Watching an otherwise unremarkable Netflix action movie the other night, with this plot: a group of six non-mercenary non-soldiers, apparently hired by a billionaire who faked his death but kept control of his riches (? Don't ask; nothing else in this movie makes any sense, either) so he can fund this escapade, kidnap the brother of a despot. The brother, of course, is vaguely Middle-Eastern, as is the country his brother rules, and the kidnapped brother (taken from the refuge in Hong Kong, a la Batman in "The Dark Knight" but with even more violence and destruction of property) is a symbol/proponent of democracy. Which is why he's imprisoned in a suite in Hong Kong. Get it?Killing of Soleimani follows long push from Pompeo for action against Iran https://t.co/iyUt3yMImf— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 6, 2020
Anyway, to topple the despot, they tap into the country's TV (because despots rule by TV. No, they say that in the movie!) and put the brother on the air, where he reluctantly and meekly calls for rebellion, which is sparked immediately and within 6 hours (or less), the old is out and the new is in and peace reigns supreme and forever, especially after the despot is captured and dropped into a screaming crowd of the formerly oppressed, who proceed to kill him in ways ugly and largely unmentionable (or shown on the screen because, you know, discretion).
Why do I mention this? Because there are reports now that Pompeo has been jonesing for the destruction of Iran for some time. Pay back for some perceived slight against the US? Maybe over the embassy invasion in the '80's? Whatever it is, Pompeo has a movie villain idea of reality, in which we kill the bad guy and a thousand flowers bloom and everyone loves us.
Our experience in Iraq notwithstanding.
It occurred to me that even James Bond movies, for all their fantasy, are more realistic than this. Bond never takes on the head of the Russian government, nor even the Russian government at all. He may try to recover a bit of spy tech and play cat and mouse with Russian agents to get it; but toppling the government to save the world? Even Bond movies aren't that naive. Bond villains are usually bad guys heading up major private organizations, and the notion is you cut the head off that snake, the snake dies. But even Bond films know governments don't work that way: kill one highly placed government functionary, and cataclysm unravels as payback is demanded. Governments may play the Great Game in Bond movies, but at no time is Bond authorized to "take out" the no. 2 man in any country.
That way lies chaos. Except to Mike Pompeo, apparently.
Pompeo made very clear within hours to other administration officials that he wanted to be the face of discussing the Soleimani strike, according to several SAOs.— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 6, 2020
It was one of the relatively early Bond movies, I remember, one with Asian school girl ninja fighters or something in it that led me to realize I'd seen too many of them. Let's hope a lot of people have that experience watching Mike Pompeo as Trump's front man on this.
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