I always approach these No Kings protests reluctantly. I’m a resolute “third way” guy, part of the faithful middle. But these are unusual circumstances and I feel compelled to stand up and be counted as not supporting a tyrant. He has been saying “I can do anything I want” a lot lately, regarding Cuba and Iran.
So my wife and I have made our posters and will be in downtown Oceanside with all the other rabble rousers this afternoon.
Just got back from a rally in our small town, pop.7200.
Probably a couple hundred came out. Lots of laughter and joy
among participants. Couple of guys driving by flipped us the bird…
but hey, that’s America! A fair number of drivers honked in support…
seems like more than in previous rallies.
Iran is winning the war that Trump started. Only way Trump can “win” is by going nuclear, but he won’t do that because it would close the gulf and strait of Hormuz indefinitely. Otherwise, the regime will remain, they will maintain their nuclear materials stockpiles, they will oppress the Iranian people, they will have renewed respect and support from their proxies in the region and beyond, and recruit more, they will have control over passage into and out of the gulf, possibly imposing a toll on ships traversing the strait (Rubio said as much). So, the US and the West end the war in worse shape than when it began, and the Iranians gain in geopolitical power by an enormous factor. They are even bringing in more oil revenue during the war than they did before, and that will continue after the war is over. Just ridiculous. A war that is a moral, strategic, and military failure.
One thing that hasn’t been much covered in any of the media either legacy or trumpmedia: as of this date, thirteen American military bases in the gulf of Hormuz region have suffered significant damage as a result of Iranian attacks, resulting in an unknown number of casualties, resulting in American troops having to lodge in hotels and business buildings. The number of such attacks dwarfs any such attacks in all the other American military actions in that region of the world; nothing like it has occurred in the past. The Iranians were waiting for us for decades; Trump foolishly started an unjust war without even having an end goal in sight. I hope he doesn’t send our troops to take Kharg Island or any of the coast of Iran, because the Iranians have been preparing for that for decades too, and it would result in a horrific slaughter of American troops, and without any kind of reasonable goal or off-ramp.
This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said to thousands of people attending his Palm Sunday mass at St. Peter’s Square. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
This whole Iran war has been an embarrassment and a Charlie-Foxtrot from the beginning. All because you have a Toddler in Chief surrounded by incompetent and frankly despicable pieces of excrement human beings as Yes-Men. In addition to the suffering and death, the US has lost the following:
1) Multiple strategic assets (E-3 AWACS plane, multiple tanker aircraft, at least 2 AN/TPY-2 radar associated with THAAD tracking, AN/FPS-132 Phased Array Radar in Qatar). The E3 and the radars along cost about $3 Billion and will take a long time to replenish. All at the cost of a few million in Iranian drones.
2) The US, Israel, and the Gulf countries have expended much of the missile arsenal (including at least 25% of all the THAAD missiles) trying to shoot down Iranian drones. The US used $1.2 billion in Patriot missiles shooting down $15 million in Shaheed drones.
3) Because of #1 and #2, Israel’s vaunted Iron Dome and early warning is coming apart at the seams and there is little warning for attacks. Same with the Gulf countries.
4) In the meantime, the Gulf countries (and much of the world) are giving up on the US as an ally are inking defense agreement with Ukraine to provide drones and other expertise to deal with Iranian drones. The US is seen as incompetent and effing useless and obviously can’t handle it.
5) If the US tries any sort of ground attack on Kharg Island, expect lots of US soldiers to die due to anti-personal drones. The future of ground warfare is in seen in Ukraine, where Ukrainian drone operators are responsible for some 70% of the Russian KIAs.
6) The push to replace the dollar with the yuan for oil transactions will only grow stronger. When that happens, the US is done as any sort of player in the Middle East. Especially once the Gulf Countries drop the US as a partner buys their weapons from the EU, Ukraine, and others.
7) The EU, NATO, Japan, Korea, and others are actively decoupling their defense, economic, and trade relationships with the US and telling the US and Trump to F off. America First becomes American Alone (and we will see how long we remain a world power when that happens – not very long).
I concur. If the Iranians are smart, they will prepare Kharg Island like the Japanese did Iwo Jima (but with the addition of all kinds of drones). With the drones, all the kill shots to aircraft, ships, vehicles, soldiers, etc. is recorded. Which, of course, will be uploaded to the internet for everyone to see (despite attempts of the US to suppress news and information).
But then that draft-dodger coward cadet bone-spurs Trump, his advisors, and his followers don’t really give a s**t about the military or the soldiers. They are just window dressing and PR for them to cosplay and pretending to be bad ass tough guys. Secretary Kegsbreath is even worse. A former REMF who thinks committing war crimes makes him a tough guy just like those SOCOM operators.
As of today Trump has lost influence on the stock market. It is finally realizing that an end after two or three weeks of bombing of Iran will not mean Iran opens the Strait, as long as all their original conditions for doing so, along with even more added in the last days, are not met. The regime is making enormous financial profit from controlling the Strait, and loses little by keeping it closed until its conditions are met. Trump will not regain his influence until he negotiates the Iranian conditions for reopening the Strait.
Iran has the initiative. They and everybody knows TACO. Sure Trump will claim some sort of victory with various facts like how much stuff they blew up, etc. But the regime in Iran still has a functioning government, they control the Strait, they can still support various terrorist groups worldwide, send drones and missiles, and the like.
It’s all yours today…No Kings Day
I always approach these No Kings protests reluctantly. I’m a resolute “third way” guy, part of the faithful middle. But these are unusual circumstances and I feel compelled to stand up and be counted as not supporting a tyrant. He has been saying “I can do anything I want” a lot lately, regarding Cuba and Iran.
So my wife and I have made our posters and will be in downtown Oceanside with all the other rabble rousers this afternoon.
Terry,
I concur with you on this.
I would be there myself, but I am not in any shape to do so…but I will be there in spirit.
Just got back from a rally in our small town, pop.7200.
Probably a couple hundred came out. Lots of laughter and joy
among participants. Couple of guys driving by flipped us the bird…
but hey, that’s America! A fair number of drivers honked in support…
seems like more than in previous rallies.
The American People will not suffer a tyrant.
Never have, and never will.
Iran is winning the war that Trump started. Only way Trump can “win” is by going nuclear, but he won’t do that because it would close the gulf and strait of Hormuz indefinitely. Otherwise, the regime will remain, they will maintain their nuclear materials stockpiles, they will oppress the Iranian people, they will have renewed respect and support from their proxies in the region and beyond, and recruit more, they will have control over passage into and out of the gulf, possibly imposing a toll on ships traversing the strait (Rubio said as much). So, the US and the West end the war in worse shape than when it began, and the Iranians gain in geopolitical power by an enormous factor. They are even bringing in more oil revenue during the war than they did before, and that will continue after the war is over. Just ridiculous. A war that is a moral, strategic, and military failure.
One thing that hasn’t been much covered in any of the media either legacy or trumpmedia: as of this date, thirteen American military bases in the gulf of Hormuz region have suffered significant damage as a result of Iranian attacks, resulting in an unknown number of casualties, resulting in American troops having to lodge in hotels and business buildings. The number of such attacks dwarfs any such attacks in all the other American military actions in that region of the world; nothing like it has occurred in the past. The Iranians were waiting for us for decades; Trump foolishly started an unjust war without even having an end goal in sight. I hope he doesn’t send our troops to take Kharg Island or any of the coast of Iran, because the Iranians have been preparing for that for decades too, and it would result in a horrific slaughter of American troops, and without any kind of reasonable goal or off-ramp.
This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said to thousands of people attending his Palm Sunday mass at St. Peter’s Square. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
— Pope Leo
Amen to Pope Leo.
This whole Iran war has been an embarrassment and a Charlie-Foxtrot from the beginning. All because you have a Toddler in Chief surrounded by incompetent and frankly despicable pieces of excrement human beings as Yes-Men. In addition to the suffering and death, the US has lost the following:
1) Multiple strategic assets (E-3 AWACS plane, multiple tanker aircraft, at least 2 AN/TPY-2 radar associated with THAAD tracking, AN/FPS-132 Phased Array Radar in Qatar). The E3 and the radars along cost about $3 Billion and will take a long time to replenish. All at the cost of a few million in Iranian drones.
2) The US, Israel, and the Gulf countries have expended much of the missile arsenal (including at least 25% of all the THAAD missiles) trying to shoot down Iranian drones. The US used $1.2 billion in Patriot missiles shooting down $15 million in Shaheed drones.
3) Because of #1 and #2, Israel’s vaunted Iron Dome and early warning is coming apart at the seams and there is little warning for attacks. Same with the Gulf countries.
4) In the meantime, the Gulf countries (and much of the world) are giving up on the US as an ally are inking defense agreement with Ukraine to provide drones and other expertise to deal with Iranian drones. The US is seen as incompetent and effing useless and obviously can’t handle it.
5) If the US tries any sort of ground attack on Kharg Island, expect lots of US soldiers to die due to anti-personal drones. The future of ground warfare is in seen in Ukraine, where Ukrainian drone operators are responsible for some 70% of the Russian KIAs.
6) The push to replace the dollar with the yuan for oil transactions will only grow stronger. When that happens, the US is done as any sort of player in the Middle East. Especially once the Gulf Countries drop the US as a partner buys their weapons from the EU, Ukraine, and others.
7) The EU, NATO, Japan, Korea, and others are actively decoupling their defense, economic, and trade relationships with the US and telling the US and Trump to F off. America First becomes American Alone (and we will see how long we remain a world power when that happens – not very long).
@ Ra’s al Ghul,
A ground invasion of Eye-ran will be a military disaster.
Muff,
I concur. If the Iranians are smart, they will prepare Kharg Island like the Japanese did Iwo Jima (but with the addition of all kinds of drones). With the drones, all the kill shots to aircraft, ships, vehicles, soldiers, etc. is recorded. Which, of course, will be uploaded to the internet for everyone to see (despite attempts of the US to suppress news and information).
But then that draft-dodger coward cadet bone-spurs Trump, his advisors, and his followers don’t really give a s**t about the military or the soldiers. They are just window dressing and PR for them to cosplay and pretending to be bad ass tough guys. Secretary Kegsbreath is even worse. A former REMF who thinks committing war crimes makes him a tough guy just like those SOCOM operators.
As of today Trump has lost influence on the stock market. It is finally realizing that an end after two or three weeks of bombing of Iran will not mean Iran opens the Strait, as long as all their original conditions for doing so, along with even more added in the last days, are not met. The regime is making enormous financial profit from controlling the Strait, and loses little by keeping it closed until its conditions are met. Trump will not regain his influence until he negotiates the Iranian conditions for reopening the Strait.
Robert F,
Iran has the initiative. They and everybody knows TACO. Sure Trump will claim some sort of victory with various facts like how much stuff they blew up, etc. But the regime in Iran still has a functioning government, they control the Strait, they can still support various terrorist groups worldwide, send drones and missiles, and the like.