Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

[wesw]

i was commenting on the fact that 50 people were trampled to death at old what s his names funeral, but i changed my mind

[Joe Guy]

That's Trump's stable genius strategy. He will single out and kill terrorist leaders and their followers will trample each other to death at the funerals. Maybe he really does know more than the generals...

[Econoline]

[MGMcAnick]

Here comes the war Drumpf is hoping for.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/ir ... d=68130625

[Econoline]

Good analysis, from the NYT.

• Trump the Intimidator Fails Again
  Because he’s just a bully with delusions of grandeur.
  
  By Paul Krugman
  Opinion Columnist
  
  Jan. 6, 2020
  
  International crises often lead, at least initially, to surging support for a country’s leadership. And that’s clearly happening now. Just weeks ago the nation’s leader faced public discontent so intense that his grip on power seemed at risk. Now the assassination of Qassim Suleimani has transformed the situation, generating a wave of patriotism that has greatly bolstered the people in charge.
  
  Unfortunately, this patriotic rallying around the flag is happening not in America, where many are (with good reason) deeply suspicious of Donald Trump’s motives, but in Iran.
  
  In other words, Trump’s latest attempt to bully another country has backfired — just like all his previous attempts.
  
  From his first days in office, Trump has acted on the apparent belief that he could easily intimidate foreign governments — that they would quickly fold and allow themselves to be humiliated. That is, he imagined that he faced a world of Lindsey Grahams, willing to abandon all dignity at the first hint of a challenge.
  
  But this strategy keeps failing; the regimes he threatens are strengthened rather than weakened, and Trump is the one who ends up making humiliating concessions.
  
  Remember, for example, when Trump promised “fire and fury” unless North Korea halted its nuclear weapons program? He claimed triumph after a 2018 summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader. But Kim made no real concessions, and North Korea recently announced that it might resume tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
  
  Or consider the trade war with China, which was supposed to bring the Chinese to their knees. A deal has supposedly been reached, although details remain scarce; what’s clear is that it falls far short of U.S. aims, and that Chinese officials are jubilant about their success in facing Trump down.
  
  Why does Trump’s international strategy, which might be described as winning through intimidation, keep failing? And why does he keep pursuing it anyway?
  
  One answer, I suspect, is that like all too many Americans, Trump has a hard time grasping the fact that other countries are real — that is, that we’re not the only country whose citizens would rather pay a heavy price, in money and even in blood, than make what they see as humiliating concessions.
  
  Ask yourself, how would Americans have reacted if a foreign power had assassinated Dick Cheney, claiming that he had the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis on his hands? Don’t answer that Suleimani was worse. That’s beside the point. The point is that we don’t accept the right of foreign governments to kill our officials. Why imagine that other countries are different?
  
  Of course, we have many people in the diplomatic corps with a deep knowledge of other nations and their motivations, who understand the limits of intimidation. But anyone with that kind of understanding has been excluded from Trump’s inner circle.
  
  Now, it’s true that for many years America did have a special leadership position, one that sometimes involved playing a role in reshaping other countries’ political systems. But here’s where Trump’s second error comes in: He has never shown any sign of understanding why America used to be special.
  
  Part of the explanation, of course, was raw economic and military power: America used to be just much bigger than everyone else. That is, however, no longer true. For example, by some key measures China’s economy is significantly bigger than that of the United States.
  
  Even more important, however, was the fact that America was something more than a big country throwing its weight around. We always stood for something larger.
  
  That doesn’t mean that we were always a force for good; America did many terrible things during its reign as global hegemon. But we clearly stood for global rule of law, for a system that imposed common rules on everyone, ourselves included. The United States may have been the dominant partner in alliances like NATO and bodies like the World Trade Organization, but we always tried to behave as no more than first among equals.
  
  Oh, and because we were committed to enforcing rules, we were also relatively trustworthy; an alliance with America was meaningful, because we weren’t the kind of country that would betray an ally for the sake of short-term political convenience.
  
  Trump, however, has turned his back on everything that used to make America great. Under his leadership, we’ve become nothing more than a big, self-interested bully — a bully with delusions of grandeur, who isn’t nearly as tough as he thinks. We abruptly abandon allies like the Kurds; we honor war criminals; we slap punitive tariffs on friendly nations like Canada for no good reason. And, of course, after more than 15,000 lies, nothing our leader and his minions say can be trusted.
  
  Trump officials seem taken aback by the uniformly negative consequences of the Suleimani killing: The Iranian regime is empowered, Iraq has turned hostile and nobody has stepped up in our support. But that’s what happens when you betray all your friends and squander all your credibility.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up where we're at right now...

[Joe Guy]

One potential positive point is that Iran's leaders probably know that Trump is an unstable ignoramus and with any luck (or justice) his idiocracy may not survive much longer. That could figure into their long term plans. Then again, Trump is so impulsive, it could be the beginning of the end of the world. Who knows?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Pigeons coming home to roost

Iran has launched more than a dozen missiles at US and coalition military sites in Iraq in retaliation for the killing last week of top general Qassem Suleimani.

Al-Asad air base in Iraq’s Anbar province, which hosts a US contingent, was hit at least six times, the US military confirmed. The Pentagon said at least one other base in the northern city of Erbil was targeted in the attack which commenced around 1.30am local time on Wednesday (10.30pm GMT) . . .

. . . Iran signalled that if the US did not respond to the missile strikes, they would stop. Zarif tweeted around 5.30am local time that Iran had taken “and concluded” what he characterised as a proportional response taken in self-defence within the boundaries of what was permitted by international law.

Can Trump stop himself or must the dick be further waved?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... etaliation

[BoSoxGal]

And who pays the price of the penis waving? 176 innocent souls on board a commercial airliner.

[Bicycle Bill]

And who pays the price of the penis waving? 176 innocent souls on board a commercial airliner.

Remember when the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City went "boom" and everyone immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was foreign, specifically Muslim, terrorists?  A little early to assign blame for what might in fact have been nothing more than coincidence.... especially in light of this list:

• In 2009, an airliner crashed in northwestern Iran, near the city of Qazvin.  It plunged to the ground and disintegrated on impact, killing all 168 passengers and crew -- including 10 members of the country's youth judo team.
  In 2011, an Iranian jet crashed near the northwest city of Orumiyeh, in bad weather.  Seventy-seven people were killed.
  In 2018, an Iranian Aseman aircraft crashed in Kohangan village, in the south of the country, killing all 65 people on board.
  In 2019, a Boeing 707 cargo plane belonging to Iran's army crashed near Tehran after the pilot lost control of the aircraft.  Fifteen people on board died.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

Right, BB. Too early to blame terrorism (Iranian or Trumpian), especially as Ukraine and Iran are both speaking of engine failure on take-off. Let's hope that the US and Iran will not be so pig-headed as to make joint investigation impossible (at least involving Boeing if not NTSB).

[ex-khobar Andy]

Yes - what MGM said. When I heard last night that the 737 had crashed, I thought that reasonable people, if any exist, could find a silver lining. Trump and Pompeo through a neutral ambassador could offer US/Boeing technical assistance to the investigation with Iranian leadership under some sort of 'put all the guns down' agreement.

And yes, BB - I remember the Murrah OKC bombing and how all these Mediterranean-looking gentlemen had been seen fleeing the scene. My immediate conclusion was homegrown terrorism just from the choice of target. A federal building in OKC is a huge target to the militia types while of zero significance to Islamists.

[Big RR]

But Andy, that wouldn't distract from the impeachment proceedings--the tail must wag the dog (or the dick must wag the ass in this instance).

[RayThom]

And who pays the price of the penis waving? 176 innocent souls on board a commercial airliner.

Softer and more strategic targets would be Trump hotels.

Start hitting the Grifter-in-Chief where it will really hurt him.

[BoSoxGal]

I’m glad ( ) that the airliner victims weren’t collateral damage of the Iranian strikes - but rather more likely collateral damage of Boeing’s lust for profits. (Yeah I know, cause not yet determined - but their recent track record has me very suspicious of the reliability of their aircraft.)

[Scooter]

[Sue U]

Softer and more strategic targets would be Trump hotels.

Start hitting the Grifter-in-Chief where it will really hurt him.

All Iran would have to do is announce that it considers all Trump properties around the world as potential targets. The resulting cancellations and decline in revenue might do some real damage without ever firing a shot.

[Joe Guy]

All Iran would have to do is announce that it considers all Trump properties around the world as potential targets. The resulting cancellations and decline in revenue might do some real damage without ever firing a shot.

I've just forwarded your idea to the Ayatollah. Don't worry. I gave you credit.

[BoSoxGal]

This has already been hinted at by Iranian officials: https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com ... rties/amp/

However, a recent piece in Slate or someplace discussed the financial setbacks suffered by most Trump properties since he took office - as I recall, the DC Old Post Office hotel is the only one really making money, due to the constant business from foreign governments and lobbyists seeking to curry favor from the administration. Certain Trump properties- the golf courses in Ireland and Scotland - have never made a profit and are suspected by some to be money-laundering vehicles for the TO.

Probably Trump would do better by insurance claims on some of his places if they were in fact targeted by terrorists.

There’s a bunch of articles discussing the financial losses by TO since he took office, but here’s a recent one: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanity ... evenue/amp

[Big RR]

I wouldn't be surprised. Whoever really runs the organization (and it isn't Donald) is pretty savvy about things like this.

[eddieq]

It would be just like 45*(3) to take a tax deduction/loss and insurance payout from being potus. Frankly, it's hard to be surprised by him, only to find out he's done something else so jaw dropping that I'm surprised.

Here's a thought, I'd be surprised if he resigned tomorrow (hint, hint, DJT).