A global revenge by countries that Trump bullied is underway.
Not Our War and We Didn’t Start It
Germany Again Tells Trump to Guck Off
Germany’s government rejected Donald Trump’s demand that NATO allies help secure the Strait of Hormuz, saying the alliance has no role in the war. Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz:
“This war has nothing to do with NATO. It’s not NATO’s war. NATO is a defensive alliance, an alliance for the defense of its territory.
I would also like to remind you that the U.S. and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired.”
Hoot of the Day
Dear Clueless Persons
Standing up to trump, in open defiance, instead of kissing his ass like you do, is a sign of strength, not weakness.
The world doesn’t care what Trump says anymore. And no one trusts Trump to hold up his end of any bargain.
Why trust someone who breaks every deal he makes?
Sour Grapes
We don’t need their help anyway. What a hoot.
Reflections on NATO
MTG Question of the Day
Q: Why would an American president lead his political party into the midterms waging a full scale major war, completely unprovoked on on Iran, on behalf of Israel? Why would an American president do that, which is forcing gas prices to hike?
A: Because Trump takes orders from Netanyahu, and listens to Jared, his son-in-law, instead of military advisors.
More MTG
Iran Mocks Trump
Canada Says Guck Off (Again)
“”The United States and Israel have acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting allies, including Canada.”
Trump says he will remember. Will dementia get in the way?
Financial Times
“Trump has undermined the US national security apparatus.”
Missing the Obvious
Observation of the Day
Bullied countries are now openly spitting in Trump’s face.
That’s a good thing for the US and the world.
Please Play This Video
In the above video the following people predicted what would happen.
Ted Cruz: Whatever he does, he accuses everyone else of doing. The man cannot tell the truth, and he combines it with being a narcissist, a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen.
Rand Paul: And my concern is that he would grab up all power and really treat the country as his bully fiefdom.
Nikki Haley: Donald Trump is everything I taught my kids not to do in Kindergarten.
Marco Rubio: He’s been exploiting Americans for forty years.
Lindsey Graham: He is a race state, xenophobic, religious bigot.
Mike Pompeo: Donald Trump the other day said that quote If he tells a soldier to commit a war crime, the soldier would just go do it.
Glen Beck: I don’t think Trump has read the constitution or knows what’s in the constitution.
Rick Perry: A toxic mix of demagoguery, mean spiritedness, and nonsense.
Marco Rubio: Donald Trump is a con artist.
Ted Cruz: He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies, practically every word that comes out of his mouth.
Lindsey Graham: I think he’s crazy.
Truer words were never spoken.
Although I think Carney telling Trump to piss off is the right thing to do in theory.
In practice this will bite us in a huge way. Canada has never been more dependent on the US, thanks to 10 years of liberal ineptitude. And Carney is not moving nearly fast enough to change that in the next 10 years.
Only a blue wave in the midterms will save us.
Ultimately it’s all political theory. If Germany doesn’t think they can do anything, then what does Canada have to offer? Trump didn’t consult with Canada because the liberals made ourselves irrelevant on the world stage.
And quite frankly we have so much Chinese infiltration, we’re probably a security risk anyways.
I think when Iran saw the US seizing oil tankers, they thought, ” Why didn’t I think of that” and the rest is history. Once again leading by example is the best policy.
I wonder if they are waiting till Trump is two years into this term then do the 25th Amendment, which would give Vance a chance at 10 years as President?
No one in this administration thinks past the election in November
Vance has very publicly cheerleaded every action by Trump. If Harris, who had little to do with most of Biden’s actions, was saddled with what the Biden admin did, Vance is most certainly going to wear everything Trump has done and the public by and large is not on board.
Vance would be a more calculating President and less bombastic. Alo more driven by religious fervor. More like Putin.
Do you think that a good thing? Or just better than the distaste you have for Trump?
Here is a more balanced analysis of the situation. The author has criticisms of the effort, but overall recognition that the campaign is achieving its purposes.
Al Jazeera op-ed praises US-Israel operation against Iran, says Dems, media critics are wrong
Nice to see a clear and balanced article, as opposed to the many clueless posts about Iran that we see here. Thanks!
Mish and most posters think that they can foresee the future. The future that they see is a peaceful Iran even with nuclear weapons, long range missiles, drone armies, and a powerful navy. They refuse to even entertain a future in which mullah-led Iran rearms and takes revenge on the US.
Mullah-led Iran has been at war with the US for 47 years. Their stated goal is the destruction of Israel and the US as well as the domination of the ME. After the 12 day war with Israel and the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, Iran was absolutely set on a course of revenge and destruction. They were not capable yet, but they have patience to enact their long term goals.
The US had no recourse unless Iran capitulated to dramatically reduce their arsenal. Condoleezza Rice states clearly that the US had no choice but to finish the work now. Hopefully, a new peaceful and prosperous Iran will emerge.
The easy road would have been appeasement and ignoring the threat. Trump has taken the difficult road. Consulting with allies about Iran is a complete waste of time. They would only tipoff Iran. The same applies to Democrats.
Delusional nonsense. Go back to watching Fox News, grandpa.
All you have is arrogance and personal attack.
Typical Democrat response. Namecalling, Fox news and no substance.
Welcome back Jo Jo
Well we could talk some history here about how the US over threw Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. There’s no doubt on this, the US government, including the CIA, has officially stated it. That’s a bit of history I expect no student learns in the US, but every student in Iran learns. The we could talk about the extensive support the US provided to Iraq in the 1980’s Iran-Iraq war, which Iraq initiated. Estimates of Iranian deaths range from 200,000 to 600,000, and Iran suffered more than 100,000 casualties from Iraqi chemical attacks.
But let’s talk about your foward looking statement “Hopefully, a new peaceful and prosperous Iran will emerge.” The US has linked itself to Israel, and Israel has absolutely no interest in a prosperous Iran. Israel wants to destroy Iran completely. They have chosen a concept of “forever war” (they literally call it “mowing the grass”) clearly indicating their intention is to continue to attack Iran on a routine basis going forward over the years. Perhaps the Israeli’s might relent if Iran truly had no weapons at all (ballistic missiles, drones) but recall the points just made about the Iran Iraq war. The Middle East is a dangerous place, and it is a ridiculous proposal that Iran eliminate all weapons. It is an utter nonstarter which is fine with Israel because again Israel is locked on a “mowing the grass” strategy for forever war. This is true not just in Iran, but Lebanon and Gaza too.
The easy path here for the Trump adminstration was the one they chose: let’s not do anything that might be hard and have a chance to lead to peace, like restraining Israel, let’s just blow up Iran because we will be extremely successful at that. And I do give them credit, they been extremely succesful at that. But I don’t think anyone believes this is a path to peace in the Middle East.
Delusional. Peace with the evil mullahs! Iran has said death to Israel and the US for 47 years. The only peace with mullah led Iran is domination by Iran. Iran has been sponsoring terrorism for 47 years since the first mullah leader. You are truly a mullah lover. Maybe you should wear experience the wonderful experience of women in Iran. Compare that experience (if you can get out) with the experience in Israel.
Proving that anyone who uses the term “mullahs” is regurgitating the propaganda they’ve been fed.
You are ignorant of the governing structure and control of Iran. I side with the Iranian-American community in the US. They maintain contacts inside Iran. They know the evil and horrors of mullah-controlled Iran.
Machiavelli taught us to beware of atrocity tales borne by exiles.
Mullah lover, women hating activist.
^ another Israel-First traitor
Another lover of the evil mullahs. Go experience the wonderful world of the evil mullahs.
You sound like a comedy skit
Show me where the evil mullahs touched you
MM, make sure you kids enlist first and are first off the amphibious assault craft. Even better lead by example.
The United States does not want a “peaceful and prosperous Iran”, as Israel would never tolerate this.
The United States seeks to do to Iran what it did to Iraq, to Libya and to Syria, that is, to turn these countries into failed states and thus, no threat to Israel.
If the goal were peace and prosperity, Trump would not have terminated the JCPOA.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/world/middleeast/joe-kent-counterterrorism-resigns-iran-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.T1A.OkOE.FWSyEoQgPuBG&smid=url-share
Mr. Kent knows the situation from the inside and sees that the Israeli tail wags the American dog.
And now thankfully, Kent has been outed and is gone.
Democrats have only themselves to blame for Trump’s 2nd term. They could have held primaries, selected someone with a few dollars in campaign funds, and still beat Trump. Democrats falsely believed the size of a campaign war chest determines a candidate’s chances of winning.
Dean Phillips, then-Congressman (democrat) from MN3 ran against Biden in 2024 because he knew senile Biden would lose. All of DC knew Biden was senile before that debate. Swapping in Harris and prohibiting any competition was stupid and anti democratic. Dean Phillips was treated like an enemy. He should be remembered as a hero.
Hell, if exit polls are to be believed, had Harris taken a less genocidal tack on Gaza, she might well have won.
Just stating the obvious: the Iranians have Trump pinned down even though he has access to the best resources in the world.
Thats how moronic he is – a total douche
I just hope there’s not too much more destruction/loss of life before we can get rid of him. This is a moral issue now
The moral issue is the evil spread by mullah controlled Iran. Iran, controlled by mullahs, is a grave, long-term threat to the US and world peace. It was only a matter of time until Iran obtained nuclear weapons and military capacity to be untouchable. Stopping mullah-led Iran now had to be done.
So what time is it there in Tel Aviv?
Mullah lover. How about you tell us about the great life in mullah led Iran?
How’s the weather in Tel-Aviv? Sunny with 100% chance of missile storm?
Anyone having a lot mullah is a Mullah. Why do you think they call it mullah. The US is run by a bunch of Mullah’s. The tech and Wall Street PE Mullahs are the worst.
It is not the business of the US until Iran is close to nuclear capability as a WMD. They are not close at this point. If the US wants to go after evil leaders start with Putin. Iran is 5 to 10 years away from nuclear capability as a WMD if it is in fact pursuing nuclear weapons. Irans stated intention is nuclear energy and it has agreed to inspections. So Iran was not a clear and present danger when this excursion started and the US had no real justification for taking out its leader other than he was bad.
The US focused on Iran as if it was going on a royal hunting expedition for something to do while bored on a Sunday afternoon. “Hey Pete let’s go kill us some rag heads”. Not realizing that Iran has been practicing the art of war for 4,000 years and they may not have the best weapons but they know a thing or two about strategy (unlike Pete the Moron and lying Donald who shoot first and think about strategy later).
All of this blood is on Trumps hands.
In any case T lost Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent. His letter of resignation says it all. Thank God a couple of people with their brain still intact around. But most likely too late. Iran has the USIS-led West by the balls and no way out without major loss of face.
West’s decline much accellerated by this, perhaps for the better, cutting things short instead of decades of agony. 2030 the target date for new world disorder, anyone remember?
Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent Resigns
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran”John Leake, Mar 17, 2026
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/counterterrorism-director-joe-kent
Another great post Mish! If everyone read this website and understood the way the country works, the mainstream media would be seen for the propaganda war machine it is
Poor post by Mish. He will not even acknowledge the grave long term threat of evil mullah led Iran.
The EU should completely shun us and Trump’s calls should be sent directly to voice mail. Hopefully he croaks or is impeached and removed from office soon. Not one of our former allies is coming to bail us out. Thanks a load, Donnie Dementia!
Smart move by Germany, still paying reparations from the last one….ouch
Meanwhile, why isn’t Trump calling on the Israeli navy to help open the Strait of Hormuz, last I saw they’re pretty good at intercepting food aid flotillas headed for Gaza
Why?
Well because that would mean Israelis might die for the cause! Protecting them is the most holy and secret duty of congress, the senate and the president. Not agreeing is antisemitism. Do you agree?
Nobody’s saying it, so here goes. Europe needs to start working to isolate the U.S. politically and economically. Our country illegally attacked another country and are now actively harming European and Asian economies. We are Europe’s primary enemy now. That will change after the election next November, but it’s going to be a long stretch to get to that. There may not be much left by then.
A German conservative party politician was quoted to state “Europe is fair game” a couple of years ago. Nothing has changed since. String-pullers in the background maximizing chaos all over the globe, Europe first, to wit: US/Nato-provoked US proxy war in the Ukraine. Simply part of the greater plan to install Jerusalem as the new dystopian world HQ. Let’s see how this one pans out. Doesn’t seem to be going too well currently.
quoted: The US is wasting time and resources in overseas conflicts, National security should be built on domestic strength, specifically by securing our power grid and reducing global oil dependence. We have the technology, tools, solar, wind, advanced battery storage, nuclear power to make this happen.
We have the wrong people in place to make this happen.
We’ll remember that when Russia attacks Germany next time.
which would be the first time.
You obviously miss their point. NATO is DEFENSIVE, so Russia attacking Germany is, well defensive.
Attacking Iran, well, is not.
If they want they can manipulate the law by saying –
“Iran is attacking NATO economically”
Or
They try to pass the Strait and are attacked by Iran. (Freedom of navigation)
Now they don’t want to join as there is no chance of succeeding.
NATO is like the UN. A bunch of wimps. Like Europeans in general.
:Next time”? You have never, obviously read a history book. Tooo many big words there, no doubt.
^ another Israel-First traitor
One way to get out of NATO.
Why would NATO be involved in a war in the Persian Gulf?
Well, NATO was involved in Afghanistan and the destruction of Libya. Nothing “North Atlantic” about those, either. And there are plans to expand “NATO” to Asia. America wants sacrifice South Korea, Japan and the Philippines first in a war against China. That’s what you do with vassals. Sacrifice them first. “To the last Ukrainian”, as Lindsey Graham said.
Why would the US? Why would the US have bases ringing all around a country on the opposite side of the world from where we live? 50,000 soldiers occupying foreign countries paid for by US taxpayers?
Surprised the GCC countries have not told the US to leave their countries by now.
They will
They are certainly paying the price for it now
Because the US would not do so, even if ordered.
For that matter, the gulfie tyrants like their western bank accounts, their investments, their trophy properties, their vacations, their shiny western toys.
The Houthi leaders have none of these things, which is why they can give the Americans the finger.
For is it not written of old, that “freedom’s just another word, for nothing left to lose”?
Donald Trump’s casino businesses filed for bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2009 . While he never filed for personal bankruptcy, these corporate reorganizations had a devastating impact on his shareholders, who were left with pennies on the dollar.
Its terrible, terrible and terrible.
Good luck, USA.
He is not a businessman.
He is not a politician either.
He is not a soldier.
–
Just a ____
perfect front man for the string-pullers in the background.
Well, just a bit too perfect perhaps.
Maybe he ought to just build them a skating rink and call it “mission accomplished.”
Trump needs to be removed via the 25th amendment due to his incapacity and spend the rest of his days rehabilitating in a mental institution.
If Trump is “wrong” in his attack on Iran, I wonder if being “wrong’ is cause enough to invoke the 25th as intended in the establishment of the 25th).
“being wrong” is not the offense.
VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION is.
Trump needs The Nuremberg Treatment.
He just belongs in a nursing home.
Right next to Joe!!!!
The smartest course of action for Trump right now is to cut his losses and stop escalating the war. He’s already lost a lot, but he’ll lose even more if he continues.
“Cut your losses” is the only cure for a gambling addiction. Stop trying to get the losses back. Accept the losses and move on.
Easier said than done, and no, I don’t think Trump will do the right thing here.
Who defines winning vs losing and what does winning have to be to be won?
The smartest course of action s to go full in and invade Iran like Genghis Khan would have. KIll all IRGC and their first born sons.
LOL. Good luck with that.
If you need a ride to the Army enlistment center just let me know Jojo
Fingers crossed the next admin will prosecute all MAGA and their first sons who benefited from this pillage of the US.
Trump will pardon everyone including himself
We’ll drop you off at the Iranian border with a rifle and a few clips. Have at it.
^Chicken-Hawk loser
“Cut your losses.” This makes me laugh.
America hasn’t lost anything. It is doing the world a favor. Just because the Europeans are too broke to afford a short-term increase in fuel doesn’t mean that it’s not a righteous war.
MTG has it exactly right. Trump is a fraud and liar and now a major killer. The US has been Israel’s bitch for quite a while now, but Trump carries it to a new level…because it unleashes him to be a total bully with a bit of support from the Mockingbird media.
Good for Germany. We should have taken the same rationale after Russia formally invaded Ukraine.
… and not allied with Russia? I think that happened.
I don’t think we can classify our leaders actions as “allying” with Russia.
I think we should have stayed out of the situation totally. It was/is NOT our war. And the consequence there (Russia finally settling the Donbas civil war and in command of that region) would have had no appreciable negative impact to the US or our allies. Unless Europe thinks the Ukraine as a member of the Russian Economic Block to be negative).
It shouldn’t have been our war, but it WAS our war – in the sense that we had a bunch of CIA bases there and instigated the ouster of the elected leader and basically ran the government thereafter. And it definitely became our war after the Biden dispatched Boris Johnson in April 2022 to tell Zelenskyy in no uncertain terms that he should fight on and NOT sign the already-agreed-upon settlement that would have left the Donbas nominally in Ukraine, albeit with autonomy.
Wrong. We, together with Russia, guaranteed Ukraines territorial security when they willingly relinquished the nuclear arms left on their land when the Soviet Union collapsed.
That was in 1991.
Thats not what happened. Nice histroical revisionism.
Yes we should have. The war would be over, young Ukrainian lives would have been spared and Germany would have cheap energy.
Apparently not our war, either
The new US minsweepers formerly in the ME were spotted in Maylaysia
The German government and its elite are freeloaders. Keep it simple.
Freeloaders on whom?
Germany missed the point of Trump asking Germany to assist. It isn’t because the assistance is needed but to show solidarity. At least Germanys refusal will help with the ending of that cold war relic (NATO).
Before you ask for assistance you need to ask for advice.
I agree. I think NATO seems to be of benefit for strictly the Europeans.
If they don’t help I think a formal disbanding of NATO makes a lot of sense. They seem to not like us anymore, so I don’t see the problem.
Disbanding NATO. Now there’s something we can agree on.
It is nice to see the Europeons finally grow a pair and say no to “daddy”.
It may have more to do with the wolf being at the door. None of the European economies are healthy. Thanks to EU bureaucracy and Green New Scam stuff.
And the coal rollin’, fossil powered data center USA has a thriving economy?
They screwed themselves by cutting off Russian gas.
Europe is feckless. Individual countries have some excellent weapon systems. Europe is incapable of any military action without the US. Most importantly, Europe lacks the will to fight. They only want appeasement and surrender.
At least there are one or two commenters on this site who get it. I am shocked at the low-level drivel that the comments on this site have become.
It didn’t used to be this way on this site.
Reality is winning out, sunbeam.
We were supposed to be trustworthy allies of each other, until the orange clown arbitrarily upended that with his stroppy antics – a proper ally would at least have the decency to forewarn of any major policy changes, & give time to prepare, not just storm in & wreck everything.
So that $188 billion that America has spent on Ukraine is all for naught, huh? The Europeans care more about “daddy’s” rhetoric than his actions?
The Europeans might want to reconsider their response to this.
Most of the money spent “on Ukraine” has gone to US defense contractors, with a portion of that same money recycled into congressional campaign coffers. Then there are the many billions skimmed off by the corrupt Ukrainian regime members who have it stashed in foreign banks and used it to buy real estate in London, Miami and Israel. Most regime members are rootless cosmopolitans, not actual Ukrainians – which is why they can heartlessly send Ukrainian conscripts to their deaths on the frontline just to keep the grift going. Zelenskyy may have planned to live out his life in Tel Aviv, but it remains to be seen whether there will even be a Tel Aviv.
That’s a pretty cold smackdown, coming from the country that started the first two world wars.
Dude, that over 100 years ago.
That’s just smart talking to stupid.
The banks started the World Wars.
And yet here we are with Trump having won a second term.
After his disastrous handling of Covid he now threatens all of our allies and destroys our position as a trusted nation.
Thank Fox News and all of its advertisers. thank them by boycotting any product advertised on Fox and write to those advertisers telling them why!
The Stupid will not be denied. It is everywhere, like The Force.
You can’t put Covid on Trump. He wasn’t president for 90% of it.
Trump was the President for 1/3rd of the pandemic, and he spearheaded the rapid deployment of a supposedly experimental and untested vaccine into the arms of Americans at least 667 million times.
He had plenty of time to get the kooks riled up and feisty.
Covid was a psyop. A successful short term public relations exercise, a long term destruction of society. Medical malpractice extraordinaire.
Say what you will about Trump, but all these countries have a huge economic incentive to help with the Strait of Hormuz. They can hate America and Trump all they want, but the longer the Strait is closed, the longer their own economies will suffer.
If they don’t want to get involved in the war, and they’re not with America or Israel, then I don’t see any problem with them sending their oil tankers through the Strait, right?
They should give it a try.
How could they “help”? There’s 1,000+ miles of Iranian coastline in close proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranians can also shoot missiles from further back. Should the Europeons send a company or two to help with a land invasion against Iran’s million man army?
Since the Iranian drones appear to be shot off form the backs of trucks and Israel/US have total control of the skies over Iran, we should issue a ban on trucks. Any seen will be taken out. That should reduce drone attacks.
Hey Trump- I’m available for consultation. Ring me up!
Iran is 636,000 square miles. That’s about the size of Germany, France, Spain and Italy put together. I think you have an exaggerated opinion of the capability of the two attacking countries. By a lot. Remember, we lost to the Houthis.
We only “lose” because we are unwilling, as a country, to do what is necessary to win.
For example, if I were in charge, I would wait for one of those “we hat America” massive rallies in the center of Houthi land with a million people in the streets and then I would shoot missiles into the middle of the crowd. FAFO!
We have control of Iranian airspace. We have drones capable of monitoring large areas fro movement of large objects, such as trucks and for sudden heat signals. Using Ai, these could direct a missile to that location, following the heat source, in seconds. Why isn’t this being done?
Gratifying to see that American hubris is as alive & well as ever – I still remember the same attitude over Vietnam in the 70s, you came unstuck then too in your smug arrogance. Just accept that this mess is more than you can deal with, & find a way to get the f out, before you ruin the rest of the world – who the hell do you think you are?
Because there are still a few humans left in the US Govt.
Saudi Arabia (with U.S. assistance) bombed Yemen for years and killed hundreds of thousands of people. When the Houthis closed the Bab-el Mandeb Strait the US bombed them for months until we got sick of having ISR drones shot down and planes sinking into the sea. There’s never been a successful “regime change” brought about solely by bombing. Not in Germany or Vietnam or Afghanistan. Even now, Hamas and Hezbollah survive. America has the best air force in the world, but we still eventually manage to lose every war. In part, that’s because we’re always attacking other countries. We could defend ourselves just fine, but going around seeking monsters to destroy is destroying us.
Our problem is that unlike Russia and probably China and NK, we don’t want to put our soldiers at risk as the American public gets upset when our soldiers die.
This is where robots will come in. It is almost 100% certain that the US will be the first country to deploy robot soldiers.
Here’s a recent story that fell through the cracks and no one noticed due to the Iran attack.:
Shooting missiles from “further back” allows for them to more easily be shot down. When you have more ships that can shoot them down, it becomes a more even fight. It’s about numbers.
At some point, Iran runs out of missiles and drones, especially if the region is choked off from military supplies and weapons.
Trump also has his eyes on Kharg Island, which is the economic lifeblood of the country. If that is seized the iranians’ only choice is to blow it up (or try) or to expose themselves and try to fight for it. The first option will destroy their economy, making it a futile gesture. The second option will result in mass casualties on their side in addition to a distraction that will prevent them from choking the Strait.
I’m not a military strategist, and even these options are clear to anyone who thinks more than one step ahead.
You are thinking in a static model with no adaption from the US and the Israelis. I know it’s fun for your type to think that the US and Israel are stupid and did not plan for this war, but Iran has major vulnerabilities and they are not winning.
What are they going to shoot down Iranian missiles with? Patriot 3’s? THAADs? We’re retrieving both of those from South Korea. The US has a lot of standoff missiles – JDAMs and JASSMs – but everyone knows we’re running short on interceptor missiles. Israel is almost out. American bases in GCC countries are out. The US absolutely was not ready for this war. That’s why the US Joint Intelligence Community Council advised Trump against starting this war, as did his own hand-picked chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
If invaded by ground troops Kharg Island will become a six mile long graveyard for Marines. What makes you think it’s not already covered with explosive devises ready for the invasion?
Well it’s possible that 8 billion people decide that they no longer want to deal with this bullcrap and decide the best course of action is to “sacrifice” a few million people in the middle east at the heart of all these endless problems. It’s already been attempted once by a man with a funny mustache.
I hope everyone comes to their sense before that happens.
Yeah your right. I could never quite figure out Abraham Lincoln’s mustache. What’s up with that.
As far as I have been able to make out, Iran is letting tankers through if the oil is traded in yuan, and it isn’t going somewhere that supports the country that is bombing Iran.
If that’s true, it would explain why all the world powers have told Trumpstien to sit on it and spin. They’ll still get their oil.
Which is why I’d imagine the US will shut off Kharg island sooner rather than later.
Bomb it and blame Iran.
What’s another lie to Trump and his minions? Nothing, its what they do…
That’s what the Amphibian forces are for. I just don’t understand why it will take them 2 weeks to get to the are from Japan. Why weren’t they brought in earlier?
Why aren’t you among them, rambo?
Because dipshit Trump and his real estate buddy advisors thought that killing the Supreme Leader would cause the Iranian government to collapse. He thought he could install Kristi Noem as the new Supreme Leader.
Wrong. What was hoped was that there was some cohesive opposition group that would jump into the void once the Ayatollah was gone and take over. Sort of like in regular African coups. But that hasn’t happened. Why?
So America can de-facto hold oil tankers hostage now by threatening people into joining their lost war? I’m sure that’ll convince Europe to help!
Or, America realizes it can’t win and calls a ceasefire as American gas dries up.
Art of the Deal
America might call a ceasefire and Iran might not oblige. BTW, where is Mileikowsky?
Business Man in case you haven’t noticed the Chinese & Indian flagged vessels are able to transit the Straits of Hormuz.
So why will either of those two countries send their navies?
I don’t think they will. But they might get interested if the U.S. seizes Kharg island.
The entities of interest are the NATO countries. If they want their oil they might want to take part. Otherwise it will be left to the U.S. and Israel.
By the way, the U.S.has allocated $188 billion toward the Ukraine war effort. That came in the form of help from U.S. bases and personnel in Europe (intelligence), weapons and direct aid to the Ukrainians.
But we are told that the Europeans are telling Trump to “guck off” because he insults them for not spending more of their own money.
Now we have a conflict that directly impacts their bottom line (oil access and pricing) and when help is requested for a narrow mission they say, “F – you Trump and America.”
And who are the petty ones?
Iran can wreak havoc on gas and oil production throughout the GCC. Qatar has already shut down their gas production, and they’re the biggest producer in the region. Getting vessels through the Strait isn’t the only problem for the West. If the Saudis succeed in shunting oil through their lateral pipeline to the Red Sea, expect the Houthis to close the Bab-el Mandeb Strait again.
If they want the Strait reopened, the way to do this is to give up the war on Iran.
Perhaps hoisting your by your own petard would work as well? Let’s try and see what happens!
No. Iran will just reconstitute and get stronger and more belligerent.
You can pretend otherwise, but I won’t.
I guess we have to destroy every country in case they might get belligerent. It’s the American way.
Took a couple of republican senators to walk over and tell Nixon its time to leave.
Trump and a lot of wealthy men need to keep the public mind off the Epstein files
He thought Noem was gonna Old Yeller him, that’s why he fired her.
Republicans of that character no longer exist. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney are gone.
Who? What?
Any naval vessel that tries to “keep open” the Strait of Hormuz against Iran’s wishes will be attacked with Iranian missiles and probably sunk. That’s why the US Navy wants no part of it. Why should any other country volunteer to have their ships sunk?
All the rest of it – illegal war, no prior consultation, etc. – is also true, but the main thing is that there’s nothing anyone can do to keep the strait open if the Iranians want it closed.
There’s also nothing that can be done to force Iran to change its government.
You might amend it to ‘nothing we are prepared to do’.
I’d imagine a few nukes would change a lot of minds. Might not even take nukes if we were prepared to destroy say the water supply.
Israel’s water supply is a lot more tenuous than is Iran’s. Israel gets the majority of its fresh water from desalination, Iran only about 10%.
So why hasn’t Iran managed to hit this clear traget?
It is a war crime to do that. Something Israel and or the US did…
What the fuck is wrong with you?
People who follow rules in war are fools.
Roughly half the people within Israeli rule are Arabs. Iran has to worry about them. Iran may still choose to destroy the desalination plants at some point. Israel opened up that possibility by hitting an Iranian desalination plant.
Religious people have Morals, secular people have none.
I think regime change is no longer considered possible, under any circumstances. I’ve heard Rory Stewart (The Rest is Politics) state that he has heard that the Iranians have a succession plan “6 or 7 men deep”. This is a country that will not hesitate to simply shoot protesters in the street. And in the rural areas, there are no protesters bc they are content living in the religious culture they have been raised in. Its incredibly parochial to think that everyone everywhere is deep down “just like us”. Culture matters, and to many, its our culture that has gone off the deep end. (Cf. Academy Awards/Red Carpet walks/plastic surgery etc)
Wait until the special forces arrive.
In a short bus?
On one of your tractors that you don’t use because you spend so much time commenting here.
“I would also like to remind you that the U.S. and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired.”
Trump is the poster child for the ultimate poser, hubris, karma, irony, and cognitive dissonance all rolled into one fat TACO.
Excellent post though, 3-star Mishelin award granted, worthy of a long repeated read. Sadly, none of it will sink in with the MAGA cult, they are too brainless and clueless at this point to be helped. Only thing left for these morons is poverty, death and eternity with their evil master.
Not their circus not their clown.
Not their fire drill.