Seeker22
Has No Life - Lives on TB
you deserve more than a participation trophy for that one.
You get TB2K's Dude of the Day trophy.
The more the merrier, welcome home, and dogs get couch priveledges here. That's why they call it fur-niture.
BRKG ***CONFIRMED... Iran's Qassem Soleimani killed in US airstrike*** (i.e. BUCKLE UP!) - Iran counterattacks
The more the merrier, welcome home, and dogs get couch priveledges here. That's why they call it fur-niture.
danielboon
TB Fanatic
[B]ELINT News[/B] Retweeted
10m10 minutes ago
More
Bellingcat journalist Nick Waters tells Sky News: “I would say this is not conclusive proof but looking at this video I would say it is very likely that the aircraft was shot down”
10m10 minutes ago
More
Bellingcat journalist Nick Waters tells Sky News: “I would say this is not conclusive proof but looking at this video I would say it is very likely that the aircraft was shot down”
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
Sistani wants both sides out. Well, so does al Sadre but Sistani carries more weight.
www.reuters.com
NEWS
JANUARY 9, 2020 / 2:27 AM / UPDATED 20 MINUTES AGO
Cleric fears worse bloodshed in Iraq as U.S.-Iran conflict persists
Ahmed Aboulenein, Babak Dehghanpisheh
5 MIN READ
BAGHDAD/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric on Friday condemned the U.S.-Iranian confrontation taking place on Iraqi soil, saying it risked plunging the war-ravaged country and the wider Middle East into deeper conflict.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said attacks by both sides inside Iraq this month showed blatant disregard for its sovereignty and its people stood to suffer most from Washington and Tehran’s conflict.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked Washington to come up with a plan for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, his office said, according to a Washington Post report.
The latest flare-up in the long shadow war started with the U.S. killing of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in an air strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Iran responded on Wednesday by firing missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq.
In the aftermath, both sides backed off from intensifying the conflict but the region remains tense, with Iranian military commanders threatening more attacks.
Neighboring Iraq looks set to bear the brunt of any further U.S.-Iranian violence, its leaders caught in a bind as Washington and Tehran are also the Baghdad government’s main allies and vie for influence there.
In a message delivered through a representative at Friday prayers in the holy city of Kerbala, Sistani said no foreign powers should be allowed to decide Iraq’s fate.
“The latest dangerous aggressive acts, which are repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty, are a part of the deteriorating situation” in the region, Sistani said.
Sistani, who wields huge influence over public opinion in Iraq, only weighs in on politics during times of crisis and is seen as a voice of moderation.
“The people have suffered enough from wars...Iraq must govern itself and there must be no role for outsiders in its decision-making,” Sistani said.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Chief of Staff General James McConville and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Iraq has suffered decades of war, sanctions and sectarian conflict, including two U.S.-led invasions and the rise and fall of Sunni militant groups al Qaeda and Islamic State.
The Washington Post said Mahdi had asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call to devise a mechanism for the withdrawal of the 5,000 U.S. troops from Iraq following a parliamentary decision last week. The State Department did not return a request for comment.
At Friday prayers in Tehran, an Iranian cleric said U.S. interests across the world were now exposed to threat.
“From now on, having too many bases, especially in this region, will not act as an advantage for them,” Mohammad Javad Haj Aliakbari, a mid-ranking cleric, told worshippers.
CALLS TO LEAVE
Since Soleimani’s killing, Tehran has stepped up its calls for U.S. forces to leave Iraq, which like Iran is a mainly Shi’ite Muslim nation. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said the retaliatory strikes were not enough and that ending the U.S. military presence in the region was its main goal.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to terminate Trump’s powers to use U.S. armed forces against Iran without Congress’ consent. The measure now goes to the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, where it faces an uphill battle.
A White House spokesman called the measure “ridiculous”.
Slideshow (2 Images)
Trump said on Thursday Soleimani was killed because he had planned to blow up a U.S. embassy.
“Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad, but we stopped him and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold,” Trump, who is seeking re-election this year, told a rally in Ohio.
Trump offered no hard evidence of what drove the decision to kill Soleimani, which critics have called a reckless action.
Soleimani carved out a sphere of Iranian influence running through Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, challenging regional rival Saudi Arabia as well as the United States and Israel.
In Iran, he was a national hero whose funeral drew crowds of mourners but the West saw him as a dangerous and ruthless enemy.
Complicating the fraught situation, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. officials said they believed a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed in Iran on Wednesday killing all 176 people on board was brought down by Iranian forces by mistake hours after the missile attacks. Iran denies it downed the plane.
The renewed hostilities followed months of tension since Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s nuclear pact with world powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have driven down Tehran’s vital oil exports.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg were meeting on Friday to find ways to push the United States and Iran away from open conflict.
Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Babak Dehghanpisheh and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Angus MacSwan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Washington spurns Iraqi call to remove troops
Washington on Friday spurned an Iraqi request to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions after the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad, and said it was exploring a possible expansion of NATO's presence there.
www.reuters.com
NEWS
JANUARY 9, 2020 / 2:27 AM / UPDATED 20 MINUTES AGO
Cleric fears worse bloodshed in Iraq as U.S.-Iran conflict persists
Ahmed Aboulenein, Babak Dehghanpisheh
5 MIN READ
BAGHDAD/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric on Friday condemned the U.S.-Iranian confrontation taking place on Iraqi soil, saying it risked plunging the war-ravaged country and the wider Middle East into deeper conflict.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said attacks by both sides inside Iraq this month showed blatant disregard for its sovereignty and its people stood to suffer most from Washington and Tehran’s conflict.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked Washington to come up with a plan for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, his office said, according to a Washington Post report.
The latest flare-up in the long shadow war started with the U.S. killing of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in an air strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Iran responded on Wednesday by firing missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq.
In the aftermath, both sides backed off from intensifying the conflict but the region remains tense, with Iranian military commanders threatening more attacks.
Neighboring Iraq looks set to bear the brunt of any further U.S.-Iranian violence, its leaders caught in a bind as Washington and Tehran are also the Baghdad government’s main allies and vie for influence there.
In a message delivered through a representative at Friday prayers in the holy city of Kerbala, Sistani said no foreign powers should be allowed to decide Iraq’s fate.
“The latest dangerous aggressive acts, which are repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty, are a part of the deteriorating situation” in the region, Sistani said.
Sistani, who wields huge influence over public opinion in Iraq, only weighs in on politics during times of crisis and is seen as a voice of moderation.
“The people have suffered enough from wars...Iraq must govern itself and there must be no role for outsiders in its decision-making,” Sistani said.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Chief of Staff General James McConville and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Iraq has suffered decades of war, sanctions and sectarian conflict, including two U.S.-led invasions and the rise and fall of Sunni militant groups al Qaeda and Islamic State.
The Washington Post said Mahdi had asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call to devise a mechanism for the withdrawal of the 5,000 U.S. troops from Iraq following a parliamentary decision last week. The State Department did not return a request for comment.
At Friday prayers in Tehran, an Iranian cleric said U.S. interests across the world were now exposed to threat.
“From now on, having too many bases, especially in this region, will not act as an advantage for them,” Mohammad Javad Haj Aliakbari, a mid-ranking cleric, told worshippers.
CALLS TO LEAVE
Since Soleimani’s killing, Tehran has stepped up its calls for U.S. forces to leave Iraq, which like Iran is a mainly Shi’ite Muslim nation. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said the retaliatory strikes were not enough and that ending the U.S. military presence in the region was its main goal.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to terminate Trump’s powers to use U.S. armed forces against Iran without Congress’ consent. The measure now goes to the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, where it faces an uphill battle.
A White House spokesman called the measure “ridiculous”.
Slideshow (2 Images)
Trump said on Thursday Soleimani was killed because he had planned to blow up a U.S. embassy.
“Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad, but we stopped him and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold,” Trump, who is seeking re-election this year, told a rally in Ohio.
Trump offered no hard evidence of what drove the decision to kill Soleimani, which critics have called a reckless action.
Soleimani carved out a sphere of Iranian influence running through Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, challenging regional rival Saudi Arabia as well as the United States and Israel.
In Iran, he was a national hero whose funeral drew crowds of mourners but the West saw him as a dangerous and ruthless enemy.
Complicating the fraught situation, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. officials said they believed a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed in Iran on Wednesday killing all 176 people on board was brought down by Iranian forces by mistake hours after the missile attacks. Iran denies it downed the plane.
The renewed hostilities followed months of tension since Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s nuclear pact with world powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have driven down Tehran’s vital oil exports.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg were meeting on Friday to find ways to push the United States and Iran away from open conflict.
Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Babak Dehghanpisheh and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Angus MacSwan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Hfcomms
EN66iq
All a part of getting us out of the Middle East...or at least a greatly reduced footprint? If Trump tried to get us out like he did in a Syria the media, deep state bureaucracy along with Congress pitches a fit and torpedoes everything he tries. Come at it from the other direction and all these sovereign nations ask us to leave then what can we say? We can’t afford the footprint anymore and an economic reset is coming and we no longer need their oil.
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
Yes. And I am probably guilty of wishful thinking but if the Sunnis and the Kurds are going to be satisfied maybe lop off a piece from Mosul north for the Kurds and the Sunnis can have from Fallujah to the west. Shia can have from Baghdad to the South.
The travesty of Sykes-Piccot needs to end.
Hfcomms
EN66iq
House Resolutions and Matt Gaetz
You might be forgiven in reading this resolution, H.Con.Res.83, as some sort of binding requirement by Congress. After all, it says right in the title:
It's not a bill. Congress passes bills which become laws when either (1) the President signs them or (2) the President takes no action, in which case the bill becomes law without his signature, or (3) the President vetos them and the House and Senate override the veto.
Laws are binding. Suggestions and senses of Congress are not.
The War Powers Resolution is law, ensconced in 50 USC 1541. Said law contains a provision for Congress, by joint Concurrent Resolution, to terminate hostilities, and requires that unless there is some other justification for continuing same (e.g. the existing AUMFs from 2001 and 2002, which still stand as Congress has refused to remove them) that the President cease such action sixty days after same commences.
The House, standing alone, cannot force the President to terminate hostilities. The House and Senate together can, and in addition after 60 days the authority expires anyway.
So why are we involved in said hostilities over in the Middle East in the first place?
Because the President is operating under other authorities granted by that very same Congress, and until and unless they revoke same, or until the Senate also passes an identical resolution, what the House did is non-binding.
Matt Gaetz has taken a lot of crap for voting in the affirmative on this resolution.
Here's the thing: He's right, no matter whether or not you happen to agree with Trump hitting Iran.
The simple fact of the matter is that Congress has repeatedly refused to put on the table a strong war resolution when we have engaged in actual hostilities. They refused to do it in Iraq the second time, they've refused with Afghanistan, they've refused in our involvement in multiple other "skirmishes" and they've refused to do so in the context of our current operations both in the Middle East and elsewhere. While you can argue that we're not at "war" in those places and weren't in many cases you're kidding yourself -- there have been hundreds of Americans that have come home in bags and thousands who have rotated back home missing an arm, leg or otherwise seriously injured. The last time I checked if you're in the military and get shot at or blown up you probably would consider that "war." I know I would.
So putting Congress on the seat and telling them to do their ****ing job under the Constitution is a good thing, not a bad one. Further, AP is reporting that Iraq has formally requested the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, even though their PM is a "caretaker" in that he has "resigned." Nonetheless the formal request to Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to execute on Parliament's passed resolution is formal notice and if we honor sovereignty we have a duty to act in accordance with same, irrespective of the fact that the vote was held with a bare minimum quorum and parties boycotting the session. That doesn't matter; under the Iraq Constitution the session was validly constituted, had a quorum and took a valid vote.
We MUST honor it or we are an invading force and that does implicate 50 USC 1541 -- and as a result is a binding requirement on President Trump and our military.
I have no illusions about what our departure will mean. It has a high probability of leading to Iran invading Iraq. But the Iraqi government has the right to stand down from a joint defensive posture with the United States even if by doing so they are taking a severe risk of losing their national identity. It is not our place to insist otherwise; we have no right to do so and any claim that we honor the sovereignty of nations requires that we honor a validly-passed resolution telling us to get out.
I like what has happened here thus far -- a lot. Let's recap:
1. We killed a notorious international terrorist who intentionally violated UN sanction by traveling outside of Iran and further, had just attempted to sack our Embassy compound in Baghdad. That ******* had a hand in the death of more than 600 American soldiers, and as far as I'm concerned we should have whacked him a long time ago. He was a legitimate military target -- period.
2. In response Iran did what Iran usually does, but at the same time they knew damn well that in fact they had to both save face and stand down, which they did. America could, in an hour, destroy their missile targeting and launching capacity, all their oil refineries and half their electrical grid. The result would be the literal death of their nation. This would be a legitimate response to any sort of meaningful attack by Iran on US soil or property, including but not limited to any of our embassy installations, any of our military assets in the region or any civilian ship or aircraft operating under a US flag. Under International Law it is perfectly legitimate to meet an Act of War with a responding Act of War and crippling or destroying the infrastructure required to wage war is legitimate. Iran knows this and that Trump will do it, unlike Obama who himself was a documented Muslim sympathizer and willing to give the Iranian mullahs blowjobs and over a hundred billion dollars, with which they could buy even more missiles and other weaponry instead.
3. There are members of the State Department who seem to think they have a right to override this declaration by Iraq's Parliament. Not only are they wrong they're criminally wrong. We have the right to try to convince Iraq that what they're demanding is to their own detriment but sovereignty means respecting their right to choose whether we agree or not. Of course public commentary is a different thing than someone's actual position a good part of the time, as negotiation necessarily includes speech and debate, some of which is put forward for public opinion purposes.
4. ISIS is a serious problem, still, even though they no longer hold territory. The precept that many have -- that radical Islamic political groups do not actually seek to capture and hold territory, imposing their political system on that land and the people upon it, and that they only do these things because we are there and "force" them to, is flat-out bull****. It has been bull**** for a thousand years and may well be bull**** for another thousand. Very significant parts of the Muslim faith are in fact a political system carrying a religious system on its back and always have been back to the beginning of Islam. Nonetheless until and unless said groups attempt to attack and hold US territory, or commit terrorism on our soil, including but not limited to embassies, flagged conveyances under a US flag (e.g. ships and aircraft), it's not our problem. I'm aware this puts me at odds with all the warmongers and chickenhawks but facts are facts, especially when we refuse to apply the same sanctions (including troops, bombs, missiles and similar) to nations like China who are engaging in the same sort of repressive tactics as ISIS is!
5. The long-ago asserted claim that we had to get involved in this crap because of the energy situation has changed. Credit whoever you'd like but the facts are that we no longer have any need for Middle Eastern oil. That Europe does is their problem, not ours. The United States spends nearly $700 billion a year and at least half of it is being spent protecting other people's **** instead of our own. If we're going to be responsible for the security of another nation's political system and people then they must voluntarily cede not only sovereignty but indeed the entirety of political power to us and become a US territory. Until and unless they do all those who claim we should be doing that can shut the **** up as we not only have no obligation to give without receiving to do so is to effectively claim a vassal state status of such nations by force, which we have no right to do and never did. Voluntarily alliances are fine but everyone must pull their full weight. Period.
These are all facts folks and departing from Iraq, which would be a very nice set of actions over the next few months, would not only reduce our military spend materially it will reduce our lives spent as well.
I'm for it.
House Resolutions and Matt Gaetz
You might be forgiven in reading this resolution, H.Con.Res.83, as some sort of binding requirement by Congress. After all, it says right in the title:
Except..... it isn't binding.
It's not a bill. Congress passes bills which become laws when either (1) the President signs them or (2) the President takes no action, in which case the bill becomes law without his signature, or (3) the President vetos them and the House and Senate override the veto.
Laws are binding. Suggestions and senses of Congress are not.
The War Powers Resolution is law, ensconced in 50 USC 1541. Said law contains a provision for Congress, by joint Concurrent Resolution, to terminate hostilities, and requires that unless there is some other justification for continuing same (e.g. the existing AUMFs from 2001 and 2002, which still stand as Congress has refused to remove them) that the President cease such action sixty days after same commences.
The House, standing alone, cannot force the President to terminate hostilities. The House and Senate together can, and in addition after 60 days the authority expires anyway.
So why are we involved in said hostilities over in the Middle East in the first place?
Because the President is operating under other authorities granted by that very same Congress, and until and unless they revoke same, or until the Senate also passes an identical resolution, what the House did is non-binding.
Matt Gaetz has taken a lot of crap for voting in the affirmative on this resolution.
Here's the thing: He's right, no matter whether or not you happen to agree with Trump hitting Iran.
The simple fact of the matter is that Congress has repeatedly refused to put on the table a strong war resolution when we have engaged in actual hostilities. They refused to do it in Iraq the second time, they've refused with Afghanistan, they've refused in our involvement in multiple other "skirmishes" and they've refused to do so in the context of our current operations both in the Middle East and elsewhere. While you can argue that we're not at "war" in those places and weren't in many cases you're kidding yourself -- there have been hundreds of Americans that have come home in bags and thousands who have rotated back home missing an arm, leg or otherwise seriously injured. The last time I checked if you're in the military and get shot at or blown up you probably would consider that "war." I know I would.
So putting Congress on the seat and telling them to do their ****ing job under the Constitution is a good thing, not a bad one. Further, AP is reporting that Iraq has formally requested the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, even though their PM is a "caretaker" in that he has "resigned." Nonetheless the formal request to Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to execute on Parliament's passed resolution is formal notice and if we honor sovereignty we have a duty to act in accordance with same, irrespective of the fact that the vote was held with a bare minimum quorum and parties boycotting the session. That doesn't matter; under the Iraq Constitution the session was validly constituted, had a quorum and took a valid vote.
We MUST honor it or we are an invading force and that does implicate 50 USC 1541 -- and as a result is a binding requirement on President Trump and our military.
I have no illusions about what our departure will mean. It has a high probability of leading to Iran invading Iraq. But the Iraqi government has the right to stand down from a joint defensive posture with the United States even if by doing so they are taking a severe risk of losing their national identity. It is not our place to insist otherwise; we have no right to do so and any claim that we honor the sovereignty of nations requires that we honor a validly-passed resolution telling us to get out.
I like what has happened here thus far -- a lot. Let's recap:
1. We killed a notorious international terrorist who intentionally violated UN sanction by traveling outside of Iran and further, had just attempted to sack our Embassy compound in Baghdad. That ******* had a hand in the death of more than 600 American soldiers, and as far as I'm concerned we should have whacked him a long time ago. He was a legitimate military target -- period.
2. In response Iran did what Iran usually does, but at the same time they knew damn well that in fact they had to both save face and stand down, which they did. America could, in an hour, destroy their missile targeting and launching capacity, all their oil refineries and half their electrical grid. The result would be the literal death of their nation. This would be a legitimate response to any sort of meaningful attack by Iran on US soil or property, including but not limited to any of our embassy installations, any of our military assets in the region or any civilian ship or aircraft operating under a US flag. Under International Law it is perfectly legitimate to meet an Act of War with a responding Act of War and crippling or destroying the infrastructure required to wage war is legitimate. Iran knows this and that Trump will do it, unlike Obama who himself was a documented Muslim sympathizer and willing to give the Iranian mullahs blowjobs and over a hundred billion dollars, with which they could buy even more missiles and other weaponry instead.
3. There are members of the State Department who seem to think they have a right to override this declaration by Iraq's Parliament. Not only are they wrong they're criminally wrong. We have the right to try to convince Iraq that what they're demanding is to their own detriment but sovereignty means respecting their right to choose whether we agree or not. Of course public commentary is a different thing than someone's actual position a good part of the time, as negotiation necessarily includes speech and debate, some of which is put forward for public opinion purposes.
4. ISIS is a serious problem, still, even though they no longer hold territory. The precept that many have -- that radical Islamic political groups do not actually seek to capture and hold territory, imposing their political system on that land and the people upon it, and that they only do these things because we are there and "force" them to, is flat-out bull****. It has been bull**** for a thousand years and may well be bull**** for another thousand. Very significant parts of the Muslim faith are in fact a political system carrying a religious system on its back and always have been back to the beginning of Islam. Nonetheless until and unless said groups attempt to attack and hold US territory, or commit terrorism on our soil, including but not limited to embassies, flagged conveyances under a US flag (e.g. ships and aircraft), it's not our problem. I'm aware this puts me at odds with all the warmongers and chickenhawks but facts are facts, especially when we refuse to apply the same sanctions (including troops, bombs, missiles and similar) to nations like China who are engaging in the same sort of repressive tactics as ISIS is!
5. The long-ago asserted claim that we had to get involved in this crap because of the energy situation has changed. Credit whoever you'd like but the facts are that we no longer have any need for Middle Eastern oil. That Europe does is their problem, not ours. The United States spends nearly $700 billion a year and at least half of it is being spent protecting other people's **** instead of our own. If we're going to be responsible for the security of another nation's political system and people then they must voluntarily cede not only sovereignty but indeed the entirety of political power to us and become a US territory. Until and unless they do all those who claim we should be doing that can shut the **** up as we not only have no obligation to give without receiving to do so is to effectively claim a vassal state status of such nations by force, which we have no right to do and never did. Voluntarily alliances are fine but everyone must pull their full weight. Period.
These are all facts folks and departing from Iraq, which would be a very nice set of actions over the next few months, would not only reduce our military spend materially it will reduce our lives spent as well.
I'm for it.
House Resolutions and Matt Gaetz
One more 'fact' resolutely ignored by all True Libertarians.
Technology has increased the power of the Weak exponentially. PC has castrated the Strong.
There was a time when we could ignore the likes of NK and Iran. And if they bothered us, a gunboat and the Marines were dispatched. Today, if not for PC, we'd tac nuke them and that would be the end of it.
But, NK is reaching the point that they can menace Denver. Ditto Iran.
So what to do? Well, again the Libertarian foreign policy consists of
If we don't bother them, they won't bother us.
I don't think that a viable option anymore. We were declared the Great Satan two gens ago and nothing has changed.
Technology has increased the power of the Weak exponentially. PC has castrated the Strong.
There was a time when we could ignore the likes of NK and Iran. And if they bothered us, a gunboat and the Marines were dispatched. Today, if not for PC, we'd tac nuke them and that would be the end of it.
But, NK is reaching the point that they can menace Denver. Ditto Iran.
So what to do? Well, again the Libertarian foreign policy consists of
If we don't bother them, they won't bother us.
I don't think that a viable option anymore. We were declared the Great Satan two gens ago and nothing has changed.
jward
passin' thru
because DJT retweeted, and, mostly, coz I love me some Gregg, CA roots be damned!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Tweeted:
Wow! Thank you Greg. Hope I live up to your expectations. Dan Scavino on Twitter View: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215618152320638978?s=20
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Tweeted:
Wow! Thank you Greg. Hope I live up to your expectations. Dan Scavino on Twitter View: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215618152320638978?s=20
jward
passin' thru
hey! :::Bobby the cat & Bobby the goat cast plaintive, but hopeful, looks at aunt seeker:::
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Be kind of careful in lionizing Gregg Gutfield. In ref Snowden, he managed to cover himself in a LOT of SCHTUFF that was HARDLY Glory.
I disagree with that.
There have been great changes since the '79 Iranian embassy attack.
The commies have seized our education system and turned out two generations of brainless meatsacks.
Then, convinced these useful idiots that we ARE the great satan.
jward
passin' thru
Breaking911
@Breaking911
·
1h
BREAKING: Trump slams Iran with new sanctions. New penalties will be imposed against any individual owning, operating, trading with or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy
@Breaking911
·
1h
BREAKING: Trump slams Iran with new sanctions. New penalties will be imposed against any individual owning, operating, trading with or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy
Seeker22
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Ignerant lil slip of a woman- git yer tail back in that kitchen!
Just kidding, jward. Thanks for all you do.
It is an amazing time to be on this little blue ball, isn't it?
jward
passin' thru
Yeah, he has his faults. He is also a drinker, light in the mental analyst side of things, a social climber and a bit cold scheming & machivellian at heart
. ::: Shrug ::: perfect men are borinnng! This one took good care of his momma at least.
jward
passin' thru
Hey, nobody talks to me like that!
....w/o a tender tap on the tush, twinkle n wink, ; )
Yup. Amazing times indeed!!
US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry
The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic.
“As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House briefing.
Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the regime.
The US Treasury also slapped sanction on 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies which it said generated billions of dollars in revenue.
The sanctions also included a network of three entities that are based in China and the Seychelles as well as a vessel “involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Mnuchin said the officials and companies were being targeted in response to Iranian ballistic strikes targeting Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed. That attack was launched after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Mnuchin said that the measures hitting Iran’s economy “will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”
The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic.
“As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House briefing.
Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the regime.
The US Treasury also slapped sanction on 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies which it said generated billions of dollars in revenue.
The sanctions also included a network of three entities that are based in China and the Seychelles as well as a vessel “involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Mnuchin said the officials and companies were being targeted in response to Iranian ballistic strikes targeting Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed. That attack was launched after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Mnuchin said that the measures hitting Iran’s economy “will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”
US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry - Breitbart
Washington (AFP) – The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize
www.breitbart.com
TheSearcher
Are you sure about that?
I have a great respect for Matt Gaetz, and I will not condemn him for voting for the resolution, but I think he made a mistake. This resolution was obviously COMPLETELY a domestic political maneuver, he should have made that clear and then voted against it. Everything the Dems are doing right now is for domestic consumption, and meant to harm the President. We should hand them no victories, even if they couch their attacks in what sounds reasonable.
If the Dems wanted to truly change things, then they would work to amend the WPA itself, not pass a non-binding resolution that amounts to nothing more than a tantrum. The only time Gaetz should reach across the aisle is to slap them.
TheSearcher
Are you sure about that?
Sigh. And if the Iranians "Pearl Harbor" us, the Dems will vomit out the idea that the President did it on purpose...US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry
The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic.
“As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House briefing.
Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the regime.
The US Treasury also slapped sanction on 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies which it said generated billions of dollars in revenue.
The sanctions also included a network of three entities that are based in China and the Seychelles as well as a vessel “involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Mnuchin said the officials and companies were being targeted in response to Iranian ballistic strikes targeting Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed. That attack was launched after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Mnuchin said that the measures hitting Iran’s economy “will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”
US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry - Breitbart
Washington (AFP) – The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilizewww.breitbart.com
jward
passin' thru
this a new warning, or the same old one?. Either way, some stokin' of the fires is goin' on, and some folks somewhere are fixing to get hurt. All because you unrepentant deplorables won't just sit down shut up and let yer betters run this circus.
...blood is on our hands & permanently staing our souls...:: Listens for the hooves of antifa to join back in too::
EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) Tweeted:
DHS Warns Female Suicide Bomber 'Of Middle Eastern Descent' Being Smuggled Into The US Within Days | Zero Hedge DHS Warns Female Suicide Bomber 'Of Middle Eastern Descent' Being Smuggled Into The US Within Days View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1215702301345812487?s=20
...blood is on our hands & permanently staing our souls...:: Listens for the hooves of antifa to join back in too::
EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) Tweeted:
DHS Warns Female Suicide Bomber 'Of Middle Eastern Descent' Being Smuggled Into The US Within Days | Zero Hedge DHS Warns Female Suicide Bomber 'Of Middle Eastern Descent' Being Smuggled Into The US Within Days View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1215702301345812487?s=20
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
We've apparently got standard biometrics on most of the "Black Widdows", but that is likely to be a poor reed to grasp on this one...
Boob bomber
Ragnarok
On and On, South of Heaven
Please not the current Swedish Bikini Team, its probably all dudes and Feministas
Wearing Burkinis...
straightstreet
Life is better in flip flops
How long til Omar comes running out screaming racists or insert whatever...US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry
The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic.
“As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House briefing.
Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the regime.
The US Treasury also slapped sanction on 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies which it said generated billions of dollars in revenue.
The sanctions also included a network of three entities that are based in China and the Seychelles as well as a vessel “involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Mnuchin said the officials and companies were being targeted in response to Iranian ballistic strikes targeting Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed. That attack was launched after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Mnuchin said that the measures hitting Iran’s economy “will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”
US sanctions target top Iran officials, metals industry - Breitbart
Washington (AFP) – The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilizewww.breitbart.com
naegling62
Veteran Member
Hmm...so what happened to the supposed sleeper cells? If you're trying to bring in one means you ain't got any here.
danielboon
TB Fanatic
[B]EndGameWW3[/B] Retweeted
[IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1021179866949959681/Mk_517Va_bigger.jpg[/IMG][B]Alastair Williamson[/B] @[B]StockBoardAsset[/B] 38m38 minutes ago
More
10 Jan - 02:05:04 PM - CANADA'S TRANSPORT MINISTRY SAYS IT HAS ISSUED NOTICE TO CANADIAN AIR OPERATORS ADVISING THEM NOT TO ENTER AIRSPACE OF IRAQ AND IRAN DUE TO POTENTIAL RISK OF HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN AREA - [RTRS]
[IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1021179866949959681/Mk_517Va_bigger.jpg[/IMG][B]Alastair Williamson[/B] @[B]StockBoardAsset[/B] 38m38 minutes ago
More
10 Jan - 02:05:04 PM - CANADA'S TRANSPORT MINISTRY SAYS IT HAS ISSUED NOTICE TO CANADIAN AIR OPERATORS ADVISING THEM NOT TO ENTER AIRSPACE OF IRAQ AND IRAN DUE TO POTENTIAL RISK OF HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN AREA - [RTRS]
jward
passin' thru
Interesting point. We know they've got sleepers here, we just watched one in new Jersey get prosecuted a few months ago. I would search and share, but....sigh...anyways...i assume alot of the discussion on the topic is psych op stuff, hitting everyone, from all sides. Here's a wee bit o' truth bomb:. People want us to suffer horribly, die horribly, for all sorts of reasons. They have existed long before DJT, and right now they're blissfully anticipating, some actively planning, our demise.
jward
passin' thru
Iran (@Iran) Tweeted:
’Harsh revenge’ has just begun: cleric
#Iran #IranVSAmerica #IranAttacks
‘Harsh revenge’ has just begun: cleric View: https://twitter.com/Iran/status/1215713745848000517?s=20
’Harsh revenge’ has just begun: cleric
#Iran #IranVSAmerica #IranAttacks
‘Harsh revenge’ has just begun: cleric View: https://twitter.com/Iran/status/1215713745848000517?s=20
HEADLINES ‘Harsh revenge’ has just begun: cleric MNA – Tehran provisional Friday Prayers Leader Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari said that Iran’s promised ‘harsh revenge’ on the US over the assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani has just started. Addressing the Friday prayers sermon in Tehran, Haj Ali Akbari said that “a small part of renege operation has just begun.” He described the IRGC missile strikes as a ‘legitimate slap’ in the face of the United States. After the US terrorist forces assassinated IRGC Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Soleimani and PMU deputy Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3, the Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei highlighted that Iran will take ‘harsh revenge’ on US for its heinous crime. Ultimately, IRGC launched airstrikes against Ain al-Assad military base of the United States in Iraq on Wednesday. Those in Resistance Axis have promised to take revenge against the US as well, he said, noting that all operations should be aimed at ousting criminal America from the region. “From now on, US interests across the world will be posed to extensive threats. This dominating regime has numerous military bases; from now on, having too many bases, especially in this region, will not act as an advantage for them. |
Lilbitsnana
On TB every waking moment
Aurora Intel @AuroraIntel 6m6 minutes ago
Aurora Intel Retweeted Aleph ᴼⁿ ᴴⁱᵍʰ ᴬˡᵉʳᵗ
️ א
.@no_itsmyturn and I have been talking about this in the background, pro-IRGC channels are talking about “Phase 2”. Again, it could all be bollocks but its interesting what you can find out their on these channels.
Aurora Intel added,
Aleph ᴼⁿ ᴴⁱᵍʰ ᴬˡᵉʳᵗ
️ א @no_itsmyturn
This is what's now spreading in allegedly pro-IRGC social networks:
- Something will happen tonight!
- Iran might try to blockade the strait of Hormuz…
[B]Aurora Intel[/B] @[B]AuroraIntel[/B] 5m5 minutes ago
Thing is, doing anything in the Strait would impact Iran too, so it just feels like PSYOP’s BS. But let’s be honest no one 2 weeks ago thought Soleimani would be assassinated and ballistic missiles would be fired from Iran at US assets in the ME.
Aurora Intel Retweeted Aleph ᴼⁿ ᴴⁱᵍʰ ᴬˡᵉʳᵗ
️ א
.
Aurora Intel added,
Aleph ᴼⁿ ᴴⁱᵍʰ ᴬˡᵉʳᵗ
️ א @no_itsmyturn
This is what's now spreading in allegedly pro-IRGC social networks:
- Something will happen tonight!
- Iran might try to blockade the strait of Hormuz…
[B]Aurora Intel[/B] @[B]AuroraIntel[/B] 5m5 minutes ago
Thing is, doing anything in the Strait would impact Iran too, so it just feels like PSYOP’s BS. But let’s be honest no one 2 weeks ago thought Soleimani would be assassinated and ballistic missiles would be fired from Iran at US assets in the ME.
AlfaMan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Because their Sunday is like our Monday-first day of the workweek.2am here is 10 am there. Any strike made would be done and over with before most Americans wake up. And, there's enough time to include attack info/commentary into Sunday morning US political shows like meet the depressed and farce the nation. Stock markets in the Arab world are open too; gives futures analysts here something to consider.
Last edited:
Seeker22
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Don't look at me- this is Dennis pad.
I let that goat in here, Millwright will make Cabrito. And you know how Dennis feels about face munchin' kitteh.
Lilbitsnana
On TB every waking moment
[B]Aleph ᴼⁿ ᴴⁱᵍʰ ᴬˡᵉʳᵗ [/B][B]️ א[/B] @[B]no_itsmyturn[/B] 5m5 minutes ago
Al-Mayadeen reports of "movements of the US forces in the Baghdad airport"
Rio @Rio11745839
Replying to @no_itsmyturn
Could it be a distraction for the Ukrainian flight they downed??
Al-Mayadeen reports of "movements of the US forces in the Baghdad airport"
Rio @Rio11745839
Replying to @no_itsmyturn
Could it be a distraction for the Ukrainian flight they downed??
Lilbitsnana
On TB every waking moment
[B]Dog[/B] @[B]IntelDoge[/B] 11m11 minutes ago
I'm highly doubting Iran will do anything regarding the SoH, purely because they know it'd be suicide. Closing the SoH is something Iran would do as an absolute worst case scenario.