US Baghdad Embassy Attacked by Protesters

[sfzombie13 307]

so much for getting us out of the middle east.  what a douchebag.

[Stumpy 256]

4 minutes ago, sfzombie13 said:

so much for getting us out of the middle east.  what a douchebag.

This. 

[ryoder 1,380]

So this is Pompeo's idea of a world made safer by assassination of a general.

[yoink 321]

28 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Mark,

Well, he is involved now.

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/07/794388410/military-base-housing-u-s-troops-in-iraq-has-been-attacked

Jerry Baaumchen

Oh, shit.

 

I agree with Wolfriverjoe that Trump is unstable enough to genuinely WANT to use nuclear weapons.He's been fascinated by them for years....

Everyone had better be praying that cooler heads in his administration can keep him on a leash right now.

[mistercwood 287]

3 minutes ago, yoink said:

Everyone had better be praying that cooler heads in his administration can keep him on a leash right now.

Unlikely: 

 

[Stumpy 256]

42 minutes ago, ryoder said:

So this is Pompeo's idea of a world made safer by assassination of a general.

Yeah good job they did that to prevent an imminent war. 

[turtlespeed 212]

Well - #^%$

It was posted earlier that Iran has sent missiles into iraq at an iraqi base housing US troops.

I think - so far - that there have been few casualties - and if we can believe the media, it is the Iraqis that were hit, killed, and injured.

<SMH>

[yoink 321]

40 minutes ago, turtlespeed said:

Well - #^%$

It was posted earlier that Iran has sent missiles into iraq at an iraqi base housing US troops.

I think - so far - that there have been few casualties - and if we can believe the media, it is the Iraqis that were hit, killed, and injured.

<SMH>

Fingers crossed no US personnel were hurt. I wish I could believe Trump would be smart enough to use that as a deescalation route if it were the case... Allow Iran some sabre-rattling in retaliation for assassinating one of their generals, but I can’t get rid the idea that Trump is busy touching himself while looking at a catalogue of ever larger military responses.

 

“phhhwwwoooor!

Turn Tehran into a glowing crater?? Seems perfectly reasonable! I’ll be be most strong-man president ever! Bring me the launch codes and a Big Mac!”

Edited January 8, 2020 by yoink

[nigel99 143]

12 minutes ago, yoink said:

Fingers crossed no US personnel were hurt. I wish I could believe Trump would be smart enough to use that as a deescalation route if it were the case... Allow Iran some sabre-rattling in retaliation for assassinating one of their generals, but I can’t get rid the idea that Trump is busy touching himself while looking at a catalogue of ever larger military responses.

 

“phhhwwwoooor!

Turn Tehran into a glowing crater?? Seems perfectly reasonable! I’ll be be most strong-man president ever! Bring me the launch codes and a Big Mac!”

Ukrainian passenger plane has crashed in Iran. Bad timing if it was genuinely an accident. I wonder if the USA or Iran had people on board that were convenient passengers.

I get the feeling the Middle East is going to plunge into a very bad situation and fast. This could get very messy

Edited January 8, 2020 by nigel99

[ryoder 1,380]

3 minutes ago, nigel99 said:

Ukrainian passenger plane has crashed in Iran. Bad timing if it was genuinely an accident. I wonder if the USA or Iran had people on board that were convenient passengers.

I get the feeling the Middle East is going to plunge into a very bad situation and fast. This could get very messy

And it was a 737NG, like Boeing didn't have enough headaches.

[normiss 620]

Operation Enduring Impeachment has begun.

[nigel99 143]

36 minutes ago, ryoder said:

And it was a 737NG, like Boeing didn't have enough headaches.

What significance is an NG? 

[ryoder 1,380]

3 minutes ago, nigel99 said:

What significance is an NG? 

It is the 3rd-generation 737, produced just before the infamous 4th-generation Max.

[nigel99 143]

12 minutes ago, ryoder said:

It is the 3rd-generation 737, produced just before the infamous 4th-generation Max.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but the location of the crash, timing of it and that it was Ukrainian sure makes one think. Especially since the skeptics amongst us think Trumps hit on the general had more than a little to do with distracting from Ukraine based impeachment storyline 

[ryoder 1,380]

NYT is running a story stating the assassination was Pompeo's idea:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/world/middleeast/pompeo-trump.html

[nigel99 143]

7 minutes ago, ryoder said:

NYT is running a story stating the assassination was Pompeo's idea:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/world/middleeast/pompeo-trump.html

Is that the guy who got the coffee?

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

1 hour ago, ryoder said:

the assassination was Pompeo's idea:

Hi Robert,

'I never really knew him.  He may have had some minor position but I never really interacted with him.'

Suuuure,

Jerry Baumchen

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

Well, apparently the only casualties were Iraqis.

And the stock market took a hit.

Since Trump has no concern for 'brown people', but DOES care about the Dow Jones, he may actually not take this any further. Not my assessment, but that of others.

 

His kid met with the Saudis last night.
Not on the schedule, not publicized.

I wonder what they had to talk about?
Hmmmm...

It's been speculated that Trump will mock the Iranians response, pretend he won and not escalate it any further.
What else the Iranians may or may not do remains to be seen.

Also, the 'imminent' part of the threat is evaporating rather rapidly.
Nobody had been able to articulate what specific attacks the Iranians were planning. 
If that is true, then the attack was not legal. 
Failing to inform Congress prior to the attack would also have been illegal.

[JoeWeber 2,294]

16 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

It wouldn't be all that hard to do.

A competent team, well trained & financed, could easily target one of Trump's resorts, hotels or golf courses. 

In the US or somewhere else (funny that the emoluments clause would have a side effect like that).

Hezbollah has utilized car bombs throughout the Middle East. 

 

500 lbs of high explosives, smuggled in, acquired or home made, int he trunk of a car or back of an SUV would make a hell of a mess.

If Iran made a statement to the effect that they were targeting Trump himself, not the US, they could have a hell of a propaganda coup.
Trump's admission that the attack in Iraq was at his order, his threats to target Iranian cultural sites (which is a war crime), his threat to retaliate in a 'disproportionate manner', all of that puts the responsibility directly on Trump, far more than on the US government as a whole.

And if Iran attacked some of Trump's personal assets, not US government ones, that would make it really personal for Trump.
He'd go bananas. Absolutely ballistic. 

It wouldn't surprise me if he ordered a nuclear attack (yes, I believe he is that unstable and irrational).

The Pentagon has already issued a statement that they would not violate any international rules of war, in response to Trump threatening Iran's cultural sites. 
Congress is in the process of passing a resolution restricting Trump's power and authority to act.

Depending on a whole lot of things, I can see a variety of outcomes to this sort of scenario. 

From a nuclear attack to Trump being '25th'd' and removed.

 

This is scary as all hell. 

Who knows what they might do? It's not like we have the market on morons completely cornered. I think I'd say nada and have the cyber team turn off the crappers and the sous vide cookers at Trump Tower. Maybe run non-stop porn on every TV at Mar-a-Lago. Just go full petty and stupid. Make him a laughing stock even in North Georgia. But give him nothing to go to war over. 

[ScottishJohn 25]

7 hours ago, nigel99 said:

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but the location of the crash, timing of it and that it was Ukrainian sure makes one think. Especially since the skeptics amongst us think Trumps hit on the general had more than a little to do with distracting from Ukraine based impeachment storyline 

The plane had just taken off from Terran (Khomeini  airport) and got to 8000ft before there was a loss of signal . https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/ps752#23732569  Click on graph (3rd icon) below time  0238 UTC.

This could be a similar accident to the shooting down of the Malaysian airline in the Ukraine.

Anti Aircraft operator guarding the airport mistaking the plane for US retaliation.

It has been reported that the Iranians have found the black box but so far are refusing to return it to Boeing for analysis. 

The following is from the Daily Beast

Ukraine Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said early Wednesday that there were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians on board, and that the Ukrainian nationals included two passengers and the nine crew. There were also 10 Swedish, four Afghan, three German, and three British nationals.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by ScottishJohn

[turtlespeed 212]

8 hours ago, yoink said:

Fingers crossed no US personnel were hurt. I wish I could believe Trump would be smart enough to use that as a deescalation route if it were the case... Allow Iran some sabre-rattling in retaliation for assassinating one of their generals, but I can’t get rid the idea that Trump is busy touching himself while looking at a catalogue of ever larger military responses.

 

“phhhwwwoooor!

Turn Tehran into a glowing crater?? Seems perfectly reasonable! I’ll be be most strong-man president ever! Bring me the launch codes and a Big Mac!”

Deescalation is the preferred route.

I don't have confidence in that, though.

This is going to get really bad before it gets worse.

Trump said he would give a statement later this morning.

 

Now a plane and an Earthquake. <face palm>

Edited January 8, 2020 by turtlespeed

[brenthutch 383]

On 1/6/2020 at 11:18 AM, SkyDekker said:

Usually backup is required with the claim, not with the dismissal. Pretty basic concept.

except when it comes to climate change

[brenthutch 383]

I digress.  It looks like Iran lobed a few missiles that landed harmlessly in the desert (they had to do something for domestic political consumption)  followed up with a statement that said they are calling it even for the killing of Solimani and that they do not want war.  Looks like a solid off ramp to escalation if Trump can take it.

[DJL 232]

12 hours ago, ryoder said:

So this is Pompeo's idea of a world made safer by assassination of a general.

While there is a lot going on here I think it's pretty clear that this was a terrorist dressed as a general conducting state sanctioned terrorism in the form of proxy wars against the US.  He was sanctioned by Obama in 2011 for plotting an assassination on US soil that would've killed hundreds of US citizens and was later designated a terrorist.  The person he was killed with, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was a terrorist who conducted attacks against the US and fought against us as an insurgent.  Muhandis was the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah milita which worked under the control of the Quds Force controlled by Soleimani.

[DJL 232]

8 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

I digress.  It looks like Iran lobed a few missiles that landed harmlessly in the desert (they had to do something for domestic political consumption)  followed up with a statement that said they are calling it even for the killing of Soleimani and that they do not want war.  Looks like a solid off ramp to escalation if Trump can take it.

They know what's good for them and Soleimani wasn't exactly popular with everyone in Iran.  That guy had a lot of control and was gaining more, he was well on his way to increasing his control of a regional military that wasn't even part of the Iranian State.  He was going to be the next Saddam Hussein.