nonniey

1 hour ago, Koala said:

........ This Iranian General was killed cause he knew too much.  What he knew about Trump, should be everybody's focus.  Follow the money, they say....

Won't quibble over what Trump is,  but seriously this is what you believe is the reason he was killed?

45 minutes ago, Hersh said:

It’s amazing what a lying, corrupt cluster **** the GOP has become. They really don’t care about laws or international treaties. There should be wide condemnation on Trump doubling down on committing a war crime. 

Committing a war crime? When did he do that?  (Although you did get me to quickly double check this mornings headlines).

2 hours ago, twa said:

the notion the price of oil would be less with a Dem at the helm is amusing.

Amusing? Did you see the one about Obama's efforts to increase domestic oil production put the US in a good position earlier in this thread? 

2 hours ago, Destino said:

It would have to be rock solid evidence too.  As the title of this thread says, credibility is a problem.  I’m not sure anyone would even believe any evidence short of a video taped confession.  The US case for war in iraq did a lot to erode trust.  Trump casually lying about absolutely everything, all the time, and his mercurial nature, may have killed off any trust that remained.  

Don't know why they are muddying the waters so much they should have just said he was involved in the embassy assault and the rocket attacks last week and left it at that. They had more than enough justification with that and his previous activities and wouldn't have had to explain anything further.

5 hours ago, bearrock said:

......r, I don't think killing Soliemani at this point was justified.  

KIlling Solliemani has been justified for about 20 years.  .

2 hours ago, visionary said:

Supposedly he was there on the invitation of Iraq.  It wasn't really a gamble though by his pov, since he likely never expected the US to attack him, nor did Iranian or Iraqi officials (unless some were in on it).

.

 

More likely than not some Iraqi official or officials were in on it and tipped us off. 

1 hour ago, DCSaints_fan said:

Can anyone with knowledge of the region shed some light as to what extent the Shia in Iraq are pro-Iran?  Is there a possibility of full fledged civil war in Iraq between Shia, Sunni and Kurds ? 

Those who are pro Iranian are Shia but many Shia have been protesting Iranian interference the last year or so. I'm not sure what the percentages are within the Shia for supporting and opposing Iran. There were celebrations in Basra last night and this morning of Suleimani's death and those were Shia. The Sunni's are definitively anti-Iranian and the Kurds are pro-American.

3 minutes ago, visionary said:

This is pretty typical.  A lot of countries kill Americans and we don't do ****.  Where have you been?

Well I certainly wouldn't call it crossing the line when we kill them back (especially if it is the leadership we target - I always advocate for going after the order givers instead of the peons).

12 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

 

Well it is Soleimani the General is talking about and that is what he does (I mean did).

1 hour ago, Skintime said:

You think that happened why?

Obama being behind the increase in American oil production????? That is what I was laughing at.  I know that didn't happen. Heck just about everyone on this board would laugh over that assertion and most of them love Obama.

9 minutes ago, Skintime said:

..........., and that's why Obama increased American oil production, to help us not be so reliant on the ME and its power over us.

🤣

Just now, NoCalMike said:

 

Between our intelligence agency and military capabilities, they could likely take out any person they want to.  That isn't the point, nor is "hey we took out a bad guy"  Again, no one is crying over the guy itself being dead, but unfortunately foreign policy isn't as simple as "take this guy out and you've fixed the situation"

Understood I just have a personal stake in it.

2 minutes ago, visionary said:

There's been the opportunity to kill him for years.  The guy doesn't exactly hide his presence.  

I for one have wanted him killed for years (And there aren't many people I can say that about).

4 minutes ago, NoCalMike said:

 

Funny you should bring up the debates because when Hugh Hewitt asked Trump about Solemimani, he had no clue who the hell Hewitt was talking about. Trump did manage to say "Kurds" a whole bunch of times though. 

Remember who you are responding to - criticizing Trump for his ignorance isn't going to get me riled up.  He wasn't wrong to kill Soleimani. Saw a tweet I meant to capture where someone posted that a lot of people have got it backward -paraphrasing - If a President is given a chance to kill Soleimani  it would be hard to justify not killing him. 

6 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

9/11 had nothing to do with the Iraq war. The neocons wanted war with Iraq all through the 90’s. Cheney was foaming at the mouth after 9/11. Was it Saddam is all he cared about.

Go deeper - 9/11 was related to the Persian Gulf war. That war resulted in a major expansion of US forces in the Middle East with forces directly in Saudi Arabia as well, which became an irritant that influenced the development of Al Qaida. If the Persian Gulf War had never occurred (This was on Saddam) 9/11 almost certainly wouldn't have either. 

12 minutes ago, Springfield said:

So Trump is bombing the ME cause he got impeached.

No this was a long time coming. Heck just last year tanker bombings, drone shoot downs, major missile attacks, etc.etc. Escalations with no response.  Now a major kick in the teeth response.  I'm sure the Iranians are in a bit of shock over this as they probably expected us to kill some of their peons.  Soleimani was the guy I had been suggesting that they kill in debates around the office for a long time.  He thought he was untouchable and this sends a message that no one is.

32 minutes ago, tshile said:

 

Aren't we mostly off of it? I thought the vast majority comes from outside the region

 

 

We still refine a lot of it for use and reexport but yes most of ours comes from other sources. 

14 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

 

so we trade 241 service men for Soleimani..... hmm.....

Think you are mixing up 1983 with 1988.

3 hours ago, RichmondRedskin88 said:

Man I wish we could just wipe the ME out.  Like obviously that’s not diplomatic and or realistic as you have lots of totally innocent people there but the world would be 50% safer. 

That is one thing I fear - We wipe out the Middle East. We'd lose our soul if we did - We have our sins and stains but that would surpass even the Nazi's.  Problem is we are capable of doing just that with sufficient provocation. 

33 minutes ago, The Sisko said:

 

Sooo, it turns out you were defending (wannabe) Nazis after all? What’s next? Being forced to abandon the one bad apple defense maybe?

I was pointing out that not all the  people in that photo were making a Nazi salute.  And yes my instinct is to defend people against the mob until more more information comes to light (I'm the type of guy you'd want on your Jury if you were accused of anything and were innocent).

17 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

I like all the “US started a war with Iran” comments totally ignoring their long standing abhorrent behavior. Also, their is no chance we accidentally killed Soleimani... 

 

Iran knows what the consequences are for pushing back too directly.

 

Not really a huge fan of engaging in another war, especially when China and Russia are in bed with iran, but the “America Started It” line is rich.

We are getting over reactions from a lot of people. I expect that the worst that would happen are some terrorist attacks followed by counter strikes and a small scale tussle in the Persian Gulf similar to 1988.

56 minutes ago, redskins59 said:

 

No, the revolutionary guard is not hated.  The Iranians hate their government, but not the revolutionary guard.  There was an article about this just a few months ago.  They are seen as guardians.

There was a point in Iran, when the revolutionary guard wasn't like as much.

Anyway, I am not going to argue with you.  You know why, because if Iran retaliates, I won the argument. If they don't, you win.  If things escalate, I was right, and you don't know what you're talking about.

My apologies - I stand corrected. 

"8. Views of Political Figures
General Soleimani remains the most popular Iranian public figure among those tested, with eight in ten viewing him favorably.  Second is Foreign Minister Zarif, viewed favorably by two thirds.   Ebrahim Raisi—who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017 and was made the head of Iran’s judiciary in March 2019—has seen significant growth in popularity since May and is now viewed favorably by nearly two thirds.  For the first time, a little under half of Iranians view President Rouhani favorably.  Mohammad Ghalibaf, ex-mayor of Tehran—who also ran for president in 2017 but stood down in favor of Raisi—is favorably regarded by three in five.  Ex-president Ahmadinejad is seen favorably by a modest majority.  As in the past, a large majority says it expects to vote in the Majlis elections coming in February 2020.
 

9. Views of the Revolutionary Guard
Majorities are broadly supportive of the IRGC. Four in five say the IRGC’s activities in the Middle East have made Iran more secure—a view that has increased since May. " 

Think too many are wringing their hands over this - The Iranian regime is not going to commit suicide over this. They may kick up a fuss in the Persian Gulf with some mining, small boat and missile attacks and they will get smacked down similar to 1988.  This will be for show. 

34 minutes ago, visionary said:

I don't think he's revolutionary guard.  He's behind setting up proxy groups and terror cells around the world.  He has more actual influence on the ground than most officials, but he is not exactly loved by Iranians.

He is the leader of the revolutionary guard which also has responsibility for Iran's international terrorist efforts (They also were the ones directly involved in last years tanker bombings and the missile attack on the Saudi refinery).  The poster you were responding to doesn't know what he is talking about - Within Iran they are the most hated government group.  

1 hour ago, redskins59 said:

This is a disaster for that region.  

No it's not that guy was one of the biggest destabilzers in the region.  He's also responsible for hundreds of American deaths. this was long over due.  Iran has to now realize if they want to kick it up any further that we are willing to target their top leaders. 

Began watching The Man in the High Castle a couple of months back and already into season three.  It's very good to excellent imo. Exceptionally well acted - It's quite disturbing to watch a United States split between the Japanese Empire and the 3rd Reich.   I catch myself pulling for the Japanese and then get reminded with a scene or two of just how brutal and evil they are too. Show is evil versus a greater evil with the good guys just trying to gain a footing.

4 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said:

Almost all of them I'm guessing. 37 people total canned. Not going to count but only 1 looks like they aren't throwing up a Nazi salute.

 

 

37? - That is more than in the photo (people training them I imagine).  However certainly more than one isn't making a Nazi salute (anyone with a fist for example).   But that statement by Byrd you posted is pretty damning and probably what sank them all.