Donald Trump held another top-secret meeting with his so-called national security “team” in the Situation Room to discuss “the war between Israel and Iran,” a White House source told Axios today.
Everything this country does under Trump is just grossly stupid. We all know that the real reason Trump will bomb Iran (BTW, an Act of War) is that the little boy lunatic in him wants to see what a 32,000 bomb can do. Another First for America brought to you by the big boy lunatic.
Just last week I saw _Doctor Strangelove_ at my local indie cinema, the first of a six-film KubrickFest over the next couple of weeks. It was the first time I'd seen it on a big screen in decades.
Who needs a camera in the nose of the bunker-buster bomb when Central Casting can find a Slim Pickens lookalike & give him a Go Camera? I'd nominate "Crusader Tats" Hegseth for the task. It'd be a two-fer.
(I'm not sure how much of that previous paragraph is meant to be sarcasm.)
Trump and Bibi are one and the same, Lucian. But Iran’s nuclear weaponry is a threat to Israelis and the Saudis. The Iraqis, also. Pete-Get-Me-A-Drink-Quick is so over his greased head while trying to play this very dangerous game. That is why not one Armed Service high-ranking Commander or Officer endorsed this idea…EVER! Plus, you are so right about Iran’s terrain that hides all of their labs and weaponry. They have never played nice but now Israel isn’t either. That concerns me…a lot.
Iran's nukes are a threat to everyone. They're just like a lot of the nation-states in that they want to have nukes - Bibi's got his, and we couldn't keep them out of India or Pakistan, so we'll likely not be able to keep Iran from trying.
I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I raised the same issues about the lack of leadership and the likely harm to our fighting men and women who would be drawn into such a scenario as you project in Adam Kinzinger’s comment section. I’ve lived too long and seen too much stupidity by military brass to not be aware of how sideways things could go with 47 chomping at the bit for something big to happen.
It takes my breath away to think that a roomful of the least qualified, least knowledgeable, least honorable, avaricious nincompoop fucks are actually going to stir together their cauldron of toxic testosterone, base criminality, and greed to bomb Iran. (Please someone follow the $$$$$$$$$$). Diplomacy never really was a consideration for these idiots who possess the impulse control of baboons. This is insanity, not to mention the obscene waste of the Treasure of The American People (taxes), the destruction of the environment and all the creatures that exist there, and you just know that Trump and Netangourdhead don't for one second give a rats ass about all who will die and suffer in the days and years to come. The violence and depravity of these MEN never ends and they lay waste to everything good.
The good news is a lot of MAGAts will get hurt badly. The bad news is they’ll take the rest of us along with them. Also Congress is the only entity authorized by the Constitution to declare war but you can bet the simpering toadies in charge won’t do anything but cheer.
Trump wants certitude but he will be disappointed. Uncertainty reigns in war, especially at the outset. The only things we know for certain is that no battle plan will survive the initial week and the outcome can’t be foreseen. This calls for very careful consideration, something Trump 2.0 has none of.
And what happens to the concentrated nuclear material that has already been produced and is stored in these bunkers when these bunker busters expose the uranium and create a dirty bomb effect exposing the region to high levels of radioactivity?
After you post a comment, above it flush right is a three-dot icon that gives you options to edit (or delete—thank heaven). At least that's true of the substack android cellphone browser ui; other user interfaces may vary.
Of course he is. Wag the Dog scenario. He will start a war to distract from all of his other multiple failures in the expectation that the American public will rally "round. Only this time I'm not sure that we will.
You are probably right. Remember simpleton GW Bush saying how he had "won the Trifecta"? Not a lot of great thinking happening within the GOP.
"Shortly after Sept. 11, George W. Bush told his budget director that the only valid reasons to break his pledge not to run budget deficits would be if the country experienced recession, war or national emergency. "Lucky me," he said. "I hit the trifecta.""
I think it is a pretty sure bet that the American public will not welcome this war and its death and destruction to the American military and many civilians in that broad war zone! And for what American interest? Israel is far from America and we have not been attacked? Moreover, perhaps the most powerful influence on Trump’s ultimate decision “to go to war” is maga’s very strong political anger and opposition to his very foreign engagement, particularly in a war to protect Israel not America? They are not big fans of Jews, are they, and 40/50% of rank & file Christian maga appear to be furious about his potential decision to go to war in the Mideast! What say you?
I read your post three times. There's nothing I can think of that you haven't touched on. I share your concern. The law of unintended consequences is going to loom large here. The enemy gets a vote! No matter what we may think of the Iranians, they are a force to be reckoned with. If we start this, there's no question it's going to lead us on a path that we can't predict right now, and neither can anyone else! Hopefully, he'll back off! But I don't believe that for a second!
Having had some little experience with fairly high ranking military brass and taught some rising officers I am very hesitant to talk about their “stupidity.” Just because we haven’t seen eye to eye doesn’t mean stupidity. And right now I have more faith in the judgments of the brass than I have of their civilian leadership.
To Mr. Truscott’s point about being in a war there is one thing I would add. It will be a “forever” war. We can destroy whatever we wish and celebrate but both sides have to agree that what’s done is done. That’s why it is easier to go to war then to end the war
We should remember that there are two ways to go to war with the US: asymmetrically and stupidly (not an idea that originated with me)and the Iranians are not stupid. The war will continue under their terms and conditions and we will be in a reactive position.
And no I do not want to see a nuclear Iran. As Churchill is said to have said “ Jaw, Jaw,Jaw is better than Fight, Fight, Fight.” I prefer diplomacy even if the results take longer and aren’t as dramatic.”
According to the website of the International Churchill Society (I hope when they meet in person, they drink Harriman's Herbal Tea, Miss Froy's favorite in "The Lady Vanishes"): "Winston Churchill’s official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, speaking of this quote, noted that Churchill actually said, ‘Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.’ Four years later, during a visit to Australia, Harold Macmillan said the words usually—and wrongly—attributed to Churchill: 'Jaw, jaw is better than war, war.'"
I'm pretty good with the black and white era, even into B stuff from "poverty row" studios and producers. However, there are people who can whistle the code tune Miss Froy carried in her head. I'm not one of them.
I can sorta hear that unmelodic tune in my head—just imagined I'm sure. I'll have to ask for Harriman's Herbal Tea at Myers of Keswick, my neighborhood purveyer of authentic English provisions. … OK: Ugga ugga boo ugga boo boo ugga. Name the source. You don't have to hum it. Spoiler: it's not musical
Lucien - such a smart and intelligent analysis. The decision has to be weighed with everything that can happen after that. And it this case it seems the juice is not worth the squeeze. So many things can go wrong with the worst being that a lot innocent people will DIE! ! !
Indeed he is. He and his national security team of nitwits are about to launch us into a war that they have no clue about. I figure that it will not begin until the Nimitz CSG, and possibly the Ford CSG which deploys from Norfolk next week arrive in theater. That will add another 150 Navy aircraft to the mix. I imagine that they are sending more air defense units to U.S. bases in the Gulf and Israel. You are correct about the lack of current intelligence on Fodro, as well as his decapitation of our intelligence services. Likewise, war is the most unpredictable of all of events. The enemy always has a vote, nothing is guaranteed, and Clausewitz noted, war is the province of chance, the province of friction, and the province of danger. He also noted, “Our knowledge of circumstances has increased, but our uncertainty, instead of having diminished, has only increased…” These people have no idea what they are doing or how badly it will impact all of us.
Splendid piece, Lucian, and the headline you wrote has the distinction of putting the word "surgical" (as in, precise, thought-out, well-executed) near an T***p "idea" (as in, fantasy bordering on lunacy) for the first time. Next to the appropriate references to Dr. Stranglove your reader-commentors have mentioned, place the image of British medical officer Major Clipton, at the end of "The Bridge on the River Kwai," saying, "Madness. MADNESS!"
Everything this country does under Trump is just grossly stupid. We all know that the real reason Trump will bomb Iran (BTW, an Act of War) is that the little boy lunatic in him wants to see what a 32,000 bomb can do. Another First for America brought to you by the big boy lunatic.
Plus he wants to be a "War President". Everything he has said to the contrary are his usual lies.
Just last week I saw _Doctor Strangelove_ at my local indie cinema, the first of a six-film KubrickFest over the next couple of weeks. It was the first time I'd seen it on a big screen in decades.
Who needs a camera in the nose of the bunker-buster bomb when Central Casting can find a Slim Pickens lookalike & give him a Go Camera? I'd nominate "Crusader Tats" Hegseth for the task. It'd be a two-fer.
(I'm not sure how much of that previous paragraph is meant to be sarcasm.)
Trump and Bibi are one and the same, Lucian. But Iran’s nuclear weaponry is a threat to Israelis and the Saudis. The Iraqis, also. Pete-Get-Me-A-Drink-Quick is so over his greased head while trying to play this very dangerous game. That is why not one Armed Service high-ranking Commander or Officer endorsed this idea…EVER! Plus, you are so right about Iran’s terrain that hides all of their labs and weaponry. They have never played nice but now Israel isn’t either. That concerns me…a lot.
Amen Marlene!
Iran's nukes are a threat to everyone. They're just like a lot of the nation-states in that they want to have nukes - Bibi's got his, and we couldn't keep them out of India or Pakistan, so we'll likely not be able to keep Iran from trying.
Israel's nukes are a threat to everyone. TherE, FIFY.
I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I raised the same issues about the lack of leadership and the likely harm to our fighting men and women who would be drawn into such a scenario as you project in Adam Kinzinger’s comment section. I’ve lived too long and seen too much stupidity by military brass to not be aware of how sideways things could go with 47 chomping at the bit for something big to happen.
It takes my breath away to think that a roomful of the least qualified, least knowledgeable, least honorable, avaricious nincompoop fucks are actually going to stir together their cauldron of toxic testosterone, base criminality, and greed to bomb Iran. (Please someone follow the $$$$$$$$$$). Diplomacy never really was a consideration for these idiots who possess the impulse control of baboons. This is insanity, not to mention the obscene waste of the Treasure of The American People (taxes), the destruction of the environment and all the creatures that exist there, and you just know that Trump and Netangourdhead don't for one second give a rats ass about all who will die and suffer in the days and years to come. The violence and depravity of these MEN never ends and they lay waste to everything good.
$$$? Likud in D.C. (aka AIPAC) is performing true to form.
The good news is a lot of MAGAts will get hurt badly. The bad news is they’ll take the rest of us along with them. Also Congress is the only entity authorized by the Constitution to declare war but you can bet the simpering toadies in charge won’t do anything but cheer.
Trump wants certitude but he will be disappointed. Uncertainty reigns in war, especially at the outset. The only things we know for certain is that no battle plan will survive the initial week and the outcome can’t be foreseen. This calls for very careful consideration, something Trump 2.0 has none of.
Amateur Hour rushes into full speed!
And what happens to the concentrated nuclear material that has already been produced and is stored in these bunkers when these bunker busters expose the uranium and create a dirty bomb effect exposing the region to high levels of radioactivity?
Very cogent observation and dry dangerous possibility, isn’t it?
Very, not dry; sorry!!
After you post a comment, above it flush right is a three-dot icon that gives you options to edit (or delete—thank heaven). At least that's true of the substack android cellphone browser ui; other user interfaces may vary.
Of course he is. Wag the Dog scenario. He will start a war to distract from all of his other multiple failures in the expectation that the American public will rally "round. Only this time I'm not sure that we will.
You are probably right. Remember simpleton GW Bush saying how he had "won the Trifecta"? Not a lot of great thinking happening within the GOP.
"Shortly after Sept. 11, George W. Bush told his budget director that the only valid reasons to break his pledge not to run budget deficits would be if the country experienced recession, war or national emergency. "Lucky me," he said. "I hit the trifecta.""
It's going to get very bad for a long time. I fear for the children that have no choice.
I think it is a pretty sure bet that the American public will not welcome this war and its death and destruction to the American military and many civilians in that broad war zone! And for what American interest? Israel is far from America and we have not been attacked? Moreover, perhaps the most powerful influence on Trump’s ultimate decision “to go to war” is maga’s very strong political anger and opposition to his very foreign engagement, particularly in a war to protect Israel not America? They are not big fans of Jews, are they, and 40/50% of rank & file Christian maga appear to be furious about his potential decision to go to war in the Mideast! What say you?
Let's shed more than one tear for that poor pooch.
Are you referring to the pooch as in “screwed the pooch?”
Lucian,
I read your post three times. There's nothing I can think of that you haven't touched on. I share your concern. The law of unintended consequences is going to loom large here. The enemy gets a vote! No matter what we may think of the Iranians, they are a force to be reckoned with. If we start this, there's no question it's going to lead us on a path that we can't predict right now, and neither can anyone else! Hopefully, he'll back off! But I don't believe that for a second!
Having had some little experience with fairly high ranking military brass and taught some rising officers I am very hesitant to talk about their “stupidity.” Just because we haven’t seen eye to eye doesn’t mean stupidity. And right now I have more faith in the judgments of the brass than I have of their civilian leadership.
To Mr. Truscott’s point about being in a war there is one thing I would add. It will be a “forever” war. We can destroy whatever we wish and celebrate but both sides have to agree that what’s done is done. That’s why it is easier to go to war then to end the war
We should remember that there are two ways to go to war with the US: asymmetrically and stupidly (not an idea that originated with me)and the Iranians are not stupid. The war will continue under their terms and conditions and we will be in a reactive position.
And no I do not want to see a nuclear Iran. As Churchill is said to have said “ Jaw, Jaw,Jaw is better than Fight, Fight, Fight.” I prefer diplomacy even if the results take longer and aren’t as dramatic.”
Oh goody, a fourth illegal war of aggression in my lifetime... How lucky can I be?
Obama had a deal with the Iranians. The felon rapist threw it away bc he’s a dick and hates Black people. This criminal will destroy our country.
Wasn't that JFK in his Bostonian Best (Friends of Eddie Coyle) accent? Jo-ah, jo-ah, jo-ah is better than wo-ah, wo-ah, wo-ah
Winston Churchill, I believe, with his iconic cigar clenched between his teeeth.
According to the website of the International Churchill Society (I hope when they meet in person, they drink Harriman's Herbal Tea, Miss Froy's favorite in "The Lady Vanishes"): "Winston Churchill’s official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, speaking of this quote, noted that Churchill actually said, ‘Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.’ Four years later, during a visit to Australia, Harold Macmillan said the words usually—and wrongly—attributed to Churchill: 'Jaw, jaw is better than war, war.'"
In a movie trivia contest, nobody would have a chance challenging you, Lawrence. Harriman's Herbal Tea, indeed!
I'm pretty good with the black and white era, even into B stuff from "poverty row" studios and producers. However, there are people who can whistle the code tune Miss Froy carried in her head. I'm not one of them.
I can sorta hear that unmelodic tune in my head—just imagined I'm sure. I'll have to ask for Harriman's Herbal Tea at Myers of Keswick, my neighborhood purveyer of authentic English provisions. … OK: Ugga ugga boo ugga boo boo ugga. Name the source. You don't have to hum it. Spoiler: it's not musical
Thanks for the clarification!
Lucien - such a smart and intelligent analysis. The decision has to be weighed with everything that can happen after that. And it this case it seems the juice is not worth the squeeze. So many things can go wrong with the worst being that a lot innocent people will DIE! ! !
All for T****'s indifference.
Lucian,
Indeed he is. He and his national security team of nitwits are about to launch us into a war that they have no clue about. I figure that it will not begin until the Nimitz CSG, and possibly the Ford CSG which deploys from Norfolk next week arrive in theater. That will add another 150 Navy aircraft to the mix. I imagine that they are sending more air defense units to U.S. bases in the Gulf and Israel. You are correct about the lack of current intelligence on Fodro, as well as his decapitation of our intelligence services. Likewise, war is the most unpredictable of all of events. The enemy always has a vote, nothing is guaranteed, and Clausewitz noted, war is the province of chance, the province of friction, and the province of danger. He also noted, “Our knowledge of circumstances has increased, but our uncertainty, instead of having diminished, has only increased…” These people have no idea what they are doing or how badly it will impact all of us.
All the best and watch your six.
Steve Dundas
Splendid piece, Lucian, and the headline you wrote has the distinction of putting the word "surgical" (as in, precise, thought-out, well-executed) near an T***p "idea" (as in, fantasy bordering on lunacy) for the first time. Next to the appropriate references to Dr. Stranglove your reader-commentors have mentioned, place the image of British medical officer Major Clipton, at the end of "The Bridge on the River Kwai," saying, "Madness. MADNESS!"
Lucian, your description of events that could and may play out is very real and chilling,
I hate reading it, but I'm old enough to take it and as a veteran it pisses me off to no end.
Kegsbreath will rue the day he left Fox...as might all of us!