And now there is Iran
The Iranian people are in open revolt due to economic hardships and lack of water. The regime has killed hundreds. Trump threatens the regime with military actions or other sanctions. The son of the former Shah is encouraging the Iranians to seek regime change. America is now telling unnecessary personnel to evacuate nearby bases. Iran says it can hit targets in the US.
Saw a Facebook Meme today. Something to the effect:
Book people take a break and look up. See the mess we are in. Return to your books.
What are your bets?
Saw a Facebook Meme today. Something to the effect:
Book people take a break and look up. See the mess we are in. Return to your books.
What are your bets?
Comments
Then I think he was convinced it would put him between a rock and a hard place. It appears his generals said there would be nothing to gain with that intervention. It would put Americans in harm's way especially at nearby bases, but also even here in the US, since Iran is known to have death squads throughout the world.
But I have to wonder about how the protestors are taking this. They had hoped there would be an American intervention, but it did not come. Goes to prove never trust an American.
I certainly did. I was called to active duty during that time.
So I wouldn't want to place any bets.
Is he stalling for time. Planning a surprise attack? Who knows? Does he?
Seems to be a lot going on.
I think they will try to relocate the government not the whole city. But even that costs money, which they do not have.
There might be more to come first of February.
I'm not American but I think my response would be that two wrongs don't make a right. The fact that the Iranian regime has killed thousands of its people doesn't make it right for ICE to kill 30 or so people in the US, as I believe they have done cumulatively.
If any one isn't fit to form a US administration it's the Republicans on present form.
Whether it's two deaths or 22 deaths or 22,000 deaths, it's still death.
Deaths of people in the US is something that the Democrats and US voters in general can do something about through peaceful constitutional means. Deaths of Iranian citizens considerably less so.
The UK Guardian's view of current events as regards the 'Armada':
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/28/trump-threat-us-iran-war-armada-nuclear-programme
Everybody knows the Iranian regime is despotic. Iranians killing opponents of their regime is bad, but completely unsurprising. Most people expect the US to be better than that, not to attempt to imitate it.
What does Iran have that he really wants? I think we all know the answer to that one.
Well I bl**dy don't!
Although he could just be trying to boost his ratings. Bush became more popular after starting a war, so starting two must be even better, right?
Distraction, Hegemony and Gas.
Yup.
Heather Cox Richardson (American historian who writes a daily newsletter commenting on current US events within a long-term historical context) said as much a week or so ago.
That was then. Bush got us into a war that we didn't get out of till the Biden administration, and the American public has (at least for the time being) lost its taste for war. Normally I'd say we'd be okay with some bombing, but the polling in mid-January says more than half of American adults think Trump's foreign intervention has "gone too far": https://apnews.com/article/poll-trump-venezuela-foreign-policy-approval-ce8d92a1461abb354f8c799e6b487e49.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/feb/28/israel-attacks-iran-as-blasts-heard-in-tehran-live-updates
Is this just going to be a few days of terrorising Iranians and failing to blow up anything important or do we think Trump is aiming for regime change? I assume even his handlers aren't stupid enough to think they can impose a transitional government on a country the size of Iran.
Russia kind of has its hands tied. I see Zelinski is all for the attack on Iran since Iran had been supplying many of the drones Russia had been using.
About the only way China can get involved is to attack Taiwan and test our two wars theory,
It does not have the capacity to come to Iran's direct aid.
Why don't you think China has the capacity to come to Iran's direct aid?
(I note we do have a war in the middle east thread - my bad I had forgotten we already had an Iran thread - it is possible they either get merged or one closed in the near future.)
I think you're right there Doublethink about policy.
I was just curious about Gramps "capacity" comment. He seems in the technical know.
It'll be a lot easier to sneak actually dangerous people in with our security apparatus overstretched chasing harmless civilians. And our administration run by hacks and sycophants.
I always thought that the long game for AQ et al was to give us a case of political inflammation, wasting our time and money punishing harmless people so we didn't have the energy for the real monsters. It makes sense, and I think the current administration practically feeds on that stuff anyway. They like keeping people scared.
I'm not even sure we're considered sheep to be fleeced anymore, figuratively speaking.
The Chinese navy is large and modern, but its ability to sustain distant operations is still limited by logistics, basing and replenishment capacity. China cannot yet sustain a large combat fleet in the Persian Gulf for long periods. It cannot control both the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf simultaneously in a crisis. It cannot match American global logistic, which rely on dozens of bases and a huge replenishment fleet.
China puts a huge emphasis on controlling the South China Sea. Contrast that with the American Navy which is a five theatre force which is stretched around the world.