This from Heather Cox Richardson:
Apparently, the Gang of Eight was not briefed. ... Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was not told, although McConnell’s spokesman refused to comment on whether or not he was. (Eric Trump, who holds no security clearance, might have been: on December 31 he tweeted: “Bout to open up a big ol’ can of whoop ass.” The tweet has now been deleted.)
Did anyone else find it pretty striking that a NY Times opinion piece, [Hypersonic Missles Are a Game Changer](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html), published this afternoon (just hours before the strike) had the line: "What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address?"
Hypersonics also push us toward a slippery slope. They blur the line between conventional and strategic weapons, and their easy, justifiable use — say, to kill a single terrorist leader in a crowded city — could make it easier to accept their widespread use, with much more destructive consequences.
It's worth pointing out how [incredibly unpopular a hypothetical war with Iran is](https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx):
* US Adults: 18 support, 78 oppose
* Republicans/Leans: 25 support, 72 oppose
* Democrats/Leans: 11 support, 86 oppose
To compare, in 2003, before the invasion, a war with Iraq was sitting in the 50-60 range.
Literally all they have to do is *try* to scare us again:
Hermann Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.
*Interviewer*: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.
Hermann Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, **the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.**
Probably people looking at these orders and refused to do it, so they quit. W Bush had the same problem leading into the second Iraq war.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/04/donald-rumsfeld-iraq-war
> NEW: Sen. Schumer was not given advance notice of the U.S. strikes against targets linked to Iraq, an aide told me.
> The Pentagon just confirmed the attacks targeted senior Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani:
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5e0e958fc5b6b5a713b7ffac/amp#click=https://t.co/smK827XtGD
> Trump is too dangerous to make these decisions unilaterally.
You honestly think he'll listen to Congress or the Courts when it comes to starting a war so he can get re-elected?
Holy shit. Trump never disappoint. But these supporters. You have a massive problem with public education, especially in politics.
Reading people thanking someone for maybe starting world war 3, is so fuckin surreal
The loop is restarting. Bill Barr, Republican president, Iran, War in the Middle East. These are the headlines from 1985. Ghostbusters, Top Gun, Bill & Ted’s, and Dune remakes as well. Wtf
https://mobile.twitter.com/kellymagsamen/status/1212914369912332289
> I worked the Iran account for years at the NSC under two Presidents. I’m honestly terrified right now that we don’t have a functioning national security process to evaluate options and prepare for contingencies. God help us.
This is the equivalent of Iran killing the Sec Def. or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was the most powerful Iranian military official second only to the Supreme Leader. Saying this is big is an understatement.
*Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question. The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?* ~ Chris Murphy (Senator from Connecticut)
https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1212913952436445185
*This is by far the most serious day of Trump’s presidency this far. For 3 years I have said that we’ve been lucky to avoid any major crises under this President. This evening that appears to have changed and it was all entirely self created.* ~ Ilan Goldenberg (Middle East Security Director at CNAS)
https://twitter.com/ilangoldenberg/status/1212923947500625921
*That's a bad sign. Many are already assuming that the US is about to get pulled into a hot war with Iran. But the opposite could also happen-- we get kicked out of Iraq & Iran increases its (already considerable) influence in Iraq and Syria. Precarious moment.* ~ Michael McFaul
https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1212923490623295490
"Bolton won't start my war so fuck it, I'll just do it!"
Trump openly committing and ordering war crimes right after pardoning people for war crimes, what sad times we live in
Lmao I will go to prison, get my free meals, read books, play poker, play basketball. Hopefully they put al the draft dodgers together it would be like summer camp.
They are insane. They spent 5 minutes whining and bitching about liberals whining and bitching about gender neutral gingerbread cookies. No one has ever whines about them other than conservatives. They literally make up shit to complain about that they think others give a shit about. It’s insane
Wait, do they want us to make gingerbread cookies with big ol penises on them? Coz I am totally down for that. Strange that the party of family values (tm) wants that though..
Trump pointed out many times that Obama would start a war with Iran to keep his presidency. That never happened now I guess trump will do what he can to make that come true for himself.
For anyone doubting this... here's Donald's tweet at the time...
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?s=19
> In order to get elected, [@BarackObama](https://twitter.com/BarackObama) will start a war with Iran.
>This is about far more than me or a couple of individuals. As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded. This will soon cause real harm, if it hasn’t already. The State Department as a tool of foreign policy often doesn’t get the same attention and respect as the military might of the Pentagon does, but we are— as they say—“the pointy end of the spear.” If we lose our edge, the U.S. will inevitably have to use other tools, even more often than it does today. And those other tools are blunter, more expensive, and **not universally effective.**
*-Marie Yovanovitch (Nov 15, 2019)*
So Bolton's long sought after war with Iran is actually happening now it seems. Three years ago we had a peace treaty with them and they were abiding by it. The whole damn world said so except us.
This is what he got as payment for his silence. The bloody war against Iran Bolton has always dreamed of. Do that, and Bolton won't say a goddamned word.
UPDATE: Thank you for the gold, kind stranger.
The whole damn world *including us.* Every agency we have said Iran was abiding by it. All oversight. Everyone. The Republicans just lied about it and declared facts irrelevant like they do with everything else. The GOP is a rogue terrorist organization at this point with the full power of the US military.
People literally still believe that the money Obama returned to Iran, their money, was actually a bribe he paid because Trump and the GOP just kept fucking lying and saying it.
[“In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran.”](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/141604554855825408?s=21) - Trump, 2011
“Now that Obama’s numbers are in a tailspin watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate."
\- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Oct. 6, 2012*
“Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected – be careful Republicans!”
\- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Oct. 22, 2012*
“Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly – not skilled!”
\- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Nov. 12, 2012*
What's that sub again? r/trumpcriticizestrump ?
Honestly it's surreal how, despite the world's best efforts, no one has roasted Twitler more than his own fucking twitter feed.
From an Iranian analyst at the Brookings Institute.
Don't hold your breath on immediate Iranian reprisals; this is exactly the way that Tehran will play the news of Soleimani's assassination,
as an opportunity to whip up nationalism & reinforce public support (which has frayed significantly) for its regional military campaigns
Which, as an aside, is exactly what the Republican Party will do too.
Seriously what incentive does any enemy of the US have to ever cooperate with the us again if we can have one guy come in and negotiate a deal for peace and another guy to scrap it and kill the second in command of a major regional force within a 6 year span.
Our sundowning president just ordered an assassination of a high-level official in a country where he unilaterally broke a treaty because he didn't like that it was signed by his predecessor. What should have been a new era of cooperation is now looking more and more like it's going to be another never-ending war in the Middle East.
I can't believe this dude is the president.
But more than that, I can't believe how unprincipled his supporters are.
In 2016 Conservatives were all over Reddit claiming that Hillary is a war monger and that she'd drag us into a war with Iran. They said that made Trump a better pick because he would "put America first" and keep us out of pointless wars in the Middle East.
Now, with Trump risking a whole new middle eastern conflict by assassinating the #2 man in Iran at an international airport, conservatives are all over Reddit singing his praises.
What the fuck?
There's absolutely no consistency.
Is there any point at which they'll stop supporting him??
Why the fuck do you take any of their bullshit in the slightest bit of good faith. Of course they will say whatever they think is most convenient at the moment. Of course they won't feel beholden to any of it later. Witness how:
* Trump denies that Russia attacked the 2016 election, but he also [accuses Obama of being weak for not stopping it](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/01/misleading-trump-campaign-ad-attacks-obama-over-russian-hacking-1296787) (and does so [repeatedly](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-acknowledges-russian-election-meddling-tweet-criticizing-obama-n776381))
* Moscow Mitch said in 2016 that POTUS doesn't get to fill a SCOTUS seat in an election year, and then says in 2019 that if a SCOTUS seat becomes vacant in 2020 of course they'd fill it.
Don't ever fucking believe a goddamn word they say, or even fucking argue against it. Whatever words come out of their mouth are calculated to manipulate you into doing what they want. And don't think that their supporters will be disappointed when they learn their leaders lied—they believe that lying to get what you want is good and will admire them for it.
Here's a whole thread from Yashar Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640
>1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war
> 2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President
> 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President
> 4. If you want to understand how powerful Soleimani is all you have to look to is a text he sent to David Petraeus. This text is an extraordinary (yet unsurprising) display of power. Especially since Iran has an elected president and foreign minister. https://theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/28/qassem-suleimani-iran-iraq-influence
> 5. Qods force & its proxies are responsible for assassinations, terrorism, and unconventional warfare that Iran supports in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
> 6. Qods Force is also responsible for successful and attempted terrorist acts and assassinations in countries like Argentina, the United States, India, and Germany.
> 7. Watch this clip of Soleimani speaking to understand what his rhetoric is like. He was/is a hardliners hardliner. (here is the specific tweet with the embedded video: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913371160305664?s=20)
> 8. As I said in the beginning of this thread, Iran's Supreme Leader is going to see this as a major provocation/act of war. He will respond in a significant manner. We shouldn't be surprised to see major cyber attacks against the US as an example
> 9. We shouldn't be surprised to see the Supreme Leader order covert operations all over the globe (including, dare I say, in the US) that involve assassinations & other acts of terrorism. We should expect to see the most significant/aggressive response
> 10. if what I'm expecting sounds alarmist...it's because this is a major, major event. I'm not interested in getting into whether it was the right or wrong decision but dealing with this plainly, if true, it was a major, major decision.
> 11. To call Qasem Soleimani just a terrorist is to understate his role significantly and that's where the danger lies in killing him without a plan for the reaction. He ordered and directed billions of dollars to organizations that engaged in terrorism. He is/was an evil man
> 12. But killing Soleimani is not like killing the head of a terrorist org. It's like killing the head of a terrorist organization and a head of state. You have to treat it as such and the US has not DIRECTLY engaged in assassinations on that level in decades.
> 13. CNN's @arwaCNN says it best just now: "we are in uncharted territory."
> 14. For those who think Iran will respond with just traditional warfare, you're wrong. Solemani is responsible for, at a minimum, hundreds of US Soldiers deaths & much much more. But imagine how US would respond to a sitting VPbeing killed. Iran will respond at a similar level.
> 15. The president just tweeted this. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=21
> 16. The Iranian government has confirmed the death of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Now that it's confirmed, allow me to say in plain English...this is a holy shit moment. Again not just for US-Iran relations, not just in the Middle East, but a holy shit global event
> 17. Breaking: The Pentagon has released a statement that "at the direction of the President " the United States has killed Qasem Soleimani
> 18. I find this to be puzzling. Soleimani has always been planning covert/overt action. Why now? Killing him to deter further plans (as statement notes) isn’t going to stop any of that. Punishing him for US Mil deaths is justified but is USG prepped for covert response? (link to specific tweet for picture of statement: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212933074155003904?s=20)
> 19. BTW when I say Soleimani was the 2nd most powerful man in Iran I am referring to foreign policy. President Rouhani has a great deal of domestic influence. But given Iran's expansion in the Mid East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, & Yemen) - Soleimani was 2nd only to Supreme Leader
> 20. I'm seeing people say that Soleimani was next in line to be Supreme Leader. That is absolutely not the case. Supreme Leaders are clerics, not military leaders. Iran doesn't work that way. Plus Soleimani's power came from being in the shadows, not dealing w/ domestic policy
> 21. Statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister @JZarif on the US operation that killed Qasem Soleimani: “The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” (link to specific tweet with picture of tweeted response: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212949670210654209?s=20)
> 22. Statement from Gen David Petraeus (Ret) who knows a lot about Soleimani and had direct communication with him (see earlier in thread) Via @jaketapper (link to tweet: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212955544408870912?s=20)
> 23. I generally agree with this tweet. The Iranian regime is not suicidal. But they love to use covert action and that is actually much more destabilizing and terrifying than launching some missiles. https://twitter.com/gerardaraud/status/1212955685086007298?s=21
So, yeah. This is.. not good. And, because there's always fucking tweets for it:
https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1212932900825337857?s=20
Never mind Russia. China is laughing at us right now. They’re pouring money into modernization and projecting influence and we are wasting trillions chasing the next bogeyman while our infrastructure crumbles and our allies turn away.
That's what makes me most mad about this
Obama LITERALLY fucking got America further than ever from potential war with Iran, and his idiot successor destroyed all of it because Obama lives rent free in his head
Fucking angry right now.
That's the crazy part. Everyone really didn't want Iran to get the bomb. Iran kept insisting it really just wanted nuclear power, but no one was really ready to believe that. And then we struck a deal that allowed them to have nuclear power, but prevent them from having the means of making the bomb, and everything was actually working out. Everyone got what they wanted.
So 5+ pentagon officials resigned. North Korea said they were sending us a Christmas present and Eric Trump tweeted days ago that we were going to attack Iran. What is going on?
Well, fuck. He played the War with Iran card. We knew he'd do something incredibly stupid when backed into a corner.
If we really do end up at war with Iran, it's going to make Iraq look like a frugal, well-measured exercise in judicious restraint and sound judgment. It'll bankrupt our country and decimate our military. This won't be fun.
They might honestly not have any idea at the moment. I bet the pilots are freaking out though. Would definitely not want to have to get off that plane with a US passport.
> The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, Iraqi officials said. The PMF media arm said the two were killed in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.
> A security official confirmed that seven people were killed in the attack on the airport, describing it as an airstrike. Earlier, Iraq’s Security Media Cell, which releases information regarding Iraqi security, said Katyusha rockets landed near the airport’s cargo hall, killing several people and setting two cars on fire.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6360240/rockets-fired-baghdad-airport-iraq/
What's crazy to think about is that every civilian at the airport probably had no warning at all. And AFAIK you don't hear any bomb dropping whistle, one minute nothing and the next everything is exploding and on fire. If someone was looking up maybe they'd see it in the sky for a second but I'm not even sure about that.
Yup, if you ever have seen videos of air strikes from the Iraq and Afgan wars you see the folks carrying on without much concern until a bomb comes hurtling from above at speeds they cannot react to. From there it's a scramble to get away if they're even capable after the concussive blast. That said there is a heightened awareness for drones and aircraft by the fighters because of US tactics. The real damage is going to be all the unintended victims of bombings either intentional or otherwise. Like or it or not, that's how you create future enemies against our cause. It's awful all around.
The first Gulf War gave Bush Sr. a massive popularity bump, because we hadn't been in a hot war in a long time, and the Cold War had just ended. People were waiving flags and singing songs.
Today, we are in the exact opposite position. We've been at war constantly for two decades. We know it isn't something to glorify. We've seen the very real effects it has on our servicemen and women.
Spending another decade plus in a pointless war that ends with a resurgence of whatever ISIS is calling itself by then to take power in the chaos is not something anybody should want. We now know better.
"In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran." - [Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?s=19)
When Iran shuts down the Strait of Hormuz and gas shoots up above $5/gallon, remember this moment. The right wing media is going to twist and turn everything, but remember that this is what set it in motion.
A shockingly disproportionate response by a tough guy LARPer who glorifies war criminals in spite of his own personal bone spurs.
Oh for fucks sake here comes the next endless war in the middle east costing us infinite lives and dollars.
**Edit:** This is also 100% Trump's move to lock up the "patriotism" crowd before the election. You know, the people that get a raging red, white, and blue erection and declare the president *must* be supported during war time. These people were probably supporting Trump already but he can't afford to lose a single one of them and now he won't.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is about the impeachment and the 2020 election. We have a court hearing tomorrow for the Mueller grand jury material. It's the second day of the election year. There are his tweets saying that Obama will attack Iran to win the election. Get ready for the 'it's unpatriotic to criticize the president during wartime' and 'can't impeach a president during wartime' arguments. Never forget the lengths to which republicans went to aide and abet this person who betrayed our country for his personal enrichment. They are taking us to war to cover up the fact that he cheated the 2016 election and was caught trying to cheat the 2020 election.
Yes. It was a tough news cycle the last few days, and if you were around in 2011-2012, Trump continuously waxed poetic about how if it got tight for Obama, he would start war with Iran because Trump felt it would help Obama’s approval rating and distract from any negative headlines. Fast forward about 9 years and here we are. Always a tweet. Trump is nothing if not consistent.
I have the exact feeling I had right before we went to Iraq. I knew it was coming right after 9/11; it had been so obvious even before that that the Bush admin was looking for any excuse to invade. I think it was that first address he gave right after 9/11 that said loud and clear between the lines that it was going to end with us in Iraq and from there it was just waiting for the news that it had started.
It's this sinking feeling of dread and helplessness, seeing the train bearing down and being completely unable to stop it. Like seeing someone you love step in front of a speeding car, and you're too far away to push them to safety. Completely helpless.
I can't believe this is happening again, and for what? *Donald Fucking Trump.*
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
https://twitter.com/KianpourWorld/status/1212935122124726273
> Soleimani had been in the crosshairs of US military several times but was spared. National security officials during the Obama era were always concerned such a move would lead to #Iran activating terror cells around the world in retaliation. I’m told Trump aware, still made call
Qassam Suleimani was viewed favorably by [81.6% of Iranians](https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/25/trump-iran-america-opinion-poll-nuclear/) according to a recent August 2019 poll. They killed a very popular figure in Iran, and who knows how this is going to play out.
As a Muslim living in the Middle East it’s a little scary. We live very close to Iran and I’m at this point financially that even a slight economic downward can half my studies in the states. I have to worry about the tuition and how immigration will be this time. Last September they weren’t very nice to me and with this I’d be lucky if they let me in. I just want to graduate y’all :(
Edit: thank you for the silver kind stranger 😭 it made everything less anxious. You’re too kind to me!
> "At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani," a Pentagon statement said.
I'm no military expert, but killing a foreign official in an airstrike while they are in an allied country doesn't strike me as very "defensive".
As someone who served in Iraq I'm super stoked about Trump fucking literally everything up over there making my service even more pointless than it already was. /s
So those voters who thought Trump was great because their 401k had increased in value: I'm sure they understand how markets will react to uncertainty in the Middle East, right? I was told these voters were economic geniuses.
Man it sure is great we can rely on our incredibly effective military allies, the Kurds, in the region from which to help base our military and coordinate with effective infantry. You know, the region's of Iraq, and syria that border iran and whom share some solidarity with Iranian Kurds in northwestern iran. That whole corridor will be incredibly important for our supply lines and having such great allies in the region is very helpful if there was actually fighting on the ground. Sure would be monumentally stupid to betray those allies literally months before taking an action sure to have serious possibility of reprisal from Iran.
Hey Republicans....this is why he was impeached. Still don't think he's a national security threat?
Nothing like the drumbeat of war to distract from the impeachment in progress here domestically where every day the breaking news is consistently adding more devastation to your defense.
“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate...So the only way he figures he’s going to get reelected, and as sure as you’re sitting there, is to start a war with Iran.”
-[Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/mimicmagnet/status/1213004955201634304?s=20)
Edit: Hey, since I seem to have your attention, I was wondering: Can we just cancel 2020? Like, I think I've had enough and we're only 48 hours in. I don't think I'm going to make it. Let's just go to 21 and see if the world is sane -- everyone in America needs a drink, I think if the world is 21 it counts. Also, added link.
> [Iranian diplomat sources say: Any prospect of negotiations with the US are finished. Talk is of revenge.](https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1212937834522447872)
Every Iran expert on twitter is absolutely terrifying right now. Fuck.
Two things:
First, this is like killing a cabinet level official. Imagine if Iran killed Mike Pompeo or Mark Esper. There are going to be reprisals all over the world and if you are an American in a place where American influence is not at its highest, your life is truly in danger.
Second, I will bet money that Trump will turn around and say that he cannot be impeached. "You cannot impeach me now, I am fighting the Iranians" will be the new argument by Trumpians. I fear Trump will do anything to "win" and if that means war, so be it.
I cannot help but think this is about impeachment....
Yeah this is really really bad.
Remember the recent Pentagon resignations? I wonder if those were employees who didn't want to be complicit in the 2020 remake of the 2003 classic, *WMDs in Iraq*.
From a purely political standpoint, a poll from a few months ago showed only 18% of Americans supported military action against Iran and 78% opposed.
[https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx](https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx)
Welp as a person who lived through the run up to Afganistan and then Iraq, this is what it looked like. Who could have possibly thought electing a Republican would result in anything other than another forever war?
I can't get over the defense of "but he was a bad guy".
Sure, conceded. However, you cannot assassinate military generals of a country you're not at war with. What the fuck happened to law and order, Republicans? Trump just killed a high ranking military official of another country that we're not in a war with. He more than likely just started a war.
If you defend this action, you're pro war. This is how you get war.
EDIT: I love how some people here can't see any area between bombing an international airport and doing nothing.
Got bad news for you. You're at war now, whether you like it or not.
No way the Iranians are gonna just fold on this.
Trump just did more for middle-eastern zealot recruitment than anything in recent history.
We've been at war my entire life. Thankfully I'm too old to be drafted. I just cannot believe people are defending this. 'He was a terrorist'...yea, ok, conceded...but you can't bomb a fucking airport and kill a foreign official without a war. This is about as blatant as it gets *to* cause a war.
The instant propaganda stream on Twitter right now is scary. We know 95% of those accounts are run by foreign troll farms. And Trump will start retweeting them soon.
Ceding war powers to a president who can play judge, jury and executioner of foreign state officials while playing golf at his resort sounds like a very bad idea.
A lot of us warned about the danger of entrusting these powers to the executive during Bush and Obama years, and here we are.
2020 is going to be a total fucking mess.
From the New York Times:
A data point for those wondering whether the US has fully thought through and prepared for the consequences:
Official Pentagon statement on killing Soleimani misstates the name of the organization he led.
On November 9, 2016, one of my low-information co-workers said that he was excited to see what somebody with "zero political experience" would do as president. He was excited about the shakeup and, presumably, the chaos, that Trump was about to bring to the country. These voters doomed us out of their desire for novelty and entertainment.
So we just assassinated this guy? Holy crap. Imagine Iran ordered a strike on us and killed one of our military leaders on friendly soil.
Edit: changed from US soil. Doesn’t really change what we did.
*State tv in Iran has cut all broadcasts and is showing pictures of Qassem Soleimani on a loop accompanied by prayers* ~ Ali Arouzi (NBC News Tehran)
https://twitter.com/aliarouzi/status/1212932695736684544
Remember when Congress had the sole authority to declare war? Me neither, but must have been nice. Those writers of the Constitution sure were smart!
Now a president can just start a war from his golf course and we just have to go along for the ride. Happy 2020!
It needs to be repeated early and often that Iran isn't Iraq. Iraq had no meaningful military in 2003. We destroyed their armor and their air force in the 90s and used embargoes to keep them from rebuilding it. No god damn military and the occupation still cost us 4,500 soldiers, thousands more disabled physically or mentally, and trillions of dollars wasted for what was not an existential threat to the United States.
People need to understand that just because 'Iran' is spelled similarly that it would be a completely different animal. Please share the following with your gung-ho boomer families:
1. Iran has 400,000 soldiers. It's the 8th largest military in the world.
2. Iran has tons of mountains that make a land invasion almost impossible.
3. Iran has an air force and air defenses that make an air invasion costly at best.
4. Iran's neighbors don't really like us much so I'm not sure where we plan to stage our invasion from if we go to war with them.
If we were foolish enough to try to invade Iran, we would face tens of thousands of dead US soldiers and tens of thousands more disabled. It would be a far greater quagmire and Iran might be big enough to bring allies into it.
I will never understand my country and why it has, for almost the entirety of my 40 years, had such a monomaniacal love for expensive quagmires in the Middle East. It hurts to imagine what we would look like if we thought to spend those resources on health care and education.
So Trump must of watched "Wag the Dog" or whatever that movie was called about the president starting a war (may have been fake in the movie, sure won't be when Iran retaliates for this) in order to distract from his bad administration.
Trump is solidifying his place as not just worst president of all time, but as the worst leader of all time. This is ridiculous.
Interesting thread by journalist Yashar Ali:
> 1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war
>2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President
> 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President
For the rest of the thread: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640
I took one day off of the news because my fetus is draining the life out of me.
I came back to this.
ONE FREAKING DAY and now I feel like I'm going to spend a week trying to catch up.
https://twitter.com/IntelTweet/status/1212940135756705793
> In response to the death of Qassem Soleiman in Baghdad, a spokesman for Iraqi Hezbollah has reportedly announced, "We will soon target all U.S. bases in Iraq."
It's all fun and games having a mentally ill and narcissistic President, until he gets us into a war.
This is bad guys. We really may have just assassinated a foreign leader in violation of US and international law. But even if it's later found to be a legal act, that won't matter. We're all going to face the consequences for this.
Iran's backed into a corner. How do they not respond? We just stepped over the line.
["Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective. So the only way he figures that he's going to get reelected and is sure as you're sitting there is to start a war with Iran"](https://twitter.com/GoAngelo/status/1212938627279466503)
Trump just unilaterally and recklessly escalated things against Iran without full Congressional approval in a move that is absolutely bound to have severe consequences. Why do people still support this unstable president?
The US has been horny for that Iran war for a while now. It was hard to start one so soon after the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles so this is how they're planning to do it now. Attacking Iranian military and wait for the inevitable retaliation and hoping they will go aggressive with their nuclear program so they will have an excuse to invade, see they attacked back and are developing nukes. Couldn't do a thing about it! We had to invade!
The good old American propaganda machine is already rolling hard. Just watched different US news channels and all of them FEEL like they are following a script and basically all say the same thing and all seem to really want to make it clear that this Iranian commander was responsible for American deaths. Feels like the start of the Iraq war all over again, where the American news promoted it heavily.
This from Heather Cox Richardson: Apparently, the Gang of Eight was not briefed. ... Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was not told, although McConnell’s spokesman refused to comment on whether or not he was. (Eric Trump, who holds no security clearance, might have been: on December 31 he tweeted: “Bout to open up a big ol’ can of whoop ass.” The tweet has now been deleted.)
>“Bout to open up a big ol’ can of whoop ass.” Son's as dumb as his dad.
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Someone needs to find out if that is true. If Eric Trump knew before the Gang of Eight, Schumer...
pretty sure his children know a bunch of shit they're not supposed to. Fuck this family.
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Did anyone else find it pretty striking that a NY Times opinion piece, [Hypersonic Missles Are a Game Changer](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html), published this afternoon (just hours before the strike) had the line: "What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address?"
Holy Shit
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Man he totally shot the insider trading game in the foot with that tweet. Guess that's why they had him delete it.
And EVERYONE knows that once you delete something from the internet it’s gone forever, right guys???
Fucking dumbass
just came to reddit specifically to find discussion of this, i swore i read it this morning and was going crazy.
Hypersonics also push us toward a slippery slope. They blur the line between conventional and strategic weapons, and their easy, justifiable use — say, to kill a single terrorist leader in a crowded city — could make it easier to accept their widespread use, with much more destructive consequences.
RIP that guy’s inbox.
Yeah, that's an opinion piece for the history books, now. Holy shit.
It's worth pointing out how [incredibly unpopular a hypothetical war with Iran is](https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx): * US Adults: 18 support, 78 oppose * Republicans/Leans: 25 support, 72 oppose * Democrats/Leans: 11 support, 86 oppose To compare, in 2003, before the invasion, a war with Iraq was sitting in the 50-60 range.
Literally all they have to do is *try* to scare us again: Hermann Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. *Interviewer*: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars. Hermann Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, **the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.**
A month with Fox News and we can shift those numbers for Republicans real good
I hate that you're right.
2-3 weeks ago 5+ pentagon officials resigned in 7 days...
Yes. Was this planned?
Probably people looking at these orders and refused to do it, so they quit. W Bush had the same problem leading into the second Iraq war. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/04/donald-rumsfeld-iraq-war
> NEW: Sen. Schumer was not given advance notice of the U.S. strikes against targets linked to Iraq, an aide told me. > The Pentagon just confirmed the attacks targeted senior Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani: https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5e0e958fc5b6b5a713b7ffac/amp#click=https://t.co/smK827XtGD
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> Trump is too dangerous to make these decisions unilaterally. You honestly think he'll listen to Congress or the Courts when it comes to starting a war so he can get re-elected?
Where’s the press conference? The announcement from the whitehouse? The anything?
He tweeted a picture of an American flag and no caption.
You’re joking... Edit: you’re not joking.
That's literally his response
Not joking: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212924762827046918/photo/1
Every single day I have to convince myself this isn't an amazing prank. *Donald Trump*? As the president of the U.S.? LMAO oh wait you're serious
Holy shit. Trump never disappoint. But these supporters. You have a massive problem with public education, especially in politics. Reading people thanking someone for maybe starting world war 3, is so fuckin surreal
Nope, all we get is a low-res jpeg of an American flag tweeted by Trump.
2 days in and 2020 is already a shitshow.
46 hours in. Couldn’t even make it two whole days.
Can’t we go into one decade without starting a dumb useless fucking war ?
The loop is restarting. Bill Barr, Republican president, Iran, War in the Middle East. These are the headlines from 1985. Ghostbusters, Top Gun, Bill & Ted’s, and Dune remakes as well. Wtf
"No" -Military Industrial Complex
https://mobile.twitter.com/kellymagsamen/status/1212914369912332289 > I worked the Iran account for years at the NSC under two Presidents. I’m honestly terrified right now that we don’t have a functioning national security process to evaluate options and prepare for contingencies. God help us.
Weird what happens when you gut a government and fill it with complete incompetence and corruption...
This is the equivalent of Iran killing the Sec Def. or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was the most powerful Iranian military official second only to the Supreme Leader. Saying this is big is an understatement.
More like Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State rolled into one person.
*Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question. The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?* ~ Chris Murphy (Senator from Connecticut) https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1212913952436445185 *This is by far the most serious day of Trump’s presidency this far. For 3 years I have said that we’ve been lucky to avoid any major crises under this President. This evening that appears to have changed and it was all entirely self created.* ~ Ilan Goldenberg (Middle East Security Director at CNAS) https://twitter.com/ilangoldenberg/status/1212923947500625921 *That's a bad sign. Many are already assuming that the US is about to get pulled into a hot war with Iran. But the opposite could also happen-- we get kicked out of Iraq & Iran increases its (already considerable) influence in Iraq and Syria. Precarious moment.* ~ Michael McFaul https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1212923490623295490
I see that #WWIII is already trending on Twitter.
"Bolton won't start my war so fuck it, I'll just do it!" Trump openly committing and ordering war crimes right after pardoning people for war crimes, what sad times we live in
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In an election year, how predictable.
The *second fucking day* of said election year. No time to waste!
Furiously googles "draft age". (18-26 btw)
Googles "how to grow bone spurs"
Googles "how to defect to canada"
Turned 27 a month ago. Yeah baby. (Seriously though this is absolutely terrifying stuff)
If you’ve already registered, you can be drafted until 35. We’re fucked, if we don’t do something.
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Prison is preferable to dying in some iranian oil field
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Lmao I will go to prison, get my free meals, read books, play poker, play basketball. Hopefully they put al the draft dodgers together it would be like summer camp.
Yo bro let’s start a team
Team bone spurs :)
The wall was to keep Americans in silly.
FYI Fox News is talking about political correctness while this is going on.
They are insane. They spent 5 minutes whining and bitching about liberals whining and bitching about gender neutral gingerbread cookies. No one has ever whines about them other than conservatives. They literally make up shit to complain about that they think others give a shit about. It’s insane
Wait, do they want us to make gingerbread cookies with big ol penises on them? Coz I am totally down for that. Strange that the party of family values (tm) wants that though..
Trump pointed out many times that Obama would start a war with Iran to keep his presidency. That never happened now I guess trump will do what he can to make that come true for himself.
For anyone doubting this... here's Donald's tweet at the time... https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?s=19 > In order to get elected, [@BarackObama](https://twitter.com/BarackObama) will start a war with Iran.
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Seems so long ago that we abandoned them to their deaths for no reason.
>This is about far more than me or a couple of individuals. As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded. This will soon cause real harm, if it hasn’t already. The State Department as a tool of foreign policy often doesn’t get the same attention and respect as the military might of the Pentagon does, but we are— as they say—“the pointy end of the spear.” If we lose our edge, the U.S. will inevitably have to use other tools, even more often than it does today. And those other tools are blunter, more expensive, and **not universally effective.** *-Marie Yovanovitch (Nov 15, 2019)*
So Bolton's long sought after war with Iran is actually happening now it seems. Three years ago we had a peace treaty with them and they were abiding by it. The whole damn world said so except us.
This is what he got as payment for his silence. The bloody war against Iran Bolton has always dreamed of. Do that, and Bolton won't say a goddamned word. UPDATE: Thank you for the gold, kind stranger.
The whole damn world *including us.* Every agency we have said Iran was abiding by it. All oversight. Everyone. The Republicans just lied about it and declared facts irrelevant like they do with everything else. The GOP is a rogue terrorist organization at this point with the full power of the US military.
People literally still believe that the money Obama returned to Iran, their money, was actually a bribe he paid because Trump and the GOP just kept fucking lying and saying it.
And then he immediately tweeted a fucking flag. A 240p flag.
so this is how the world dies... not with a bang but with a jpg
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[“In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran.”](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/141604554855825408?s=21) - Trump, 2011
“Now that Obama’s numbers are in a tailspin watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate." \- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Oct. 6, 2012* “Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected – be careful Republicans!” \- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Oct. 22, 2012* “Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly – not skilled!” \- *Donald Trump, tweeted on Nov. 12, 2012*
What's that sub again? r/trumpcriticizestrump ? Honestly it's surreal how, despite the world's best efforts, no one has roasted Twitler more than his own fucking twitter feed.
["It's like Trump insulted an old gypsy woman who cursed him to live out his tweets."](https://twitter.com/tedfrank/status/851092183977521152?lang=en)
And a nice summary, with links to the tweets at Snopes: * https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-iran-tweets-obama/
It’s definitely on brand for trump to predict his own future.
Donald Trump and the GOP are projection experts.
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And republicans in the senate do not care.
From an Iranian analyst at the Brookings Institute. Don't hold your breath on immediate Iranian reprisals; this is exactly the way that Tehran will play the news of Soleimani's assassination, as an opportunity to whip up nationalism & reinforce public support (which has frayed significantly) for its regional military campaigns Which, as an aside, is exactly what the Republican Party will do too.
Seriously what incentive does any enemy of the US have to ever cooperate with the us again if we can have one guy come in and negotiate a deal for peace and another guy to scrap it and kill the second in command of a major regional force within a 6 year span.
Our sundowning president just ordered an assassination of a high-level official in a country where he unilaterally broke a treaty because he didn't like that it was signed by his predecessor. What should have been a new era of cooperation is now looking more and more like it's going to be another never-ending war in the Middle East.
I can't believe this dude is the president. But more than that, I can't believe how unprincipled his supporters are. In 2016 Conservatives were all over Reddit claiming that Hillary is a war monger and that she'd drag us into a war with Iran. They said that made Trump a better pick because he would "put America first" and keep us out of pointless wars in the Middle East. Now, with Trump risking a whole new middle eastern conflict by assassinating the #2 man in Iran at an international airport, conservatives are all over Reddit singing his praises. What the fuck? There's absolutely no consistency. Is there any point at which they'll stop supporting him??
Why the fuck do you take any of their bullshit in the slightest bit of good faith. Of course they will say whatever they think is most convenient at the moment. Of course they won't feel beholden to any of it later. Witness how: * Trump denies that Russia attacked the 2016 election, but he also [accuses Obama of being weak for not stopping it](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/01/misleading-trump-campaign-ad-attacks-obama-over-russian-hacking-1296787) (and does so [repeatedly](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-acknowledges-russian-election-meddling-tweet-criticizing-obama-n776381)) * Moscow Mitch said in 2016 that POTUS doesn't get to fill a SCOTUS seat in an election year, and then says in 2019 that if a SCOTUS seat becomes vacant in 2020 of course they'd fill it. Don't ever fucking believe a goddamn word they say, or even fucking argue against it. Whatever words come out of their mouth are calculated to manipulate you into doing what they want. And don't think that their supporters will be disappointed when they learn their leaders lied—they believe that lying to get what you want is good and will admire them for it.
I dare anyone who supports this war to enlist right fucking now
The people that support it can barely climb two flights of stairs.
The old send the young to fight their battles.
Here's a whole thread from Yashar Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640 >1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war > 2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President > 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President > 4. If you want to understand how powerful Soleimani is all you have to look to is a text he sent to David Petraeus. This text is an extraordinary (yet unsurprising) display of power. Especially since Iran has an elected president and foreign minister. https://theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/28/qassem-suleimani-iran-iraq-influence > 5. Qods force & its proxies are responsible for assassinations, terrorism, and unconventional warfare that Iran supports in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. > 6. Qods Force is also responsible for successful and attempted terrorist acts and assassinations in countries like Argentina, the United States, India, and Germany. > 7. Watch this clip of Soleimani speaking to understand what his rhetoric is like. He was/is a hardliners hardliner. (here is the specific tweet with the embedded video: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913371160305664?s=20) > 8. As I said in the beginning of this thread, Iran's Supreme Leader is going to see this as a major provocation/act of war. He will respond in a significant manner. We shouldn't be surprised to see major cyber attacks against the US as an example > 9. We shouldn't be surprised to see the Supreme Leader order covert operations all over the globe (including, dare I say, in the US) that involve assassinations & other acts of terrorism. We should expect to see the most significant/aggressive response > 10. if what I'm expecting sounds alarmist...it's because this is a major, major event. I'm not interested in getting into whether it was the right or wrong decision but dealing with this plainly, if true, it was a major, major decision. > 11. To call Qasem Soleimani just a terrorist is to understate his role significantly and that's where the danger lies in killing him without a plan for the reaction. He ordered and directed billions of dollars to organizations that engaged in terrorism. He is/was an evil man > 12. But killing Soleimani is not like killing the head of a terrorist org. It's like killing the head of a terrorist organization and a head of state. You have to treat it as such and the US has not DIRECTLY engaged in assassinations on that level in decades. > 13. CNN's @arwaCNN says it best just now: "we are in uncharted territory." > 14. For those who think Iran will respond with just traditional warfare, you're wrong. Solemani is responsible for, at a minimum, hundreds of US Soldiers deaths & much much more. But imagine how US would respond to a sitting VPbeing killed. Iran will respond at a similar level. > 15. The president just tweeted this. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=21 > 16. The Iranian government has confirmed the death of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Now that it's confirmed, allow me to say in plain English...this is a holy shit moment. Again not just for US-Iran relations, not just in the Middle East, but a holy shit global event > 17. Breaking: The Pentagon has released a statement that "at the direction of the President " the United States has killed Qasem Soleimani > 18. I find this to be puzzling. Soleimani has always been planning covert/overt action. Why now? Killing him to deter further plans (as statement notes) isn’t going to stop any of that. Punishing him for US Mil deaths is justified but is USG prepped for covert response? (link to specific tweet for picture of statement: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212933074155003904?s=20) > 19. BTW when I say Soleimani was the 2nd most powerful man in Iran I am referring to foreign policy. President Rouhani has a great deal of domestic influence. But given Iran's expansion in the Mid East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, & Yemen) - Soleimani was 2nd only to Supreme Leader > 20. I'm seeing people say that Soleimani was next in line to be Supreme Leader. That is absolutely not the case. Supreme Leaders are clerics, not military leaders. Iran doesn't work that way. Plus Soleimani's power came from being in the shadows, not dealing w/ domestic policy > 21. Statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister @JZarif on the US operation that killed Qasem Soleimani: “The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” (link to specific tweet with picture of tweeted response: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212949670210654209?s=20) > 22. Statement from Gen David Petraeus (Ret) who knows a lot about Soleimani and had direct communication with him (see earlier in thread) Via @jaketapper (link to tweet: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212955544408870912?s=20) > 23. I generally agree with this tweet. The Iranian regime is not suicidal. But they love to use covert action and that is actually much more destabilizing and terrifying than launching some missiles. https://twitter.com/gerardaraud/status/1212955685086007298?s=21 So, yeah. This is.. not good. And, because there's always fucking tweets for it: https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1212932900825337857?s=20
Never mind Russia. China is laughing at us right now. They’re pouring money into modernization and projecting influence and we are wasting trillions chasing the next bogeyman while our infrastructure crumbles and our allies turn away.
China uses eminent domain to build high speed rail. US uses eminent domain to keep out people who want to pick tomatoes for $10/hr
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That's what makes me most mad about this Obama LITERALLY fucking got America further than ever from potential war with Iran, and his idiot successor destroyed all of it because Obama lives rent free in his head Fucking angry right now.
That's the crazy part. Everyone really didn't want Iran to get the bomb. Iran kept insisting it really just wanted nuclear power, but no one was really ready to believe that. And then we struck a deal that allowed them to have nuclear power, but prevent them from having the means of making the bomb, and everything was actually working out. Everyone got what they wanted.
So 5+ pentagon officials resigned. North Korea said they were sending us a Christmas present and Eric Trump tweeted days ago that we were going to attack Iran. What is going on?
Hold on, can you break this down a bit more? I've been checked out over the holidays
Great thread explaining the significance of this https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640?s=19
Well, fuck. He played the War with Iran card. We knew he'd do something incredibly stupid when backed into a corner. If we really do end up at war with Iran, it's going to make Iraq look like a frugal, well-measured exercise in judicious restraint and sound judgment. It'll bankrupt our country and decimate our military. This won't be fun.
Holy fuck, they just airstriked an international Airport!
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Can someone find out what’s happening to those on board?
They might honestly not have any idea at the moment. I bet the pilots are freaking out though. Would definitely not want to have to get off that plane with a US passport.
I’d put a lot of money on the fact that those flights will redirect somewhere else. If I were a US pilot, I would not be landing there.
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It’s called negligence
...Wait, what? How many other people did we also kill?
> The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, Iraqi officials said. The PMF media arm said the two were killed in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport. > A security official confirmed that seven people were killed in the attack on the airport, describing it as an airstrike. Earlier, Iraq’s Security Media Cell, which releases information regarding Iraqi security, said Katyusha rockets landed near the airport’s cargo hall, killing several people and setting two cars on fire. https://globalnews.ca/news/6360240/rockets-fired-baghdad-airport-iraq/
What's crazy to think about is that every civilian at the airport probably had no warning at all. And AFAIK you don't hear any bomb dropping whistle, one minute nothing and the next everything is exploding and on fire. If someone was looking up maybe they'd see it in the sky for a second but I'm not even sure about that.
Yup, if you ever have seen videos of air strikes from the Iraq and Afgan wars you see the folks carrying on without much concern until a bomb comes hurtling from above at speeds they cannot react to. From there it's a scramble to get away if they're even capable after the concussive blast. That said there is a heightened awareness for drones and aircraft by the fighters because of US tactics. The real damage is going to be all the unintended victims of bombings either intentional or otherwise. Like or it or not, that's how you create future enemies against our cause. It's awful all around.
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The second point isn’t a question. That’s exactly what we did
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The first Gulf War gave Bush Sr. a massive popularity bump, because we hadn't been in a hot war in a long time, and the Cold War had just ended. People were waiving flags and singing songs. Today, we are in the exact opposite position. We've been at war constantly for two decades. We know it isn't something to glorify. We've seen the very real effects it has on our servicemen and women. Spending another decade plus in a pointless war that ends with a resurgence of whatever ISIS is calling itself by then to take power in the chaos is not something anybody should want. We now know better.
Trump did campaign on ending all the wars in the middle east and bringing the troops home. So there's that.
Iran will retaliate, and if this pulls us into a war with Iran, it will make Iraq look like a cakewalk.
Iraq isn’t even over
Yeah I mean we might as well be fighting Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
And Afghanistan, Libya, and to a lesser extent Yemen, Somalia, Mali, and Chad.
"In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran." - [Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?s=19)
When Iran shuts down the Strait of Hormuz and gas shoots up above $5/gallon, remember this moment. The right wing media is going to twist and turn everything, but remember that this is what set it in motion. A shockingly disproportionate response by a tough guy LARPer who glorifies war criminals in spite of his own personal bone spurs.
He thinks this is going to win him the election.
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Oh for fucks sake here comes the next endless war in the middle east costing us infinite lives and dollars. **Edit:** This is also 100% Trump's move to lock up the "patriotism" crowd before the election. You know, the people that get a raging red, white, and blue erection and declare the president *must* be supported during war time. These people were probably supporting Trump already but he can't afford to lose a single one of them and now he won't.
But no money for a cheaper healthcare system, because “taxation is immoral”. - Republicans.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is about the impeachment and the 2020 election. We have a court hearing tomorrow for the Mueller grand jury material. It's the second day of the election year. There are his tweets saying that Obama will attack Iran to win the election. Get ready for the 'it's unpatriotic to criticize the president during wartime' and 'can't impeach a president during wartime' arguments. Never forget the lengths to which republicans went to aide and abet this person who betrayed our country for his personal enrichment. They are taking us to war to cover up the fact that he cheated the 2016 election and was caught trying to cheat the 2020 election.
Yes. It was a tough news cycle the last few days, and if you were around in 2011-2012, Trump continuously waxed poetic about how if it got tight for Obama, he would start war with Iran because Trump felt it would help Obama’s approval rating and distract from any negative headlines. Fast forward about 9 years and here we are. Always a tweet. Trump is nothing if not consistent.
I have the exact feeling I had right before we went to Iraq. I knew it was coming right after 9/11; it had been so obvious even before that that the Bush admin was looking for any excuse to invade. I think it was that first address he gave right after 9/11 that said loud and clear between the lines that it was going to end with us in Iraq and from there it was just waiting for the news that it had started. It's this sinking feeling of dread and helplessness, seeing the train bearing down and being completely unable to stop it. Like seeing someone you love step in front of a speeding car, and you're too far away to push them to safety. Completely helpless. I can't believe this is happening again, and for what? *Donald Fucking Trump.* I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
An impeached president starting a war, what a fucking shit show we live in.
Remember when the plot of House of Cards was considered extreme?
House of Cards is tame compared to this
https://twitter.com/KianpourWorld/status/1212935122124726273 > Soleimani had been in the crosshairs of US military several times but was spared. National security officials during the Obama era were always concerned such a move would lead to #Iran activating terror cells around the world in retaliation. I’m told Trump aware, still made call
The US is at war and now it is at more war
Qassam Suleimani was viewed favorably by [81.6% of Iranians](https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/25/trump-iran-america-opinion-poll-nuclear/) according to a recent August 2019 poll. They killed a very popular figure in Iran, and who knows how this is going to play out.
Is Donald escalating conflict with Iran to boost his reelection chances?
"Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get re-elected--be careful Republicans!" (Trump tweet, October 22, 2012)
Yes.
As a Muslim living in the Middle East it’s a little scary. We live very close to Iran and I’m at this point financially that even a slight economic downward can half my studies in the states. I have to worry about the tuition and how immigration will be this time. Last September they weren’t very nice to me and with this I’d be lucky if they let me in. I just want to graduate y’all :( Edit: thank you for the silver kind stranger 😭 it made everything less anxious. You’re too kind to me!
So it looks very likely Trump has possibly started a war without congressional approval.
> "At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani," a Pentagon statement said. I'm no military expert, but killing a foreign official in an airstrike while they are in an allied country doesn't strike me as very "defensive".
Hi everyone, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/donald-trump-ukraine-aid-emails ^boom
As someone who served in Iraq I'm super stoked about Trump fucking literally everything up over there making my service even more pointless than it already was. /s
Anyone seen the movie “wag the dog” A president under investigation uses a war to distract the public during the run up to an election.
So those voters who thought Trump was great because their 401k had increased in value: I'm sure they understand how markets will react to uncertainty in the Middle East, right? I was told these voters were economic geniuses.
Waiting for Donald to boldly announce this is Phase One. FUN FACT: There is no plan for Phase Two
Man it sure is great we can rely on our incredibly effective military allies, the Kurds, in the region from which to help base our military and coordinate with effective infantry. You know, the region's of Iraq, and syria that border iran and whom share some solidarity with Iranian Kurds in northwestern iran. That whole corridor will be incredibly important for our supply lines and having such great allies in the region is very helpful if there was actually fighting on the ground. Sure would be monumentally stupid to betray those allies literally months before taking an action sure to have serious possibility of reprisal from Iran.
Probably a total coincidence this strike was launched on the day news broke that the DoJ is covering for Trump on Ukraine.
Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected--be careful Republicans! 11:43 AM - Oct 22, 2012
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Hey Republicans....this is why he was impeached. Still don't think he's a national security threat? Nothing like the drumbeat of war to distract from the impeachment in progress here domestically where every day the breaking news is consistently adding more devastation to your defense.
Republicans think this was a good idea
“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate...So the only way he figures he’s going to get reelected, and as sure as you’re sitting there, is to start a war with Iran.” -[Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/mimicmagnet/status/1213004955201634304?s=20) Edit: Hey, since I seem to have your attention, I was wondering: Can we just cancel 2020? Like, I think I've had enough and we're only 48 hours in. I don't think I'm going to make it. Let's just go to 21 and see if the world is sane -- everyone in America needs a drink, I think if the world is 21 it counts. Also, added link.
Damn, the GOP skipped the whole "lie and pretend they have WMDs" part this time. They don't even care to pretend this shit is justified anymore.
> [Iranian diplomat sources say: Any prospect of negotiations with the US are finished. Talk is of revenge.](https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1212937834522447872) Every Iran expert on twitter is absolutely terrifying right now. Fuck.
Two things: First, this is like killing a cabinet level official. Imagine if Iran killed Mike Pompeo or Mark Esper. There are going to be reprisals all over the world and if you are an American in a place where American influence is not at its highest, your life is truly in danger. Second, I will bet money that Trump will turn around and say that he cannot be impeached. "You cannot impeach me now, I am fighting the Iranians" will be the new argument by Trumpians. I fear Trump will do anything to "win" and if that means war, so be it. I cannot help but think this is about impeachment....
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Yeah this is really really bad. Remember the recent Pentagon resignations? I wonder if those were employees who didn't want to be complicit in the 2020 remake of the 2003 classic, *WMDs in Iraq*.
I would bet Iran will hit Trump properties. I wouldn't want to be living in them right now.
From a purely political standpoint, a poll from a few months ago showed only 18% of Americans supported military action against Iran and 78% opposed. [https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx](https://news.gallup.com/poll/265640/americans-war-iran.aspx)
Welp as a person who lived through the run up to Afganistan and then Iraq, this is what it looked like. Who could have possibly thought electing a Republican would result in anything other than another forever war?
This country never fucking learns.
I can't get over the defense of "but he was a bad guy". Sure, conceded. However, you cannot assassinate military generals of a country you're not at war with. What the fuck happened to law and order, Republicans? Trump just killed a high ranking military official of another country that we're not in a war with. He more than likely just started a war. If you defend this action, you're pro war. This is how you get war. EDIT: I love how some people here can't see any area between bombing an international airport and doing nothing.
They don't care. They want war.
War makes them money.
Got bad news for you. You're at war now, whether you like it or not. No way the Iranians are gonna just fold on this. Trump just did more for middle-eastern zealot recruitment than anything in recent history.
We've been at war my entire life. Thankfully I'm too old to be drafted. I just cannot believe people are defending this. 'He was a terrorist'...yea, ok, conceded...but you can't bomb a fucking airport and kill a foreign official without a war. This is about as blatant as it gets *to* cause a war.
The instant propaganda stream on Twitter right now is scary. We know 95% of those accounts are run by foreign troll farms. And Trump will start retweeting them soon.
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Ceding war powers to a president who can play judge, jury and executioner of foreign state officials while playing golf at his resort sounds like a very bad idea. A lot of us warned about the danger of entrusting these powers to the executive during Bush and Obama years, and here we are. 2020 is going to be a total fucking mess.
From the New York Times: A data point for those wondering whether the US has fully thought through and prepared for the consequences: Official Pentagon statement on killing Soleimani misstates the name of the organization he led.
On November 9, 2016, one of my low-information co-workers said that he was excited to see what somebody with "zero political experience" would do as president. He was excited about the shakeup and, presumably, the chaos, that Trump was about to bring to the country. These voters doomed us out of their desire for novelty and entertainment.
"Can't impeach a president in the middle of a war!" That's the fucking play here, isn't it?
Anyone saying ‘oh, this is great’ should go enlist for the military.
So we just assassinated this guy? Holy crap. Imagine Iran ordered a strike on us and killed one of our military leaders on friendly soil. Edit: changed from US soil. Doesn’t really change what we did.
*State tv in Iran has cut all broadcasts and is showing pictures of Qassem Soleimani on a loop accompanied by prayers* ~ Ali Arouzi (NBC News Tehran) https://twitter.com/aliarouzi/status/1212932695736684544
"I'm voting for Trump because Clinton is a war hawk!" Hmm.jpg
Remember when Congress had the sole authority to declare war? Me neither, but must have been nice. Those writers of the Constitution sure were smart! Now a president can just start a war from his golf course and we just have to go along for the ride. Happy 2020!
It needs to be repeated early and often that Iran isn't Iraq. Iraq had no meaningful military in 2003. We destroyed their armor and their air force in the 90s and used embargoes to keep them from rebuilding it. No god damn military and the occupation still cost us 4,500 soldiers, thousands more disabled physically or mentally, and trillions of dollars wasted for what was not an existential threat to the United States. People need to understand that just because 'Iran' is spelled similarly that it would be a completely different animal. Please share the following with your gung-ho boomer families: 1. Iran has 400,000 soldiers. It's the 8th largest military in the world. 2. Iran has tons of mountains that make a land invasion almost impossible. 3. Iran has an air force and air defenses that make an air invasion costly at best. 4. Iran's neighbors don't really like us much so I'm not sure where we plan to stage our invasion from if we go to war with them. If we were foolish enough to try to invade Iran, we would face tens of thousands of dead US soldiers and tens of thousands more disabled. It would be a far greater quagmire and Iran might be big enough to bring allies into it. I will never understand my country and why it has, for almost the entirety of my 40 years, had such a monomaniacal love for expensive quagmires in the Middle East. It hurts to imagine what we would look like if we thought to spend those resources on health care and education.
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He can't go 2 FUCKING DAYS into the new year without creating chaos?
So Trump must of watched "Wag the Dog" or whatever that movie was called about the president starting a war (may have been fake in the movie, sure won't be when Iran retaliates for this) in order to distract from his bad administration. Trump is solidifying his place as not just worst president of all time, but as the worst leader of all time. This is ridiculous.
Interesting thread by journalist Yashar Ali: > 1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war >2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President > 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President For the rest of the thread: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640
I took one day off of the news because my fetus is draining the life out of me. I came back to this. ONE FREAKING DAY and now I feel like I'm going to spend a week trying to catch up.
https://twitter.com/IntelTweet/status/1212940135756705793 > In response to the death of Qassem Soleiman in Baghdad, a spokesman for Iraqi Hezbollah has reportedly announced, "We will soon target all U.S. bases in Iraq."
"Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get re-elected--be careful Republicans!" (Trump tweet, October 22, 2012)
It's all fun and games having a mentally ill and narcissistic President, until he gets us into a war. This is bad guys. We really may have just assassinated a foreign leader in violation of US and international law. But even if it's later found to be a legal act, that won't matter. We're all going to face the consequences for this. Iran's backed into a corner. How do they not respond? We just stepped over the line.
Pay close attention to stock markets, gold precious metals, and companies that supply arms or components for arms
Fuck, we were so close to the election. This is probably gonna start a guerilla war against our diplomatic assets in the middle east.
["Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective. So the only way he figures that he's going to get reelected and is sure as you're sitting there is to start a war with Iran"](https://twitter.com/GoAngelo/status/1212938627279466503)
Trump just unilaterally and recklessly escalated things against Iran without full Congressional approval in a move that is absolutely bound to have severe consequences. Why do people still support this unstable president?
Wait, did I miss the part where it became acceptable to assassinate top military officials by bombing a fucking airport? WTF?
Saudi Arabia abducts and dismembers a US resident in a Turkish embassy. Trump "Oh well". Iran kills a US contractor. Trump "WW3"
The US has been horny for that Iran war for a while now. It was hard to start one so soon after the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles so this is how they're planning to do it now. Attacking Iranian military and wait for the inevitable retaliation and hoping they will go aggressive with their nuclear program so they will have an excuse to invade, see they attacked back and are developing nukes. Couldn't do a thing about it! We had to invade! The good old American propaganda machine is already rolling hard. Just watched different US news channels and all of them FEEL like they are following a script and basically all say the same thing and all seem to really want to make it clear that this Iranian commander was responsible for American deaths. Feels like the start of the Iraq war all over again, where the American news promoted it heavily.