Trump Vs Iran

[pood]

Iran has fired missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

 

[pood]

Also Bahrain, according to MSNBC.

 

[southernhybrid]

Here's some more details from CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-us-strikes-06-23-25-intl-hnk

What we're covering​

• Iran’s operation against US base: Iran has launched a “powerful” attack on a US air base in Qatar, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said. The US is tracking multiple missiles fired from Iran toward US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, according to two officials.

• Attack intercepted: Qatar’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses “successfully” intercepted the missile attack targeting the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

• Response after US strikes: American officials have been preparing for the likelihood that Iran may target US facilities ever since the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend. The US military had moved some planes from the Al Udeid base amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, two defense officials told CNN last week.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Iran has fired missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

 

[southernhybrid]

I just copied the following quote from an article in the NYT. Typical Trump.

We’ve been waiting to hear from President Trump about Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar, but the president’s first social media post since the strikes is a complaint about media skepticism of his statement that Iran’s nuclear sites were “totally obliterated.” Trump criticized CNN, ABC and NBC, calling them “sleazebags.”

He's such a narcissistic asshole. Disagree with him and you're a sleezebag, regardless of whether or not you're telling the truth. He doesn't know how to disagree in an intelligent way. He just calls people names and projects his own traits on others.

 

[crazyfingers]

I just copied the following quote from an article in the NYT. Typical Trump.

We’ve been waiting to hear from President Trump about Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar, but the president’s first social media post since the strikes is a complaint about media skepticism of his statement that Iran’s nuclear sites were “totally obliterated.” Trump criticized CNN, ABC and NBC, calling them “sleazebags.”

He's such a narcissistic asshole. Disagree with him and you're a sleezebag, regardless of whether or not you're telling the truth. He doesn't know how to disagree in an intelligent way. He just calls people names and projects his own traits on others.

Trump has no redeeming qualities. Nothing about him is good.

My first comment on his attack on Iran was that he has no basis for claiming that the nuke facilities were obliterated. He could not possibly know. He just says shit.

Of course now the pentagon is staying it will take time to know how effective the attack was. But anyone who knew anything about those bombs and knew anything about the nuke facilities would be able to understand immediately that one bomb could not do it and that it would take a lot of intelligence gathering to estimate the actual damage.

Trump doesn't want people to think. He wants blind faith, even when his story changes from day to day or hour to hour.

 

[pood]

What can one say? This guy is actually president!

 

[ideologyhunter]

"The 'N' word should not be treated so casually"........
"I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" (Trump to Kim Jong-un, 2018)

 

[bilby]

One of Russia’s top gangsters, Medvedev, said “many nations” would be willing to give nukes to Iran. Not sure who he means, since not many nations have them, but Russia does.

Well, these are the not many:

Israel (probably)
USA
UK
France
India
North Korea
Pakistan
Russia

Of these, it's hard to see any of the first five on the list wanting to gift or sell a nuclear weapon to Iran. North Korea likely doesn't have any to spare.

That leaves two, which struggles to qualify as "many".

Pakistan is highly unlikely to reduce their ability to deter India, or to destroy their diplomatic position in the world, by providing Tehran with nukes.

That leaves just one "many country".

 

[crazyfingers]

One of Russia’s top gangsters, Medvedev, said “many nations” would be willing to give nukes to Iran. Not sure who he means, since not many nations have them, but Russia does.

Well, these are the not many:

Israel (probably)
USA
UK
France
India
North Korea
Pakistan
Russia

Of these, it's hard to see any of the first five on the list wanting to gift or sell a nuclear weapon to Iran. North Korea likely doesn't have any to spare.

That leaves two, which struggles to qualify as "many".

Pakistan is highly unlikely to reduce their ability to deter India, or to destroy their diplomatic position in the world, by providing Tehran with nukes.

That leaves just one "many country".

Also China

 

[Harry Bosch]

No one's giving nukes to Iran.

Nobody with nukes wants more crazies with nukes. But if there is economic or political utility to propping up a threat of more crazies with nukes, then it will be done.

Realistically, what country would give nukes to Iran, thereby unnecessarily exposing itself to grave consequences? It's just not going to happen.

Even conventional weapons will be a problem to supply Iran with, let alone nukes. Russia is in no position to help Iran, China won't do it for obvious reasons, and neither will any other Arab states. Pakistan may be a possibility, but they're not official allies and their relations are strained.

In short, Iran stands almost wholly alone.

I agree that the U.S.'s military strike was stupid and will have predictable fallout, but in terms of nukes and military capability Iran doesn't inspire much fear.

Good post. I agree. As an aside, why does Iran have to be at war with Israel anyway? What is the root of their wanting war? I actually understand why a country would want nuclear weapons. But why do they want war?

 

[Swammerdami]

Some MAGATs may be happy to learn that Senator Ron Johnson sees a silver lining in the US-Iran War: The US will be forced to slash Medicaid spending. Johnson, it will be recalled, is a virulent right-winger. He agrees with TSwizzle that climate always changes, but goes further: The Earth has cooled over the last several centuries. Obviously Greenland was green when it was first discovered and named; the Earth was warmer then since now Greenland is white with snow and ice.

 

[pood]

No one's giving nukes to Iran.

Nobody with nukes wants more crazies with nukes. But if there is economic or political utility to propping up a threat of more crazies with nukes, then it will be done.

Realistically, what country would give nukes to Iran, thereby unnecessarily exposing itself to grave consequences? It's just not going to happen.

Even conventional weapons will be a problem to supply Iran with, let alone nukes. Russia is in no position to help Iran, China won't do it for obvious reasons, and neither will any other Arab states. Pakistan may be a possibility, but they're not official allies and their relations are strained.

In short, Iran stands almost wholly alone.

I agree that the U.S.'s military strike was stupid and will have predictable fallout, but in terms of nukes and military capability Iran doesn't inspire much fear.

Good post. I agree. As an aside, why does Iran have to be at war with Israel anyway? What is the root of their wanting war? I actually understand why a country would want nuclear weapons. But why do they want war?

It doesn’t want war. It wants an enemy to direct their people’s attention against. That way they can divert attention of the public from the mess they have made of the nation’s economy and their tyrannical social policies. Israel is an easy enemy for an Islamic theocracy since Israel is a Jewish state. If Iran did get a nuclear weapon, it would never use it. To do so would be national suicide.

 

[KCFlyer]

Trump is transactional. Getting involved means saying goodbye to his pipe dream of a Nobel Peace Prize. So what can Israel deliver that Trump would personally value?

a nicer luxury jet than Qatar gave him

 

[Artemus]

Iran has fired missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

Well there's a shock.

I remember when Shrub invaded Iraq that people were surprised and outraged (yes, OUTRAGED!) that Iraq was actually fighting back. This debacle is going to play out the same way that debacle did.

 

[steve_bank]

The Iraqi army essentially evaporated. Initially it was more like militias formed and were fighting each other for dominance.

People were glad to be rid of Hussein, but democracy was not inn the cards for them. Factions could not agree on sharing power and those in power were authoritarian. As usual we tried to install a puppet but it did not work.

Regime change in Iran is the same short shortsightedness as regime change in Iran.

Israel having a working form of democracy is an outlier in the region. Iran will factionalize. The Republican Guard will not lay down.

Another forever conflict.

Korea is a stalemate that has never been resolved, we are still there. Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq were failures despite our militray superiority.

It is not just Trump. Congress and government has not changed basic foreign policy from failures.

 

[ZiprHead]

Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

 

[pood]

Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

I saw that, but have not seen it independently confirmed. Since we know Trump habitually lies, the default assumption at this point is that this is another lie.

 

[pood]

Thus far, neither Israel nor Iran have confirmed Trump’s claim, or even commented on it.

 

[jonatha]

What is there left for Israel to shoot at?