transmit military orders through the secretary of defense. If Trump wanted to launch an invasion in his final days, would Miller slow that process? slate.com/news-and-polit…

Whilst, the removal of US military leadership 71 days before #Trump is due to leave office may look like the start of a coup, it could also be preparation for a military strike against Iran

It’s been on the back-burner for a long time

These ‘Rapture’ SOBs came close on January.

https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1213415294468808704

On 3 January 2020, Trump almost sparked conflict with #Iran with the assassination of Gen Soleimani

Any ‘clash’ with Iran, say in the Strait of Hormuz, could quickly escalate

In the dying days of his presidency in 2008 Bush was keen air strikes on Iran. But our protest was loud

https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1326313788983963649

In the final days of his presidency, Richard Nixon was drinking heavily.

His defense secretary quietly asked the Joint Chiefs to inform him if they received any “unusual orders” from the White House.

If the military receive orders that will escalate tensions with Iran, RESIST.

"When Jim Anderson was fired yesterday as Acting Under Secretary for Policy, he was given a 'clap-out' as he left the building. The WH called to request names of any political appointees who joined in so they could be fired."

Vital #THREAD by @BillKristol

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1326526284625743872

This appears to be the first part of a well-organised "Plan B", to be rolled out if #Trump lost #Election2020:

1) Replace military chiefs
2) Clash in the Strait of Hormuz / Provocative or retaliatory missile strikes (e.g. Soleimani)
3) Military strike on #Iran
4) Biden handover

We know now just how close the US came to attacking Iran in 2007/8

During the dying days of George W Bush's presidency, the fear was the hawks would push him into war

I even wrote this spoof "Dubya Diary" (with a help from the late, great Terry Jones).
newint.org/columns/essays…

"If he Donald Trump thinks he is going down, he is going to try to take all of us down with him." @MaryLTrump

"Another big concern regarding Trump's new military obsession is what @leahmcelrath calls 'annihilatory rage'". @sarahkendzior

"I'm not a good loser" @realDonaldTrump

The Trump administration, in coordination with Israel & other Gulf States, will impose a new set of sanctions on Iran every week until 20 Jan

Enforcing harsher sanctions requires US & UK navy to be more active in the Strait of Hormuz, checking cargo etc.
axios.com/trump-administ…

Enforcing sanctions through high-seas inspections of ships entering or leaving #Iran is where the dangers arise, particularly if Iran decides they will not allow inspections of Iranian boats

Skirmishes with the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Hormuz have a tendency to escalate.

“The plan is apparently to replace Haspel, Wray, Nakasone & do a dump of classified intel that causes chaos & damages US interests” @davetroy

This “purge is deeply dangerous to our national security - promoting a known racist Islamophobe” @SenBlumenthal
politico.com/news/2020/11/1…

The “threat posed by Iran” narrative may be bolstered by news stories about Iran as an imminent nuclear threat

A story today reveals #Iran is breaching IAEA rules with its stockpile of low-enriched uranium

But it it’s important to remember LEU is only used to produce fuel.

These stories appear menacing but, under the nuclear deal, Iran is allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67%

The IAEA says in some cases it was enriched to 4.5%

This is LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants

Weapons-grade uranium is 90% enriched or more

https://twitter.com/bbcworld/status/1326747227004481536