Iraq/Iran Megathread - Latest: U.S. to close Baghdad embassy

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Good riddance to Soleimani, that terrorist! I'm glad we have a president who isn't afraid to confront a terrorist state like Iran. Let this be a lesson to all the other Islamo-fascists in the Middle East; if you mess with us, we will swoop in and assassinate you from the sky.

Are you a bot?

Seriously...is this a real person?

GWBFan

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Good riddance to Soleimani, that terrorist! I'm glad we have a president who isn't afraid to confront a terrorist state like Iran. Let this be a lesson to all the other Islamo-fascists in the Middle East; if you mess with us, we will swoop in and assassinate you from the sky.

Are you a bot?

Seriously...is this a real person?

GWBFan

I learned from my mistake.

Didn’t you vote for Trump?

I learned from my mistake, too. But I have the good fortune of not having DJTFan as my username.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213919480574812160
Am I the only one who believes that our president sounds like a Psychotic, Lunatic Dictator who is looking to start a horrible war?
WTF is this?

Kim Jong Un

(who I consider mentally stable, but same madman routine)

[Reaganfan Democrat]

That didn't seem to stop America from resorting to barbaric chemical and aerial warfare once the bodies started rolling down the ramps while no real progress was being made, now did it?

Hell, you even banned people from recording the caskets upon arrival, talk about Freedom Country lol

And China has a million people in cages because they worship the wrong religion....hell, they've even put the internet behind a govt run fire wall, talk about Freedom Country lol

Irreligious China doesn't lock people up because they worship the wrong religion. They do it because this is literally the Chinese method of ethnic and cultural assimilation.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

https://twitter.com/susanmodaress/status/1214299147647541248

Disgraceful. Breaching diplomatic protocols is where I always draw the line. The alternative to diplomacy is chaos and war.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

I've been wanting to say this for a while, and now I'll say it. I miss Obama.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

This may seem sacrilegious to say, but we should probably just "Take the L" on this one-the loss of any number of Americans is tragic, but this pales in comparison to the thousands of American troops and hundreds of thousands of Iranian Civilians that would die if a war were to break out, not to mention the region being a permanent hellscape producing terrorism and millions of refugees.

It's not sacrilegious.  They didn't even kill any American troops.  We can both rattle our sabers a lot for the next week and then let things dwindle down.

If Iran starts developing nuclear weapons in a hurry, though, we pretty much have no choice but to strike.  If Iran gets nukes, they'll use them on Israel, and it's WW3 in the Middle East, period.  Rock and a hard place.  Of course Iran could always be reasonable and not pursue a nuclear program, but since when have Iran/North Korea ever been reasonable.

Nuking Israel (distinct from undermining and eventually wiping Israel off the map) is not Iran's goal. Their leadership may be zealots, but they're not suicidal. Iran wants nukes because a) they would surpass Saudi Arabia as the leading Islamic power, b) it'll increase the degree to which they can act with relative impunity, and c) it'll shield them from American-led regime change. Nuking Israel is the threat that underwrites b and c. Obviously, that threat would be very real, especially because a nuclear Iran would increase temperatures in the region to boiling point, but that is not the goal in and of itself. Rather, it's something they would be prepared to do.

They won't just tear up what's left of the Iran deal and openly rush towards nuclear weapons, either. That would be the end of the current regime.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Going back to the original reason why we are in this tit-for-tat with Iran -was there any intelligence that suggested that we had to kill General Suleimani when we did, or did Trump just give the go-ahead because he could and wanted a distraction from the impeachment and investigations at home?  

Trump's Razor:  "ascertain the stupidest possible scenario that can be reconciled with the available facts" and that answer is likely correct.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Do planes usually catch fire from "technical issues"?

They carry thousands of gallons of jet fuel and have miles of electrical wiring... what do you think?

[Reaganfan Democrat]

https://twitter.com/Kaplinsky87/status/1214895445824229376?s=19

What the hell were 63 Canadians doing on a UIA flight from Tehran to Kyiv?! Canadian, British, and American citizens aren't even allowed to visit Iran without a government minder. Iranian-Canadians flying to Toronto via Kyiv, I guess?

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Let all of this sink in: the President manufactured a national security matter and threatened world peace for no reason other than to distract from his own scandals and aid his re-election.

So he's a Kennedy.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Remember when he called NATO "obselete" and now he wants them to have a greater presence in Iran?

LOL.
I was thinking the same thing when I heard him talking about NATO.
trump talking out of his ass .... again. What a moron.

Say what you will about Trump, but someone needed to come along and shake the tree regarding NATO. It was an organization that was becoming obsolete, with many members contributing little to collective security. NATO is in need of refocusing and reorganizing itself to protect its members' security interests in ways appropriate for the times we live in, not for the Cold War era.

The problem with Trump is that he has no plans beyond simply shaking the tree, and his erratic behavior diminishes allies' confidence in the US. It's not all been bad, though.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

What's the business with that region that encompasses Lousiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas?  

Must've been confused by the fact that it's a region led by crazed religious zealots who undermine America at every turn and have contempt for their citizens.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Kentucky has the best Senators.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Sorry if this has been addressed before, but I'm not wading through the last 40 pages to check. 

So, when Iran hit the Saudi oil facility with missiles, the Saudis took criticism for apparently failing to successfully use some anti-missile system they had bought from the US.  In fact, some US troops went to Saudi Arabia after that presumably to run the system the Saudi's couldn't. 

In Iraq, obviously some missiles hit targets on the bases, though apparently ones houses equipment rather than people.  It's been speculated that Iran specifically targeted equipment rather than troops.  Are the missiles the Iranians use that precise?  Was there no anti-missile system in place at locations housing US troops in Iraq?

Yes, it's a form of pro wrestling to allow both sides to save face and de-escalate.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Republicans are turning on Mike Lee.  I was listening to conservative talk radio this morning and there was a lot of hate for him including some accusations of homosexuality.

Isn't it hilarious that homosexuality, not corruption, racism, hypocrisy, etc., is the thing that disqualifies a politician for the Republican base.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1216331951222788096?s=20

These numbers are ugly for a President... usually, the public gives the commander in chief the benefit of the doubt when it comes to military decisions.

Usually the American president isn't a bumbling criminal lying idiot.

Usually, they're just lying criminals.

[Reaganfan Democrat]

I want to see Trump get cucked by the Senate.