There was no gain, except from the point of view of Netanyahu.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is lying about the costs. He came up with $25 billion.
Those are just the direct costs. The true numbers counting lost business, rising gasoline prices, rising fertilizer costs, etc., are in the many hundreds of billions of dollars.
The costs go beyond the tangible to loss of respect, waning US global influence, relations with China and the EU, and the need to replenish weapons.
Daniel Davis Deep Dive
This is stunning. To solve a problem that didn’t exist (a nuclear weapons program which US intelligence confirmed has not existed since 2003) in search of an outcome that air power alone could not accomplish (the military defeat of a country as big as much of western Europe), we have squandered the blood of hundreds of Americans (including 13 dead), the loss of 16 military bases, the destruction of scores of aircraft and billions of dollars worth of high-tech radar systems, and laid the foundation for likely global recession and possibly depression.
And we are shelling out $1.5 billion PER DAY to continue deepening our failure.
That is a profound casualty and loss statement for a war of choice that was obviously doomed to fail before it started.
Profile: 4x combat vet (DS, OIF, AFG x2). Host Daniel Davis Deep Dive YT
Forces Trying to Push the US Back to War
That’s a great listen but long.
Davis cited military experts who thought it was likely Iran would end up controlling the strait if the US started a war in Iran.
Now forces want to keep us in war.
A No Win Escalation
Joe Kent exposes how “poison pills” in current diplomatic discussions seem to ensure “there’s no way that it can actually end via an agreement” acceptable to the United States and Israel.
Demanding zero enrichment is a “non-starter” for Tehran, leaving President Trump with zero diplomatic room to maneuver, and retaining its nuclear materials and reprocessing capacity is a non-starter for the president. Strategically, Kent argues the President must “flip the script” and pull U.S. forces out to empower Iranian moderates and restart *real* diplomacy.
This bold move allows both nations to “say domestically… that they had won the conflict,” averting a catastrophic Middle East conflict.
Without this radical shift in U.S. strategy, the only remaining political option is to double down and restart a hot war – which would *greatly* increase the cost of our strategic failure and likely devastate GCC oil production capacity for years – or kick the can down the road and not decide by keeping the blockade in place. These two options would be result in the oil and gas and petroleum products remaining blocked inside the Straits and keep building damaging economic results for the U.S. and our Asian and European allies. Those options are catastrophic and awful. The best option is the ‘ugly’ deal we call ‘walk-away’ option.
Kent discusses how Israel purposely killed the moderates with full understanding radicals would take over ensuring there could be no possible deal.
Trump is looking for an off-ramp, but an off-ramp is not what Netanyahu, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, or the industrial military complex wants.
We are in a no-deal-possible setup at the moment and many want to keep it that way.
We’ll Close the Strait Too
Col. Douglas MacGregor
“The goals were never realistic. We didn’t go through the process of establishing the attainable political-military goal was. We never understood the limits of our military power. We didn’t look at Iran honestly, its size, its population, its capabilities. We grossly underestimated Iranians. I think we can attribute a lot of that to Israel. And we marched head long into something at the behest of Israel.”
Tucker’s Private Talk With Trump
Tucker to Trump: “Look Netanyahu hates you. You know that.”
“People pushing you to do this, want to destroy you. And they are doing this on behalf of Israel, whose goals include getting the United States out the Middle East. … I said that right to his face.”
“And he [Trump] said ‘Yeah, I know.’”
Tucker listed a big batch of names all acting on behalf of Israel.
How Long Can Iran Survive a Blockade?
The Washington Post reports U.S. intelligence says Iran can outlast Trump’s Hormuz blockade for months
A confidential intelligence community assessment delivered to the White House also finds that Iran retains a substantial missile and drone arsenal.
The analysis by the U.S. intelligence community, whose secret assessments on Iran have often been more sober than the administration’s public statements, also found that Tehran retains significant ballistic missile capabilities despite weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli bombardment, three of the people familiar with it said.
One of the U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post said they thought Iran’s capacity to endure prolonged economic hardship is far greater than even the CIA estimate. “The leadership has gotten more radical, determined and increasingly confident they can outlast U.S. political will and sustain domestic repression to check any resistance” inside Iran, the official said. “Comparatively, you see similar regimes lasting years under sustained embargoes and airpower-only wars.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Iran is losing half a billion dollars daily because of the blockade. “During Operation Epic Fury, Iran was crushed militarily,” Kelly said in a statement. “Now, they are being strangled economically by Operation Economic Fury and losing $500 million per day thanks to the United States Military’s successful blockade of Iranian ports. The Iranian regime knows full well their current reality is not sustainable, and President Trump holds all the cards as negotiators work to make a deal.”
But the CIA estimate says Iran can survive the U.S. blockade for 90 to 120 days — and maybe longer — before facing more severe economic hardship, the four people familiar with it said.
Key findings regarding the blockade’s impact, as of May 2026, include:
- Resilience Timeline: The CIA estimates Iran can endure for at least three to four months, challenging claims that the blockade would cause immediate collapse.
- Economic Adaptation: Iran is storing oil on tankers and reducing production to keep wells functional, while using overland rail/truck routes to bypass the naval blockade.
- Military Capabilities: Despite the blockade, Iran retains approximately 70% of its prewar missile stockpile and 75% of its mobile launchers.
The Iranian leadership has shown increased confidence in their ability to outlast U.S. political pressure, with some officials believing they can sustain the current situation for months or even longer.
No Good Options
Trump literally has no good options.
He does not want to escalate the war. We know that because he didn’t, even when Iran directly attacked US ships.
Yet, Trump keeps making idiotic demands that he knows Israel cannot accept.
And he makes counterproductive statements” like “small price to pay” statements on the price of oil and gasoline.
Consumer sentiment and Trump’s polls are in the gutter.
For What?
To solve a problem that didn’t exist at the explicit request of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Musical Trbute
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It appears Netanyahu is making demand on Trump again.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is “work to be done” in Iran as he acknowledged that Tehran retains many of the capabilities it had at the start of the war.
In an interview with CBS “60 Minutes,” he said the joint US-Israeli war on Iran “accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over.”
Hmmm. I guess we haven’t taken out all of their military as Trump keeps saying. And there is a lot more war yet to come, according to Israel.
So the strait isn’t going to be fully open anytime soon.
Iran has finally responded to the US proposal. No reports of what the response is yet. However, Iran resumed attacks on ships and the UAE shortly after.
I’m guessing they told the US that they don’t like the proposal.
that money goes to rich military contractors who then buy assets. so at the very least the stock market is going to keep going up.
Iran responded to Trump’s offer this morning, but not clear what was in it
Iran resumed attacks on ships and the UAE shortly after their proposal was received in Pakistan.
I’m guessing they told the US that they don’t like the proposal.
Trump can not walk away. Doing so makes him a loser, and he can’t possibly deal with that. And Iran’s oil wealth is owned by the government, not a bunch of shareholders. So the government is under no immediate pressure to export oil. It can last a lot longer than a few months. And Trump can’t run again, so why would he care if gas prices go to $6 or even $10? He can blame Biden and the idiot portion of the population will believe him.
In the end, those of us who do care about global warming will be able to thank Trump for ending the use of the internal combustion engine, however unwittingly.
So we have spent $72B, so far, to protect Americans from being potentially vaporized by a chanting “Death To America” Country in the Middle East. Hmm… you think they mean it, and will do it? I Do!!!
So we have spent, or have available to spend, what Congress has made available, to the tune of $188B, so far, in spending related to the war in Ukraine.
Let’s see… 1. So we spent $188B, so far, for another Country all together, that isn’t even in a war, and just continues to piss of another Country, because we keep sending them Money & Weapons, to do so. Nothing gained by the Country we gave our Taxpayers Money to however. Nothing!! The Country they keep pissing off with our Taxpayers Money, is gaining more and more territory as a result. So we basically paid for Russia to Own and Occupy more of another Countries Land, and wipe out a majority of there Soldiers as well. Good Investment of Our U.S. Citizens Money? NOT!
Let’s see… 2. So we spent $72B, so far, to protect “Our Country” and not somebody else’s. We have taken away, what we think, is there ability to Vaporize us with Nuclear Weapons. We have annihilated there ability to harm us short term, and are now seeking to verify the chant of “Death To America” Country, doesn’t possess the ability to build any Nuclear weapons anytime in the near future.
Yet another Country, that isn’t even in a war, and just continues to piss of another Country, because we keep sending them Money & Weapons, to do so. Nothing gained by the Country we gave our Taxpayers Money to however. Nothing!! The Country they keep pissing off with our Taxpayers Money, is gaining more and more territory as a result. So we basically paid for Russia to Own and Occupy more of another Countries Land, and wipe out a majority of there Soldiers as well. Good Investment of Our U.S. Citizens Money? NOT!
– What Gain? > I think that’s clearly obvious, and for Our Country, and at a fraction of the cost! And we are still paying, for another Country to continually fight a war, that they, and not us, refuse to stop fighting. Even with a “Peace Agreement” in hand. Go Figure…
Some in our Government, remain as stupid as they have been, about the same issue, while others are trying to protect and save America. I will take Door #2 in this instance, each and every time!!!
“I will take Door #2 in this instance, each and every time!!!”
No you won’t.
Only $72B Vs. $188B each and every time, yes I will! In this instance anyway, as it was and still is a question of how much will it cost for Peace. One or both sides, have hash a chance to call for such, in both examples. Yet here we sit still fighting…
Iran has shown no interest in building a nuclear bomb. Even if it did, an attack on the United States would be an act of suicide. And no one, even the most fanatical, would never do that.
leaders have made aggressive statements regarding their military capabilities and intentions, which have raised concerns internationally.
The country’s nuclear program has been a point of contention, with many fearing it could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
An attack by Iran, would not be suicide by who it attacked, as they would be annihilated. Fall out will also render many areas unusable for most everything, but death..
STATEMENTS! By Jove, they made aggressive statements?!? They clearly need to be bombed.
we haven’t accomplished shit.
Nope, not yet. We have done everything possible to push for Peace, but not there as of yet. Maybe next month, year, or never? We have decided not to allow for a nuclear weapon by Iran moving forward, and by any means necessary. What that works out to be, is anyone’s guess at the moment, unless you’re a mind reader.
“ We have done everything possible to push for Peace, but not there as of yet.”
Lol! What planet are you living on?
We fucking attacked them! We killed most of their leaders and thousands of their citizens! Is that what you call pushing for peace?
Dumb fuck.
Nothing says “we pushed for peace” like 1. launching a coup attempt in ’53, 2. funding an enemy invasion, 3. applying sanctions over decades, 4. tearing up an agreed and complied-upon (by them) deal, 5. assassinating a military commander, 6. sanctioning an attack on its embassy, 7. pretending to renegotiate the deal we just tore up in order to surprise-bomb them, 8. attempting another coup via armed internal proxies and 9. pretending to negotiate a second time on the deal we tore up in order to surprise-bomb them again.
We just want to live in peace! We’re doing everything possible. What’s left? Bombing a playground for peace?
The Iranians are not very close to having a nuclear weapon and have been far more transparent about their uranium enrichment than Israel has
https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2026/05/07/two-weeks-to-an-iranian-nuke-the-ultimate-false-flag-lie/
They chant “death to america”! Oh my god! Wait… why can’t we just chant “death to Iran” and call it even?
Sorry, bud. The only mushroom clouds are in your propagandized head. You’ve fallen for WMD sucker-trap 2.0.
Door #2 is someone else’s war
Military Keynesianism has been the foundation of the US economy since WW2. Military spending is basically hiring people to dig holes and then fill them in….it’s just done with bombs. I would have preferred nice infrastructure like China is building for its people, but we get Brasil and India. Too bad, America. We are run by greedy, stupid oligarchs.
I agree! And that $188B we pissed away in Ukraine, could have went a long way towards some nice Infrastructure, instead of blowing it all up!
Look at the USA vs China over the last 50 years. No contest, China is better for it’s people certainly not perfect but better.
Did Tucker say to Trump that one of Israel’s interests is to “push the U.S. out of the ME” so Israel could be the “regional Hegemon”? Am I interpreting this correctly?
On its face, this seems unlikely. Hasn’t Israel always wanted to draw the U.S. INTO the ME, and weren’t wars always a good way to do that? And hasn’t the U.S. always obliged?
As I see it, if anyone is pushing the U.S. to leave the ME (besides Iran) it would be Trump himself. By this logic, Trump would prefer the U.S. to withdraw from the ME quagmire and for Israel to fill the role of regional Hegemon so the U.S. could outsource the ME problem to Israel.
That would leave the U.S. to pursue other higher priorities (e.g. China).
Instead, Iran is becoming the regional Hegemon. Oops.
Or am I missing something?
The end results are always the same under taco and his lemming followers.
The modern day version of mutt and jeff.
A better song for Trump is “Start Telling the Truth” by a band called Ironically “Toronto”. Trump demanding that Iran stop all enrichment is not a poison pill. Everyone expects Trump will Taco at this point.
My expectation is that he will close up shop, declare victory, and dump the whole mess on the UN. In keeping with Tradition the UN will give away the farm to make a deal. Iran will come out better for this and the US will come out worse.
We are already getting into primaries! he needs some space between the end of the war and the mid terms so that his brain damaged supporters can forget about this awful chapter in MAGA world.
Clearly for the profit for defense companies and contractors. Let’s not pretend it was for anything else
Clearly the profit for defense companies and contractors was a secondary benefit. Let’s not pretend it was for anything other than the continued coverup of trumps’ pedophilia and rape of underage children.
Normally this would be the case. However in this case, it was a poor distraction ploy away from Epstein.
here is the plan: Rejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump’s religious liberty commission
https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/rejecting-church-state-separation-list-trumps-religious-liberty-132808625
Trump is still waiting for Iran to respond to his latest proposal. He said he expected a response Friday night. Currently it is already Sunday in Iran and still no response other than this:
Iran warned it would launch a “heavy assault” on US assets in the Middle East if its ships face further attacks during the countries’ tenuous ceasefire.
This was in response to the US attacks on Iranian tankers.
Iran is just stringing Trump along, while he keeps making his usual statements; “we won the war, Iran should surrender, we hold all the cards, we are having good negotiations, we are close to a deal”.
Iran love this as it makes Trump look like an idiot.
At this point Trump would settle for an opening of the strait, and agree to negotiate everything else later. He is desperate for something positive to happen before his trip to China.
But Iran won’t agree to open the strait unless they control who gets through, they can charge tolls, and the US ends its blockade.
Those here who think a restart of Operation Freedom will fully open the strait didn’t pay attention to the first attempt. 3 ships in 2 days. Normal flow is over 100 ships per day. OF is a desperate attempt that is doomed to fail.
The strait will not fully open anytime soon. The world will continue to forgo all the oil, refined products, and other exports until Trump either gives in to Iran or just gives up and walks away.
“Iran is just stringing Trump along…”
Are they, or is Iran waiting on the Chinese summit for Trump to find out what the deal really is?
“The strait will not fully open anytime soon.”
Most likely not and my guess is six to ten months, if we’re lucky; and that is if Trump doesn’t bend to China.
Successful negotiations with Iran have historically taken several years. Iran takes their time to get what they want.
The same is true with many country to country negotiations that take place globally. Some take over a decade to work through.
Trump wants a deal within a few hours or days. He is impatient. Which is a big weakness when dealing with a country as careful and patient as Iran.
China and Pakistan are actually assisting Iran in this process. They are all playing on Trump’s desire for a quick deal.
The current situation is different and that is this time around the US is directly engaged in the fighting, and not using a proxy.
Last time this happened the US installed the Shah of Iran. It took the US only 4 days to oust Mosaddegh, who by the way was democratically elected, and after those 4 days the Shah of Iran was installed.
So historically when it comes to direct conflict with the United States it’s relatively a short period of time before Iran breaks. Why is this? Because in that situation (the white revolution) and this one – it’s not about money (and obviously so given how Trump makes the world suffer for this).
It’s why Trump thinks he has all the time in the world, and why Trump belives he has a right to decide who the future leader of Iran will be. And it’s also why Trump believes he has won, and will win, the war.
It is different. This time Iran has now discovered that they can control the Strait of Hormuz. They feel they have the leverage this time. Which is why Trump is frustrated and desperate to get it open again. And he can’t.
And how you control it against an army with advanced weapons?
One way is to anticipate what your enemy will do, and source the materials, weapons, and trade that will withstand the enemy attacking.
The biggest difference isn’t the control of the strait but they found an ally outside the dollar system, thus sanctions that have been applied to Iran since the days of Obama haven’t crippled Iran. Proof is they last longer than Trump can, and if it goes this way it will soon be evident.
Just like the sanctions didn’t cripple Russia nor China. Thus all roads lead to BRICS.
I don’t know, but I’m guessing they have some cannons in those mountains that can launch a one ton round and hit any ship they wish. I don’t think there’s a way to defend against that other than taking out the gun, and how do you do that if it’s dug into the mountain.
When I say all roads lead to BRICS I’m saying that in the case of Iran both Russia and China (and probably others in BRICS) have significantly helped Iran to source the knowledge, material, and trade agreements which bypass US sanctions (aka bypassing the dollar system) to be able to do the impossible that we are witnessing today.
For without thos network there would be no controlling the strait, nor the ability to counter and attack American forces or lauch missiles that could travel 2k miles (Diego Garcia). The latter had the EU rethink helping America I’m sure.
It should be noted the first sanctions Obama applied to Iran was 2009-10 (I forget), and BRICS was founded in 2010.
And they probably got the idea to control the strait from Turkey, who’s been charging a fee to cross their waterways since ww2.
“And how you control it against an army with advanced weapons?”
Iran has been controlling the Strait all this time. And the US, with all its “advanced weapons” has been helpless to do anything about it.
Iran is even charging tolls for the few ships they let through.
the last time this happened was 74 years ago, things may have changed.
and the Shah wasnt installed, he was always there. I want to say his dynasty overthrew the previous Shah in 1908, but it was around that time.
Hum sounds like they are taking the same game plan putin uses for trump in Ukraine.
Trump is cooling his heels until he meets with Xi, where is going to give Xi an ultimatum that China needs to force Iran to open the Strait and give up its nuclear material, perhaps to China.
If this gambit fails, then it’s “BOMBS AWAY on IRAN!”.
Why does Trump need China? Or any other country to help?
Lol. And Xi will ram his ultimatum up his shady porthole.
“The costs go beyond the tangible to loss of respect, waning US global influence, relations with China and the EU, and the need to replenish weapons.”
I know the moral aspects of this war are tangled (they usually are), but I don’t think a great power gains respect by abandoning its dependents. I say this as an Australian, almost totally reliant for what little protection we have on the U.S. Navy.
It seems to me that Trump is showing considerable political ability in managing this war. It doesn’t matter what jackasses say about him. It will certainly be a disaster if it means that his team loses the next presidential election.
But it looks to me as if he is handling the military aspects well. He isn’t (so far) putting ground troops in a position to get into losing fights. The Persians look to be running out of ammunition. He looks to be developing a position where he can guarantee safe passage through the Strait for commercial shipping. Persia won’t be able to support its guerilla or mercenary forces in the Lebanon, Syria, and I suppose other places any more.
Israel will remain as a standing insult to the entire Moslem world. But I gather that no-one is prepared to put an end to that by evacuating the Jews.
I suppose people always criticize someone who tries to do something constructive, while saying nothing about those who just coast along, enjoying the benefits of office and doing nothing. Trump has cleaned up Venezuela, and he is at least attempting to clean up the Middle East and Cuba. I think that makes him a “statesman” and not just a “politician.”
I should have added, in my list of what Trump has accomplished in this military adventure, that I think he has put a stop to Persia’s attempts to build the sort of modern missile that could get whatever radioactive material it has into Israel before a defensive system can react. That must be pretty important not only to Israel but to Europe.
Would Iran really nuke Israel knowing they would receive nukes in return?
No, they would not. There better approach would be to go after someplace like Athens, a country that does not itself have nuke weapons as hypothesized in this article:
Some Zionist wants us to believe he cares about Greece? Save the cartoonish imaginings.
It simply does not get dumber. North Korea has nukes (run by a little kid who is completely irrational). Pakistan has nukes (remember when they sheltered bin Laden?) Have we seen any mushroom clouds? Nope. Why in the holy hell does anybody pay any attention at all to the numbskulls who somehow think it’s automatic that Iran is going to elect to nuke people and have all life cease to exist in Iran? Nobody is ever going to use nukes unless one country gets completely stupid and goes to war with a country that has nukes with the intention of overthrowing that country’s government. It’s completely obvious that nukes are exclusively self-defense weapons of last resort. For everybody who has them.
And the reason that these countries have nukes is because past Presidents were too scared to take the action to prevent this happening when they should. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
It makes little sense to use nukes in an offensive operation.
I’m so worried, I haven’t had a night of sleep since 1979 after the Islamic revolution. Not a wink – I promise you.
Religious people can’t be relied on to be sensible, especially if their religion is of the old, “other-worldly” variety. Some of them are probably really silly enough to think that they are going to get a reward somewhere else. Communism was a religion, too (a version of Christianity actually – it was the Christian moral code without the Christian magic stories), but the Communists at least knew that this world is all we have, and they refrained from mutually assured destruction because of that.
Obviously wrong. It is completely irrational to believe Iran would use nuclear weapons and see themselves exterminated from the face of the earth.
If people are silly enough to let themselves be guided by religions that are completely discredited, there is no limit to what they may do, in my opinion.
I doubt Iran would use their nukes but would not take much for Israel to use theirs.
Iran is turning out to the adult in the room.
More “love taps” on IRGC! Turning Iran’s Persian Gulf beaches into an environmental disaster. No skinny dipping this summer. But sad for the animals.
Yep. The war isn’t over. And the strait will remain mostly closed. The global economy will continue to suffer from the loss of 10+ mb of oil per day, the loss of refined products, the loss of helium, sulfuric acid, urea, fertilizer, LNG, aluminum etc.
Trump is humiliated. At this point he will settle just to get the strait of hormuz open again. And then negotiate everything else much later (or never).
All this wasted time, money, economic cost and human cost to be in a worse position than before it all started.
90k bbl/day offline to refinery fire in USA. Surely an accident, but it does Iran’s bidding, might as well be them. What if they got serious and took out 2mm more in refining capacity, gasp?
Yes. Chalmette Louisiana. 190k bd. Lots of distillates (diesel, jet fuel).
Reformer breakdown. If minor: 3-7 day repair. Moderate: 2-4 weeks. Major damage to adjacent equipment: 1-3 months.
Should raise diesel prices along the Gulf Coast while shut down.
Trump really should strip your citizenship and expel you from the country.
I’m not really an American. I’m a 12 year old Australian girl. So he can’t expel me. But he might try to molest me. It’s what he does. Probably better if you let him molest your daughters. You would probably enjoy that. Gotta serve your cult idol.
You people really are sick.
Perhaps Israel (or its billionaire election influencers in the US) can reimburse the Defense Department (whoops, Department of War) for the cost.
Meanwhile back at the ranch China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, the Saudis, Qatar, and who knows who else are discussing a new security framework for the Middle East that encompasses the new reality. I’d love to be a fly on the wall at Trump and Xi’s meeting this week if it occurs.
Confucius meets Forrest Gump.
The gains include an effective halt to the Iranian Regimes attempt to develop a nuclear weapon or two or three, a decimation of the old guard leadership in the Regime that may lead to an eventual relaxing of the leaderships oppression over their citizens or a complete replacement of said leadership. With the US blockade, the squeeze being applied to the Iranian economy and the leadership issues, the Iranian proxies (Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis) have been left w/o their usual cash payments and weapon resulies, thus neutering them, which all-in-all has led to a safer Middle East, at least for the moment.
This just a few items off the top of my head.
You know that Iran has not had a nuclear weapon development program since 2003 (that is actually the conclusion of the US intelligence agencies’ testimony as presented under oath in Congress). The current Iranian leadership replacing those murdered by Israel/USA consists entirely of IRGC combat veterans of the Iran/Iraq war – not likely to bow to the confused and amateurish dictates of the USA. This war will likely last through the November election, at which time the Republicans will be chased out of the House (and possibly the Senate). And Trump will be impeached for unilaterally waging the stupidest war in American history (and considering our efforts in Vietnam, Libya, and Iraq, that’s pretty darn stupid). As for Hezbollah, even the Israelis admit the “most moral” army in the world is getting its butt kicked in Lebanon.
Art, you can’t reason with people who are only using half their brain.
You are full(ly) of crap, Art.
Why do you think that the country was building their nuke labs into the sides of mountains? Why did they have rooms full of centrifuges enriching their uranium to at least 60%? Civilian applications never require more than 10% enriched uranium. Why did the Iranian Regime refuse to allow IAEA full, unrestricted access to their nuclear labs. What were over 200 Russian nuclear scientists ding in Iran until they were evacuated 6 weeks or so ago?
YOU can hide your head in the sand and ignore all the evidence around you but the rest of aren’t quite so dumb.
“the rest of aren’t quite so dumb”
self-representation matters
Our entire military intelligence disagrees with you. But you keep doing the Bibi-dance!
1) Tulsi testified late last year that Iran had not resumed and pursuit of a weapon
2) May just as easily lead to nothing or worse
3) Iran is neutered, eh? Let’s check on that claim in a month
4) You and I define a safer ME far differently
But your posts have clearly shown that you don’t have a clue what you post about.
2-Star Mishelin award granted for excellent post.
Once again, each post makes the case for a good exit strategy. Endless waste from clueless politicians, cut in benefits for US citizens, money wasted around the world, war, destruction, animosity, etc.
And then things only get worse from here with inflation, demographic death spiral, debt, and the great dumbining of American people with an abysmal education system.
Do worry, Trump will find a way to make things even worse.™
Slurp, slurp…
The natural disaster that the Trumpstein Administration, more destructive and wasteful than hurricanes and earthquakes. It’s hard to get tax increases through Congress, so it’s taxes by other means. Oh well, the Pyramids were built with the purpose of draining excess wealth from ancient Egyptians to blunt their political power, I guess we all should have known it was coming.
US Spent $72 Billion in First 60 Day of Iran War, for What Gain?
What, you haven’t heard of the military industrial complex?
Every dollar of product burned up in the “excursion” will be rebuilt or replaced
Usually at a higher price
And even better, more high-buck speculative “death Star” technology gets green-lighted
(watch out for those ventilation shafts!)
build complicated “swiss army knive” weapon systems that try to do too much and end up doing all of them poorly..
Seen Epstien in the news for the last two months?
And Netanyahu’s corruption trial still hasn’t happened.
The pigs have been well served, spending other people’s money.
Former Mossad director Meir Dagan said that Netanyahu was prone to put his own personal interests ahead of Israel’s. War protects Netanyahu from standing trial. And that is about as rational explanation for this truly stupid war as any.
Here is the reason we spent our blood and treasure. Ukraine smuggled drones into Russia using containers. Iran would do the same with nuclear weapons into the US(Great Satan)..
Little Boy Bomb 15KT, which is tiny by todays standards, had .07 sq mile fireball, 2.18 sq mile radiation, 1.55 mile shock wave at the surface, not air blast. Put in your location.
https://outrider.org/projects/nuclear-bomb-blast-simulator
Fatalities Injuries
New York 135,237 177,360
Philadelphia 106,642 99,322
Chicago 188,090 121,534
Houston 58,297 43,849
Long Beach 45,830 34,327
Washington DC 98,903 104,623
St Louis 29,320 23,086
San Francisco 60,280 130,045
Galveston 6,487 10,970
Baltimore 45,329 59,148
Seattle 53,878 58,353
Tacoma 19,293 17,594
Miami 31,487 36,265
Los Angeles 65,134 77,541
Did you notice these are all port cities?
Pakistans first nuclear test was 5 bombs with yeilds between 6 and 40 KT.
With wild eyed nuclear weapon weilding mullahs who are not afraid to die to bring the 13th Iman.
Do you want to gamble? I do not.
How’s the weather in Tel Aviv mister Goldfarb?
Iran has a far more powerful weapon that can destroy the world (economy): control of the flow of oil.
The fact that Trump has been neutered on this whole thing tells you how powerful that Iranian weapon is and we still havent seen the end of this show.
And it seems you forget that if Iran wanted to harm the US they could do so with the nuclear material they have already, no need for a “kaboom” bomb when radioactive fallout will make cities unlivable.
The world is not stopped w/o the Iranian oil. Sure the cost is higher but business continues. The world can exist w/o Iranian oil. The sky is not falling, Chicken Little.
“The sky is not falling”
“watch out for mushroom clouds over New York”
-Discuss
“… we still havent seen the end of this show.”
In fact I would say this is the true start of the beginning, for Ukraine was just the starting show (though it will have a new importance in the near future).
It’s already encompassed the world if you look at energy supply, and supply of fertilizer to name a few, and the butterfly effect of it all suggests that this pain is just in the beginning stages.
The fracturing of alliences, the destruction of alliences, the breakdown in trade, and the supply shortages – its all signs pointing to a breakdown in the order that managed this world for a few hundred years or more (Western societies as a whole).
A breakdown of the world order of this magnitude is gonna be very painful, and the tighter they try to hold onto the past the more chaos and uncertainty will pass until it or the world can’t handle it and it either self-destructs or the rest of the world destroys it.
So, what was stopping Iran from smuggling a dirty bomb all these years?
Because they aren’t as crazy as they boast about being?
Then we don’t need to worry about their having nukes.
The same is true of almost every country in the world, what makes Iran most likely to do it? What is the evidence they would it?
You don’t want to gamble? Does it seem more likely now that it won’t happen, or did it seem more likely when they had agreed not to build a bomb and have inspectors come onsite whenever they wanted to verify (I mean before Trump tore up the agreement)?
We are less safe, not more safe, after our attack. Assuming Israeli and MIC talking points are true is something only unthinking puppets do.
Look at the US response to ~3k deaths in 9/11. Imagine what our response would be to the numbers you list above. Iran would be carpet bombed using nukes. The whole country would be radioactive for the next few centuries at least. Millions would die.
Avoiding this is worth how many $$$?
We should give Iran nukes to protect themselves from Israel’s attacks.
All this word and numbers salad to say nothing of substance, you should be an active part of the goons in charge…
And if Iran got a larger nuke from NK, then multiply the carnage by 5
You are blind. We gamble everyday, drive a car, eat or drink anything? We just accept the odds of disaster against it’s not happening this time. The odds of Iran setting off a nuke in the USA are incontestably small.
The war has accomplished the one and only objective of the Chief Pedophile of the United States: prevented Bibi and the Mossad from releasing the videos/photos/files which they received from Agent Epstein. Mission accomplished!
Never mind the billions – that’s taxpayer money (ours) and it’s gone. Think of all the loot the insiders are making; that’s real money and we ain’t gettin’ any. That’s the justification.
Ah well, maybe next time.
Trump’s last announcement that a deal between Iran and the US was at hand (earlier this week) there was one trade that positioned itself 30 minutes before that announcement and made over 100 million shorting oil on the news – one trade.
A lot people seems to belive that their ability to time things based on what trump says and does is making them money, but when you compare their gains against insider trade gains people should seriously be asking themselves some key questions.
Like if an insde trader is making 100+ million a trade how bad are things gonna get; and why is it I pat myself on the back for making 1k or less per trade in light of what these people are making; and why isn’t anyone doing anything about these illegal trade practices?
The truth is when this ship finally blows, and it will and sooner than most think, those not making 10k trades or more at a time will be in the very same position as those doing no tades at all (literally that means almost everyone).
Those 9.99k gain traders (and below, and again, literally almost everyone) are just chasing dust. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, the only thing you can count on in the (near) future is what you know and what you have on hand.
A drunken sailor would show more restraint with his wallet than this administration does with taxpayer money.
The US literally gets no benefit at all out of this war.
Justifying it requires laughable contortionist ‘thoughts’ like “we obliterated their nuclear capability but in two weeks they will rebuild it and destroy the world”.
But the most amazing part is the way so many people lap up this vomited nonsense like it was crème brûlée, despite there not being a shred of evidence for it. It is not just MAGA who repeats this nonsense, but the entire deep state. You hear it constantly from CNN, Fox, NYT, WSJ, CBS…almost everywhere.
Face it, the two biggest extremists, the two biggest terrorist nations in the world are Israel and the United States. Iran is a moderate state in comparison.
Iran War Cost Tracker
https://iran-cost-ticker.com/
$41 million per hour….lolz
JFC
That amounts to about $100k per Israeli. Meanwhile, my daughter’s family struggles to afford health insurance under Obamacare.
stop the nonsense scapegoating. israel is doing what it’s supposed to be doing. looking out for its interest. it’s the U.S. leaders who aren’t.
the issue with blaming a scapegoat is the problem never gets solved, because it’s not the cause of the problem.
Israel is a parasite.
It is a psychopathic, narcissistic, paranoid, genocidal mass murderer who routinely targets and kills journalists and first responders. Each of these points is so thoroughly documented that it is not possible for any honest and intelligent person to deny.
I don’t understand the downvote. Some people never learn.
Fuck those murderous zionist pigs.
Nobody of influence and authority cares about your daughter.
Team R, ladles out Eagle Flag Freedom talk while leaving everyone outside the 1% to be picked clean and left to rot.
Team D affects a most touching sympathy for the masses, the working class, whatever you want to call it, but only as an abstraction. Actual working class people they can’t stand. Otherwise, Team D policies resemble those of the corporate imperialist muppets of Team R, BUT this time with pronouns!
Col Douglas MacGregor is on Daniel Davis Deep Dive every week for an hour, and on Judge Napolitano’s Judging Freedom every week for half an hour.
Always gives the absolute unvarnished truth, which is why he is still only a Colonel, the truth is not acceptable in Washington. In a sane country that valued competence, he would be a 4-Star General, or President. In the USA, he is a lonely voice in the wilderness.
He often releates how he talks to high level people in Washington who are competely detached from reality, and have no wish to change their mind on anything. A few might agree with him in private, but cannot dare to do so in public.
Yeah, big beaks on those “hawks”
They are also pushing guys like Lindsey Graham to pester Trump…helps to provide some goyim-cover, so the whole op doesn’t appear more painfully obvious then it already is
Drawing down out-of-date ammunition and missile inventories that will have to be replenished. Some high-paying jobs may be created.
if we can sources the raw materials
Yes, good point.
$72B is nothing to the $720T that would be needed to rebuild the world after Iran has successful nuke strikes. The cost of doing nothing has become too great.
Absolutely amazing that there are people as stupid as you alive today.
How’s the weather in Tel Aviv, Moshe?
Trump has already cost the world 1,000X to what the US haas spent on this pointless terrorism campaign.
This is the most victorious victory ever in all the history of victories, ever.
Trump has applied his stable genius to solve all the world’s problems through the use of 73-D chess.
You people just aren’t appreciating this level of winning.
The Federal government has much more in common with organized crime than it does differences.
It started this war in the most thuggish underhanded way, reminiscent of the latter part of the Godfather movie. It has started the vast majority of all the planet’s wars since WWII. It pays for all these wars of whim with the loot it takes from the taxpayer (through threat of force) and printing money to steal the value of what’s in your savings account. Keep chanting that mantra “our Democracy” if it makes reality disappear.
Our democracy? The supreme court just decided we don’t need that, every state can gerrymander itself into a one party nightmare where your vote means nothing unless you’re voting for the party who gerrymandered!
Sounds like a dead nation walking if you ask me.
Mish, do you agree that Wars are as much about Feeding the MIC trough as anything they use as a cover story to wage them? Viet Nam…Korea…Iraq….now Iran. NONE of those “reasons attached” to those wars makes any sense at all – – esp with the dawning of “WTF JUST HAPPENED?” and then slowly realizing that these wars were all based upon lies?
The conclusion is that America’s best ally Israel and the US own MIC are conspiring together to destroy America.
Interesting comment about the Israelis assassinating the more moderate Iranian diplomats & politicians.
Indeed. My favorite AI engine sees a pattern:
The history of targeted killings in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict includes several high-profile cases where the individuals targeted were described by analysts, diplomats, or their own organizations as negotiators or moderates within their respective movements.
The following examples highlight instances that are frequently cited in this context:
## 1. Negotiators
These individuals were either directly involved in active peace talks or were the primary political contacts for ceasefires and diplomatic negotiations.
* **Ismail Haniyeh (2024):** As the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Haniyeh was the lead negotiator in the multi-month ceasefire and hostage exchange talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. He was assassinated in Tehran in July 2024. Many analysts and regional mediators argued his death severely sabotaged the momentum of the ongoing peace talks.
* **Khalil al-Hayya (2025):** Reports from late 2025 indicated an Israeli airstrike targeted the Doha office of Khalil al-Hayya, who succeeded Haniyeh as a lead negotiator for Hamas. While he reportedly survived the strike, the event was widely characterized by mediators as an attempt to derail active ceasefire negotiations.
* **Ahmed Jabari (2012):** Jabari was the head of Hamas’s military wing, but at the time of his assassination, he was reportedly in the process of reviewing a permanent truce agreement with Israel. Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin, who was the intermediary for the deal, stated that Jabari was killed just hours after receiving a draft of the proposal.
* **Said Hammami (1978):** A PLO representative in London, Hammami was one of the first Palestinian officials to publicly advocate for a two-state solution and engaged in secret talks with Israeli peace activists. While his assassination is often attributed to the Abu Nidal Organization (a hardline Palestinian splinter group), some historians suggest the environment of “no-negotiation” policies contributed to the vulnerability of such early diplomats.
—
## 2. Moderates
“Moderate” is a relative term in this conflict, often used by historians and intelligence analysts to describe leaders who favored political engagement over armed struggle or who represented the “pragmatic” wing of their organizations.
* **Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi (2004):** While a co-founder of Hamas, some political analysts at the time of his death argued he represented a shift toward a more political and “manageable” leadership within the group compared to the more dogmatic military commanders. He was killed by a missile strike shortly after taking over from Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
* **Thabat Ahmad Thabat (2000):** A dentist and high-ranking Fatah official, Thabat was known for his extensive ties with Israeli peace activists and his advocacy for a negotiated settlement. His assassination by a sniper during the early Second Intifada was cited by peace groups as the killing of a vital bridge-builder.
* **Abu Ali Mustafa (2001):** As Secretary-General of the PFLP, Mustafa was a political figure who had returned to the West Bank following the Oslo Accords. His supporters argued he was a political leader rather than a combatant; his assassination led to a significant escalation in the conflict, including the retaliatory killing of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
* **Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) (1988):** Often considered the #2 in the PLO after Arafat, Abu Jihad was viewed by some Western intelligence agencies as a pragmatic leader who could have steered the First Intifada toward a political resolution. He was assassinated by Israeli commandos in Tunisia.
—
## Notable Mention: Yitzhak Rabin (1995)
While not assassinated by Israel as a state, the Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner was assassinated by **Yigal Amir**, an Israeli right-wing extremist. Rabin is perhaps the most significant “negotiator and moderate” killed in the conflict, as his death is widely seen as the moment the Oslo Accords and the broader peace process lost their primary engine.
Interesting analysis. So, they’ve been doing this for a long time.
A very long time
Indeed. Note that the AI list omitted the two attacks on Iran both launched under false pretense of negotiations. I can’t understand why we are willing to squander our credibility this way.
Yup. All roads lead to Palestine.
Why, you ask? Israel kicks several hundred thousands Palestinians from their homes at its formation in ’48, again in ’67 and piecemeal today in the West Bank. Leaves most stateless and fights/continues to deny Palis their sovereign rights. PLO/PFLP/PIJ/Hamas predictably and understandably fight back. Hezbollah pushes Israel out of Lebanon in 2000s but sticks around to help the Palestinians in fighting back. Both Hez/Hamas seek help from whomever will help them – in this case – Iran. Iran is happy to help because they want to prevent the US and its Israeli proxy from controlling their backyard. Therefore, Iran becomes the enemy.
The US, who picked a fight with Iran in the ’53 coup, funded Saddam’s war on Iran, sanctioned them for decades, attacks them and bombs them, declares Iran a terrorist state. Bibi is happy to recruit the US in its fight against the last state actor that supports the Palestinians after the US destroyed (Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq) or co-opting (Saudi, Jordan, Egypt) all the others.
All roads lead to Palestine. All because the world ignored the rights of the majority Palestinians to the state they were entitled to in favor of the minority, mostly recent immigrants.
And so it continues.
Israel has killed over 70k Palestinans over the last couple years. They’ve created their very own holocaust.
More information here, in case anyone wants to know the details of some of the war crimes they have committed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_war_crimes
Mind you, the Palestinians have committed their own war crimes, in defense of a just cause. But a just cause does not whitewash war crimes. Attacks on civilians are never justified. ~700 of the ~1100 killed on Oct 7th were noncombatants.
mish the whole point is to make a bigger hole for the burial site for the empire….
You’re absolutely within your (our) right to question the cost / need of / for Government spending. We need to hold OUR government(s) accountable. I just wish it was done for every administration not just Republicans. ACA ??, Fraud ?? Libya – I don’t recall anyone asking about that let alone why – after Nancy said it was OK, $ to Ukraine – when questions about that arose you were branded a Racist, etc., NGO’s $ for foreign aid that NEVER left the USA ??, CA’s high speed rail whose cost keep going up ??
^whataboutism on full dispay here.
None of the things you cite has or will do 1/1000th of the damage to America Trump has already done, at the behest of Israel.
Is it not the classic definition of treason that those who act in the interests of a foreign nation to the detriment of their own home country are traitors?
Although trump has committed war crimes at the demand of Israel it is not for the benefit of Israel (in his mind) but to bow to the blackmail of not releasing the Epstein evidence that would lock trump up for the remainder of his sick fucking life. It’s all, always and only about him.
Nothing has ever been less accountable than the actions of the people who man the US Federal government in the last 3 decades. Instances of malfeasance in the millions. How many innocent civilians are dead because of the bombs of Clinton, Bush II, Obama, Biden, & Trump?
As Martin Luther King said, the US govt. is the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world.” Exactly 1 year before he was assassinated.
It’s our democracy, a sacred institution controlled by Israel. Proud?
President Netanyahu of the Great State of Israel just issues the orders, his Governor of the Israeli Province called America, Viceroy Trump, has no choice but to follow them.
Just think, we could have built 72 pretty princess White House ballrooms for that amount!
… and the only dance Trumpstien knows is that double jerkoff dance.
Col. Douglas MacGregor hits the nail on the head.
Immeasurable economic and political damage self-inflicted on the US and the world as a hostage following instructions from tiny Mediterranean state, vastly accelerating the decline of the American empire. The world will not be the same in 6 months time.
Based on your post I did my research and found that MacGregor is basically pro MAGA. Some of his interviews are over the top ( like his stating that Ukraine military death toll is 8 times more than Russia). In this day and age, if you are going to believe someones opinion you need to know more about that person.
And that’s why we can’t have nice things, like Social Security.
Yeah, no worries chief, that’ll be gone soon enough
I have never understood why our mass shootings are young men killing children instead of old men that ran out of money shooting wealthy people.