One the thing to note about these dueling 15-point and 10-point plans, is that the precise details of both remain unreleased. A lot of fake or reconstructed versions are circulating on social media but we don't really know precisely what the US is offering or Iran is counter-offering here.
Problem is anytime the US starts talking to some Iranian, Israel kills that person. Just like what happened to JD last week. They want total dominion over the middle east and this chaos is all part of the plan. And i'd say it's working. Problem is for the rest of us there will be massive inflation and worldwide food shortages.
Do people realize the amount of fertilizer currently taken offline? Just you wait for the refugee deluge.
The US has not spoken with any Iranians so your swipe at Israel is misplaced. Perhaps if you lived in Israel you would feel differently about your friends and family getting murdered by the mullah thugs in Iran or would you remain relaxed about that? And your Calamity Jane comment is economically illiterate.
I read the article you referenced but it contains no evidence that Kharazi or any other Iranian has spoken with any US official. So my reply to you remains accurate. There is no evidence that any meeting with Vance ever occurred. And any communication between the US and Pakistan is just so much telephone tag.
Perhaps if you lived in Palestine before your homes were stolen by Zionists making an outrageous 2000 year old claim on your land, you'd feel pretty good about making life uncomfortable for the Zionist thugs with wet dreams of armaggeddon.
What a typical, Jew-hating diatribe embracing the sick, Islamic theology that the definition of stolen land is land that has once been conquered by Islam but then subsequently lost. So the Arabs still consider even Spain to be stolen land because of the Reconquista. Judea and Samaria are filled with descendants of Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese squatter who showed up once the Jews turned the Arab wasteland into a place one could live and thrive. Palestine? No such place. I would favor booting them all out. You and your kind don't like that Jews have returned to their native homeland? Do something about it. And if you try, we will kill you just the way the Israelis have been exterminating their enemies recently.
The ordeal of civility is apparently too great for you. I don't care who you are married to but if you are trying to tell me that you don't like that Jews have established the State of Israel since 1948, what does your wife think about your obvious hatred of Jews being a free people in their own land? Oh, and Zionism is Judaism. Read the Torah.
You are just offering projection, insulting my intelligence claiming that Jews are the colonists and the Arabs are the natives. The Arab invaders tried to wrest the Jews from the land in 1948 and failed and they will continue to fail. So your worldview is specious and shows that you embrace the Islamic mantra that once ours always ours. But the Israeli response to that nonsense is 'Come and take it.'
That failure to tell us what the demands are is a problem. Last time I saw a list of demands from the Iranian state, it had five points. Maybe the state added 5 more so as to have something to give up in negotiation.
Also, in agreement with Barry Isaacs, I found no indication in any news story that Iranian and US officials met. Moreover, there are two sides in this war, but each side has more than one belligerent. Hence, it is not possible to have negotiations work if only the Iranian and USA states participate.
Oh goodness, Trump is not going to use a nuclear bomb. This is so obviously "The Art of the Deal" it's not worth explaining.
IMO, here is what's really going on behind the scenes with Trump's declarations about destroying Iran.
He is going to attack critical infrastructure that creates the most pressure on the IRGC's command and control capabilities...he'll probably also attack the leadership's financial interests
The objective is to divide and conquer their "mosaic strategy" via uprisings and/or targeted military operations. The IRGC spread their forces out in Iran's 31 military provinces so the point is to cut off communication and transportation between them
This creates the pressure necessary to force IRGC leadership to make a deal or eventually collapse
All of this is legal and not a war crime even if civilians are indirectly affected
The CIA and Mossad have not been sitting idle for the last month...
This may work, or it may not...but you'd have to be stupid to think that Trump is going to spell this out for everybody. Also, regardless of what he does it's going to be reported as horrific and a genocide so he's just embracing the madman strategy at this point
Also possible he extends the deadline or does limited strikes to continue applying pressure and sowing chaos within the IRGC ranks
Where the hell did that come from...TRUMP uses 'harsh words' and boasts to conquer; he doesn't need nuclear weapons. He is a pompous, posturing braggart...TRUMP himself is the prototypical empty suit! It is sad that America cannot produce better.
Oh jeez, the mean tweets complaint again, you sound just like my Aunt Irene. Remember the kind-hearted, soft spoken Pres Truman dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
I also agree with you, in a way. I would not say "great," in the way George Washington or Thomas Jefferson or James Madison were "great." But would agree with you that he is an historic individual, even a mythic one. He will be remembered as long as history is being written.
“I think Trump may be one of those figures in history who appears from time to time to mark the end of an era and to force it to give up its old pretences. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows this, or that he is considering any great alternative. It could just be an accident.”
Me: he is unorthodox but I think he has a plan, he acts intentionally, so I don’t see his transformative impact as an accident.
“Obama offered inspiration through performance in a way that seems Millennial. Trump offers authenticity through chaos in a way that seems Zoomer. Obama shows up like the front page of the New York Times: edited, polished, professional. Trump shows up like someone in the comments section: blunt, emotional, and unpredictable”
Donald Trump is President of the United States and talks like a damned THUG. It's not cute or charming when he uses the "f" word on Easter Sunday or insults another world religion. He is the UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, not a mafiosi.
He has the privilege of being thuggish. His enemies festooned him with -- 34, was it? -- bullshit "felonies," then still couldn't suppress his voter popularity. So now we have a gangster president. Be careful what you wish for, Democrats.
He has every right to be furious, especially since they attacked his family and invaded his home and subjected him to multiple fake lawsuits and criminal charges. But vindicated himself with the help of the American people, who supported him and came to the polls for him.
Being out-of-control angry is another matter. A truly great man exercises self-restraint. This is the key feature of what I call Real Men. They can be dangerous when called for, but have a fine sense of self-control.
A man whose wife is unfaithful is justified in his anger. He is not justified, nor does it speak to his character, if he kills her. "Anger" does not justify brutishness. Ever.
Yes, I had considered that, and the effects of not sleeping. But I am still a firm believer in self-control, self-restraint, and as the US President, he should be exhibiting these traits. I fear that those who surround him know this full well, but that they are intimidated of him, and those not intimidated are guiding him. I also think that the Trump we are seeing now has, to use an outdated phrase, lost his marbles. He wasn't always like this.
He actually talks like he’s from Queens. He is, but became a real estate mogul and then actor in Manhattan before winning his first election for President. He’s not changing his accent to make people like him. He’s from Queens, and his accent has served him well.
But if he is the US President, he should behave with respect, self-restraint, self-control, and at least a degree of dignity. He is capable of that. Unless he is some kind of idiot, which I don't think he is.
No he's not a mobster. You are right about that. The mobsters make up the other party, the Democrats. Liars, election fraudsters, money launderers, racketeers, propagandists, Marxists, Socialists, elitists, profound racists.
He's talking trash for the benefit of the nitwits in the media. I'd wager that the Iranians aren't the least concerned -- they're happy to engage him in a public, verbal feud. It makes them look brave and badass, too. It's a smart PR move by all involved.
He is not in a private feud. He is on the world stage, and represents the American people. He does not behave in a measured, but firm manner, of a statesman. I always thought his tweets were funny. Not this time, when a nuclear exchange could be imminent.
Also, try lowering the temperature and not calling others who disagree with you "nitwits." Difficult to engage in rational conversation when nasty names are being thrown around; that's the way of the Democrats, isn't it? Name name calling in the place of rational exchange.
Please know for sure that despite our legacy media’s opinions, the majority of Americans recognize that our President has innate abilities and intelligence that most people can only hope to possess. We have been privy to this for eight years now, even if we didn’t notice it before his first election. I’ve seen him get what he originally stated was the goal repeatedly. Likewise, once his objective is stated, it won’t change. He will get it, or walk away. President Trump’s objective in Iran was to remove their capacity to create nuclear weapons. Operation Midnight Hammer proved that, but so did Iran’s immediate return to development of the same. Iran will never develop nuclear weapons again with Trump in office. If that’s an absolute objective, the Bridges and Power plant plan will be returned to. The President has already stated before this incursion that he knows high oil prices globally may cost him the midterms, but that’s a risk he is willing to take.
I am a well-seasoned tougher than leather FREE AMERICAN who sees that this BLUSTERING BRAGGART is going to put MY NATION into the hands of the LEFTIST LOONIES for the next 30 years! I voted for your HERO all three times...this 3rd vote has proven to to be for a TURNCOAT!
Not likely? Ever heard of the "Samson option" -- which was once again referred to by Netanyahu himself recently, although it was in one of his speeches in Hebrew so the press didn't pick it up. Israel has ILLEGAL nukes, 200 to 400 of them. Never signed on to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, never allowed international inspectors (as Iran did in both cases). Not likely? I think it's very likely.
America doesn’t have inspectors. I’m not sure that’s a requirement in Israel. It was in Iran due to the JCPOA that first allowed the rogue nation to acquire nuclear weapons (and plane loads of cash from the USA).
According to NSA chief Tulsi Gabbard, who oversees 17 US intelligence agencies, Iran never had a bomb and never intended to get one. It was a religious thing for them, a "Fatwa" from the Ayatollah. It was only Bibi Netanyahu who kept repeating the same thing for the past 30 years. Who do you believe? Our own intelligence agencies -- who SHOULD be the drivers of information for our White House -- or a foreigner?
Iran signed on to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and agreed to inspections, which they accommodated. (Israel, which has 200-400 nukes, has not signed on to anything; they are the cheats.) See: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/S1_Safeguards.pdf
I know well Tulsi’s office. She is Director of National Intelligence. Insofar as having a bomb, the President decided to implement Operation Midnight Hammer due to the likelihood that the 60% enrichment of uranium was too close for comfort ( that would be for us). The Iranians were found to be enriching at the same level soon afterwards. They were at 60% before Operation Epic Fury. 14 days between America and a nuclear bomb was too close for comfort, so the Operation began. I am sure Tulsi had more to say than one sentence.
I would guess: some combination of trying to avoid squeezing the global oil supply more than necessary, and also I think the Americans want to keep Iran motivated not to mine the Strait of Hormuz.
I would also point out that most people seem to think that these tweets (or whatever they're called on TruthSocial) are meant for an American or European audience. Like his speech the other night, which said NOTHING NEW, I think this is a negotiating tactic with someone he's not naming yet to avoid derailing. "Take the deal, or when I get to the microphone tonight, it's all over..." In all of this, just remember that he sees information that we don't. It's easy for us to critique, but at the end of the day, I'm trusting that our chief executive has the best interests of this country in mind until it's definitively proven otherwise.
Yes, and I think he's got everyone's best interests at heart, long term, including even Iran's. I don't think he ever gives up hope on anyone. I see this time and again. He's also super tough, but that's to push for a deal.
I also like that there's some discipline in the administration now. No leaks, no explanations, or breathless articles and handwringing. He just does it. At bottom, he's a businessman. He's used to executing, not planning...
That is probably #3 on the list. We don’t rely on Strait oil. Thanks for realizing that we have enough leftist opinions in the USA. Substack is a return to sane thinking usually.
There is no reason to be hostile, I am trying to explain why the US has allowed Iranian ships to transit the Strait. Also we might want to explain why the US lifted sanctions on Russian oil. The reason for both is that oil is a globally traded commodity and you don't have to rely directly on the Strait to feel economic repercussions from an oil shortage. The US is indeed somewhat protected here but nobody can be entirely insulated because we all participate in a global economy.
I can’t help but recognize that fact, and listen to military experts for understanding of how this situation can be fixed. This is not the only time it’s arisen. General Keane (4 Star?) was the first to address it as a problem to be solved that is not difficult, (which brought much relief.)Gen Kellog addressed it today, and so did the President talk about how the military will open up Hormuz, (if Iran doesn’t) but may choose an alternate plan.
I really need to understand what was hostile in my comment. I didn’t address the Iranian ships (or the Chinese) because I am not sure what is expected insofar as actions against ships. I do see that there are many actions that the US has held back from taking in this operation because of their 4 objectives.
I think it is fairly easy to open the Strait. (Easy as in 2 weeks of hard military work.) Not 100%, but with high confidence.
I like the Kharg Island idea, and that we control the money, and give some to the Iranian people (drop in food) and even some (food) to the regime. But cut off their money supply.
BUT: sell lots of oil leaving via the Strait. At market prices (eg, to China).
We have to think twice before attacking oil infrastructure. Iran might respond in kind - a lot of the Saudi's and other oil kingdoms' assets are within range of Iran's pesky drone bombs. Also because once Kharg Island's terminal facilities are destroyed, Trump no longer has it as a bargaining chip.
We didn’t want to ruin the infrastructure for oil until the Bridges and Power Plants phase. It is being considered now in case the Iranians do not complete the ceasefire promise.
The president of my company Khasiyar was just speaking to his mom and dad in Tehran. Their great hope is that the regular forces of the military join with the people against the IRGC and Mulahs. Apparently that’s the scuttlebutt in Tehran. As for electricity, he say hit it now, bring it to a head. The worst fear is the Mulahs retain power and commence a slaughter. There’s no going back now. The only way is to go through to the other side and keep going. No fishing in the Rubicon.
More seriously, if ground transport between the provinces is impossible, then easy to drop in the 82d Airborne and crush some local militia (eg, IRGC).
Ryan, you're one of the few who actually understands that there's a method to Trump's trash-talking, and tries to decipher it rather than immediately condemning it. Besides "Art of the Deal" bluffing, a lot of it is what I would generously call "media management"-- i.e. keeping a hostile media off-balance. This is something he's been doing (successfully, I might add) since 2016.
My own interpretation is that some of it is aimed at the deep state: the foreign policy "experts", and the military-industrial complex, as well. He wants aware of the gravity of the situation -- that it's not just a wargame, and some really bad things might happen, and if those bad things do happen, those "experts" might be held accountable.
I just don't get this. WHAT has Iran done to US? The terrorists are almost all Sunni Muslims. The "hijackers" were Saudi Arabian Sunnis. The Iranians held a candlelight vigil on 9/11 in support of Americans. They might fund Hezbollah, but Hezbollah basically fights Israeli encroachment in Lebanon. Members of the Likud party describe their enemy as "Amalek" -- ie, kill them all, annihilate them, men, women and children and their animals. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" did some investigating of Oct. 7 and it starts to look almost like a false flag. As far as Hamas is concerned, Netanyahu funded Hamas -- look it up. Watch the Israeli documentary, "The Bibi Files" which will verify this. And, if 1,500 people were killed (by whom?) on Oct. 7, why kill 60,000 (what they have admitted) non-combatants in Gaza? It looks like genocide to me. Sorry folks. I never, ever ever ever, thought I would be saying these things. But I got tired of being lied to.
Nuclear is probably on the table but that option last resort. Probably not tactical nukes but several selective airbursts (with burst altitudes low enough to have the most minimal effects on Iran's neighbors )to fry their grid with the EMP energy.
Trump is nothing if not rational. So dismiss any ideas about madness. But he is also a "riverboat gambler." Meaning he bluffs---not all the time. In fact probably relatively little of the time. But he famously covers his bets enough to make his bluffs effective...most of the time.
Sun Tzu said that the best general of all is the one who can win without fighting. Of course, the credibility of that naturally depends on a prior record of successful, impressive "kinetic performance." Trump has that, in the destruction of the drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, the lightning overthrow of Maduro in Venezuela, the attack on the Fordow nuclear facility last June, the most recent regime removal in Iran (Urgent Fury), and the massive strikes against Iranian assets in and around the Persian Gulf. These are the reasons why the world is scared shitless about what he might do in re: the power plants.
Is he bluffing or not? Everything has been leading up to this moment (which was bound to come). He's trying to pull this off like a gambler bluffing on a pair of 8's, to avoid the quagmire that will likely result if the IRGC calls his bluff. Unfortunately, I think he's got the stones to make good on his threat if the Iranians call his bluff.
As the old Chinese curse goes, "May you live in interesting times."
Some folks opine that interesting times are a curse, and some opine that they are a blessing and boring times are a curse. That's all I'll say about it for now.
I was a huge Trump fan. Loved that man. But he's lost the plot. I was never for any of these foreign adventures and now we and the rest of the world are much worse off than before. He needs to stop the psycho posts, get our troops out of the middle east, and sstop the chaos. I do not support any of this and it gets worse by the day.
I'm sure none of this will happen. We are going to waste more lives in the middle east. I did lose the plot- I genuinely thought he wouldn't go into forever wars. Turns out, DC is DC and it doesn't matter who you elect.
The very best comment in this thread! DC will always be DC...and there is absolutely ZERO CHANCE of a regular citizen having impact...either through voting, or penny ante contributions. THANK YOU for exhibiting that some can still THINK!
I visited your Substack site briefly, and although I'm urban and not trying to build a business, but it looks like I might find information I can use anyway and I'll return for more of a look.
And a missile that could go 4000 km did not? (It's not much harder, with NK technology to get to ICBMs).
Does it not seem urgent to you to deal with that? For the US?
(Yes, it is also shameful to watch the Persian people, esp the women, but terrorized and subjugated as they have been for 50 years. I hope we shall soon know how large a % hungered for freedom over these many decades. Anyway, I understand this moral calculus is hard for you. It is hard for me, too.)
Trump isn’t a politician. It’s why they have tried their damndest to cheat to get him out and attempt to lock him up and bankrupt him before 2024. He’s been through more than any single person should endure to try and get this country back on track. The problem is everything he has done to this point has been by Executive Order and many of those have been challenged in court in front of left wing activist judges. Congress has been useless as well and what we have witnessed is how the Uni-party comes together to keep the U.S. on the same track it’s been on before Trump 1. He could cure cancer and the libtards would refuse it to save their own lives that’s how deep TDS lives in the left. No politician would ever endure what he’s been through and still be standing. I’m aware it’s off topic but a politician he surely isn’t just because he’s In politics now as President. I’d argue he has never risen to the mantle of the Presidency because of his social media use but I understand why he uses it as anything he says gets overanalyzed and twisted to create a narrative that fits a certain story. I don’t think anyone loves a war but if regime change can happen in Iran and they are brought into the 21st century it will have been worth it.
Iranian 'nukes' inbound toward Tel Aviv, or Berlin and Paris...not our American problem. I voted for this posturing buffoon 3 times...he told me that he wouldn't have us in incessant wars. TRUMP LIED...he bragged and blustered his way into yet another 'War without End'. The Obama Gang...wasn't fit to lead...but either is the spoiled child Trump. Maybe these...from the Bushes on...are the brightest and best the USA can put forward, if so, the lights have been turned off in Reagan's 'Shining City on the Hill'.
"Iranian 'nukes' inbound toward Tel Aviv, or Berlin and Paris...not our American problem."
Not likely either. Tel Aviv has nukes. The French have nukes. The UK has nukes. The Germans don't, but they're NATO members, so the French and the UK (if not the USA themselves) would retaliate - in kind - immediately. That's what NATO's for.
Actually, my comment here is more a criticism of the comment _above_ yours. Sure, Kamala was dreadful; but "Iranian nukes inbound" anywhere is hyperbole.
The utterly tragic part is that the US is no more immune to batshit crazy leaders than are the rest of the west. Trump (Feb-April25) is what everyone cheered (and many voted for).
Trump 2026 is either being threatened or has lost it. I mean hanging out with Graham and retweeting Mark Levin?????????????????? Graham, Levin, and Murdoch are all never Trumpers and must be delighted to see him immolate the GOP. This time around the deep state is sitting back and watching it all unfold.
I wonder what your opinion of the leadership in Canada is. You go from the boy king to the communist banker. Did Canada learn nothing from when the US let China into the WTO?
Our leaders are just like the european ones. Total marxists who hate their own populations. Carney is just getting rich through his hedge fund (brookfield)
We just have a more Chinese flair as the CCP has every intention of using us to weaken the USA. Their might even be a Ukraine type scenario in the future. I mean nothing is off the table anymore.
No, we want a Donald who is credible enough, effective enough, and sufficiently less retarded for the dems to not have a run on the white house for the next 25 years. Instead what he is doing is ensuring a dem triple lock on the US legislature for 25 years.
Apparent, perhaps, to those who double down on non-sequiturs. Or are just tiresome, time-sucking trolls. This community is more interested in substance and insight. At any rate, I am. Now you can double down on your faux insouciance and repeat "to each their own."
First of all, who appointed you the Arbiter of "This Community", Doug?
Secondly, I practice my First Amendment rights on my terms alone, so if any or all of my posts fail to meet your lofty standards, I suggest that you just keep on scrolling....
Trump posted "a whole civilization will die tonight" and the internet decided he was threatening genocide. The same post ends with "God Bless the Great People of Iran" and "47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end."
He's talking about the regime. It's RIGHT THERE.
In the same post.
You just have to keep reading past the first sentence, which apparently is too much to ask from people who do political commentary for a living.
What nobody seems to be talking about is Iran's response to this post. Asking civilians to form human chains around power plants. To put children in front of bridges. To announce that fourteen million people have "volunteered to sacrifice their lives."
So you're OK with that, I guess?
The regime that screams "Death to America" every Friday just asked its own population to stand in front of the bombs. And somehow Trump is the monster in this scenario.
The number of cognitively impaired people screaming at the top of their lungs made the White House deny they were using nukes.
That's where we are. A man posts on social media and the entire national security establishment has to issue a statement clarifying that, no, they are not deploying nuclear weapons based on a Truth Social post.
Meanwhile, American intelligence is watching Iran scramble in real time.
Every bridge they surround with human shields is a bridge they just told the Pentagon matters. Every facility they panic-protect is a facility they just flagged on the map. The hysteria IS the strategy. It always has been.
Ten years in and people still fall for it like it's brand new every single time
We all knew Trump is a blowhard who hates showing weakness, but thankfully he seemed smart about which fights to pick. Until he went and picked the dumbest effing fight possible. He's incapable of de-escalating if he can't make himself look good, and people around the world are learning to use that to play him.
Excuse me.....Trump fans or not, he sounds completely deranged and he is also threatening with war crimes. Should someone think that morals and laws of war do not matter, that only might matters, then why (which is usual for Western countries) all this moralizing language regarding various Khameneis, Ghaddafis, Assads....Then just speak language of 18th century, we want this and that (oh wait, Trump sometimes does that).
That's not the argument I'm making. Infrastructure is an essential ingredient to weapons manufacture and the logistical means to move it into position.
I did, but I also noticed words about unconditional surrender and he apparently wasn't serious about that, either. Politicians often make the false equivalence that political system A .eq. civilization A. Trump chooses his words anything but carefully. He is an executive, not a diplomat.
it struck me here this morning...that we are about to witness HISTORY in reverse...about 2500 years ago. XERXES I, the PERSIAN KING, threatened and postured, and burned and killed, right up to gates of Athens...then the WORLD'S FOREMOST FREE city-state. He managed to set the city aflame, but then had to sit and watch as his fabulously large, and powerful NAVY was destroyed at Salamis. NOW...we have the American BRAGGART OF BRAGGARTS before the gates of NEW PERSIA...strutting and posturing, puffing out his EMPTY CHEST...and he will LOSE. He will declare an historic unprecedented victory...but WE WILL HAVE LOST! and the world will have lost
eugyppius, I'm sorry that your last piece was so attacked that you felt the need to defend it today. It was so good that I forwarded it to my family with the comment "This is about as clear-eyed an assessment of the Iran war as you'll find anywhere." And I almost never forward stuff.
I have no idea what's about to happen, but it's unsettling, to say the least.
And commonly you have no idea, until years later, whether the war was worth it.
Compared to most wars throughout History, militarily there is almost no doubt that the US will win. But will it be seen by the right people as a win? There is some doubt about that. And how will the "equal and opposite" reaction turn out? (Does this law of physics even apply here? At least in Charlie Wilson's War (film) it maybe did.)
And I can only imagine how my parents and the American people suffered for about 3 years, worrying and suffering during WW2. (Dec 1942 to May 8, 1945 - VE Day.)
Even less can I imagine England, isolated and lonely, being attacked by Hitler, with their armies losing so many battles, how they stuck through it all.
But was there a real choice? I think for them, they did not think there was. So, they persevered.
Nowadays, like some football game, we expect our Team (our nation) to win every Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, NBA Finals. Life's really not like that.
I'm an American who has been more right than wrong about Trump--it usually seems very obvious to me when he's joking, when he's bluffing, and what he thinks is essential vs. what he thinks is up for debate. I have no idea how to interpret this move and won't pretend that I do.
I hope it's a bluff/"madman strategy" type thing, but I don't know. The problem with that strategy when dealing with Iran is that they don't care. They don't care about their people, they don't care about keeping their word, they don't care about anything about their plan to eventually conquer the world even if that means there are two people left in it--one of them and one other person subject to him (and to the god they profess). I'm old enough that I've seen Iran break treaties, promises, and agreements; I've seen Iran attack and kill over and over; I've seen Iran fund terrorism and terrorists and entire terror regimes; I've seen Iran kill thousands of its own citizens. So I have no patience for anyone calling for dialogue and agreements, as if we haven't BEEN DOING JUST THAT for fifty years. That said, I don't know whether what we're doing now is a good idea or not. There are a lot of bad options, including making more treaties that no one expects to be followed and waiting for Iran to attack again. It also means Iran doing nothing and Trump doing exactly what he said.
My best guess is that Iran won't do what Trump says, and that if so, Trump won't bomb the country into the stone age but WILL bomb it a lot and say that's enough. But that's a guess.
Fair. I think Mao, from my studies, wins the Prize. Then Stalin. Hitler, comparatively was a slouch. At least by raw numbers.
Arguably "Communism" is also a kind of religion with enough zealots also.
But, Islam is famous for converting people by the sword. Not sure, over the centuries how many they have killed. Islam of course has not been this way always and everywhere. In many cases it has bred a very civil and liberal and tolerant society, at least given the century we are speaking of.
Christianity too has some bad stories. I have ancestors who were burned alive in churches in France by Catholics. Some years ago. The wars of religion.
And there are many leaders who continue to "invest" based on sunk costs (look at all the armies I have lost so far...I cannot give up the cause for THEM).
Still, Iran certainly seems to be led by irrational people now, to me.
Leaving Iran's power generation intact allows them to launch missiles, although they are now seen in smaller numbers. It will be very difficult for them continue supplying, fueling, and launching without power, and it is not clear they can otherwise provide it through generators, which themselves are vulnerable to air attack. Removal of bridges impedes response to distributed attacks from those who would overturn the regime. So it is not gratuitous destruction, as the pro-Iran Leftists such as the NY Times would have it.
It is Israel who controls the escalation ladder. Last night ahead of Trump’s (5 times-moved) deadline they attacked South Pars again. They are already attacking bridges and rail. Iran in retaliation attacked energy facilities in Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Israel has kinetically destroyed every de-escalation off ramp. Any time Trump hesitates to escalate, they pre-empt him.
I don't know who's more unpredictable Trump or who/what ever is running Iran.
I was only 10 in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, but I could tell that my mother and father and the teachers at school couldn't predict what was going to happen. This reminds of that period.
I was in college during the Cuban missile crisis. I remember watching it on the news, but the seriousness of it didn't really register. Of course I was a dumb college boy full of piss and vinegar and not the news junkie I am now. I do remember later when I found out how serious it really was, it became clear to me how much had been concealed from me by the government. We didn't have a clue.
One the thing to note about these dueling 15-point and 10-point plans, is that the precise details of both remain unreleased. A lot of fake or reconstructed versions are circulating on social media but we don't really know precisely what the US is offering or Iran is counter-offering here.
Problem is anytime the US starts talking to some Iranian, Israel kills that person. Just like what happened to JD last week. They want total dominion over the middle east and this chaos is all part of the plan. And i'd say it's working. Problem is for the rest of us there will be massive inflation and worldwide food shortages.
Do people realize the amount of fertilizer currently taken offline? Just you wait for the refugee deluge.
The US has not spoken with any Iranians so your swipe at Israel is misplaced. Perhaps if you lived in Israel you would feel differently about your friends and family getting murdered by the mullah thugs in Iran or would you remain relaxed about that? And your Calamity Jane comment is economically illiterate.
Bigotry towards Israel and the US of A is standard here in Canada. Our national broadcaster the CBC are absolute pigs.
https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2026/04/02/former-iranian-foreign-minister-seriously-injured-and-wife-killed-in-us-israel-strike/
"Kharazi was recently involved in Pakistani efforts to arrange a meeting between senior Iranian officials and US vice-president JD Vance."
Please. It's not like I'm making stuff up here.
I read the article you referenced but it contains no evidence that Kharazi or any other Iranian has spoken with any US official. So my reply to you remains accurate. There is no evidence that any meeting with Vance ever occurred. And any communication between the US and Pakistan is just so much telephone tag.
Perhaps if you lived in Palestine before your homes were stolen by Zionists making an outrageous 2000 year old claim on your land, you'd feel pretty good about making life uncomfortable for the Zionist thugs with wet dreams of armaggeddon.
What a typical, Jew-hating diatribe embracing the sick, Islamic theology that the definition of stolen land is land that has once been conquered by Islam but then subsequently lost. So the Arabs still consider even Spain to be stolen land because of the Reconquista. Judea and Samaria are filled with descendants of Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese squatter who showed up once the Jews turned the Arab wasteland into a place one could live and thrive. Palestine? No such place. I would favor booting them all out. You and your kind don't like that Jews have returned to their native homeland? Do something about it. And if you try, we will kill you just the way the Israelis have been exterminating their enemies recently.
Zionism is not Judaism...and I'm married to a Jew so put that in your ass and bounce up and down. Have a nice day!
The ordeal of civility is apparently too great for you. I don't care who you are married to but if you are trying to tell me that you don't like that Jews have established the State of Israel since 1948, what does your wife think about your obvious hatred of Jews being a free people in their own land? Oh, and Zionism is Judaism. Read the Torah.
This illustrates the point of view needed to make Zionism look humane.
It claims that the colonists are the natives and the natives are the invaders.
I respect the people who offer that argument as human beings and intelligent persons, but the argument insults our intelligence.
You are just offering projection, insulting my intelligence claiming that Jews are the colonists and the Arabs are the natives. The Arab invaders tried to wrest the Jews from the land in 1948 and failed and they will continue to fail. So your worldview is specious and shows that you embrace the Islamic mantra that once ours always ours. But the Israeli response to that nonsense is 'Come and take it.'
No one has gotten bombed in the West, you are correct, sir. Few know how to imagine walking in another's shoes anymore.
Exactly. The Israelis want chaos. They don't care about "regime change." They just want another Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Libya.
What are your thoughts on Eritrea? What does their regime want?
Weird question. I have no thoughts on Eritrea, or anything else for that matter. My dog died yesterday.
That failure to tell us what the demands are is a problem. Last time I saw a list of demands from the Iranian state, it had five points. Maybe the state added 5 more so as to have something to give up in negotiation.
Also, in agreement with Barry Isaacs, I found no indication in any news story that Iranian and US officials met. Moreover, there are two sides in this war, but each side has more than one belligerent. Hence, it is not possible to have negotiations work if only the Iranian and USA states participate.
Oh goodness, Trump is not going to use a nuclear bomb. This is so obviously "The Art of the Deal" it's not worth explaining.
IMO, here is what's really going on behind the scenes with Trump's declarations about destroying Iran.
He is going to attack critical infrastructure that creates the most pressure on the IRGC's command and control capabilities...he'll probably also attack the leadership's financial interests
The objective is to divide and conquer their "mosaic strategy" via uprisings and/or targeted military operations. The IRGC spread their forces out in Iran's 31 military provinces so the point is to cut off communication and transportation between them
This creates the pressure necessary to force IRGC leadership to make a deal or eventually collapse
All of this is legal and not a war crime even if civilians are indirectly affected
The CIA and Mossad have not been sitting idle for the last month...
This may work, or it may not...but you'd have to be stupid to think that Trump is going to spell this out for everybody. Also, regardless of what he does it's going to be reported as horrific and a genocide so he's just embracing the madman strategy at this point
Also possible he extends the deadline or does limited strikes to continue applying pressure and sowing chaos within the IRGC ranks
To be clear, I don't think a nuclear attack is likely at all.
Oh i know. That's not directed towards you in the slightest.
I think you have a thoughtful analysis, per usual.
Where the hell did that come from...TRUMP uses 'harsh words' and boasts to conquer; he doesn't need nuclear weapons. He is a pompous, posturing braggart...TRUMP himself is the prototypical empty suit! It is sad that America cannot produce better.
Oh jeez, the mean tweets complaint again, you sound just like my Aunt Irene. Remember the kind-hearted, soft spoken Pres Truman dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Trump is a great man, a man for our time. (We are not exactly a polite society)
I also agree with you, in a way. I would not say "great," in the way George Washington or Thomas Jefferson or James Madison were "great." But would agree with you that he is an historic individual, even a mythic one. He will be remembered as long as history is being written.
Henry Kissinger:
“I think Trump may be one of those figures in history who appears from time to time to mark the end of an era and to force it to give up its old pretences. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows this, or that he is considering any great alternative. It could just be an accident.”
Me: he is unorthodox but I think he has a plan, he acts intentionally, so I don’t see his transformative impact as an accident.
We used to be a very polite society. Certain members of society set the standards for the rest of us. He is setting rock-bottom standards.
Here is a clever take:
“Obama offered inspiration through performance in a way that seems Millennial. Trump offers authenticity through chaos in a way that seems Zoomer. Obama shows up like the front page of the New York Times: edited, polished, professional. Trump shows up like someone in the comments section: blunt, emotional, and unpredictable”
Jeff Giesea
Trump is the man for our time.
When were we a polite society?
Amen!
Donald Trump is President of the United States and talks like a damned THUG. It's not cute or charming when he uses the "f" word on Easter Sunday or insults another world religion. He is the UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, not a mafiosi.
He has the privilege of being thuggish. His enemies festooned him with -- 34, was it? -- bullshit "felonies," then still couldn't suppress his voter popularity. So now we have a gangster president. Be careful what you wish for, Democrats.
He has every right to be furious, especially since they attacked his family and invaded his home and subjected him to multiple fake lawsuits and criminal charges. But vindicated himself with the help of the American people, who supported him and came to the polls for him.
Being out-of-control angry is another matter. A truly great man exercises self-restraint. This is the key feature of what I call Real Men. They can be dangerous when called for, but have a fine sense of self-control.
A man whose wife is unfaithful is justified in his anger. He is not justified, nor does it speak to his character, if he kills her. "Anger" does not justify brutishness. Ever.
I guess you didn’t consider it was a one off after finishing a military marathon. The man never sleeps.
Yes, I had considered that, and the effects of not sleeping. But I am still a firm believer in self-control, self-restraint, and as the US President, he should be exhibiting these traits. I fear that those who surround him know this full well, but that they are intimidated of him, and those not intimidated are guiding him. I also think that the Trump we are seeing now has, to use an outdated phrase, lost his marbles. He wasn't always like this.
He actually talks like he’s from Queens. He is, but became a real estate mogul and then actor in Manhattan before winning his first election for President. He’s not changing his accent to make people like him. He’s from Queens, and his accent has served him well.
Agree. But that's independent of my point.
But if he is the US President, he should behave with respect, self-restraint, self-control, and at least a degree of dignity. He is capable of that. Unless he is some kind of idiot, which I don't think he is.
No he's not a mobster. You are right about that. The mobsters make up the other party, the Democrats. Liars, election fraudsters, money launderers, racketeers, propagandists, Marxists, Socialists, elitists, profound racists.
He's talking trash for the benefit of the nitwits in the media. I'd wager that the Iranians aren't the least concerned -- they're happy to engage him in a public, verbal feud. It makes them look brave and badass, too. It's a smart PR move by all involved.
He is not in a private feud. He is on the world stage, and represents the American people. He does not behave in a measured, but firm manner, of a statesman. I always thought his tweets were funny. Not this time, when a nuclear exchange could be imminent.
Also, try lowering the temperature and not calling others who disagree with you "nitwits." Difficult to engage in rational conversation when nasty names are being thrown around; that's the way of the Democrats, isn't it? Name name calling in the place of rational exchange.
TRUMPIE, TRUMPIE, THAT'S OUR MAN...IF HE CAN'T DO IT, NOBODY CAN! An insipid 13 year old junior high school has spoken! I am chastised! FO
Take your medicine. You sound like a petulant child
that's all you got?
Look me up...I've got a whole lot more twit!
Please know for sure that despite our legacy media’s opinions, the majority of Americans recognize that our President has innate abilities and intelligence that most people can only hope to possess. We have been privy to this for eight years now, even if we didn’t notice it before his first election. I’ve seen him get what he originally stated was the goal repeatedly. Likewise, once his objective is stated, it won’t change. He will get it, or walk away. President Trump’s objective in Iran was to remove their capacity to create nuclear weapons. Operation Midnight Hammer proved that, but so did Iran’s immediate return to development of the same. Iran will never develop nuclear weapons again with Trump in office. If that’s an absolute objective, the Bridges and Power plant plan will be returned to. The President has already stated before this incursion that he knows high oil prices globally may cost him the midterms, but that’s a risk he is willing to take.
And you are who?
A cartoon character, as I recall.
In reading these silly RAH RAH TRUMP posts...I have found the right crowd to hang with!
The Apprentice
I am a well-seasoned tougher than leather FREE AMERICAN who sees that this BLUSTERING BRAGGART is going to put MY NATION into the hands of the LEFTIST LOONIES for the next 30 years! I voted for your HERO all three times...this 3rd vote has proven to to be for a TURNCOAT!
Well bless your heart.........I guess........
Likely someone you disagree with…
We have produced worse for most of my lifetime.
He gets the job done.
Not likely? Ever heard of the "Samson option" -- which was once again referred to by Netanyahu himself recently, although it was in one of his speeches in Hebrew so the press didn't pick it up. Israel has ILLEGAL nukes, 200 to 400 of them. Never signed on to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, never allowed international inspectors (as Iran did in both cases). Not likely? I think it's very likely.
Then you’re being stupid.
America doesn’t have inspectors. I’m not sure that’s a requirement in Israel. It was in Iran due to the JCPOA that first allowed the rogue nation to acquire nuclear weapons (and plane loads of cash from the USA).
According to NSA chief Tulsi Gabbard, who oversees 17 US intelligence agencies, Iran never had a bomb and never intended to get one. It was a religious thing for them, a "Fatwa" from the Ayatollah. It was only Bibi Netanyahu who kept repeating the same thing for the past 30 years. Who do you believe? Our own intelligence agencies -- who SHOULD be the drivers of information for our White House -- or a foreigner?
Iran signed on to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and agreed to inspections, which they accommodated. (Israel, which has 200-400 nukes, has not signed on to anything; they are the cheats.) See: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/S1_Safeguards.pdf
Who do I believe? Seriously.
I know well Tulsi’s office. She is Director of National Intelligence. Insofar as having a bomb, the President decided to implement Operation Midnight Hammer due to the likelihood that the 60% enrichment of uranium was too close for comfort ( that would be for us). The Iranians were found to be enriching at the same level soon afterwards. They were at 60% before Operation Epic Fury. 14 days between America and a nuclear bomb was too close for comfort, so the Operation began. I am sure Tulsi had more to say than one sentence.
I know well Tulsi’s office. She is Director of National Intelligence. Insofar as having a bomb
I wonder if Trump goes after the pistachio plantations. I still don't completely understand why we are allowing Kharg Island to operate.
I would guess: some combination of trying to avoid squeezing the global oil supply more than necessary, and also I think the Americans want to keep Iran motivated not to mine the Strait of Hormuz.
I would also point out that most people seem to think that these tweets (or whatever they're called on TruthSocial) are meant for an American or European audience. Like his speech the other night, which said NOTHING NEW, I think this is a negotiating tactic with someone he's not naming yet to avoid derailing. "Take the deal, or when I get to the microphone tonight, it's all over..." In all of this, just remember that he sees information that we don't. It's easy for us to critique, but at the end of the day, I'm trusting that our chief executive has the best interests of this country in mind until it's definitively proven otherwise.
Yes, and I think he's got everyone's best interests at heart, long term, including even Iran's. I don't think he ever gives up hope on anyone. I see this time and again. He's also super tough, but that's to push for a deal.
Let's be more fair.
We are in a difficult situation. With a recalcitrant and apparently stupid enemy.
Trump surely has and will make mistakes. Some; hopefully not big ones.
But who would you rather have running the show for the West? Who from somewhat recent memory would be better? No one in the US.
Merz, Macron, Starmer? Are you kidding?
Putin? Well, given the cards he has, he does play them pretty well (as a tyrant). So, some street cred, but he's not on our side in any sense.
Ok, Churchill (from the more distant past) does come to mind. Douglas MacArthur, too. And some others. But really that's the wayback machine.
Let's hope Gen Razin' Caine and similar people give Trump good advice. I like Brad Cooper, from the videos I see.
It's obviously not meant for Americans or Europeans
Well, it reminds me that, unlike Obama, he will certainly not give away the whole store. I like THAT.
I also like that there's some discipline in the administration now. No leaks, no explanations, or breathless articles and handwringing. He just does it. At bottom, he's a businessman. He's used to executing, not planning...
Yes, that needed to be said.
As reasonable an explanation as any. The Red Chinese may be talking to him, too.
They are meeting soon. He wrote a tweet or Truth today intended for Xi.
Bingo
That is probably #3 on the list. We don’t rely on Strait oil. Thanks for realizing that we have enough leftist opinions in the USA. Substack is a return to sane thinking usually.
There is no reason to be hostile, I am trying to explain why the US has allowed Iranian ships to transit the Strait. Also we might want to explain why the US lifted sanctions on Russian oil. The reason for both is that oil is a globally traded commodity and you don't have to rely directly on the Strait to feel economic repercussions from an oil shortage. The US is indeed somewhat protected here but nobody can be entirely insulated because we all participate in a global economy.
I can’t help but recognize that fact, and listen to military experts for understanding of how this situation can be fixed. This is not the only time it’s arisen. General Keane (4 Star?) was the first to address it as a problem to be solved that is not difficult, (which brought much relief.)Gen Kellog addressed it today, and so did the President talk about how the military will open up Hormuz, (if Iran doesn’t) but may choose an alternate plan.
I really need to understand what was hostile in my comment. I didn’t address the Iranian ships (or the Chinese) because I am not sure what is expected insofar as actions against ships. I do see that there are many actions that the US has held back from taking in this operation because of their 4 objectives.
I think it is fairly easy to open the Strait. (Easy as in 2 weeks of hard military work.) Not 100%, but with high confidence.
I like the Kharg Island idea, and that we control the money, and give some to the Iranian people (drop in food) and even some (food) to the regime. But cut off their money supply.
BUT: sell lots of oil leaving via the Strait. At market prices (eg, to China).
Thanks for filling in more details, and most of all confidence that this doesn’t have to be a global problem ad infinitum.
6:45 PM Eastern standard time April 7 the news says Kharg has been taken out
We have to think twice before attacking oil infrastructure. Iran might respond in kind - a lot of the Saudi's and other oil kingdoms' assets are within range of Iran's pesky drone bombs. Also because once Kharg Island's terminal facilities are destroyed, Trump no longer has it as a bargaining chip.
We didn’t want to ruin the infrastructure for oil until the Bridges and Power Plants phase. It is being considered now in case the Iranians do not complete the ceasefire promise.
His international bosses have said NO!
?
The president of my company Khasiyar was just speaking to his mom and dad in Tehran. Their great hope is that the regular forces of the military join with the people against the IRGC and Mulahs. Apparently that’s the scuttlebutt in Tehran. As for electricity, he say hit it now, bring it to a head. The worst fear is the Mulahs retain power and commence a slaughter. There’s no going back now. The only way is to go through to the other side and keep going. No fishing in the Rubicon.
What? Divide and conquer? Better call Alexander.
More seriously, if ground transport between the provinces is impossible, then easy to drop in the 82d Airborne and crush some local militia (eg, IRGC).
Ryan, you're one of the few who actually understands that there's a method to Trump's trash-talking, and tries to decipher it rather than immediately condemning it. Besides "Art of the Deal" bluffing, a lot of it is what I would generously call "media management"-- i.e. keeping a hostile media off-balance. This is something he's been doing (successfully, I might add) since 2016.
My own interpretation is that some of it is aimed at the deep state: the foreign policy "experts", and the military-industrial complex, as well. He wants aware of the gravity of the situation -- that it's not just a wargame, and some really bad things might happen, and if those bad things do happen, those "experts" might be held accountable.
https://www.sashastone.com/p/the-end-of-civilization-that-wasnt
Trump is using the only language the people in Iran involved in the negotiation understand.
(Who are the only ones who matter. T does not negotiate to look good for Ds and anti-Ts during the process. He negotiates to achieve a result.)
The mass punditry amplified the madness of the Mad Negotiator perfectly.
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/trump-a-whole-civilization-will-die/comment/239876191
I just don't get this. WHAT has Iran done to US? The terrorists are almost all Sunni Muslims. The "hijackers" were Saudi Arabian Sunnis. The Iranians held a candlelight vigil on 9/11 in support of Americans. They might fund Hezbollah, but Hezbollah basically fights Israeli encroachment in Lebanon. Members of the Likud party describe their enemy as "Amalek" -- ie, kill them all, annihilate them, men, women and children and their animals. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" did some investigating of Oct. 7 and it starts to look almost like a false flag. As far as Hamas is concerned, Netanyahu funded Hamas -- look it up. Watch the Israeli documentary, "The Bibi Files" which will verify this. And, if 1,500 people were killed (by whom?) on Oct. 7, why kill 60,000 (what they have admitted) non-combatants in Gaza? It looks like genocide to me. Sorry folks. I never, ever ever ever, thought I would be saying these things. But I got tired of being lied to.
Nuclear is probably on the table but that option last resort. Probably not tactical nukes but several selective airbursts (with burst altitudes low enough to have the most minimal effects on Iran's neighbors )to fry their grid with the EMP energy.
C;mon man...he is already destined to be portrayed as a blustering clown...
TDS
Trump is nothing if not rational. So dismiss any ideas about madness. But he is also a "riverboat gambler." Meaning he bluffs---not all the time. In fact probably relatively little of the time. But he famously covers his bets enough to make his bluffs effective...most of the time.
Sun Tzu said that the best general of all is the one who can win without fighting. Of course, the credibility of that naturally depends on a prior record of successful, impressive "kinetic performance." Trump has that, in the destruction of the drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, the lightning overthrow of Maduro in Venezuela, the attack on the Fordow nuclear facility last June, the most recent regime removal in Iran (Urgent Fury), and the massive strikes against Iranian assets in and around the Persian Gulf. These are the reasons why the world is scared shitless about what he might do in re: the power plants.
Is he bluffing or not? Everything has been leading up to this moment (which was bound to come). He's trying to pull this off like a gambler bluffing on a pair of 8's, to avoid the quagmire that will likely result if the IRGC calls his bluff. Unfortunately, I think he's got the stones to make good on his threat if the Iranians call his bluff.
As the old Chinese curse goes, "May you live in interesting times."
Some folks opine that interesting times are a curse, and some opine that they are a blessing and boring times are a curse. That's all I'll say about it for now.
I was a huge Trump fan. Loved that man. But he's lost the plot. I was never for any of these foreign adventures and now we and the rest of the world are much worse off than before. He needs to stop the psycho posts, get our troops out of the middle east, and sstop the chaos. I do not support any of this and it gets worse by the day.
None of that will happen, sorry you lost the plot
I'm sure none of this will happen. We are going to waste more lives in the middle east. I did lose the plot- I genuinely thought he wouldn't go into forever wars. Turns out, DC is DC and it doesn't matter who you elect.
The very best comment in this thread! DC will always be DC...and there is absolutely ZERO CHANCE of a regular citizen having impact...either through voting, or penny ante contributions. THANK YOU for exhibiting that some can still THINK!
I visited your Substack site briefly, and although I'm urban and not trying to build a business, but it looks like I might find information I can use anyway and I'll return for more of a look.
Hope you found some of it helpful! Thank you for checking it out. I write about real things--not current events!! :)
Yes, indeed, I found some of it helpful. And it is such a relief to read sound financial advice.
So, 60% enriched uranium did not convince you?
And a missile that could go 4000 km did not? (It's not much harder, with NK technology to get to ICBMs).
Does it not seem urgent to you to deal with that? For the US?
(Yes, it is also shameful to watch the Persian people, esp the women, but terrorized and subjugated as they have been for 50 years. I hope we shall soon know how large a % hungered for freedom over these many decades. Anyway, I understand this moral calculus is hard for you. It is hard for me, too.)
Trump isn’t a politician. It’s why they have tried their damndest to cheat to get him out and attempt to lock him up and bankrupt him before 2024. He’s been through more than any single person should endure to try and get this country back on track. The problem is everything he has done to this point has been by Executive Order and many of those have been challenged in court in front of left wing activist judges. Congress has been useless as well and what we have witnessed is how the Uni-party comes together to keep the U.S. on the same track it’s been on before Trump 1. He could cure cancer and the libtards would refuse it to save their own lives that’s how deep TDS lives in the left. No politician would ever endure what he’s been through and still be standing. I’m aware it’s off topic but a politician he surely isn’t just because he’s In politics now as President. I’d argue he has never risen to the mantle of the Presidency because of his social media use but I understand why he uses it as anything he says gets overanalyzed and twisted to create a narrative that fits a certain story. I don’t think anyone loves a war but if regime change can happen in Iran and they are brought into the 21st century it will have been worth it.
Worse than the madness of King George. The insanity of Orange Retard
Not exactly an insightful or intelligent response.
So, you would prefer a cackling Kamala Harris and Iranian nukes inbound by 2028?
Iranian 'nukes' inbound toward Tel Aviv, or Berlin and Paris...not our American problem. I voted for this posturing buffoon 3 times...he told me that he wouldn't have us in incessant wars. TRUMP LIED...he bragged and blustered his way into yet another 'War without End'. The Obama Gang...wasn't fit to lead...but either is the spoiled child Trump. Maybe these...from the Bushes on...are the brightest and best the USA can put forward, if so, the lights have been turned off in Reagan's 'Shining City on the Hill'.
"Iranian 'nukes' inbound toward Tel Aviv, or Berlin and Paris...not our American problem."
Not likely either. Tel Aviv has nukes. The French have nukes. The UK has nukes. The Germans don't, but they're NATO members, so the French and the UK (if not the USA themselves) would retaliate - in kind - immediately. That's what NATO's for.
Actually, my comment here is more a criticism of the comment _above_ yours. Sure, Kamala was dreadful; but "Iranian nukes inbound" anywhere is hyperbole.
The utterly tragic part is that the US is no more immune to batshit crazy leaders than are the rest of the west. Trump (Feb-April25) is what everyone cheered (and many voted for).
Trump 2026 is either being threatened or has lost it. I mean hanging out with Graham and retweeting Mark Levin?????????????????? Graham, Levin, and Murdoch are all never Trumpers and must be delighted to see him immolate the GOP. This time around the deep state is sitting back and watching it all unfold.
I wonder what your opinion of the leadership in Canada is. You go from the boy king to the communist banker. Did Canada learn nothing from when the US let China into the WTO?
Our leaders are just like the european ones. Total marxists who hate their own populations. Carney is just getting rich through his hedge fund (brookfield)
We just have a more Chinese flair as the CCP has every intention of using us to weaken the USA. Their might even be a Ukraine type scenario in the future. I mean nothing is off the table anymore.
No, we want a Donald who is credible enough, effective enough, and sufficiently less retarded for the dems to not have a run on the white house for the next 25 years. Instead what he is doing is ensuring a dem triple lock on the US legislature for 25 years.
vagent743736, Please stop with this idiotic form of rhetorical challenge. It's a complete non-sequitur.
Apparently you would prefer a cackling Kamala Harris and Iranian nukes inbound by 2028.
To each their own, I suppose.....
Apparent, perhaps, to those who double down on non-sequiturs. Or are just tiresome, time-sucking trolls. This community is more interested in substance and insight. At any rate, I am. Now you can double down on your faux insouciance and repeat "to each their own."
First of all, who appointed you the Arbiter of "This Community", Doug?
Secondly, I practice my First Amendment rights on my terms alone, so if any or all of my posts fail to meet your lofty standards, I suggest that you just keep on scrolling....
Trump posted "a whole civilization will die tonight" and the internet decided he was threatening genocide. The same post ends with "God Bless the Great People of Iran" and "47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end."
He's talking about the regime. It's RIGHT THERE.
In the same post.
You just have to keep reading past the first sentence, which apparently is too much to ask from people who do political commentary for a living.
What nobody seems to be talking about is Iran's response to this post. Asking civilians to form human chains around power plants. To put children in front of bridges. To announce that fourteen million people have "volunteered to sacrifice their lives."
So you're OK with that, I guess?
The regime that screams "Death to America" every Friday just asked its own population to stand in front of the bombs. And somehow Trump is the monster in this scenario.
The number of cognitively impaired people screaming at the top of their lungs made the White House deny they were using nukes.
That's where we are. A man posts on social media and the entire national security establishment has to issue a statement clarifying that, no, they are not deploying nuclear weapons based on a Truth Social post.
Meanwhile, American intelligence is watching Iran scramble in real time.
Every bridge they surround with human shields is a bridge they just told the Pentagon matters. Every facility they panic-protect is a facility they just flagged on the map. The hysteria IS the strategy. It always has been.
Ten years in and people still fall for it like it's brand new every single time
"Ten years in and people still fall for it like it's brand new every single time" kind of amazing.
We all knew Trump is a blowhard who hates showing weakness, but thankfully he seemed smart about which fights to pick. Until he went and picked the dumbest effing fight possible. He's incapable of de-escalating if he can't make himself look good, and people around the world are learning to use that to play him.
Excuse me.....Trump fans or not, he sounds completely deranged and he is also threatening with war crimes. Should someone think that morals and laws of war do not matter, that only might matters, then why (which is usual for Western countries) all this moralizing language regarding various Khameneis, Ghaddafis, Assads....Then just speak language of 18th century, we want this and that (oh wait, Trump sometimes does that).
Blowing up bridges and power plants is not a war crime. We did the same thing in the Baltic and Iraq.
Errrm, "we did it, therefore it's not a war crime" is not a very solid argument.
Isn't war itself a war crime then?
That's not the argument I'm making. Infrastructure is an essential ingredient to weapons manufacture and the logistical means to move it into position.
"War crimes!" Ooooooh!
Now do surrounding targets with your own civilians.
Criclets?
you did notice words about "whole civilization destruction"?
I did, but I also noticed words about unconditional surrender and he apparently wasn't serious about that, either. Politicians often make the false equivalence that political system A .eq. civilization A. Trump chooses his words anything but carefully. He is an executive, not a diplomat.
Regarding your first points. I am not here to agree or disagree with you. I enjoy reading your pieces no matter if I agree with all of them or not.
Exactly so.
it struck me here this morning...that we are about to witness HISTORY in reverse...about 2500 years ago. XERXES I, the PERSIAN KING, threatened and postured, and burned and killed, right up to gates of Athens...then the WORLD'S FOREMOST FREE city-state. He managed to set the city aflame, but then had to sit and watch as his fabulously large, and powerful NAVY was destroyed at Salamis. NOW...we have the American BRAGGART OF BRAGGARTS before the gates of NEW PERSIA...strutting and posturing, puffing out his EMPTY CHEST...and he will LOSE. He will declare an historic unprecedented victory...but WE WILL HAVE LOST! and the world will have lost
eugyppius, I'm sorry that your last piece was so attacked that you felt the need to defend it today. It was so good that I forwarded it to my family with the comment "This is about as clear-eyed an assessment of the Iran war as you'll find anywhere." And I almost never forward stuff.
I have no idea what's about to happen, but it's unsettling, to say the least.
War, indeed, is always hell.
Whether good or bad.
And commonly you have no idea, until years later, whether the war was worth it.
Compared to most wars throughout History, militarily there is almost no doubt that the US will win. But will it be seen by the right people as a win? There is some doubt about that. And how will the "equal and opposite" reaction turn out? (Does this law of physics even apply here? At least in Charlie Wilson's War (film) it maybe did.)
And I can only imagine how my parents and the American people suffered for about 3 years, worrying and suffering during WW2. (Dec 1942 to May 8, 1945 - VE Day.)
Even less can I imagine England, isolated and lonely, being attacked by Hitler, with their armies losing so many battles, how they stuck through it all.
But was there a real choice? I think for them, they did not think there was. So, they persevered.
Nowadays, like some football game, we expect our Team (our nation) to win every Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, NBA Finals. Life's really not like that.
I'm an American who has been more right than wrong about Trump--it usually seems very obvious to me when he's joking, when he's bluffing, and what he thinks is essential vs. what he thinks is up for debate. I have no idea how to interpret this move and won't pretend that I do.
I hope it's a bluff/"madman strategy" type thing, but I don't know. The problem with that strategy when dealing with Iran is that they don't care. They don't care about their people, they don't care about keeping their word, they don't care about anything about their plan to eventually conquer the world even if that means there are two people left in it--one of them and one other person subject to him (and to the god they profess). I'm old enough that I've seen Iran break treaties, promises, and agreements; I've seen Iran attack and kill over and over; I've seen Iran fund terrorism and terrorists and entire terror regimes; I've seen Iran kill thousands of its own citizens. So I have no patience for anyone calling for dialogue and agreements, as if we haven't BEEN DOING JUST THAT for fifty years. That said, I don't know whether what we're doing now is a good idea or not. There are a lot of bad options, including making more treaties that no one expects to be followed and waiting for Iran to attack again. It also means Iran doing nothing and Trump doing exactly what he said.
My best guess is that Iran won't do what Trump says, and that if so, Trump won't bomb the country into the stone age but WILL bomb it a lot and say that's enough. But that's a guess.
It's always dangerous when dealing with religious zealots.They don't care too much about what happens on this planet. Only their pie in the sky.
A) They're not "religious zealots," they are pretty much a living example of how Islam has always been, and
B) People have slaughtered just as ruthlessly for the cause of communism and socialism -- in vastly larger numbers
Fair. I think Mao, from my studies, wins the Prize. Then Stalin. Hitler, comparatively was a slouch. At least by raw numbers.
Arguably "Communism" is also a kind of religion with enough zealots also.
But, Islam is famous for converting people by the sword. Not sure, over the centuries how many they have killed. Islam of course has not been this way always and everywhere. In many cases it has bred a very civil and liberal and tolerant society, at least given the century we are speaking of.
Christianity too has some bad stories. I have ancestors who were burned alive in churches in France by Catholics. Some years ago. The wars of religion.
And there are many leaders who continue to "invest" based on sunk costs (look at all the armies I have lost so far...I cannot give up the cause for THEM).
Still, Iran certainly seems to be led by irrational people now, to me.
Leaving Iran's power generation intact allows them to launch missiles, although they are now seen in smaller numbers. It will be very difficult for them continue supplying, fueling, and launching without power, and it is not clear they can otherwise provide it through generators, which themselves are vulnerable to air attack. Removal of bridges impedes response to distributed attacks from those who would overturn the regime. So it is not gratuitous destruction, as the pro-Iran Leftists such as the NY Times would have it.
It is Israel who controls the escalation ladder. Last night ahead of Trump’s (5 times-moved) deadline they attacked South Pars again. They are already attacking bridges and rail. Iran in retaliation attacked energy facilities in Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Israel has kinetically destroyed every de-escalation off ramp. Any time Trump hesitates to escalate, they pre-empt him.
I don't know who's more unpredictable Trump or who/what ever is running Iran.
I was only 10 in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, but I could tell that my mother and father and the teachers at school couldn't predict what was going to happen. This reminds of that period.
I was in college during the Cuban missile crisis. I remember watching it on the news, but the seriousness of it didn't really register. Of course I was a dumb college boy full of piss and vinegar and not the news junkie I am now. I do remember later when I found out how serious it really was, it became clear to me how much had been concealed from me by the government. We didn't have a clue.
My father was career Air Force. He went on alert during it.
All the kids in school and the neighborhood figured the base would be a target and we’d be obliterated.
It’s Tuesday. Let’s hope it’s another TACO Tuesday.