Trump to Designate Iranian Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Organization, Rubio Wants Same for Entire Venezuela Government

Agencies:

The Trump administration is preparing to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a “foreign terrorist organization,” an unprecedented move against a national armed force that could have widespread implications for US personnel and policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

It would be the first such designation by any American administration of an entire foreign government entity, although portions of the Guard, notably its elite Quds Force, have been targeted previously by the United States.

It’s unprecedented because it’s so bewilderingly stupid that no one has ever done it before. Obama and Bush jr. both declined. The Pentagon opposes it because it makes contact in some potential future conflict to arrange prisoner exchanges and the like illegal, and because Iran will now likewise declare branches of the US military terrorists and its troops won’t be entitled to POW treatment either:

The Pentagon and US intelligence agencies have raised concerns about the impact of the designation if the move does not allow contact with foreign officials who may have met with or communicated with Guard personnel. Those concerns have in part dissuaded previous administrations from taking the step, which has been considered for more than a decade.

It was not immediately clear whether the designation would include such carve-outs.

If declaring a 120,000-strong branch of the Iranian Armed Forces a “terrorist organization” wasn’t stupid enough Rubio want’s the same for the entire Venezuelan government:

The #MaduroRegime is not government of #Venezuela. I just asked @StateDept & @USTreasury to designate regime a Transnational Criminal Organization & to designate both the regime & the armed ‘colectivo’ gangs it controls as Foreign Terrorist Organizationshttps://t.co/owGv1rD9hz

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 5, 2019

When internationally-recognized states with a seat at the UN, can be designated “foreign terrorist organizations” what does that word even mean anymore?

It means someone the Imperial capital really, really doesn’t like.