I prefer LEAVE, LEAVE, LEAVE,......LEAVE the Middle East.
Kind of like when Obama did a quick draw down? As soon as our troops departed ISIL/ISIS moved right back and and became stronger than they were before. Now we are right back where we were with Iran supporting them more than ever. How long before they attack us again in our back yard?
Logistics cannot win a war, but its absence or inadequacy can cause defeat. FM100-5
Centuries long religious/tribal/civil war and you really think you are actually going to win? Get the f out and let them kill each other. If one of them actually attacks us again, then you glass them.
Apparently free thought is punished, and conformity is required, while peckerless cowards run the show.
After 16 years in Iraq and the reasons given for the invasion, I'm skeptical of anything the US Gov't says to justify yet another war.
In the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. Watson is a veteran of the British campaigns in Afghanistan - circa 1880.
In the recent BBC TV series Sherlock, Dr. Watson is a veteran of the British campaigns in Afghanistan - circa maybe 2008.
After scratching my head over how convenient geopolitical events were to the writers of the new show, I suddenly realized that, really "It's still the same war".
I think part of why it's still going on is that we often fail to realize that.
I would argue that they are the not same war/s.
The Anglo-Aghan campaigns of the 19th century were power plays between Russia and Britain in an attempt to maintain control over large swaths of Asia. Britain wanted to extend the influence of the East India trading company out of what is present day Pakistan and into what is now Afghanistan. Russia wanted the control the region for much of the same reasons. In History, this cold war/proxy war is commonly referred to as the "Great Game"
"To have really lived, you must have almost died. To those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."
Is there a source for Soleimani being restricted by the UN from being in Iraq? (I'd like to share the source on social media.) Also a source that says intelligence services think he was involved in the US Embassy in Iraq attack?
Interestingly, while I am sure Antonio has thought of it, no one has mentioned what will the Russian and Chinese response be when Iran answers.
Not a lot really. They both have to thread lightly. By default both will be critic to any US action since they're rivals, but this is not the same I ran, the same China and the same Russia from the cold war era, which seems to be the time frame many are still considering as valid.
Both have muslim minorities that have gave them assorted troubles in the past. Since the conflict is partly religious, they're not extempt from internal issues with that population.
China Co. (They're not a country, but a company with 1.4 billion employees) is currently facing a downfall in its economic growth and about to close a new trade deal with the US, so I guessthat they'll be careful in sidelining with Iran.
Russia is too close to them to feel comfortable about their threat to become nuclear (Which IMHO will be their last act) or to feel confident than any retaliatory attack won't splash them.
Iran has been constantly probing against the US too many times. They played with the fact that every 5 years the American foreign policy can switch from openly appeaseant to mildly conflictive, but seems that hardly believed such a direct, bold action to restore deterrance would be taken. For them is a 3-faced problem since any action against the US will only help Trump's reelection, silence will loose them "street credit" in front of the other gangs, and internal political power struggle without quick action will eventually play against them.
For decades they played the "Vietnam card", trying to lure the US into an assimetrical, multiple fronts and politically wearing conflict, but nowadays tech warfare can play against them badly. In 1915 going across no-man's land in the Western front meant a massaccre under the machine gun and artillery fire,but by 1918 allies were already deploying 3,000 tanks that although clumsy, cumbersome and slow,were part of the reason why the stalemate was broken and combat became more "WWII-ish". Nowadays with the drones the US can inflict serious, surgical damage in Iran power structure, military assets and economic sources with little if no risk to U.S. servicemen lives. No need to put boots on the ground but make their life miserable to the point of implosion.
Iran has the capability of attaking weel outside its estimated sphere of influence. Check the AMIA bombing in Argentina, a place that many would consider "secure" and far from Iranian reach. Retaliation will be someplace like that, probably against a civilian target like Eurodisney, American commercial shipping on a distant port or maybe the American Airlines counter in some relatively remote airport, but they'll have to face the consequences in the same way or maybe worse they have already suffered.
Protests rocked
Tehran and other Iranian cities over the weekend after the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted to shooting down a Ukrainian airliner
by mistake, killing 176 people, after denying it for several days. Many
of the protesters are demanding the resignation of Iranian Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, overshadowing the mass funeral for slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani just days before.
Replies
Now we are right back where we were with Iran supporting them more than ever.
How long before they attack us again in our back yard?
Centuries long religious/tribal/civil war and you really think you are actually going to win? Get the f out and let them kill each other. If one of them actually attacks us again, then you glass them.
ECHO...ECHO....echo...
Ah......One savors the hypocrisy!
Karma.........It’s a bitch.
The Anglo-Aghan campaigns of the 19th century were power plays between Russia and Britain in an attempt to maintain control over large swaths of Asia. Britain wanted to extend the influence of the East India trading company out of what is present day Pakistan and into what is now Afghanistan. Russia wanted the control the region for much of the same reasons. In History, this cold war/proxy war is commonly referred to as the "Great Game"
Mike
N454casull
Not a lot really. They both have to thread lightly. By default both will be critic to any US action since they're rivals, but this is not the same I ran, the same China and the same Russia from the cold war era, which seems to be the time frame many are still considering as valid.
Both have muslim minorities that have gave them assorted troubles in the past. Since the conflict is partly religious, they're not extempt from internal issues with that population.
China Co. (They're not a country, but a company with 1.4 billion employees) is currently facing a downfall in its economic growth and about to close a new trade deal with the US, so I guessthat they'll be careful in sidelining with Iran.
Russia is too close to them to feel comfortable about their threat to become nuclear (Which IMHO will be their last act) or to feel confident than any retaliatory attack won't splash them.
Iran has been constantly probing against the US too many times. They played with the fact that every 5 years the American foreign policy can switch from openly appeaseant to mildly conflictive, but seems that hardly believed such a direct, bold action to restore deterrance would be taken. For them is a 3-faced problem since any action against the US will only help Trump's reelection, silence will loose them "street credit" in front of the other gangs, and internal political power struggle without quick action will eventually play against them.
For decades they played the "Vietnam card", trying to lure the US into an assimetrical, multiple fronts and politically wearing conflict, but nowadays tech warfare can play against them badly. In 1915 going across no-man's land in the Western front meant a massaccre under the machine gun and artillery fire,but by 1918 allies were already deploying 3,000 tanks that although clumsy, cumbersome and slow,were part of the reason why the stalemate was broken and combat became more "WWII-ish".
Nowadays with the drones the US can inflict serious, surgical damage in Iran power structure, military assets and economic sources with little if no risk to U.S. servicemen lives. No need to put boots on the ground but make their life miserable to the point of implosion.
Iran has the capability of attaking weel outside its estimated sphere of influence. Check the AMIA bombing in Argentina, a place that many would consider "secure" and far from Iranian reach. Retaliation will be someplace like that, probably against a civilian target like Eurodisney, American commercial shipping on a distant port or maybe the American Airlines counter in some relatively remote airport, but they'll have to face the consequences in the same way or maybe worse they have already suffered.
Read something on the news this AM.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/nancy-pelosi-says-house-will-vote-to-limit-trumps-war-powers-on-iran-as-tensions-grow/ar-BBYE4bf?li=BBnb7Kz