THINGS ARE VERY CLOSE TO WAR BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper declared that “the game has changed,”  threatening a US preemptive attack on Iran.  He said that the US already has “some indications out there that they may be planning additional attacks.”  Esper also blamed the protests at the US Embassy in Baghdad on Iran, saying that “Iranian-backed Shia militia members showed up wearing their uniforms.” The protests were a response to the US attacking Iraqi militia sites, so indeed many of the protesters were from that same militia. By claiming the Iraq militia is “Iranian-backed,” then blaming Iran for the protests, then threatening to attack Iran if they think the militia is going to retaliate for being attacked, all adds up to the U.S. plan to inject itself into a deliberately-provoked war with Iran.