The only people who think Trump wants to start a war with Iran are Iranian ideologues and Trump haters. Hmm.... Why are they saying the same things? Maybe they are colluding with each other? Hmmm.....
Time to get a taste of your own medicine Trump haters....
Yes and that same terrorist who was under the U.N. travel ban continued to be allowed to move about during the Obama administration. Trump finally enforced the ban.
The Iranians don't want to go to war with us. We would take out their oil fields and they would be economically toast in a matter of weeks. They have high unemployment, falling standard of living and lack of freedom. They have oil and sand....and nobody will pay anything for their sand....LOL. How many people would even fight for that government?????
The Iranian regime has to save face, there will be a counter punch. Obviously they don't want to get into a traditional shooting war with us so it will be interesting to see how hard they go and in what direction. Do they go after a tanker in the Strait, or a cyber attack or more likely a bomb somewhere that takes out an Ally and puts us in a bad spot, we can't guard against all of that. The one upmanship war has begun and who knows where it will end.
^You're the same type of person who wouldn't have been for stopping Hitler's armies from entering the Rhineland, because you'd be afraid to escalate the situation.
Sometimes an enemy gets emboldened due to a LACK of military action. Look what happened after Obama refused to act when Assad crossed the infamous "red line."
Two opinions, one laudatory, one critical, written by people who know a lot, unlike us.
Based on these columns, I don't see this turning into a full-scale war, but I think things will escalate, as mentioned in one of the columns, with Iran's use of terror networks and military proxies and with the US using more conventional military means to attack strategic Iranian targets. But things will eventually die down, with negotiations to end hostilities and possibly begin work on a new diplomatic agreement being brokered by the European Union or Arab intermediaries. I think we will make our point to Iran that we won't tolerate the further death of Americans and destruction of American property. This is a red line they were crossing with impunity the last month or so, and they needed to be pushed back, without any doubt.
I think those are both well written pieces with valid thoughts. My issue with Mr. Dunne’s critical piece is he is making assumptions simply because he hasn’t been made privy.
It is clear that the Pentagon, the State Department and the Intelligence Community were all involved. Because Mr. Dunne isn’t aware of the “endgame,” plans and discussions doesn’t mean they haven’t happened. Love or hate Trump... he is very reactionary in his rhetoric... but not at all reactionary when it comes to military action. As a matter of fact, listening to General Wesley Clark and Vice Admiral Malloy, he has shown great restraint and regularly uses information from direct contact with those leading field operations balanced with State Department input.
It seems silly to think that Trump, the State Department and the Intelligence apparatus would explain their plans and strategies to the media. Lindsey Graham said he was briefed last week about the possibility of such action. So this was not a knee-jerk... “I’m pissed... where’s that button” reaction.
Iran knows it would be suicide to shoot it out with us. If i wanted to take on the USA I'd shut down power grids, I'd attack the banking system, spread computer virus in government computer networks, and shut down airline reservation systems. Im sure if iran starts this kind of attack the rest will pile on. We'd be fucked.
There exist numerable definitions and levels of war, both authorized and unauthorized by Congress. So, it depends on your definition of "war".
The last time we declared war was 1942, lol. But, we've had a bunch more "authorizations" since then and some "wars" with nothing at all but a presidential order.
Invasion of Iran/regime change a la Iraq? Not gonna happen. Iran has a large young population that would love regime change but not from the US. We broke Iraq and now own it, we don't want to double down at this point.
Continued sand kicking in each other's face? Oh yeah, that's as certain as a retirement/return to HX.
In the past, nuking the country to glass, painting on some lines and using it for a parking lot was preferred. In light of the Amazon economy and nobody goes to the mall to park, that would be a waste of some perfectly good nukes today.
Any astute reader of the history of Iran's state-sponsored terrorism as a way of striking the west understands that "war" as it is defined typically and practiced by the USA historically is not the likely outcome.
They've already appointed a replacement for Quassem Soleimani; his name is Esmail Qaani, who is well-known to US intelligence.
Iran cannot meet us carrier for carrier, bomber for bomber, missile for missile.
What they CAN do and have done is in line with what's called asymmetric warfare, which is when one combatant cannot match their opponent's military strength, thus employs other tactics, often deemed terror tactics by one side or the other.
The Lebanon truck bombing that killed hundreds of US soldiers during Reagan's administration, the torture killing of the CIA station chief in Beirut, the furnishing of missiles to Hamas for attacks on civilian populations -- these were the accomplishments of Iran's state-sponsored terrorism wing, The Quds Force, part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard wing -- specialists in asymmetric warfare terror methods.
It would be over-optimistic to think Iran would not use its experience in asymmetric warfare (terror) as a way to respond to the latest smack in the long and painfully dysfunctional relationship between the USA and Iran.
Trump has shown a degree of restraint. He stopped an airstrike as a response for Iran destroying one of our drones, because it seemed excessive taking lives for the loss of a piece of hardware. He only committed to taking lives when they killed one of ours.
Most of this bullshit outrage is because of hatred for Trump. He is not a war monger. He is not worried about getting reelected. He is trying to keep America and Americans safe by saying if you attack us you will pay.
Stop being a bunch of cowards. If you bow down to terror, they win.
Iran will keep pushing until someone pushes back. Most of the rest of the world must have had their balls removed, as they have not come out hard against the terror spread by the Iranian regime.
They put their heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away. Trump has the balls to say, you fuck with us, you pay.
Whether Iran uses its own uniformed military or uses proxies to kill Americans, it is still Iran killing Americans. At some point, they must be shown we have the balls to do something about it.
However, I do believe it is unfortunate that Trump acted without bringing the leaders of Congress into the loop. In Defense, CIA, etc., the President is surrounded by people who serve at his pleasure and therefore often tend to echo his own perspective.
It is good to have more than one viewpoint when considering such serious matters. Then, AFTER that, the President makes a decision. Trump tends to be impulsive. Let's all hope this is not one of those times.
On the positive side, a really dangerous monster has been slain.
bigseeker....the unfortunate thing that is now occurring in DC is that everyone 'leaks'. I can see it now.....one of the Democrats runs out of the briefing room and holds a press conference and gives the details of the operation.......
The Trump hatred is so strong, we have people who are willing to subvert our country. I am glad the operations occur in stealth mode.
It seems that dude was in Baghdad to plan more shenanigans. It was most likely a short notice window of opportunity thing. He has been in the crosshairs for many years. Obama decided not to kill him at one point. It seems to have been a mistake, but it was his call to make.
^Just to keep those informed about the news underlying KS's comments. From today's AP:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Iran stepped back from the brink of possible war on Wednesday as President Donald Trump signaled he would not retaliate militarily for Iran’s missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. No one was harmed in the strikes, but U.S. forces in the region remained on high alert.
Speaking from the White House, Trump seemed intent on deescalating the crisis, which spiraled after he authorized the targeted killing last week of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani. Iran responded overnight with its most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, firing more than a dozen missiles at two installations in Iraq. The Pentagon said Wednesday that it believed Iran fired with the intent to kill.
Even so, Trump’s takeaway was that 'Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.'"
He let them save a little face. Brian Suits said it was an arranged attack through the Iraqis.
They moved the personnel out so it could be hit without casualties. Trump could let them blow up some buildings... but would have to retaliate if they killed Americans.
We got Soleimani.
They got a few buildings.
I’ll bet they stop boarding/blocking tankers, shooting down drones and doing anything that would kill an American.
