Conflict with Iran will substantially reduce our capacities which are needed for deterring Chinese and Russian positions while revealing our capabilities to the same. It is foolish strategy diplomatically that will push away Europe and make the US a pariah hastening US decline. It serves only to endear Adelson as a Trump contributor and please both Netanyahu and bin Salman, two persons whom we should avoid. It is folly and waste while lying to the American public as to reasons for and need to commit to war adds yet another impeachable offense.
15
Yet another pair of Republican, draft-dodging chickenhawks wanting to start a war for political gain. Same old story. With an American public dumb enough to buy it.
Sad that we have a country that feels it has to define its greatness through all the wars it gets itself into. I am so exhausted with it.
16
It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here: Trump is in deep trouble so it’s time for a war. His Saudi Arabian and Israeli buddies won’t mind and war with Iran has been a Republican dream since the Peacock Throne was overthrown in 1979. One can only hope it’s just more bluster on his part, since attacking Iran would be like attacking Russia. His threats to the other Russian client states of Syria and Venezuela have gone nowhere, so being in bed with Putin means he’ll have to try somewhere else. Canada, maybe?
6
The Republican playbook is pretty small apparently.
9
War against Iran, tariffs' war with China, are these things being used as red meat for the base and distraction from the Mueller report, subpoenas, tax returns, rule of law, constitutional crisis, mass shootings... from chaos in the homeland?
13
120 000 troops? For what exactly? To make sure Iran doesn’t enrich nuclear materials? That deal was already in place and verifiable. Nothing but nothing good will come of picking at this scab yet the draft dodging chicken hawk “experts” just can’t wait to have at it. I his isn’t what leadership looks like.
10
The price this country is paying in blood , treasure and international goodwill to prop Israel up is not worth it. Am surprised Trump is not saying Israel should pay us back. Wonder why??
11
Reichstag Fire anyone?
6
Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
Apparently, having the Boomers being involved in 2 Vietnams was not enough.
5
Trump gets ready to wag the dog.
3
Iraq is all tank country and perfect for the warfare our country can fight extremely well with not a huge force. But once the conventional government forces were defeated, the reality of an unraveled dictatorship revealed numerous factions who hated each other and would not cooperate. Then a force of four times as many to keep the peace would barely have sufficed. So by defeating Saddam we gave ourselves a quagmire to fix. In the end, we did not succeed. It is wise to remember that Bolton was one who eagerly supported exactly what we attempted.
Iran is almost all mountains which requires vast numbers of infantry to fight in, which we don’t have. The campaign would be exactly like the Italian campaign in WWII. Defenders shooting down into attackers always attacking up hill. Very slow and very bloody. We do not want to get into a war with Iran that requires removing the regime. That would be a ruinous mistake. It would make the Wars in Korea and Vietnam look like victories.
5
So, if they attack the world oil supply should we send them a sharp note of protest?
1
Are we really talking about yet another Middle East war! And if Bush/Cheney caused so much harm, I can only imagine how much Trump/Pence would do.
12
Bolton and Trump need to climb down off their dragons.
13
@O: And Pompeo as well.
6
How much would a war in Iran be worth to Erik Prince?
17
Arguably the second Iranian-Israeli War has been hot for several years now as the IAF has used the latest weaponry (RAMPAGE) to hit Iranian targets in Syria.
In any "hot" conflict the Iranians will lose command and control, A2/D2 and situational awareness nearly immediately. Further, since the discipline of IRG is notoriously bad, any conflict would soon devolve in local asymmetrical combat. US CyberCommand is as prepared as the Mossad's Unit 8200 to wage cyber warfare against the regime and shut down the country.
Mid-level and lower level IRG officers believe their own propaganda and as the chain of command structure is very poor, the Iranians are sorely under-estimating the risk of war through local miscalculations by IGG Naval Assets just like HAMAS and HIZBOLLAH have repeatedly stumbled into war.
1
Command and control are important in managing large formations and conventional forces but geography can break up formations and make them vulnerable to smaller forces. Independent units can fight and run very easily in mountainous country familiar to them.
2
@American Akita Team: If you think war with Iran would be a piece of cake - or is that a 'cakewalk' - you are a fool. Iran would make the war in Iraq look like a picnic.
8
HUA dude! Sounds like a piece of cake, just like it always does. Naturally Trump will want to quarterback the whole thing with a big table map and poles to push little toy tanks around on. Awesome! What are we waiting for? Let's go and kill more people in the Middle East! They love us there!
10
Here we go again with the WH figuring out how to keep or win votes by starting a war right before the elections. Just one of many feeble attempts to capture some voters. The consequences of these erratic, short term optics based actions usually end up in lives being lost and/or disrupted. Actions with no long term strategies - just "let's see if this helps us win the elections". Wake up Trump supporters and smell the disasters that he is fermenting. We will all suffer and this country will be the worse for it.
8
The United States House Committee on Ways and Means has formally requested from the IRS six years of Trump's returns. As of April 23, 2019, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refused to comply with the deadlines given by the committee, saying that there is no legal basis for such a request.
Well ... Mr. Trump just provided a very strong legal basis for his tax returns to be examined by appropriate Congress committees.
There have been much speculations about Mr. Trump's previous business activities that may have linked his financial interests closely with those of Saudi royals. It is important for the US public to know that he is not starting a war just to please his previous (or, possibly, present) Saudi business partners. The Congress needs to see Mr. Trump's tax returns to ensure that there are no basis for these rumors.
10
Heir Trump will do anything to confuse the people. Sadly the majority don't know what a news paper is and the importance of using multiple sources to make informed decisions.
Thanks again protest voters for cutting off all our noses to spite your face!
And after war is very good for a capitalist society. At least for the shareholders anyway.
5
@Rob Brown
Many of the "protest voters" you mock were protesting the endless Obama/Clinton wars.
These are all of the countries they bombed. Do you not consider bombing countries an act of war? If Russia dropped a bomb on New Hampshire, would you not consider that an act of war?
Afghanistan
Iraq
Libya
Syria
Yemen
Pakistan
Somalia
3
Gee, and here I thought Bush and Cheney started Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama simply followed the rest of NATO in an air campaign in Libya (hey, wasn’t there some little contretemps involving Quaddafi, an airliner, the Syracuse U football team and a bomb?), and that the Right simultaneously cursed Obama for letting ISIL grow, demanded that he get Cingressional approval, and blew town when he actually asked for it.
5
@D. Cassidy
Russia dropped a bomb on the entire country with their interference in our election. Which is an act of war that Heir Trump continues to do nothing about. He still wants his Moscow tower.
And it was Bush that started the endless war in Iraq. Planet earth was with us in Afghanistan.
4
Trying to achieve our aim of a nuclear free Iran with Bolton leading the way, and Trump tweeting along behind is guaranteed to be a complete disaster.
Any young person thinking of enlisting should think very carefully about whether they want to put their life on the line under this commander in chief. Just imagine how Trump will be tweeting out our troop positions, our militarty strategy, our troop strength, and invasion times and dates.
13
Trump has been the least blow-up-stuff-edy president out of the last three, but the left acts as if he's a raging warmonger.
1
We should be much more concerned about regime change at home than in Iran.
17
I don't care what Bolton wants! He should have been put out to pasture a long time ago...oh wait, he was! Trump dragged the old man back in. Another guy who interviewed for his job on TV!
Former National Guard and Army reservist, who purposely avoided Vietnam, and is now like far too many of his ilk, and age, a perverse Hawk.
This absolutely unnecessary! IF we had a true negotiator in the WH, leading instead of chaotically wandering around the WH, yelling at the TV, tweeting like a demented teen. And being manipulated by guys way smarter then him by miles.
War with Iran will be end of any stability we have managed to shakily establish in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the region in general.
Also, if such events transpire...its a sure bet that Trump will declare an emergency and take as much control as possible.
And the result might be that we do not see a national election in 2020, if we go down this path with Iran...
We can not be, should not be going into this vipers nest of a war with Iran. Its a lose-lose for the US. We are in no shape, militarily, or civilian wise to go down this dark, evil path.
Bolton, Pompeo and the rest of those moron hawks must be stopped! Forget the Mueller debacle...war with Iran will be a serious Constitutional crisis.
7
.
@Boregard,
.
Again, not a war w/ iran, but rather airstrikes;
.
they can destroy nukes & decapitate regimes in a week maybe
.
This administration couldn't get out of Obama's Iran Nuclear Deal quickly enough. They have been pining for war with Iran, together with their two allies, Saudi-Arabia and Israel, who have also become cozy over the last few years.
10
.
@TM,
.
The nuke deal amounted to appeasement of iran's belligerence & nuclear aspirations; it was riddled w/ pro-iran loopholes.
We, at least the US, Saudi & Israel, if not the world, are bettr off w/o it.
Appeasement of an aggressive, terrorist, islamo-fascist regime is a huge mistake;
We DO remember the Allies appeasement of Hitler's belligerent, fascist regime @ Munich in 1938 dont we?
.
When I read this the Gulf of Tonkin lies come to mind.
6
This eerily smacks of the Gulf of Tonkin event leading up to the Vietnam war. And we all know how that turned out. Given the lies coming out of the white house (last count over 10,000) it would be foolish to believe anything they say.
11
When will our young men and women boycott this military? that may be our only hope to kill the endless wars going on.
5
@Nic
I told my little brother that if he had any integrity he would have resigned his commission when Trump stole the White House. His response? MAGA!
4
.
@Nic,
.
Heh, no, they like the military's benefits, even older men & women do.
.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then the US is truly an insane nation.
9
Bolton is insane, he thinks of Iran like it's Panama or Grenada. Iran has 3 times the land area of Iraq, double the population, double the length of land borders to start. This would end all chance of America getting out of it's Forever War.
4
.
@Craig,
.
No, Bolton is obviously thinking airstrikes, not boots on the ground.
.
"The high-level review of the Pentagon’s plans was presented during a meeting about broader Iran policy. It was held days after what the Trump administration described, without evidence, as new intelligence indicating that Iran was mobilizing proxy groups in Iraq and Syria to attack American forces."
This is actually interesting. Please reflect on this point for a moment. During Iran nuclear negotiations, and for a while after that, the Republicans were telling the US media that the Iranians are, or have been, too smart for the Obama administration. They have managed to sell "a bad deal" to the US by bamboozling US negotiators in every turn.
Now the Trump administration and the Republicans are busy trying to convince the US media that the Iranians are incredibly stupid. If one to believe Mr. Trump administration, the Iranians are so stupid that their plan to stop the US from attacking their country is to mobilize "proxy groups in Iraq and Syria to attack American forces" or attack Saudi and Emirate oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. How such provocations, which appear to be perfectly designed to convince the US public that Iran is a menace that needs to be dealt with, are going to help Iranians?
Well, I am not convinced that the Iranians are the stupid ones here. And the US public is smart enough to see through these lies. No wonder Kim jong un has been playing Mr. Trump and his people like a fiddle!
6
Didn't we expect Trump to start a war to distract us from his appalling behavior? Way to get reelected, isn't it?
9
I expect that the entire Trump family of grifters has been fitted for appropriate war uniforms. Donald, Don Jr., Jared and Eric will all be generals of course; Ivanka and Melania will compete for the most feminine uniform.
Of course none of them will actually put their lives on the line for Mr. Bone Spur's war. Nope that "honor" will fall to others.
5
How do you think President Trump plans to win re-election? He's taking a page out of G.W. Bush/Dick Cheney's playbook.
3
@stewarjt,
.
& nixon prolonging the Nam war so he could run as the War President in '72
.
2
Who is going to be Emperor of the world?
I know who is acting like he already is!
DUMP
EMPEROR
TRUMP
“We can’t be an EMPIRE”
American people’s peaceful “Political/economic and social Revolution Against Empire” — progressing forward from 1776 to 2020.
2
I made a joking comment earlier. I'd like to offer a more serious comment.
In the atmosphere of saber-rattling by the current administration, I'd like to offer some context from my point of view.
Below is a quotation from the March 18, 2003 UN summary of weapons inspections by Mr. Hans Blix.
Note that Blix could not bring himself to make a clear statement against invading Iraq.
Like Robert Mueller, Blix was so careful and equivocating in his report that he essentially washed his hands of the issues at stake.
The day following submission of the Blix UN report, George Bush launched an armed attack on Iraq.
One can only hope that those in positions of power will think twice before they unleash yet another cloud of violence.
"He [Hans Blix] said that, while he was aware of the large amounts of proscribed items that still remained unaccounted for, note should be taken of the fact that for many years neither UNSCOM nor UNMOVIC [UN Inspections teams] made significant finds of weapons. The lack of finds could be because the items were unilaterally destroyed by the Iraqi authorities, or else because they were effectively concealed by them. He trusted that, in the new environment in Iraq, in which there was full access and cooperation, and in which knowledgeable witnesses should no longer be inhibited to reveal what they knew, it should be possible to establish the truth 'we all want to know.'"
2
Barr, Bolton and The Blivet desperately need a war to rally their troops, their base. Iraq looks nice.
1
This is all to divert from Trump and his Republicans crimes..
1
Of course, very scary circumstances right now. We only have ourselves to blame. Congress has given the executive branch a lot of lead way to engage in wars without declaration. Instead of a deliberate debate in Congress, a echo chamber of war hawks in the administration can throw our country into a war.
5
For all the military and service members who support this Administration, consider this:
1. President Trump has simply no qualifications nor qualities suited to be the Commander in Chief. He has no military experience, no respect for military institutions and procedures and no interest in educating himself as to the more complex and troubling issues which a Commander in Chief must consider in assessing possible military action. Trump hates to read anything longer than an executive summary that is a page or two in length. Is this the type of leader you want making the ultimate decision on whether or not risking American lives is an appropriate action or not?
2. Patrick Shanahan has never served in the military but has been the Acting Secretary of Defense and Trump now wants him to permanently hold that position. While the President need not have served in the military, the Secretary of Defense should have served - it is a military person who should gather, organize and present to the President the options militarily available to the Commander in Chief, not a civilian.
3. John Bolton has a weak military background, but is the most fanatical "war hawk" in modern US history.
We are heading towards conflict solely because of the shortsighted views of Bolton which have been acted upon by incompetence of the Secretary of Defense and President Trump.
Trump is clueless. Those who support him must be too.
6
@T Mo
Very well said, sir.
Kudos!
1
This will be yet another war we will lose, at incalculable cost to the lives of our military, our economy, and most of all our reputation as the leader of the free world. If we as a nation can't learn from our enormous, horrendous mistakes - in which we play the world's bully - then we don't deserve, nor will we continue to possess, the status of a great power accorded to us by the rest of humanity.
1
Trump has turned the US into a global pariah. We will have no friends to back us up if we make this egregious mistake. This is frightening.
3
It's almost as if no one in the WH has bothered to remember the past 40 years of history between the US and Iran. Those who do not remember history are relegated to relive it. Iran will not be the push over that Iraq was.
3
This unfortunate ratcheting up of strife is partly due to the erratic nature of Donald Trump's personality and "governing" style. He rashly undercut the consistency of US presence in the region, in sudden ways. (It harkens back to GHWB's inconsistent messages to Saddam Hussein via Ambassador Glaspie, long thought to have been deliberate.)
Consistency and predictability are vital to lessen paranoid reactivity, and also help to preclude that paranoid reactivity from being vulnerable to provocation and manipulation by bad actors who wish for strife for their own ends. And then there's the phenomenon that US good faith and intentions have been suspect since the advent of Post-WWII. The aforementioned Thief of Baghdad. Tonkin Gulf, anyone? Guatemala 1954? Or, irony of ironies, Tehran 1953?
1
If there is war, it will be yet another fabricated American war of aggression, as were Vietnam, Korea and Iraq, in fact every war since WWII that the US has engaged in.
That is why I don't support the military, and consider "our boys," far from being heroes, to be complicit in the crimes against humanity committed by our state (I recognize that many are victims of nationalistic propaganda). I believe that the American military has done very little constructive, defensive or even humane since WWII.
Why did 2M perfectly innocent Asians die in Vietnam? What did they ever do to us? Why did 500K perfectly innocent Iraqi men, women and children die in Iraq? What did THEY ever do to us?
Did they come over here to kill us, or did we go over there? That tells us a lot about who were the aggressors, and who were the defenders, and THAT tells us everything we need to know about who was right, and who was WRONG!
America really is the worst terrorist state on the planet...
7
The decision to attack has been taken. Like the invasion of Poland by Germany in "self defence", war is hours or days away.
The Iranians are doing the "provocation" as they are desperate to be invaded just as Poland was.
Iran is not North Korea. The US will beat up the weak and respect the strong. Obama set up Iran for Trump to do the needful.
1
We expected the Mueller Investigation report and current congessional investigations to result in erratic diversons by Trump and his administration. However, the theat of starting a full scale war as a distraction doesn’t point to mere dangerous irrationality on the president’s part. 120,000 American troops?
We’ve moved from unbalanced irrationality to full-blown psychotic behavior.
Our president is no longer in control of his facalties. And the senate majority leader appears be swimming in the same pool.
Are any of you congressional Republicans paying attention to this insanity???
For the safety and well-being of the American people, of the Republic, you MUST stand up to Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. You MUST restore order and sanity to our foreign policies and our domestic governance!
This drain-the-swamp/MAGA lunacy has run its course. The situation is moving from serious to dire.
STAND UP!!!
3
"We estimate that once Iraq acquires fissile material - whether from a foreign source or by securing the materials to build an indigenous fissile material capability - it could fabricate a nuclear weapon within one year.", John R. Bolton
The current situation has to do with Iranian threat to Israel, not America. Bolton may be the worst and most dangerous American in Trumpland. I'm including the President in that statement.
2
China is sitting on the sidelines waiting for America to get involved in another pointless war. Good going Trump and Co.
3
It's 1939 in our land of 1984 that enslaves us with 2019 technology. Just be ready to flee to safety in other nations. Some Germans did and they survived.
3
@WITNESS OF OUR TIMES
A gloomy, but very thought-provoking comment.
Thank you.
It appears that many 2nd Amendment fans haven’t yet realized that a rise of tyranny in our country can no longer be countered by an armed uprising of the citizenry. We have sacrificed all of our rights to privacy to the internet, satellite surveillance, etc.
The weaponry controlled by our department of defense makes armed revolution equivalent to mass suicide.
Technology. Know where every citizen is, all of the time...
Witness, I think you’re right. If the Age of Trump continues much longer, fleeing this country will become the common man’s best bet.
1
Bolton wants a regime change in Iran. So do most Iranians. Most of Iran likes the US. The problem is with the Khameneis who are the problem. Bolton must know this. If the Trump regime bombs Iran a huge hornet's nest will be unleashed.
Bolton must figure out another more correct way to solve this problem. If he does it correctly overthrows the Khameneis he will be the hero of Iran.
1
Let's simply declare M.E.K to be the legitimate government of Iran. Lots of our friends are bound to pile on. Say 40 or so. Then, we can crow about another foreign policy achievement.
This is the "someone attacked some boats" strategy of starting a war, like the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
1
Vietnam, Iraq. Haven't we learned anything? Hopefully nothing will come of this latest saber-rattling. I fear for the future with warmongers like Bolton in charge.
3
Will the GOP hawks never change - will they never learn the lessons of their hawkish predecessor . . . silly question. Of course they never will - substitute a Rumsfeld with a Bolton, a Bush (dodgy National guard service during Vietnam) with a Trump (dodged service altogether with a bone-spur) . . . it's the same cast of characters all too willing to sacrifice the lives of others . . .
3
Any Republican chickenhawk leader who supports this should be required to serve a tour in an infantry unit deployed to this grand Iranian war.
14
@Dave
Support what? The review of plans?
Read the article Dave.
1
That caricature of Trump and Netanyahu was spot on after all
7
This what Netanyahu wants...an American war with Iran.
13
Let Bolton and Trump go to war, not our sons and brothers!
14
And daughters and sisters.
1
The insane leading the insane. These people never learn from their mistakes and now they are repeating them again. djt is such a bullying loser and transactionalist, that he will welcome military action to prove he is as strong as Putin and get the pressure off of the Congressional oversight of his criminal acts.
Let us hope there is an election in 2020 so we can vote these dummies out of office. 50::50 they blow up the world before election day.
7
I'm sure Bolton is as right about this as he was about how easy it would be to get rid of Maduro.
7
The real coup is under way. Death and destruction await.
7
1. N Korea: Constant provocations; I have good relation with Mr. Kim. But No war . 2. Venezuela: Socialist Moduro near vicinity of USA but No war. 3. China: No respect for Law of the Sea; 13.8 miles Int. water; Claim whole South China Sea by building and fortifying islands. Record Trade Deficit Spy on USA but no War. 4. Russia: Crimea to Russia with gift for 2016 Election Support; forget about poisoned Russian Citizens. But no war. 5. Saudi Arabia: Slaughter Jamal Kashoggi as though it is sacrificial Ritual to Saudi Throne, disappearing citizens, but no war 6. Iran: Tear down Nuclear agreement they signed, poke them constantly and if react, get for war.
Welcome to Trump’s new Empire and he will be excited to send more tweets with more foes from Mideast. We run out of budget money in Sep. 2019, and we will be need be borrowing more with new war. Barr, the new fixer after Cohen, probably start second investigation on Iran nuclear deal and justify Iran war. As long as Russia acts again with love for Trump, he may win 2020. Only people with conscience may stop him in 2020.
7
Funny how a draft dodger like Bolton or Trump want to use the military as a solution. The bigger question is if the American people realize Trump is using any and all distractions to take the focus away from his Tax returns.
I advocate that Trump and Bolton move to Moscow, so they can better serve Putin as private citizens.
5
@Roy Clausen
I can't be the only one who is sick of seeing this old loser with his fake tan and white circles from tanning goggles, not to mention the comb over wig. And how many are able to listen to more than one minute of his insulting rambling speeches before grabbing the Remote. Look at that face accompanying this article. And then remember the smiling Obama, and his coherent public speaking ability. Look at this fat guy eating junk food, riding around in a golf cart. Remember the tall graceful Obama, walking a golf course, swimming and snorkeling with his family. Remember the crowds who gathered when Obama traveled abroad, wanting to get near him. Remember the crowds booing Trump in London forcing him to go elsewhere in England. Remember the cold reception in Scotland when he wanted to put up a wall blocking the sea view from people who lived there. Now, he is back on T.V. trying to gin up another Gulf of Tonkin incident and an excuse for a oil war.
2
Trump is itching for a military conflict with Iran, and the more he fears to be defeated in 2020 the more likely it is he’ll drag us into a war. Any war will do actually, it’s as ugly and as simple as that.
8
I know Iranians. I know Iran. I lived and worked there, where I interacted with the regular citizens on a daily basis. Because I was an American, I had access to many high-ranking officials and even their families. Why we consider them enemies (terrorists) is far beyond me. They are not, in my opinion. Not terrorists and not war-mongers.
Bolton is driving this idiocy for personal political reasons that have no reality on the ground in Tehran. The everyday population are not war-like. They want peace as much as we Americans (with exceptions, obviously). But not Bolton, and not Trump, and not Pompeo--who want a conflict to take the focus off of Trump's growing list of criminality. This will cause the deaths of many of our young military members, and that will not cause even an eye blink from our leaders.
8
@LexLincoln
Or perhaps John Bolton’s actions are the result of Trump’s orders. Trump desperately needs to distract attention from current investigations.
Ignorance, imbalance and desperation are terrifying components when combined in the make up of the most powerful governmental official on the planet.
1
God help us-this country is being run by the vitriole of Fox news pundits who will stop at nothing to stay in power. Our debt will sky rocket, the poorer will get poorer. Congress needs to stpe in because this is absolute madness!
8
No money for healthcare or education or infrastructure, but PLENTY for another war.
This country truly disgusts me.
10
Trump is itching for a military conflict with Iran, and the more he fears to be defeated in 2020 the more likely it is he’ll drag us into a war. Any war will do actually, it’s as ugly and as simple as that.
4
There was an article the other day about “rogue nations.” Surprisingly it didn’t include the USA on the list. We are a rogue nation led by zombies like Bolton-back from the dead of failed wars past.
10
Maybe Mr. Trump would consider less dangerous changes than threatening Iran and the Middle East with tough talk and his big boy lethal bath toys. Maybe we could agree to refer to him always as "The Most Great Person Ever President Trump," or "Humanity's Favorite President Trump," or "The Really Richest Smart Tax President Trump," or simply "The Golden One President Trump?" We could all live with that, right?
2
@dmbones
And, the President with the biggest and best brain. He knows more than all the Generals ever, because he was smart enough to dodge the draft. Generals Mattis and McMasters were too dumb to have fake bone spurs. Einstein couldn't even find a decent hair stylist. Eisenhower got rolled by George Marshall when he could have looted all of Europe. Thankfully we now have a bankrupt war expert in charge. We should all learn how to not pay taxes. The Social Contract? Bunk!
1
Consider this: Trump as war president. God help us all.
5
@Tom
God will help those who help themselves and others..............to get out of the country to safety.
1
Bolton: Mr. President, this is the perfect time to start a war to help re-elect you.
DJT: Who should it be? North Korea?
Bolton: Too crazy.
DJT: Gina?
Bolton: Too big.
DJT: Who has a lot of oil?
Bolton: Iraq. And we could take them out in 1, 2 weeks maximum.
DJT: Do we get to keep the oil? Big mistake they didn't take the oil after the Iraq war.
Bolton: You can get the oil and get re-elected at the same time.
DJT: Okay, where do I sign?
3
I opened the newspaper.
Stephen Miller.
John Bolton.
I closed it and walked away!
4
Does this mean that the "invasion" from south of the border is no longer of interest to the man, or does he want to engage "enemies" on all fronts? If life were possible on Mars, I would definitely go there.
4
Doesn't look like "America First" to me.
1
If any other country was publicly sharing their military plans to attack us, we would have launched a preemptive attack already. What gives us the right, seriously? Who do we think we are? Searching for the path to end like Rome, like they never read a history book or bothered to watch a twenty minute YouTube video explaining how historically dumb this is.
5
@Jeremy
Trump fiddles while the US burns
Trump sees this as a re-election ploy and it is far worse than Iraq and Viet Nam. He hates our allies, they hate him so we go it alone? Have we not learned anything from recent history??
6
You know Trump will play this war card as we get closer to the 2020 election especially if he is behind in the polls. Starting another war with a Muslim country will get Americans to rally round the flag, support our military and troops, stop talk about executive branch abuses, ignoring subpoenas, Trump daily lies etc etc
3
This is downright scary. Not funny. This lunatic is going to put us in a dangerous situation with Iran he has no business doing! Where is the Congress to stop this! We as Americans should be protesting right in droves! This cannot happen! He has no idea what he is doing!
5
Military personnel and vets must just love being pawns in the games of dumb people. I really have no idea why vet groups and retired officers do not more forcefully denounce the use of our military for purposes other than what it's meant for - protecting the United States. Is the military that good at squeezing away all critical thinking from its enlistees? Do they all believe that these foolish forays actually protect us just because some pasty soft pol says so?
4
Before every discussion about Iran, one should begin with acknowledging three central facts: 1) in 1953 the US aided the overthrow of the democratically elected Iranian government by the United States and the installation of Shah Pahlavi; 2) our support of the brutal Iranian secret police under the Shah; and, 3) the Iranian people rose up and overthrew the Shah and forced him to flee his country.
Begin the discussion at that point. Ask how we can improve relations with the Iranian country and its people who are widely acknowledge to be the most civilized and educated people in the Middle East outside of Israel.
WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER!!!!!
6
We have been whipped by far smaller nations than Iran. Then again, a nation with 70,000 drug overdose deaths and hundreds of shooting deaths each year deserves to reap what it sows.
5
Republicans want to start another war? They like the idea, its about feeding the war machine with tax dollars. The largest welfare freebie of all time. The men and women who sacrifice their lives for a scam is a crime that needs addressing to a do nothing, inept, corrupt, self-serving congress.
3
After Trump destroyed Isis, he can’t wait to create more misery in the Middle East and spawn a new and improved version of them.
1
The Trump Wall st. Military Industrial Complex Beast wants to be fed some flesh and fortune. Leave America. It's gonna get hot here.
3
Here we go again... Neocons have never seen a war they were not ready and willing to start with another nation.... no matter what lies or fabrications they have to peddle to fool Americans into going along.
3
Reviewing some basics, just to make sure I've got a handle on this. The US breaks a treaty with Iran. Then accuses Iran of not keeping the treaty. Then increases the sanctions on Iran to force them to . . . sorry I'm forgetting the point of the American policy. No, I've got it. The point of the American policy is to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state that might threaten Iran's neighbors and us the way we're threatening Iran. What'd I miss?
2
@Christopher Beaver:
"Breaking" the treaty is an inaccurate and false statement. The US exited the treaty according to its provisions.
@Sendero Caribe
Sorry, but you are making the false statement.
@Sendero Caribe
There was a 10 yr. Agreement which Iran signed. They will not produce weapons grade plutonium. Sites are monitored by U.N. Inspectors who verify Iran is honoring the Agreement. Of course, when U.N. Inspectors reported there were no WMD in Iraq, Bush and Cheney threw them out and trashed a modern ME country. There were no WMD. Where do we find these incompetent cowards to lead us from behind? Why do we elect financial grifters who are in bed with adversaries? Trump/Putin. Bush-Cheney/Saudi Arabia (the 9/11 murderers). Mission accomplished will be when we elect honest men who respect us and our children.
My son is currently serving as a Major in the USMC. He's a decorated soldier and a veteran of Iraq war so I have a bone in this fight as a family member. Yes he's a patriot and yes he'll do his duty if he's ordered, but why? He already lost some of his best friends in wars along with thousand of others. Enough is enough! This country does not need another war because Israel and Saudis wants it. This administration is a puppet of both and it's a shame that thousands will suffer for that.
11
The day Trump took office all morals were officially abandoned. We invaded Iraq based on fake claims and created a huge mess. Now Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear (against the advice of our allies) and is looking for a reason to go to war. I wonder how many Trillion Dollar Trump is willing to spend on a war only to distract from all the legal actions surrounding him. Hopefully there are a few sane republican senators left to help stop this insanity.
3
Instead of wasting her time with fruitless attempts to get Trump's tax records and calling the A.G. a liar why doesn't Speaker Pelosi get on with the job that the Constitution has assigned to Congress -- making war? Why aren't the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, et al being called to testify about this? Why isn't Congress doing its job? Is it because that would be too much like work instead of grandstanding for the cameras and the world of social media? We know where the Sycophants in the Senate have their heads. So it is up to the House which so far does not seem up to the challenge.
1
@TigerW$
If Trump calls Iran a national emergency, as he called a caravan of poor people in flip flops an invading force, how will Congress respond? How will the people respond. The Vietnam War killed uncounted Vietnamese peasants and dragged on for 12 years. 58,000 dead Americans are named on a Wall. Finally we hit the streets all over the country, including the Mall in D.C. Perhaps the time will come to march again. Bigger crowds than Trump's pathetic inaugural crowd.
I'm waiting for the day when I can say "things can't get any worse." It's no longer funny - fodder for the late night shows. It's downright serious, people. We are in a crisis right now. Our democracy is at risk. Please vote in 2020 to end the Presidency of a man who chuckles when someone yells "Shoot Them" after Trump asks what we should do about illegal immigrants. A man who embraces dictators. A man who says there are good people among White Supremacists. A man who has no moral compass. A man who doesn't care about the American people, but only about his "base." A man who never should have been elected President.
6
If Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo execute a military debacle in Iran, then this presidency will be over. Finito.
Myriads upon millions will turn against Trump. Then Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and other GOP will be looking for the exits. It would not surprise me if they caucus with Democrats to hasten impeachment proceedings. Not because of real high crimes and misdemeanors, but because it would be the most politically expedient way of salvaging their own political careers.
The Trump fiasco is going to end in a way that not many had anticipated. An economic crash. A military blunder. A large act of terrorism.
Also, it would not surprise me if Russia or North Korea would engage in some overt military act against American interests.
Most Americans have lost their appetite for war. Nuclear detonation would wreck the economy, the environment, and most everything else. If our enemies upped the ante, and implicitly told the U.S. to put up or shut up, America would be hamstrung to do anything significant.
Of course, Trump's incompetence and his inability delegate to well-assembled administration makes the situation exponentially worse.
I am sure our enemies have pondered, "Now would be a propitious time to call the U.S. bluff, and to tell Americans that they did not really win the Cold War."
2
Americans had better start bracing themselves to lose their sons and daughters in a war with Iran. Increasingly, war with Iran is looking inevitable. This has been a step-by-step approach: first, America pulled out of the nuclear deal; second came the biting sanctions; third, the sending of the warship and bombers to the Persian Gulf; fourth, the troops are sent over to be at the ready. These moves are not to prepare for a tea party. Bolton who is at the 'steering wheel' is placing his ducks in a row to attack. He wants the Mullahs gone; he wants régime change. Nothing less will satisfy him. As a result, thousands of people––Americans and Iranians––will have to lose their lives to achieve Bolton's goal, and, incidentally, the goal of MbS and Netanyahu. Dear me! What an awfully twisted, corrupt world we live in!
2
@Mark Alexander
Bolton avoided ever being near an active combat zone. Trump didn't even serve. MBS murdered a dissident Saudi, then dismembered him, the pieces disappeared. Netanyahu's brother was a hero at Entebbe, Netanyahu claims that heroism for himself. Duterte murders people at random, accusing them of dealing drugs after the fact. Kim Jung Un starves and murders political opponents. Putin has murdered uncounted Russians as a KGB operator. He has now absconded with the Russian treasury. These are the leaders Trump admires and fawns over. This is the country which fought WWII to keep democracies safe. We can't even keep our own safe from a grifting predator.
2
@Linda Miilu Your words are very, very true! These people who love to start wars never send their own kith and kin to fight them. They rely on others to do their dirty work. One thing is sure: This is an extremely unjust, corrupt world. Still, people are willing to elect these people into office. Go figure!
2
I am not supporting war with Iran. There is absolutely no reason for it. Zero
3
tRump will start a war to bolster his image and rely on 'Patriotism' to win the next election.
So here we are focused on killing Iran, which has not done much of anything against us and once leveled, will provide no benefit. Might help the profit of our corporate interests, who are again pulling the strings of our politicians.
But shouldn't we be bombing China instead? Why not? Aren't they interfering with our corporations profits?
1
If John Bolton wants regime change in Iran, he should run for president there. We have no business trying to run the world.
4
Just in time for the 2020 election. I was half expecting something like this, but I naively believed that there were still people in government who would prevent Donald Trump from starting a war. Clearly I was wrong. Raise you hand if you think Donald Trump Jr. and has brother Eric will enlist and go to Iran.
2
Trump should appoint his brave son in law Jared as Grand Generalissimo of The Great Trump Army and put him on point for the invasion of Teheran. Ivanka should be there too, to support her heroic husband.
2
I don't think regime change should be up to John Bolton. He's one man and not an Iranian citizen. The choice of Iranian leadership should be, and has been made, by the Iranian people. This just sounds so out of date, presumptuous, and calamitous.
Instead of aspiring to personally hand-pick leaders of other nations, he should use diplomacy with existing regimes. The US has trained and skilled professional diplomats to do that, if he's not so inclined himself. There was a working treaty in place, until Trump unilaterally broke it.
But it's so macho and exciting to fly in 120,000 troops (to start with) to defend our national honor on barren sand on the other side of the world. One feels so all-important on TV pointing out the military bomb videos. And it would make such a great distraction if Trump finds himself in serious legal or impeachment trouble. Besides, there's an election coming up, and we like to keep presidents in place if they're in the midst of a big war.
I'm very skeptical of this adventure, and the legislature should get control over it before it's too late.
1
I wonder how many people who have commented on this article actually bothered to read the first paragraph?
There is a difference between creating/updating plans to deploy troops and actually deploying the troops. The former is what the administration has done. Plans are updated all the time. Isn't it prudent to update these plans in response to circumstances?
A question is under what circumstances, if any, should these plans to deploy troops be implemented. Most comments are silent on this question. I think a fuller explanation is required as to what threat the Pentagon detected regarding US personnel or interests.
1
@Sendero Caribe
A worthy point, but Bolton has been leading up to a confrontation with Iran for some time now. It's been his great ambition, and I think it's out of step with the will of We the People, who are sovereign under the Constitution.
1
@Sendero Caribe
Did the "Plan" involve sending 120,000 American troops in the direction of Iran? How about the "Plan" to put an aircraft carrier in the Straits of Hormuz? How about supporting Saudis in their bombing and starving of Yemeni civilians? Is that a "Plan"? As I recall the Saudis murdered more than 2,000 Americans on 9/11. That was a real "Plan". Trump tried and failed to get money for damages to property he did not own. Mueller was in charge and stopped that. No doubt Mueller has Trump's number; that is why NY now has his files; Trump can't interfere in NY.
@Sendero Caribe
If you really think they (led by Bolton) drew up these plans as a kind of perennial hypothetical exercise, then I've got a bridge over the East River you might be interested in.
And to answer your question, under NO circumstances should be be engaging Iran militarily. NONE. I'm old enough to have seen this all happen before (and I'm not old by any means) and for that reason, I won't be trusting ANYTHING the Pentagon (or this White House) has to say regarding what is and isn't a threat to me as an American.
3
It's the old Tonkin Gulf of Hormuz gambit. It's more likely to result in regime change in America than in Iran.
11
Because Iraq and Afghanistan have turned out so well.
8
"Trade wars are easy to win!" Donald Trump.
"We will be out of Iraq in 90 days" Dick Cheney.
Anyone who has been sentient for the last twenty years can see the folly of this bluster.
It is far more plausible to conclude that this posturing is designed to distract from the enormous trouble he faces at home.
14
I'm ready for regime change as well. In Washington DC
19
Iran yet not Syria? Really?
6
How many times does the U.S. government think it can be the bully of the world and find support from its friends and allies? All of us who were convinced by Colin Powell's "WMDs in Iraq" and have witnessed unending carnage, destruction and expense with only misery to show for it will not be so easily fooled this time around. We are hardly going to be taken in by the current denizen of the White House who lies every single day of his life.
Paradoxically, Iran is run by a ruthless theocracy. Yet the leader of the free world is managing to make people sympathize with them. Trumpy, you're doing a heck of a job!
11
Why not sending 1 million troops? Why not let hundred thousands die?
Trump voters for sure would greatly appreciate, losing their sons and daughters lives.
Kushner should lead! And sign up too.
10
I love how while I'm trying to read an important article I see feet advertising sandals. Can we not have advertisements show up in the middle of an article for pete's sake?!
7
Trump supporters, are you willing to send your sons and daughters to an unnecessary war, cooked up by the President and his advisers for his political benefit?
10
My son joined the Army one month after 9/11. He was part of the first Officer Class to graduate post 9/11. All of them knew they were going into harm's way.
Seventeen and a half years later, trillions of dollars spent, he has eight deployments down and more to come...
Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, the Islamic State, Ukraine, South Sudan... And now Iran? For what?
15
@CGM
But he signed up voluntarily, and knew that he'd probably be sent to places that we civilians realize we should not be in.
1
@Bob
To be clear, my son is not complaining. I am.
@CGM
Vote, and get out the vote as well. If you don't want your son to die in another feckless military adventure ginned up with propaganda, help to remove this draft dodger from office. My cousin served with the Marines in Vietnam. He has four sons; none of them are in the military. Once burned, and all that.
If America decides to go to war with Iran because of a treaty the Trump administration reneged on, then the world should treat the U.S. as the warmongering pariah that it may truly be. AS Trump says constantly "time will tell."
9
@Andrew
It isn't a Treaty which would have needed Congressional approval. It is a 10 yr. Agreement which Obama had the authority to initiate and sign with our allies, and even China. Now Trump wants to renege on that Agreement.
The rest of the world is really looking forward to the likes of Bolton creating another massive mess in the Middle East. After all the Iraq war was so incredibly well executed. It has gifted us ISIS, fundamental regional instability, an ever growing threat of terrorism and it created the vacuum that Iran and now Russia have very effectively exploited. The other benefit, the negative effects will be mostly felt in Europe but then again I suspect that Trump et al will see that as a bonus. A neat way to teach those pesky Europeans a lesson without having to get your own hands dirty. For those supporting Trump and Bolton I hope that they have more soothing lies for the families who will sacrifice their most precious possessions on the altar of Bolton’s obsession. The one thing you can be sure about is that none of the monied supporters of Trump will send their kids to the front, bone spurs are contagious after all.
9
A conveniently timef - and highly dangerous - distraction from Trump’s various problems ?
7
This is the war that Trump is starting in order to win reelection at home. His feckless, erratic, chaotic foreign policy is entirely for the domestic consumption of his base. As long as he is president, he knows he won't go to prison. Let's hear now from the pro-Trump anti-war crowd, which has so far refused to acknowledge the truth, namely, that Trump was for the Iraq war before he lied and told us he was against it. 120,000 is a very large number of soldiers. Are the reported attacks and sabotage real? With this White House and this party (the Republican party of Iraq WMD), one must ask and keep on asking. In my view, the Iran agreement, though not perfect, was a significant step forward. Iran and its people--who are, on average, supporters of America--was on its way toward joining the community of nations again. The principal weakness of the Iran accord was that it was put together and signed by President Obama. Trump and Pompeo killed the agreement, and are now lurching and careening toward another terrible unjustified Republican war which has the sole aim of protecting Trump himself.
5
Everyone buy maps and atlases.
This is an obvious response to Russians infiltrating into Venezuela just to our south. Iran is just below Russia.
Get the Russians out of this hemisphere as they are blocking our exodus to South America and they are likely creeping in here through land and oil tankers.
1
Some witness!
Regime change in the Middle East means selecting between no good options.
Has Trump found time between instalments of Faux News to watch House of Cards and now believes he needs a war to win re-election and save the second term of his presidency ?
Prepare once again to sacrifice your sons and daughters on the blood soaked altar of dishonest populist Republican militarism.
5
John Bolton in charge of US Middle East Policy. Lovely. I trust that Jared and Ivanka will be on the front lines. Oops, they have been for years, except that applies to social gatherings and fashion.
6
"Elections Have Consequences".
Prepare to leave our nation to survive.
1
Just read that Iranian intelligence found clear evidence that the US is able to launch intercontinental nuclear weapons.
They consider attacking mainland America if the US isn’t destroying all their nuclear weapons.
1
Although this isn't surprising, it is terrifying. Would someone please grab the controls before we careen completely off the runway.
2
If Putin says NO, Trump will not. Israel is trying to drag the US into a war.
8
Can these war mongering hawks give some concrete evidence of the dangers that Iran poses?. So if you want to give Sudan as an example then the Saudi's are responsible for the indiscriminate air bombing killing of many innocent civilians. These hawks started the Iraq war and have not accepted its failure Iran's fighting of ISIS has helped in their defeat, without their help ISIS may still be controlling a large portion of the captured territory. If anything it is the Saudis who are the real problem with their Wahabi doctrine.
7
@Mir
The Saudis murdered over 2,000 Americans on 9/11. bin Laden paid for their base in Afghanistan. He might have been a rogue Saudi; however the current Saudi prince is not a "rogue"; he lured a dissident journalist, Kashoggi, to a Turkish consulate where he was suffocated, his fingers amputated either before or after he was murdered; then he was dismembered by an autopsy expert. The pieces were carted off and gotten rid of. MBS is a murderer who represents the royal family. Trump thinks he is okay to do business with. Amazing how Trump avoided any battlefield blood, but isn't repulsed by the blood spilled by his friend, MBS. He isn't repulsed by Kim Jung Un's murder of his uncle, or his starving people. He isn't repulsed by Duterte's random murders of his people. Trump has a stronger stomach than most civilized people have. Unless, of course, he might be at risk. Then he makes sure he is surrounded by the SS at all times. They even have to follow him on his weekly trips to Mar-a-Lago, to protect his golf cart at great cost. They also have to protect his family left in the Tower. Pity the poor chef who has to prepare junk food if no McDonald burgers are on board. He isn't the Sun King; he is a peasant's idea of how a Sun King would live. Gold paint on everything, including the toilet.
1
Someone outside the US borders, be it in China, Russia, Europe or elsewhere, must wonder why Internet meddling by Russia in US elections is unacceptable, but military intervention to achieve regime change in Iran is a noble goal of Mr. Bolton.
8
A war with Iran would be another disaster. There is nothing to be gained and a few trillion dollars to be lost. Have we learned nothing?
10
@Mott, Trump will surely ruin US, Time to begin impeachment--today.
4
What will constitute "threats to our interests"? The easy picks include the (unlikely) direct attack on US forces. More likely is a trumped-up threat to our allies. Like Israel? Nothing like a splendid little war heading into 2020.
4
After the last round of Bush Tax Cuts it'll all be on a credit card with John Q. Public's name on it.
5
@Guy Walker
I think you mean the latest round of McConnell's tax cuts for his donors.
Prior American interventions have resulted in even more anti-American governments being installed in Tehran. For example, Ayatollah Khomeini replacing Mohammad Mosaddegh.
4
No way! If there’s any reason to vote Trump out this is it!
5
Really, sabotage instead of sinking? Seems so--half-baked, "Gulf of Tonkinish" to this observer. Territory completely under their control, sure, wink wink. There are reports that a list of 12 Americans who hijacked an oil tanker and drove it into a tent in the Sahara Desert. Oh The Horror!
3
Could the attack on the oil tankers in the Persian Gulf be the Trump administation's "Gulf of Tonkin" moment?
5
@Greg Sounds like that's exactly what they are. You'll notice "no oil was spilled in the making of this movie".
It's a setup for a phony war, with US as the mercenaries.
What do we get? Nothing but body bags. What does Iran get? Destroyed. The Iranians are not our enemies.
They have done nothing to or against us. The "president" is the ONE PERSON who withdrew from the multi-national nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Not Iran. Not any other country. This insanity is ON HIM.
4
Let's not mince words. This headline should read:
US defense contractors review military plans against Iran, in hopes of record profits.
Subhead: Red-state senators expect record windfalls for their states, re-iterate strong support for Israel against whomever.
11
What better way to distract the masses than a good old fashion war. If they can start another endless war no one will think about what they are stealing or who's rights they are stomping on.
Just ask Dick Cheney
6
Wasn't Trump gonna get us out of all of these "stupid wars that cost us billions?" It was the one thing I agreed with him on. Of course, Trump doesn't actually care because he has no actual convictions other than being praised by anyone who will praise him.
John Bolton has a demonstrated history of being a straight-up psychopath, and because Trump, a) doesn't care and, b) is too intellectually dim to understand what's happening right in front of him, he's might just let this happen.
I'll say this: if Trump and his gang of lunatics start a war with Iran and we have Iraq X 100, the GOP will be flushed out of office like a bad fish meal.
6
I am struggling to figure out how chicken hawks can grow heel spurs.
Does anyone know?
4
There is a very simple secret to making a country Strong - be like China - and stay far away from war.
On the other hand, if you want to completely destroy a country - be like the US - shoot yourself in the foot and keep doing it over and over.
It really is that simple.
So why do we continue shooting ourselves? Because the Democrats and Republicans (and their corporate interests) whom we elect to make our decisions are traitors who benefit personally from destroying their country.
They depend on their programmed dupes in the military (which the programmed citizens pay for) to follow orders from politicians and their special interests.
These murderous dupes are not "serving their country." The so-called paper legality and their programming (aka "training") do not make them "heros" - they are plainly murderers.
Know that both Hillary and Biden would go to war as happily as any Republican, and for whatever apparent reason that suits their fancy. We stupidly call it being "Strong."
1
US should stay out of Mid East.
America is telling Russia do not interfere in Venezuela, says it is her backyard, then she herself is in my backyard too.US has surrounded us from FIVE sides, in a potential war the US will not attack us from land, she will attack from the sky first?! Is the US being surrounded by hostile powers like Russia, China or Iran, will the US ever tolerate being surrounded by hostile powers, as Iran is surrounded by US forces!?US says all US citizen in jail in Iran should be freed! Well, those with dual citizenship did not enter the holy motherland as US citizens, if they had tried, they would not be allowed in without a visa. They entered with Iranian passports as Iranian citizens without a need for a visa to enter their own country, now they or the US claims they are US citizens?! Why they did not say so when they get in? If they had, they would have been asked to show their visas! So, they entered illegally? By cheating Iranian immigration laws! Did not them!
When you are in Iran, you need to be governed by Iranian laws, in Iran when they changed their citizenship and decided to be a US citizen, did they inform the Iranian government? Or asked permission?! You see Iran like many other countries does not recognize the concept of dual citizenship for its citizens, especially when you are benefiting by this honor of being Iranian citizen and entering the holy motherland without a visa as it is required
4
Did you disagree with Obama when he kept troops in the Mideast? But I also read a lot of complaining comments when Trump removed troops from Syria. Good thing we have two dozen Democrats running for President, with different ideas from each other.
"Regime change." How about "Security Advisor change," and "President change."
11
As Trump tanks the economy with a misguided tariff and farm subsidies, he pulls out his re-election by putting us in a shooting war ... and surprise.... blames 'the other guy.'
4
And you see the Saudis, our ally and Kushner's buddy, saying ouch somebody attacked us.
What did Netanyahu say about Iran, he wanted to see them bombed into the Stone Age. Trump is getting around to doing that too for Netanyahu.
6
Some people would get very rich by starting a war. I wonder who they are.
4
@pkbormes
Well, It's not the People. They lose everything. But maybe they deserve it for supporting or participating in whatever war they are so easily programmed with.
The average person goes along with the flags flying all over town and stupidly says, "Thank-you for your service." Might even parrot the societal programming that these "warriors" are heroes. Or that they were, "serving their country." (Actually they were serving the corporate interests behind the politicians)
The big secret of all this programming (and that's exactly what it is) is that war is used to kill off the bottom end of a country's genome. The average IQ of the country increases by getting rid of the dummies.
Leaving Mr. Bolton in charge of diplomacy with Iran is like leaving Ted Bundy in charge of security at a sorority.
9
Why does the US get to say what the regime of another country should be like? Why do we have to be dragged through another war, other than to enrich the neocons even further? Enough war-mongering already. Build infrastructure, build schools and hospitals. This is ridiculous and yet completely predictable, the good ol’American tradition of war-waging. Not one president of this country escapes it, Republican or Democrat.
4
What might a clearly unstable personality, with a willful lack of knowledge of (or interest in) diplomacy and world affairs, do when cornered by a series of ongoing investigations into criminal activities by him, his family, and his various minions?
A truly scary question. And one the world may well find out the answer to...
And Trump is egged on by the belligerent know-nothings Bolton and Pompeo, who are no doubt filling his ears with poison about how war rescued the administrations of Bush II, Thatcher, and Reagan (the latter two at least had the "sense" to wage war on the likes of Grenada and Argentina, not large powers in the Middle East tinderbox!)
7
History is doomed to repeat itself, the minute Trump installed intellectual and keyboard warrior Bolton to NSC. Which now reveals his disapproval of Bush middle east adventurism as another deception to working class white voters, right alongside his tax-cut. Lord help us.
7
Apparently, John Bolton, the admitted draft-dodger who stated that he did not want to "waste" his life by dying in the fields of Vietnam, is ready to send more of America's youth to die in the fields of the Middle-East.
14
It would not surprise me to see a buildup a war against Iran that would take place in the run up to the 2020 election. Many of the most pro-Israel Democrats would gladly support such a thing, giving Trump cover and splitting the Democratic Party over Israel and national security vis a vis Iran.
This is Trump’s best chance to be re-elected in 2020 given how unpopular he is. Starting a war, or at least preparing for one, against Iran gives him a choice opportunity to split Democrats and scare them into supporting another war of aggression in the Middle East.
This is a repeat of the Bush-Cheney play on Iraq.
5
I am not good in writing, I am an Iranian-American waking up every morning stressed rushing to my cell phone checking the news and hoping not to read anything about a war started in my motherland. I have family members living there, have nothing to do with politics, struggling everyday to earn a simple life.It's a relief to read comments here, realizing that most of Americans do not support another war, but sad that everyone thinking just about the money is going to be wasted or american soldiers lives(which of curse are important) and not a single person mentions a single word about innocent people in Iran who are under pressure from both their administration and US administration.
10
If America starts an declare war against Iran, we are going to be foot soldiers of Saudi-Israeli coalition.
Mr. Bolton is thinking that Iran can be derail and disintegrate like Syria and Iraq.
Opening a war with Iran is a grave mistake. particularly appearing as a foot soldier for Saudi Gulf emirates.
5
The military has always enslaved us for our flesh and our fortune to further their empire. Since WWII, they have risked our lives and hid behind the hundreds of millions of us as a shield as they have risked us. Now, they risk us again. It's time to leave America to survive. You all now have excellent educations and will be thrive in other nations where you will be welcome.
There are 74 million people in Iran as of 2010, and likely many more millions now. It seems the irrational dangerous types are coalescing around Trump.
I won't be here when the military gets us attacked.
4
It would almost be okay if Bolton and Trump had in mind fostering democracy. Unfortunately, based on experience, we can count on Republicans to support an oligarchy with corporate ties for the benefit of a select few; e.g., the Kochs.
3
How does Bolton’s bellicose language regarding Iran fit into the Russian collusion narrative? Not very well unless Putin agreed to back off from its support for Iran’s designs in the Middle East. But coherence was never a necessity for those who attack Trump no matter what he does.
4
Okay. Now we need to make very clear to the executive and congress that we citizens will not tolerate a new war to cover another bad, and in this case rogue, administration.
10
War makes a lot of money for some. Many in our government are more than willing to limitlessly increase our military budget but we have such a hard time finding money to feed our poor children lunch, fix our failing infrastructure, take care of our homeless veterans and so many other social problems. Sad, just sad.
4
I guess a war with Iran would cost much more then a wall with Mexico. First things first President Trump wanted to bring back home the military and build the wall I suggest to first deliver on promises made.
A man who used a fake ‘bone spur’ to
avoid military service during the Vietnam War is going to take this country into another senseless war? This would be considered a bad joke if it weren’t so serious. Where is the outrage??
6
The history is repeating itself quicker.
So Now Bolton is playing Cheney and WMD is the same rhetoric to march towards the war.,
What is next after Iran around 2040 , Pakistan ,Egypt ?
2
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution #2.
A Middle East war is part of Trump's re-election plans.
4
Republican presidents of late tend to do three things: cut taxes, wage war and ruin the economy. Both Bushes did all three and Trump so far has one out of three and he's hard at work on the other two. If you have stocks sell them, save your money and prepare for the worst; this time it could be far more awful than '87 or '08, so hang on for a rough ride.
5
Does anyone remember the GWB narrating a slide show in which he pretended to look for weapons of mass destruction under the WH furniture? He thought that the manufactured premise for starting a war was funny, a joke.
Ask the 1,000+ amputees or the 7,000+ soldiers with TBD or the over 100,000 TSD patients how funny they think it was. Ask the parents, wives, children, relatives, and friends of 4,000+ killed how well GWB's joke video went over in their funeral parlors.
Now multiply the callousness of GWB by one million and we have President Bone Spur rattling the nuclear saber that no sane adult should have ever let him near. Combine that with his absolute refusal to abide by Congressional directives and we might as well use the 1973 War Powers Act as fire starter.
6
Question: is it ever right for military forces to refuse to obey the Commanders including the Commander - in - Chief ?
1
The only reason Trump Administration members like Bolton are gung-ho about another front is, in my cynical mind, about making money. There is no geopolitical value to starting yet another war in another country where there will be no end.
After all, it's not their sons and daughters that will die in a senseless war but other people's kids.
3
Wouldn't it be great if we could simply make every registered Republican don a uniform and let them fight these idiotic wars? Imagine Trump Jr. or Jared or all the Republican children go off and die for their moral cause. Ivana in military fatigues with Kevlar body armor and helmet.
Unfortunately body bags are non partisan. There are a lot of us who have served and have done our bit for king and country. My father's was WWII and Korea. Mine was Vietnam. Many ate the dirt the Mideast. Personally, I have found that none (minus WWII) of these really did anything for the US other than make the rich even more wealthy while the rest of us got "Thanks for your service buddy" while forgetting the real cost in blood. For myself, you are welcome. I was just doing what my father taught me. My civic responsibility. But when is it ever going to stop? I use to have some respect for my government but in the last 20 years our government has lost its way completely. We use to fight for what is right and just. Now we just pick on nations because our government tells us it's a security issue. I am tired of the boogyman approach to every nation that disagrees with us. North Korea isn't a threat. China is a bigger threat only because wars are going to be cyber in the future. Let's face it. We are only doing these conflicts for MONEY. Greedy little politicians who are looking for ways to line their pockets at the expense of our young and the blood they will spill. Time to stop this.
6
You are so right! You should be President!
... And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?
I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die: Country Joe McDonald
2
is it me or did I miss the part where the journalist points out that a Congressional vote would be needed in order to go to war otherwise the action would be unconstitutional.
5
That's not what the war powers act says
There may be a much different game in play than what at first appears here.
The US brought the USSR to its knees by tanking the oil price. Could the US be attempting to try the same in reverse, only with China?
China imports most of its oil. If the oil price goes dramatically up, the Chinese economy will suffer.
Combine a high oil price with a myriad of trade sanctions on Chinese goods, and the perfect storm may take place in Beijing: a revolution, coup or a complete disintegration of the Chinese communist state as we know it.
US actions in the Persian Gulf could very well be a power play on China, not Iran.
1
This would support a theory of Vlad worry over eastern Russian annexation.
This prelude to war is a hedge against the economy turning sour. If the markets crash, and interest rates rise, the president will need a war to protect his re-election prospects.
5
@Steve Pomerantz
I suggest the US Congress follow the rule book aka the Constitution to vote to declare war or not as is its responsibility. Nothing open ended like Iraq. Put this little barking dog Trump on a leash and don't sacrifice our troops for nonsensical political reasons.
2
Headline should read:
New York Times Relies on Administration Officials' Statements Alone, in Echoes of Iraq War
In 2003, the news media relied heavily on the administration's statements about WMDs when reporting on Iraq, and tens of thousands of people have died as a result of that conflict. Don't be complicit again. Get real information, not press releases and "leaks" which are certainly—certainly—intentionally designed to build public support for a war with Iran. It'll serve an additional purpose of securing Trump's re-election if you aren't careful. Remember the Spanish-American war. Remember the Gulf of Tonkin.
9
Bolton wants a regime change in Iran and plays ignorant and know nothing Trump. Who does arrogant and despicable Bolton think he is? If Iran wants a regime change, it is up to the Iranian and certainly NOT the US and Bolton. He clearly has not learned anything about US history! He denies or decided to forget of what happened in the Bay of Tonkin. All he knows he wants a war with Iran and found a very supportive team in Trump, Pompeo, McConnell, Graham and their ilk. This can NOT and will NOT end well for the US.
6
We cannot allow the U.S. to launch another immoral and criminal war of Empire.
All people of conscience must resist this with unrelenting fierceness. That means when we mount a massive demo in NY like we did against the invasion of Iraq.
We don’t leave.
Mike
8
So far so good with moving towards Armageddon.
The Orange One is in place, and things are are going as planned.
9
what a nightmare
9
Bolton is actually evil not hawkish.
Why doesn’t he go to war himself not the thousands of likely deaths on both sides if his delusional plans gain traction with Mr. distraction Donald Trump?
10
If you thought Bush and his clown troop was incompetent in Iraq, just wait until Trump and his clown troops get going in Iran. You ain't seen true incompetence until Trump gets involved.
14
Will Trump's threats of war push Iran towards Russia? This war could make Trump's real constituents happy--the Saudis who want this war, Putin who wants a larger foothold in the Middle East, and the MAGA hats that relish being tough guys. Meanwhile the rest of the world looks on in horror. Only fools and madmen start a war in the Middle East.
8
Please name ONE regime change we supported that worked.
ZERO.......Maybe Canada should campaign for regime change in the US
5
Bolton is a war criminal. The Supreme Leader of Iran is a mirror image of Trump and his sycophants - an Evangelical base that believes he was put in the White House by God; a cowering Congress/Parliament who dares not defy him and a belief by Trump that he could establish a dynasty once he won office.
Kushner, who almost bankrupted his family, is now running our Middle East policy without oversight.
We do not even know if any requests made by Congress regarding the Iran policy and Kushner’s dealings with Saudi Arabia have been honored. Under a normal presidency this would be called oversight.
Under this president we have a Supreme Leader whose instincts are even darker than the Ayatollah’s.
10
For 2020 re-election's sake, trump will definitely start war with Iran.
5
"Mr. Bolton called for military strikes on Iran, as well as regime change."
And after Bolton's "regime change" - who exactly is he expecting to negotiate or otherwise deal with? Who will be in charge of Iran? Who exactly are the player's in Bolton's new regime - because right now they exists only as a figment of Bolton's imagination.
We participated in a regime change in Libya. What exists now is that the LNA controls vital oil installations in Libya's east, but its power struggle with the GNA has left the country's vast desert south a lawless no-man's land.
An Iranian regime change will mirror Libya as a lawless no-man's land. Who is Bolton going to negotiate with then? Neither Bolton or Trump have the faintest clue.
6
Who is going to fight it? The homeless vets? The opioid-addicted ones? The amputees? Those with head injuries? The ones clinging with 10 fingers to stable mental health? Most if not all of this nation's veterans have been failed by the U.S. gov't. The only fighting army left is the one more used to battles performed pixel by pixel.
3
The Republican Guard is our enemy: they are responsible for over a thousand coalition deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, hitting a fly with a bazooka is a waste of ammunition and the fly likes the attention. Secure the straits with PT boats and helicopter gunships. Respond to surges by RG attack boats with gunfire. Put the Seals in to counterattack the RG's frogmen. If something major happens, hit and destroy the offending port. We handled the Barbary pirates the same way and it worked.
1
Ah! Another good old fashioned American War just around the corner. How can one be a president without a war? This one could be one of the best in history. I'm sure the Trump kids will join up but we will see what happens.
6
@Birdman : President Jimmy Carter was / is a President without a war. May God bless him forever.
If Trump and Bolton want a war, we will get one, regardless of the reasons, the cost, or the lives.
4
Another little man want to be a "war president" to help his reelection. We've been through this before, and it was/is a complete failure.
8
Which group of influence, think tank, intellectual, congress member or other billionaire are behind this intense lobbying for war? Unlike the 2003 invasion, the reader has the right to know who are driving the middle east to the brink once again. Bolton and Pompeo are just the tip of the iceberg.
5
Walter Cronkite started his career with an historical faux news show called “You are There.”
So now, “Here We Are,” The question which begged to be answered virtually from Trump’s Inauguration Day was whether his America’s first policy, dissing our allies and breaking alliances and treaties, imposing bullying tariffs on our neighbors, ingratiating himself to autocrats, and the unending spewing of lies would cause our skeptical allies to shun an American call for concerted action to confront a perceived security threat.
Trump, the go-it-alone strongman leader pushed around by Putin, Bibi, MBS and Bolton, will be exposed for the weakling he is and how ineffective “America First” is as a foreign policy. THe good news is that when he finds no support for aggression against Iran, Trump will turn his attention and ire to Mueller or something else, this crisis in the making will be averted, and Bolton will be the scapegoat.
So Here We Are. What took us so long?
So many thoughts are going through my head right now. First why would I believe anything the orange wonder would say? Nothing comes out of his mouth that isn't a lie. Why hasn't the great deal maker been able to close a single deal since taking office? He has saddled us with a huge deficit, American companies are still not bringing manufacturing back to US soil, and his tax cut really wasn't all the great. His cap on mortgage interest and property taxes haven't endeared him to the middle class, the Hispanic community isn't rallying behind him either. His trade war with China will will result in a lot of financial pain for Americans, especially the folks who can least afford it. Maybe he's hoping to provoke a war because The American people will reluctantly reelect him for a 2nd term. They wouldn't want to changes horses mid stream. Or maybe he has decided to invest in military defense companies. Who knows?
2
Who will send their children to fight some pointless war for Commander in Chief Bone Spurs? What sacrifice has that man or any single member of his family ever made to serve his country? Has he performed even one single act of public service without regard for his own self-interest? He is a disgrace, as are the people in his administration and the Republican party that enable himevery single day.
8
Doesn't Trump realize most adult Americans have seen the movie "Wag The Dog". Maybe Trump's version will coincide with the release of ten years of his tax returns.
1
What is it with Vietnam conservative DRAFT DODGERS that they think starting a is a good idea? The drums are beating--anyone remember Cheney's weapons of mass destruction?
3
My son is currently serving in the Middle East and all I can think now is - DO NOT KILL MY SON. Three generations of my family served and I served in Desert Storm defending convoys. My youngest daughter found a photo the AP took when the Humvee in front of us was hit by an IED. The photo clearly shows me defending our convoy. My daughter wrote Don't Cross My Mom on the top of it. I cried when I saw it. Not from pride but for that sinking feeling my kids might have to face combat. It doesn't have to come to that especially now. Iran wants to live peacefully and had a good faith deal with us and our allies. Sadly, Donald J. Trump does not have anything idea what good or faith actually means. Our sons and daughters will be put in harm's way for nothing but a distraction by a man who spouts National Socialist rants and breaks our laws whenever it suits him. I hope Congress can stop him. The president does not the constitutional right to declare war but when has our Constitution meant anything to him? If we do not impeach him now - when?
9
Funny Bolton wants regime change in Iran, I want regime change in America. Let’s ask the Canadians to invade America since democracy is not working
4
"When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?"
3
If John Bolton were to study History, provided he is capable of studying anything, he would learn the problems that were created when the democratically elected Prime Minister Mosaddegh was thrown out of office by a CIA orchestrated operation. The despotic and corrupt US supported Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi then came into power, which later led to the Iranian Revolution and to the present state of affairs. Perhaps also Bolton, and for that matter Pompeo (what do they teach the cadets in West Point these days?) should read up on Alexander the Great, the British and the Soviets in Afghanistan and the French in Vietnam experiences. In fact, one can conclusive say readers of history are in short supply in this White House.
1
Follow the money.
Exactly who will profit financially from starting a war in Iran??
And with those same people have their sons & daughters enlisted in the military?
9
Weren't we heading in this direction all along?
5
How dare you even THINK about engaging in war, Pres. Trump.
How do I claw back my peanut-sized tax dollars to defund this insane idea?
More death and destruction, and all that awesome building to be done when the smoke and bodies are cleared.
Is it awful to think of the many motivators there might be??
7
Please; not another unnecessary war. Especially in the Middle East.
Let those guys keep squabbling among themselves. Let's keep our men and women in our military at home unless they attack us.
Let's fight against climate change, poverty and disease. Let's spend our money and resources on schools, teacher salaries and affordable health insurance.
9
@Rudran -- yes, we don't want another war. Israel has nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia wants nuclear weapons. So what if Iran wants them as well? All Israel and Saudi Arabia want to do is to eliminate one of their enemies and use the US to fight a proxy war. Enough already.
2
Mr. Shanahan did not write the plan. Mr. Bolton demanded changes to the plan.
Who wrote the plan? Where did it come from? Is it an ordinary planning document, akin to the Rainbow Plans of WWII? Is it military or intelligence in origin? Are the intelligence agencies planning military operations?
Where did this plan come from?
6
I am very worried that this will happen. Not if but when. These 'ship attacks and infrastructure attacks' by unspecified assailants echo far too much of the Gulf of Tonkin and the horror that brought on. Iran is not Iraq and will not capitulate that easily. They can't beat us in a war but they can inflict grievous harm to those in the region. Plus good luck getting a coalition of EU countries to back you on this one. This is bad foreign policy coupled with unjustified hubris. This is not good.
10
If we must go to war, I would like to see these brave, great Americans lead our troops: Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and Jared! And perhaps Stephen Miller, another great American, can be their strategist. Yes, let's go to war, now!
13
Always with these chicken hawks the call to flex the US military might with other people's children.
"Any military commander who is honest with himself, or with those he is speaking to, will admit that he has made mistakes in the application of military power. He's killed people - unnecessarily. His own troops or other troops. Through mistakes, through errors of judgement. A hundred, or a thousand, or ten thousand, maybe even a hundred thousand. But he hasn't destroyed nations." Robert McNamara
"War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support." Colin Powell
5
Another fake war started for fake reasons by fake patriots, where trillions more will be wasted and untold millions more will be maimed or killed only for the benefit of greedy, wealthy business interests.
No hyper-religious right wing ideologue could resist an offer like that. Susan Collins will wrinkle her nose over it, but don't worry, she'll be on board through the torture, the wanton destruction, all of it.
Decades from now when we're still engaged in a perpetual fake war with Iran AND Iraq AND Afghanistan, let's remember all the Republican "moderate" frauds like Collins and her ilk, without whom none of the destruction could happen.
6
Bolton espouses a doctrine of preemptive wars.
Given these U.S. plans, under his reasoning isn't Iran perfectly justified in attacking the U.S. now?
5
It should frighten anyone that Mr. Shanahan is an ex-Boeing executive with ZERO military experience OR the required finesse of international diplomacy as Sec. of Defense.
Trump has ZERO military experience or diplomatic finesse.
John Bolton has long urged for military solutions for Iran.
This is a dangerous scenario...
10
Is this just another terrible negotiating tactic by the Trump administration to rework an already adequate agreement from the previous administration? And do we really have to put our faith in the wisdom and restraint of another country's leadership in order to avoid war again?
3
This is the result of the consensus between US, Israel and Saudi Arabia that Iran is a threat to their interests, but any military action against Iran inevitably involves Russia, Turkey Iran and the EU, all of whom have interests in the Middle East. To walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran was tragic, and to have forgotten the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan so even more so. With dangerously deluded people like Bolton and Pompeo running US foreign policy in the permanent absence of sentient President no wonder, but of course in the long run it is always America that suffers from big stick diplomacy - but as ever the question is what gives the US the moral right to change regimes!
3
Obama and Kerry bought into the notion that Iran was a peace-loving nation that only had to be integrated into the world community so that it could prove itself. Its recent threats under the pressure of renewed sanctions shows what a snake it is.
1
From the Authorization to Use Military Force.
"(a) IN GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons."
Is this what Trump was planning by declaring the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization? Does this allow the Whitehouse to determine that they must use force to "prevent any such acts of international terrorism against the US by such nations, organizations or persons"? Without Congressional approval, no less.
Additionally, could Iran be considered one of "those nations [...] that harbors such organizations or persons" since the Revolutionary Guard has been so declared (a terrorist group).
This is terrifying. This is the blank check for war that Barbara Lee has been warning us against for almost 20 years.
4
What would we think if Iran or China wanted regime change in the U.S.?
I think Trump and Bolton should read Washington's Farewell Address.
"Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence
on the other."
4
The threat posed by the Iranian speedboats and the relatively minor damage to the several oil tankers are worth considering for beefing up defenses, but these incidents do no seem worthy of a major military response. These incidents appear to be an increase over the US Embassy parking lot mortar incident cited, but they do not seem to merit a major assault on Iran. Barring additional information on any planned future incidents, one can only hope for cool heads to prevail. Where is General Mattis when we need his wise counsel?
3
How many readers who have written in have also contacted their elected representatives to make plain their opposition to a trumped-up war?
Now is the time to demand that Congress makes it clear that they will block any attempt to get our country involved in a war. Any war.
Unless troops or missiles land on US soil.
Make your voices heard now before it's too late.
17
The War-powers Act is still in effect, I believe; so, what Congress thinks or is not the issue here...
If John Bolton wants so badly to fight a war against Iran, give the man a slingshot and set him down on a street in downtown Teheran. It might be the most useful mission he could undertake.
As for the rest of us, we do not want any part of any war in the Middle East. If a country there genuinely threatens to attack our country, I am confident we will have the means to repel the attackers before they make any headway. But the interests of oil companies are not the same as the interests of our country. We do not need Iran's oil. We do not wish even to burn any oil at all, but if we must we are producing it here at home.
What we want, rather, is peace and prosperity, not trade wars, real wars, and ballooning deficits that fund only tax cuts for the oligarchs.
We also want a candidate who speaks to all of us and who will put fearmongering psychopaths like John Bolton in their place. He is a menace to our country and world peace.
What is the matter with the US, that it elects such people time and time again?
27
If you start a was there I would like to see Trump and Bolton, the armchair warriors, leading the advance. I can just see Trump in a golf cart leading the charge.
Wait, I forgot about his bone spurs. If he starts a war he will no doubt be found hiding out in some bunker far away from washington, probably sitting on a porcelain throne, Tweeting encouragement to the troops.
12
Reinstate the draft.
If we did, we certainly wouldn’t be entering global conflicts without popular support - and the Trump base would crumble in the face of our complete abandonment of diplomacy.
11
Are they planning on what happens after the Shiite majority government in Iraq kicks us out and joins their brethren in Iran in defending themselves? Do we bomb Iraq as well, again?
9
Hopefully this isn't another fabricated march to war like Cheney/Bush to Iraq and only a bumbling hail Mary to make Trump look sort of competent again by negotiating a 'new' nuclear pact with Iran and make up for him scrapping the other nuclear deal that was already in place.
5
If Trump and Bolton want to fight a war in Iran - let them do it. Oh wait, Donny has bone spurs, and Bolton confessed he had no desire to die in Viet Nam's rice paddies, so he, like "W," arranged to get into the National Guard. Guess he won't want to go to Iran either.
12
The media must not sleepwalk through this as they did with Iraq, dreaming of possible benefits rather than face the horrors of war.
Chestbeaters like Bolton have to explain everything --including why they and their kids are not on the front line -- and when they plan to join.
16
War... is this what we want America? Young servicemen and servicewomen - killed, wounded... lives wasted... countless Iranian civilians killed... infrastructure destroyed, economic devastation... for what ... the same old Republican prescription - start a war and feed the coffers of the war industrial complex machine. A losing proposition for the country and the World... our allies will not be dragged into this useless effort... Trump has already lost them... its a prescription for disaster... oh, the horror of these awful men!
14
Flexing muscles will keep the U.S. very busy for longtime it looks like... What's never published are the costs involved; just moving the huge float, carriers, destroyers, with thousands of marines... and now 120,000 soldiers... From the other side, the Chinese, even the Russians rather silents, likely with a tongue in cheek posture. The Iranians show more openly their feelings with amazing jokes talking even about the 'father of all bombs' as opposed to the U.S. 'mother of...'. Is this the Comedy of our times? Hopefully the Planet will laugh out and loud for a good time, instead of crying...
2
Who is the blonde piloting the dragon & why is he not wearing any clothes? We've yet to see how this plays out either. My gut feeling is "not well."
2
There’s a simple solution to all these threats of war. Congress should immediately vote to revoke all outstanding war authorizations. These have been abused by multiple executives for years to entangle is in dozens of moronic conflicts.
Has everyone just completely forgotten that it’s Congress that’s in charge of authorizing wars?
6
Why not. The Iraq war turned out so well didn't it? Did it? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
4
The hawks, Bolton and his ilk, need to remember that in a "shooting war" Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province is just a short stones throw (or small missile) from Iran. Lest they forget if those oil refineries and pump stations are destroyed, we will have greater concerns than whether or not we think Iran's government should change. Costs for such things as certain chemicals, plastics and even some animal feeds are produced from oil will go up.
If war comes to pass, we should also remember that Shi'ites in both the Saudi Eastern Province and Bahrain will likely not sit still. Both groups have, at least in their minds, plenty of reasons to create distractions that will expand the war in ways we can't forsee but certainly won't like.
Lastly, let's just suppose that war breaks out and in some fashion the Iranian government collapses. What happens then? The most recent examples of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya suggest that change for changes sake won't turn out how the U.S. might desire. Should we think the government that follows will be friendly to us? We've bombed their country, killed many of their fellow countrymen and made their lives significantly more difficult.
7
America's true view and agenda is NOT the right wing Israeli agenda and not the right wing evangelist/rapture agenda.
How is separation of church and state not a value in our Foreign Policy?
Trump is willing to take us to war to pander to the ideology of highly aggressive and wrong-headed constituencies.
The Iran was would cost 3 times the Iraq war...3T baby, we can't afford this, nor can the world.
6
John Bolton is a classic neo-con: for him, war is the solution to everything.
America’s power is invincible, he thinks, therefore we should simply bend the world to our will.
Trump wants desperately to be a war president. Iran is his best option.
War against Iran is such a plainly stupid idea that it requires no argument to refute it.
It will be a replay of Iraq but worse, and will probably involve nuclear weapons, and cost trillions of dollars to re stabilize the country, and we will be there forever, like Afghanistan.
7
Regime change? That's worked out well for us in the past. We are doomed with Bolton involved and no adult babysitters in the WH.
9
We can go to war when Trump and Bolton lead the troops into battle. If you are a parent do not let these clowns send your kid to war for nothing.
12
So the "30 day" full troop withdraw from Syria (which still hasn't happened) was just really so the same troops can be committed to an attack on Iran?
We're still entangled in two military situations that we don't really know how to extricate ourselves from, but Trump wants us to get into a third (maybe fourth in Venezuela)?
Fantastic.
6
In a related piece, NYT notes that Bolton favors regime change featuring Mujahedeen Khalq as one of the dissident groups he favors. Let's not forget that the Taliban were our (the US') fault. We just HAD to support them during the Afghan War after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Look where it all ended up.
Splendid.
I have no doubt that backing the Mujahedeen Khalq in Iran would end up being a repeat of what we have already seen. Some people are destined not to learn from history, and Bolton is one of them.
3
A brief look back through the Iraq debacle reveals that Bolton, etc., were advocates for an unnecessary war and architects in the failed policies that followed. Expecting that Bolton, somehow, has found good judgement this time is the definition of insanity. His mindset is a danger to America. Both Congress and the American people must reject his or any other effort to embroil our country in another senseless war.
6
How many of -you- can AFFORD another trillion dollars for a skirmish that never ends?
Iran cannot either but they have ISIS, Hamas, Al-Qaeda experience on their side.
IED’s are inexpensive and easy to deploy. Finding them is the hard part.
Also, if Trump is the one who attacks, guess who has the advantage in terms of ‘hearts and minds’ ?
It’s not us.
If our economy was based on electricity instead of oil, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
7
President Bone Spur Trump, who got himself out of the Vietnam war, cannot send anyone to war, and he cannot dictate economic policy and start trade wars until he shows us his tax returns.
4
From the BBC
Meanwhile, Spain has recalled a frigate that was deployed alongside a US aircraft carrier because of the rising tensions in the region.
"For the moment the frigate Mendez Nunez has left the combat group," a defence ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency. "It's a temporary withdrawal... as long as the American aircraft carrier is in this zone."
Who needs allies anyway? Brave Spanish troops died backing our hand in Iraq and Afghanistan.
6
America and Trump are attacking on all fronts: Russia, China, Iran, North-Korea; and even Canada is considered a "risk to national security".
Perhaps America and Trump should take a short break, and find out which wars are winnable, if any?
3
Trump is posturing for his base, just as he did with Kim, all the while making America weaker.
4
Regime change. That's been successful foreign policy.
1
I want regime change in my own country but I'm not prepared to destroy my country to achieve it.
4
This action follows logic as day follows night. If Trump can gin up a war, can paint a manageable adversary as terribly dangerous, it will rally just enough to vote for him in 2020 to put him over the top since Americans always stick with its war time leader.
He took a workable nuclear deal that STOPPED the fanatic Iranian mullahs from getting that weapon while we dealt with them conventionally. Those in uniform in harm's way as a result: it's time to give your life to the Trump presidential run.
2
This arbitrary, politically manipulative, opaque approach to U.S. military intervention, (A.K.A., "war"), is unconstitutional, disrespectful of our military and contemptuous of Congress.
This would be a good time for Republicans in the U.S. Senate to wake up and stop acting like Trump's room service staff.
2
Take what happened in Iraq, which Bolton supported and still says it "was the right thing to do", and magnify it by 10 if we start a war with Iran. Trillions of dollars wasted, and thousands of US Troops killed.
Why anyone listens to Bolton is beyond me. He was not only wrong before, but refuses to learn any lessons from it.
4
Putin must be congratulating himself. The US is hopelessly divided and in a constitutional crisis. Plus, the US is about to get into yet another war. He just needs to sit back and watch the US self-destruct.
3
Isn't this just a smokescreen for the administration's refusal to respond to the subpoenas coming from the Democrats?
4
This is his re-election plan. A war time president for all our flag waving yahoo's that think America is great. All of this is so predictable.
4
The War-in-Chief (not Commander-in-Chief) who dodged the Vietnam War portrays a tough dude. Iran and China will not buy that.
1
Where are the Democrats?
Where are the Democrats?
Is it loud enough? Where are the Democrats?
Where are Pelosi and Schumer telling the American people that the Republican Party is dragging us into war to get Trump reelected?
Where are the Democrats?
Sitting in a corner, as usual, with their thumbs…
3
House Leader Nancy Pelosi needs to step forward and tell Trump and the Republicans that she will authorize no spending for a war with Iran without the administration seeking formal declaration of war per the War Powers Clause. Republicans need to be told the time to show concern and support for our troops is now, not later after the shooting has started. The Democrats have a responsibility to thwart the president in dragging the US into an undeclared war, a war the population likely will not support. Congress must assume its responsibility. The time to act is now.
1
War is practically the Republican re-election plan at this point. Three first-term Republican presidents in a row, stretching back nearly 30 years.
The interesting thing is that, for all of the talk about the steadfast loyalty of Trump's base, I think even they are tired of "regime change."
But I wouldn't be on it.
6
John Bolton does not get to declare war in the United States. There is all the time in the world to have Congress debate what, if anything, Iran has done to warrant a declaration of war. No, I don't trust any secret information the Trump Administration may claim to have. Let's see it, and let's evaluate it. Then let our elected representatives vote on it. It may very well be that Saudi Arabia, that beacon of light on human rights, would like us to fight a war with Iran for them, and perhaps Israel would, too. That doesn't mean it's a good idea for us to do so.
8
@Mike McGuire Congress?? When is the last time they voted for war?
How is Iran more of a national security threat to us than Russia? I don't recall the former meddling in our election.
5
I lived in Iran as a boy.
It is a much larger country than Iraq
as has a much larger population.
You can be sure that China and Russia
will help Iran one way or the other.
We don't need another war.
12
This is all so predictable, a train wreck in slow motion. This is all part of the strategy to reelect Trump in 2020. Start a war. It's as old as the hills. Unfortunately, it works.
8
The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln last week in the Persian Gulf. As a precaution, the Pentagon has moved an aircraft carrier and more naval firepower to the gulf region..."
It's become a tradition among, (so, called), 'pro_life' Republican presidents to initiate wars, based on any / every imaginable excuse, before leaving office...hasn't it?
8
When a Republican in the White House finds himself in big trouble, he starts a war.
The U.S. was on track to better, safer relations with Iran, but now we're considering war, and his voter base will love it.
I'm glad I don't have a son or daughter to donate to needless death.
11
Entering and undertaking a war with Iran will take more than just the US going it alone against Iran. If foolish enough to be talked into doing so, it will be telling how many and which counties come to our aid given Mr. Trumps abrasive and uncooperative attitude towards our traditional allies. Who's he going to get? China? (oh, no trade war), North Korea (oh, we're back on the outs with them). Russia? Lets just see if the puppet master helps his puppet. Well then maybe strongman countries like Brazil, The Philippines or Hungry. No I fear this will be a go it alone disaster from absurt start to ugly finish.
5
The idea that Bolton has any position in any government is outlandish. That he drives military strategy should petrify the planet.
As for Iran's "hatred" of the US... perhaps it has something do do with decades of US and CIA support of a dictatorial regime whose secret police killed and tortured thousands, or maybe it's just because the US shot down an airliner full of Iranian civilians.
9
Trump is clearly considering a war with Iran as a way of shoring up his political position and giving him a better chance of winning in 2020.
It is now PAST TIME for Congress to re-assert its constitutional authority over prosecution of war.
Congressional leaders can for one thing make it very clear to Trump that they will shut down a war with Iran as soon as possible using the War Powers Act.
The Act gives the President way too much leeway to start something by declaring a national emergency. Ideally, the Act should be tightened up, although that is likely to be blocked in the Senate. Attacks on our armed forces should not be a valid excuse for military action if said forces have been placed in areas where we have no "territories or possessions." If we put forces in volatile areas of the world, that risk belongs to the President.
Congress should look at ways (such as withholding funding) of preventing Trump from deploying U.S. forces in volatile areas of the Middle East. We are no longer critically dependent on oil from that region.
Congress should also make it clear that even if Iran is proved to have built a nuclear weapon, the mere existence of such a weapon is not a valid pretext to declare a war emergency. (If they use it, that's another kettle of fish.)
Iran's government may be a really bad actor, but as many have noted, Iran is not a direct threat to the U.S. Attacking Iran would be a disaster of huge proportions and a profound moral stain on U.S. history.
5
Promises broken. Regime change and another endless war that squanders trillions?
It won’t guarantee a second term...it will kill it.
7
Republicans should not plan for wars or emergencies. They should let bad news be a surprise. Why be prepared?
The Saudis want it, Israel wants it, and it is hard to unseat a wartime president. Makes perfect sense.
7
Mr. Trump needs a war to help him get reelected, or give him an excuse not to relinquish the presidency if he is not reelected.
The Trump Administration is the real clear and present danger to the United States of America.
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 could very well turn out to be remembered as the Day America Died.
MB
10
The only regime change we need is here and NOW!
10
What could possibly go wrong?
2
Oh Look,
The trade talks with China are a failure. North Korea is fed up. The stock market is tanking. And American farmers are going into bankruptcy at record speed.
It must be time for a Republican administration to start another middle east war.
10
Always nice to read commentary from our nascent patriots who have become anti-Russian since Trump showed up. (‘The 80s called and want their foreign policy back...’)
Guess defending the US against the malevolent Mullahs is a bridge too far as long as Trump is around.
Maybe we should fly in some cash on pallets like the sainted Barack Obama did. Let’s call it protection money. Cheaper than a war, obviously. (Yes, Dems it was THEIR money but only a Democrat would’ve given it back unconditionally.)
Ah, I believe the condition was to enter into a nuclear non proliferation agreement. Do your home, then talk.
3
120,000 troops? Gonna' need more that that Mr. Bolton, try 500,000. Also, you're throwing rocks at another hornet's nest. Didn't you learn anything from Mr. Cheney?
6
Really, lol is the only comment that expresses it. War means a REAL LIVE military fanfare for Dear Leader on July 4. Spin the bottle! Find me a foreign war!
We've been 'desiring' regime change in Iran since the 1970s. Likewise in Cuba. Why, we even replaced our own puppet regimes in Lebanon, Venezuela, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Panama, etc. I see we no longer desire change in Russia, do we. Spin the bottle, send your sons.
5
Trump withdraws from the nuclear deal and then threatens Iran if if doesn't abide by it. Irony so thick you could cut it with a knife!
7
Iran issue has pushed Mr. Trump's
tax returns and Mueller report onto
the back burner. It serves Mr. Trump
well. Good tactics!
6
Has anyone else noticed the recent fashion trend of military camo everything? Even little toddlers are dressed up in camo jackets and pants. And I saw a 4-year-old dressed in a SWAT team costume for Halloween last year. Guess you're never too young to be targeted with subliminal messaging via fashion.
5
Always remember these are the people who make stuff up to invade countries and start wars. All in the name of freedom...to exploit their resources and citizenry.
5
Dejavu.......
Substitute Iraq for Iran in this dialogue. Our government is making the same case for military action as we did eighteen years ago.....
6
For someone who never wore a military uniform Trump likes to get the Democratic sons and daughters to fight their wars. Send in your healthy sons also
4
@D.j.j.k.
I'm sure blue states will end up footing most of the bill too. How about Pelosi negotiates to add a new line to our tax forms, everyone can put down how much they want to pay for a war with Iran, Trump can use that to fund this self-inflicted idiocy. The Iran deal was working, they blew it up with no idea how to get a better result other than regime change. Anyone with a brain knew that increased chances of conflict or war were much more likely than Iran just unilaterally surrendering to our demands..
1
Who will be the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie this time? The human animal certainly has a desire to repeat itself and this time the entire world could be affected to the point that the insanity of many leaders could result in the rationalized stupidity instinct to use whatever to defend themselves and that would include using nuclear weapons. When that happens Bolton will be happy, at least until the Soviets, excuse me, the Russians retaliate, and start to end the human animal's dynasty on this planet.
4
Great, President who's incompetence DWARF's GWB's incompetence, and another senseless war with a more dangerous country that Iraq: Iran. Combine that with trigger happy Bolton, and we're on the way to another huge mess in the Middle East.
4
I find the timing and confluence of a lot of data points very interesting - and SCARY - to this abbreviated run-up to WAR using other people's money and lives.
As Israel, Saudi Arabia, Republicans, Bolton and trump urge us into a war with Iran, and a former Boeing executive is nominated as secretary of defense, I just received an e-mail 2 hours ago from Boeing asking me to contact Congress to let them know "American pilots need your support – act now to connect with your elected officials and tell Congress that the U.S. Air Force needs to fund F-15EX."
I guess America wants to be the arms supplier of the world, in a world of American instigated wars. Great economic model. Lets destroy the environment once and for all.
Not sure if I will unsubscribe from watchusfly.com - Boeing's web site - that keeps me informed of Boeing's interesting peaceful aeronautical and space systems advances - but I need to draw the line at being asked to increase my taxes for the purposes of warfare - especially trump-Bolton inspired conflagrations Boeing wants to profit from.
3
Trump: "We'll see what happens with Iran." Translation: "What does Hannity think?"
7
Boeing needs to replenish their stockings after the losses with the max fiasco. No surprise it's all go-go-go for another war from America.
4
Hey, is anyone hungry for some Yellowcake? I've got a fresh shipment from Niger. In beautiful aluminum tubing.
4
Cheney/Bolton Redoux with Trump at the helm instead of Bush. more winning.
5
Nothing like a meaningless, murderous 'wag the dog' war to rile up the base for 2020...
4
This is insane.
It occurs to me I've been saying this daily in response to the out of control and destructive, blind, horrible Trump Administration.
There is NO NEED to go to war with Iran.
They are trumping this up to distract us from Trump's crimes.
OMG things are getting worse by the day.
2
I feel bad for our kids in uniform who will pay the ultimate price for a needless war......May your God save us all....
7
A country always at war...how sick.
12
Gulf of Tonkin anyone ? I wouldn't put it past Bolton to doctor up the intelligence so he can get his coveted war with Iran. He is a danger to life on earth.
9
Wagging the dog
10
""or accelerate work on nuclear weapons""
What does this mean ? From what level? Says WHO?
Bolton seems to be making this up as he goes along .
6
Only Putin can stop US from going to War. Lets hope he is successful.
5
The reason for the Irak war was a lie. So will it be with Iran. Millions of deaths don't count, destroyed countries don't count. Only the enforcement of hegemonial power. Where are the thoughtful people?
9
So, we are again being served up photos (and I presume footage) in the press of fighter jets taking off from aircraft carriers. This is a reliable early indicator that the United States is about to embark on another foreign adventure.
"I am guided by the beauty of our weapons"
Leonard Cohen
4
My nephew is on 100% disability after three tours of duty in Iraq.
If Trump wants to send 120,000 soldiers to Iran, he can start by sending his own kids. Does Bolton have kids? Send them, too.
19
@Linda Thank you, Linda, for your poignant reminder of the human side of this issue. With a declining birth rate, we have few enough young people as it stands to support us as we grow old and to continue our traditions. Sending them off to war is not helpful.
Nor is it moral. We owe our young people a chance at life, a chance to contribute to society, a chance to raise a family. Sending them off to war deprives them of such chances and assures our continued decay as a society.
Teach them to build. Teach them to love. Don't teach them to hate, destroy, or kill. We have enough of that already.
4
The US should destroy Iran's nuclear installation.
Or we can be good Boy Scouts (like Obama and recently, Mueller) and support international and all other laws.... and have to face another menace like North Korea soon enough. (Granted, Trump destroyed the agreement with Iran, but that's water under the bridge now.)
There are times for legal punctiliousness and there are times for doing what must be done.
Well, it would be better if there were an international police force. Pity.
B.
1
So as Trump relentlessly lies and perpetrates another
"WMD" style scam to scare the American people, Mitch McConnell and his spineless GOPers give Trump full permission to strip them of their own congressional powers to issue subpoenas and to vote on declaring nuclear war.
GOPers just sit there and do nothing.
2020 will not be kind to these cowardly Republicans who have blatantly sold their soul to Donald Trump.
6
“Wag the Dog” v2
3
Bolton didn't get a job with Trump the first time around because Trump didn't like his mustache.
But Trump came around when he found Bolton's diatribes against Iran on Fox News irresistible.
Trump is an arsonist, throwing gasoline on already burning fires in the Middle East and this is political.
I'm not interested in killing Iranians. Nor interested in American blood spilled in the name of Trump's political self-preservation.
6
John Bolton-yet another guy who is willing to send other people’s sons and daughters to die but got out of his patriotic duty during the Viet Nam war.
5
“You keep pressing me for my taxes, I will start a war!”
DJT
7
Trump's presidency shows him as a clown, an intentional liar, and a man whose maturity is about that of some Junior High Schooler's. He hides behind a booming economy, and he wrongly takes credit for it, so the next step for Trump is: What war can I start that will rehabilitate him as a person? Iran sounds safe. It does not yet have nukes, and it cannot send missiles to the mainland like North Korea can, and the Evangelical Right hate Muslims, so yes, sucker punching an emerging country is the ticket!
4
From the day Trump declared the Republican Guard was a terrorist organization you could hear the drumbeat of war starting again.
Protecting our national security is one thing, intentional planning to take us to war is another.
326
He's been watching Netflix, @William Kane, House of Cards Season 2. We're too wise for that play this time.
John Bolton wants regime change in Iran? Ha. Maurice Gosby wants regime change in the USA. He'll have to wait for just like everyone else.
17
@William Kane: Wag the Dog, baby. The POTUS needs the ultimate distraction, and extremist ideologue John Bolton has the answer for him.
But can we just stop and recognize where the intransigence of Iran regarding the US came from? In what was definitely Eisenhower's greatest error, the CIA engineered the ouster of democratically elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and replaced him with the Shah, an oppressive autocrat. That act led directly to a fundamentalist revolution and a stridently anti-US government. So we're going to start a war with this country? After things went so well in Iraq and we racked up approximately 6 trillion in debt? No doubt the upcoming Iran war will function exceptionally well in hastening the decline of the US as a global economic power.
44
@William Kane
We did the very same thing in 2004 with Iraq.
We did the very same thing in Vietnam in '64 in Tonkin Gulf.
It's an old standby It's a president's go to move.
I say let him do it. And those in the military who go fight, are fools for the deadly sacrifice this time because they're being misused horribly. Patriotism is thinking HOW and who you serve, not blindly serving.
25
I truly believe DJT would prod a conflict/war with Iran just to see what it feels like to play soldier. DJT likes to "play war" as long as he is not boots on the ground. Disgusting, again.
6
You’d think the public would have learned after the complete fabrication of WMDs in Iraq and the lie of an Iraq terrorist connection to 9/11 not to fall for such obvious warmongering.
And Bolton...He was too unstable even for the maniacal Cheney, and he’s leading the charge?
God help us all.
9
If Bolton really does try to start a war, the Security Council should get involved.
6
I am ASTOUNDED (am I?) at the failure of all of this to refer to Israel's possession of nuclear weapons. This variable cannot be omitted as it is the singular force that drives Iran to its logical goals. How can the US allow one country to possess them (with the convenience the absence of official statement to this effect) whilst exercising its vast and unbridled powers to forbid the other(s): North Korea applies here as well. What an unexceptional country we are, utterly no different than all the empires that have come before. We know how they ended.
6
The Trump-Bolton team seems intent on bypassing both the United Nations and the US Congress on its route to war. This is how rogue nations and rogue persons act.
9
Iranian hegemony must be monitored , Russia will allow Iran to be its proxy and Iran is running proxies wars in Lebanon , Israel, Yemen, Obama appeased them and that was a mistake , we won’t invade Iran but a stronger presence in the Persian Gulf region will ensure trade lanes remain open and we can also ensure they don’t cheat on sanctions
1
I hate to say this but anyone who thinks all will be fine because we are a democracy is dreaming. We lost that Democracy when Trump took over the GOP. All that remains is for Trump to solidify his power by ignoring the constitution which he is doing.
10
If you want to go to war with Iran there's really only one question that needs to be answered. It is the same one that wasn't asked before going into Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Central Africa, and actually all the places to which American forces have been deployed in recent memory: What would constitute success? And why?
What would be the benefits to the US and the American people if you achieved your self-defined success? If you can't state clearly and succinctly what you would be fighting for, it may not be wise to start the fight... Because from the answer flows the calculation of what you, YOU, should be willing to do, i.e. to spend in blood and treasure.
Very bluntly, how many of those 120,000 troops may come home in body bags for the fight to still be worth it? And, please also bear in mind that this would be your war. The consensus among even your closest allies appear to be that this is a really awful idea...
The only people that you would be able "to count on" are, I imagine, Israel and the likes of Saudi Arabia, and they would be (a) awkward partners and (b) making their own risk and benefit assessments. Note, too, that Iran borders on Turkey and is perilously close to Russia. It can also, quite easily, impede if not halt the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world, while using pipelines to move its own output.
But hey, if that's what Bolton needs for self-affirmation, go for it.
3
Pompeo gatecrashing the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, was that to arm wrestle a coalition of the 'willing' ?
Considering Trump has attacked, vilified, alienated, destroyed trust in the US for all allies and partners I would suggest focusing on the Dictator's club that Donald has been eagerly trying to ingratiate himself with: the Phillipines, Hungary, maybe Poland, to add to Saudi Arabia and Israel who have already shown willing.
3
'“The president has been clear, the United States does not seek military conflict with Iran, and he is open to talks with Iranian leadership,” Garrett Marquis, a National Security Council spokesman, said Monday in an email. “However, Iran’s default option for 40 years has been violence, and we are ready to defend U.S. personnel and interests in the region.”
I have read somewhere else the following:
“Iran does not seek military conflict with the US, and Iran is open to talks with US leadership,” General Ghoramzadeh said Monday in an email. “However, US’s default option for 40 years has been violence, and we are ready to defend Iran's personnel and interests in the region.”
I guess both are true and valid statements, right?
1
Is anyone going to stop this?! This seems to be a war we are engineering. For what?!
5
@Nicole
For trump to get re-elected. Or to refuse to leave office because we are in the middle of a war.
3
“However, Iran’s default option for 40 years has been violence, and we are ready to defend U.S. personnel and interests in the region.”
Irony so thick you can cut it with a knife.
5
Someone please tell the warmonger Bolton th following as stated clearly inthis article "Why do we continue to present Tehran with overt suspicion and hostility as opposed to a willingness to honestly discuss that nation's security needs? After all, have we forgotten that Iran has reason to distrust us?
3
Thank you Americans for electing Trump.
He withdrew an International agreement that we made with Barack Obama
Then he put sanctions on us and we are facing financial problem and difficulties
And now he is frightening 80million people by talking about war
He is supporting SA and Israel
Thank you americans for ruining our life in Iran by electing wrong guy.
8
Another manufactured war for the benefit of a few psychopathic investors from the military industrial cesspool-- to be paid for by the dwindling American middle class. Good grief. How long must the USA suffer this criminal administration?
6
Is Trump looking to start a diversion war to shift American attention away from his Russian Treason, Obstruction, Don Jr., taxes, etc.? So far I have heard nothing of substance on this “Iranian Threat”.
6
Do we even have money to go to war with Iran? We lost a Trillion in Iraq and ended up losing that war and creating ISIS. I think we are too dumb to intervene to any foreign conflict and stay at home for a while and take care of stuff at home.
5
And you wonder why Iran feels the need to protect itself, with a history of US aggression and interference towards it dating back to at least 1953 when the US decided that Iran would not be allowed to develop a democracy and installed a US puppet instead! Even more so now with Saudi Arabia and another nuclear state: Israel, on board with this admin's abomination.
The JCPOA agreement, between Iran, China, Russia, UK, France, Germany, US, the EU that Trump dishonorably and idiotically reneged on was the best step towards a bright future.
And it's horrifying to offer the lives of 120,000 US troops, their family's/children's well-being, the future, billions/trillions of dollars (but no doubt more billionaires in the making who traffic in war and death), and who knows how many millions of Iranian lives/future destroyed.
For what? Trump's personal gratification, attention, fame, twit followers, rally the base, satiate Bolton/Pompeo's vicious baby—bomb, bomb, bomb.
US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright:
"In 1953 the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular [democratically elected] prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh. The Eisenhower Administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons [read control/theft of Iranian oil]; but the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs."
4
Again, war is not necessary and shows how naive and childish are those that push war. They are drug store cowboys that have never experienced the destruction of a real war. If Bolton wants to be a macho man then he should go fight himself or send his young relatives. Again, old men wishing to look tough causing death to who knows how many people.
I thought we learned our lesson after George Bushes Iraq adventure.
4
So neither Trumo nor Bolton seem to learn from (or read) history.
Could they possibly just look at the map:
We helped radical Islamists by taking out the only secular dictator, Saddam Hussein.
Now Iran is surrounded by conflict: Saudi Arabia with its own agenda of dominance + allied to the US, US troups in Iraq on the West, US troups in Afghanistan to their East, a US war ship coming from the south, a destabilized Syria as proxy for several military ambitions barely to the nort-west. One country over to the East,Pakistan, a nuclear power is at odds internally with islamists and corruption, externally with its eastern neighbor, India, also a nuclear power.
If we were in Iran's position, would we not feel pushed against the wall by a belligerent and ignorant US government?
YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE!
DON'T!!
2
As this administration's support diminishes, and its incompetence becomes blatantly obvious, his best shot at retaining office is to get us into a shooting war, so he rattles the cages of NK and Iran. Don't think he won't do it.
4
Is this the same "Chicken Hawk Bolton" who for years has called for the U.S. bombing of North Korea and Tehran?
The same Bolton removed from the top U.S. diplomatic post at the United Nations by GWB 13 years ago?
That one?
7
Oh good, the same fools who brought us Iraq can now bring us a sequel, Iran. Yet another country we can destroy with no plan for fixing it, all while shoveling tons of borrowed money into the pockets of tinpot despots and defense contractors while roads, schools, water systems and other critical infrastructure at home crumbles.
5
What exactly is the authority of a National Security Adviser? " I know this isn't in the Constitution, so please help me understand by what mechanism this position was created. Does he have authority to direct the Pentagon to do anything like draw up revised war plans? If he advised the President to give such orders, and the President did so, maybe I'd feel differently, but it sounds like Bolton said "jump" and the Pentagon said "how high?" It is extremely dangerous to have such an unabashed warmonger, whose judgment has been shown publicly to be very faulty in the past, in a position that could easily push us towards a crazy war. Unless, of course, that is in fact the desire of the entire Administration and its supporters.
3
I can just hear the musings of this administration. Trump has to win 2020 or face a litany of lawsuits and dare I say prison. The immigrant caravan theme is getting old so at the behest of Israel and Saudi Arabia we will waste lives and a few trillion on another useless war. Don't be surprised, it follows the standard reality tv script...
12
Have the Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Israel set up a major naval convoy system in the Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz area to patrol the oil freighters. These are wealthy countries that should provide for their own regional defense needs. Bring Iran's oil exports to zero and engage in a country that is already destroyed such as Syria. Find, exile, persecute Assad and occupy Syria so as to restore that country to the Syrian people. The urgent area is Syria. Remove failed regimes around Iran. Many Syrians are yearning for a chance to reform their nation. This is like the Domino Theory in reverse; move the dominoes in Iran's direction rather than "containing" Iran. Iran has leaped over containment.
Saudi Arabia should not be called on to help the U.S. with Cuba (a North American problem). Saudi Arabia must pull its own weight to balance and distract Iran, while the U.S. attempts to isolate Iran from its near abroad.
2
‚The first casualty when war comes is the truth‘ OF COURSE the drones, attacks or whatever comes from the Iranian side (also known as the dark side) , NEVER from Saudi Arabia (also know as the light side). Irony off.
3
war. what is it good for? absolutely nothing.
10
‘It ain’t nothing but a heartbreaker
Friend only to the undertaker...’
To be fair, though, somebody ends up making a lot of dough, gets away with a land grab, and consolidates their power.
And if you’re into that sort of thing, like DJT and his Senate back-up singers...
4
The real threat to world peace is Sunni militant Islam. Worldwide the Madrassas that teach and brainwash Muslim youth, and the building of Mosques that spread hate against people of other faiths (non-believers) are funded by Saudi Arabia. In the past two decades, all the major acts of terrorism, including the 9/11 have been carried out by Sunni Islamic terrorists. The US should go after Saudi Arabia in cutting off its worldwide funding of spreading of Wahhabi hateful ideology.
We do not seem to have learned any lessons from the monumental Iraq catastrophe. Seems like we are about to repeat the failed policies enunciated by people like Bolton and his ilk
5
Are the despicable likes of John Bolton bringing us to yet another war, this time with Iran?
Of course neither Bolton nor the equally despicable Individual 1 will serve but remain safely in the White House while others serve at their dishonorable pleasure.
If there is anyone or thing to fear it's Trump, Bolton and any of the others in this 'deplorable' administration advocating, and preparing the public, for war.
What has Congress said about this provocation and preparation? Where is their authority or has Mitch McConnell declared this too a case closed?
The entire bunch of them should be in prison.
7
Iran has to stop threatening Israel. We're stuck with this quagmire, and we're going to deal with it.
The Iranian people largely reject the idea of a theocracy, but this came as a reaction to US policy, as many things in recent times have.
Threaten Israel, make them feel in danger, and you'll get the bull's horns! We'll win!
We're with the Iranian people. Theocracy is not the way forward. Theology is good, and the belief we admire. We accept the belief.
Iran needs to let its citizens express a healthy rebellion against the theocracy. And the US will provide room for that,
@DudeNumber42
Right, just like we did in Iraq.
3
@DudeNumber42
Providing room with war?We as Iranians should and only we could have the right to change or not the change the regime no foreigners are allowed to participate in our problem
We had a deal with US and 5 other countries what happend that after 3 years Trump withdrew it?
1
It's ironic that Cheney used 9/11 as a reason to go to war with Iraq, despite the fact 15 of the 19 hijackers plus Bin Laden were Saudi nationals. Now DJT is being manipulated by the Saudi's (MBS) into a conflict with Iran.
7
@Basic
there are other allied nations who benefit when we self injure too.
@Basic
And Israel. Everyone seems to forget them.
1
Trump loves to talk about a coup. I think this latest egregious act by the president proves there is indeed a coup. Trump has taken over the government by putting in incompetent yes men and taking the GOP hostage.
He has stacked the deck with judges, attorney generals, IRS appointments, Treasury appointments. All of these people are beholden to our new emperor. And the Base still thinks it's all great. We're about to find out it's not.
If they start this war, the sons and daughters of the poor will suffer. The sons and daughters of the not so poor will suffer. This is HORRIFIC. The Senate had better wake up before there isn't anything left for them to do.
5
I dislike conspiracy theories, but the timing of these suspiciously lightly damaged tankers with Bolton's rhetoric and the announced military buildup has this situation feeling like a modern day Gulf of Tonkin incident.
11
Explosive residue at the site of the blasts should be analyzed by now, so where did it come from and what was it's composition?
The size of the hole, debris left behind, and how the metal is distorted would determine what the delivery system was. Well what was it?
Are there cameras that tell a tale? Radar or sonar?
Radio traffic? Eye witnesses?
Before we send our kin and kith to war we should have some darn good answers.
2
Trump was unhappy with a (1) few hundred U.S. troops in Syria and (2) the outcome of our latest efforts in Venezuela. He will be really unhappy with the results if he uses military force against Iran because all U.S. action will probably bring to pass are (1) an Iran whose citizens are united against the U.S. and (2) the problem Trump already has in Afghanistan of how to exit a war without surrendering and looking very weak.
3
President Trump wants to escalate tensions with Iran because he wants to reverse anything & everything that then President Obama did.
Someone is using the United States to fight their war.....the same country who gave the highest honor to President Trump.
President Trump supports the specific country’s right to have nuclear weapons whose 19 nationals did 9/11 but is on a brick of a wall with Iran who is complying with nuclear deal which is confirmed by the European allies and investigators.
Those poor 120,000 troops will have to fight a war because of incompetent deal maker...
5
What would be the war aims of a war with Iran? When would we have done enough to declare victory and go home?
Even after Vietnam, Iraq and Syria we have only proved that we have learned nothing from history.
The Europeans don't seemed upset by Iran so why should we who sit on the other side of the world.
3
If it looks like Trump is going to lose the election there WILL be a war, guaranteed.
8
I think this was a Saudi created crisis. Why would Iran risk everything? Gmab Don't forget 9/11 Saudis. They are not our friends just oil partners.
5
Seems like a great idea. You know, we've never done anything militarily over there so it's hard to say how it will work out in the end...
7
Iran has the capability to dramatically disrupt our lives here in the US with cyber attacks on our infrastructure. “Disrupt” is actually not descriptive enough. Loss of power and water would lead to chaos. We need to check ourselves and the GOP Senate needs to step up. Everyone should be screaming about this. No measured discussions please.......
6
How to have a war:
1. Withdraw from any inconvenient diplomatic agreements you may have with your target.
2. Find a president who desperately needs an overwhelming distraction from an increasingly threatening political situation.
3. Gin up some intelligence that shows your target to be a clear and present danger. Feed it to an unsuspecting press.
4. Put a military force somewhere very close to your target and wait for a suitable incident.
Sit back and enjoy the show!
10
@Ben Miller
I would say you can condense to 1 step for countries in the middle East - elect Republican to White House
2
The game plan. It's like clockwork...
The move: in the third year of your administration, just as your political opponents are gearing up and threatening to take focus from you (highlighting their strengths and your weaknesses), start the rumblings of war. Whip up support, amplify threat and send in troops for a war that will take you through the next election.
The themes: patriotism, survival, loyalty, God and country.
The target: swing voters.
The fuel: human life. It's cheap. Use as much as you need.
Cynical. Heartless. Effective. Lord, when will they ever learn.
12
Rome once believed itself invincible, that it could dominate the world by military force in far-flung lands. Rome remains a beautiful city, but it will never again exercise dominion over others.
Every empire falls. Hubris is usually the affliction that brings them down.
Our military is the best trained and best equipped in the history of the world. But training and equipment get you only so far, particularly against those defending their own rights (as they perceive them). You may subjugate part of the world, but no one have ever subjugated all of it.
And what do you do with the world in the unlikely event you bring it to heel? We didn't even have a plan for what to do with Iraq.
These moves by Trump hurt Europe and strengthen our most powerful adversary, China.
Are we winning yet?
8
Trump is desperately hoping that the tradition of a "wartime" president winning a second term will carry on to him.
Bolton, Pompeo and Trump are three people who have been saber rattling and wanting to play solider for decades. All three men have been on the wrong side of history. Bolton in particular have made his career of being wrong about literally everything.
6
As dark clouds of war gather over the Persian Gulf watch the traders get nervous and drive up the price of gasoline. If there is one single thing that gets the attention of Americans it is the price of gas. LOL.
6
Oh, great, invading a country of 70 million people for sport. If anyone thought Iraq was a quagmire, it will look like a simple task compared to occupying Iran. If the War Wingnuts want to end the US as a superpower, entering a pointless war against Iran would be the way to do it.
7
Where is Congress in this crazy scenario?
What role do House and Senate leaders think they play in this latest trumpian misanthropic adventure?
9
Admiral Rickover said that the life of an Aircraft Carrier during a war was 15 minutes.
A carrier group cannot survive a barrage of land based and inflatable launched cruise missiles.
R.E. the USS Stark attack and near sinking
Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi called it a "divine blessing" and reiterated the standard Iranian view that the Persian Gulf "is not a safe place for the superpowers and it is in their interest not to enter this quicksand".
Darn good advice.
How many thousand "We regret to inform you" letters are pre positioned.
If Iron Dome is 80% effective, what about the damage from the other 20%?
9
The war in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $2.4 trillion dollars by 2017 according to the CBO, about $6,300 per US citizen. The big weapon manufacturers rake in big time and don't need to pay taxes. It is the middle class taxpayer and the little guy that pays for it and what benefit do they get out of it.
Let me get this right, the Republicans claim they have to eviscerate the ACA because of lack of funds but think nothing of it to go to war with Iran. Who wins? Saudi Arabia. Who loses, the American taxpayer.
7
One must seriously question what existential threat to our allies in the region exists today that did not exist three or four weeks ago?
If this is a question of piracy or diminishment of freedom of navigation in the region - 120,000 proposed troops will not - cannot - solve this.
A carrier strike group has an offensive posture out to 1000 miles in any direction. A more pressing concern may the movement of the USS Arlington (LPD-24) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (about 2200 personnel) from the Med to the Gulf. The Arlington is an amphibious assault ship designed to provide aircraft cover (rotary) while beaching an expeditionary unit - overtly or covertly. A massive ground force - in the neighborhood of 120,000 may simply be a diversion.
Iran is a nuclear power - it must be accepted. It is Bolton who is the clear and present danger.
5
I read this article last night why is it still on? The news is over, there's new news now. I can't believe we only have 1 carrier there we need 3 or 4 and we need probably all the troops we can spare. How long has it been since we we there anyway -- too long. I don't even see why we left when everyone knows we're just gonna come back. We spent all that money making the best bases anywhere in the world and why not just stay there? It would be cheaper than coming and going. We need to just get control of it all for good and just stay there. We could have been done a long time ago.
Someone said they don't like us, well two can play at that game. But once we sell them our coke and pepsi and burgers they'll come around. Even bikinis were hard to accept here in the states at first, and all they got is beach over their -- it's a desert! There's no reason they won't come around. Carriers carry peace -- that IS what they do. And they can carry soda and swimsuits and everything else that we have too. Everyone knows it all comes down to this: you give us our oil and you can buy our cool stuff. Why they fight this and make us attack them is just unbelievable. Trump will make them come around and see the light -- best negotiator ever.
1
@Jorden
Carries carry planes. Which carry bombs. Which cause death and destruction. Which is the opposite of peace.
I won't even begin to comment on the rest of that inane stream of consciousness...
2
@Nick I have to believe that it's sarcasm.
2
So the acting defense secretary and the two chicken hawks came up with a plan for allow trump to bluster and beat the war drums. Let's send 120k troops and numerous ships and planes into the area, as the article says, to provide targets for future "incidents".
With this crowd in command, it's best to Remember the Maine when an accidental explosion allowed the US to start the Spanish american war where the US took the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain. In this case, trump will personally benefit from a war, the rest of us, not so much.
There's is a lot of rumor of Iran's alleged transgressions leading to the saber rattling, but no facts. A decent journalist might compare the actions of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran and show which one is the greater sponsor of terror.
Until then, it's Wag the Dog time.
5
Boy oh boy, won't the fossil fuel era look extra stupid, wasteful and violent when electric cars make the basic export of Iran, Iraq, our "friends" the Saudis, Russia, Venezuela into just a relic like whale-oil lamps.
Everyone saying renewable energy is somehow too expensive to justify, how much does it cost to operate an aircraft carrier battle group in a narrow stretch of water thousands of miles from their base? Oh, and the other side has their bases and army right there.
How much did we spend in Qatar and Iraq? What did terrorism based on our dislodging of Mossadegh cost us? How about the costs to our society every day because a wealthy Saudi zealot had a beef with his government for our troops being station there for no reason other than petroleum?
Electric transportation can't come fast enough to undo those harms and lost lives, but will make it an ugly blemish on history, not an ongoing situation.
7
@b fagan
Not to mention all the pollution and climate change. Looks like Big Oil is in the driver's seat.
There is no doubt that Trump will provoke a war with Iran as his 2020 election strategy. All Iran has to do is move one of their ships too close to ours and Trump will say we were attacked.
2
Well this might be the time we will see war strike our own country and maybe that will make armchair warriors grow up. Easy to scream for war when it's not your country being blown up, your water being poisoned, your electric grid not destroyed. Our leadership, acts like a bunch of spoiled brats or spineless enablers.
We should be using the Defense Department and its trillion dollar year budget to address climate change and mass extinction, but no, Trump plays Nero and Congress acts like standing up to him risks their lives instead of their roles. Nero burned Rome, but Trump plans to engulf the world in flames.
5
Here we go again. After 9/11 the signs of the march to war were everywhere. Millions of us protested in the streets, asking then President Bush Jr. and Congress not to attack Iraq. They did not listen. The destruction of countless lives, both in the Middle East and of our US military, along with never ending conflict, has been the result.
Now we see Bolton and Pompeo, the same two masterminds from that war, gleefully planning another war, this time with Iran. They don't care about the Iranian people or our military--no, they just want a war for profit, for oil, for Saudi Arabia and for Israel. The Iran nuclear deal was working and at Bolton's insistence, Trump pulled us out, declared the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist group and then sanctioned Iran's oil sales, all to escalate tensions and create the ripe opportunity for another conflict. This is nothing more than another Weapons of Mass Destruction ploy with all the intelligence agencies lining up like they did after 9/11. This time, though, Trump doesn't even need Congress to okay it, since he doesn't care about that branch of government anyway.
Listen up, Trump--you promised to keep us out of wars and we don't want another one. You had better rethink what you are doing, because this time you could start a conflict that could engulf the entire world. No more of our military men and women coming home in boxes! No more war!
4
The echoes of the Iraq war were false claims of terrorism, and made up stories of weapons of mass destruction, from which to conduct an illegitimate war. All of which have about as much of a chance of getting anywhere in these days, as the rest of our abusive past, that is now being removed from our lives. Transformations approaching, at an incalculable rate, with not even enough time remaining to make it to the next election. A transition of political power of the scope few comprehend, and the rest have little chance of escaping.
5
Hot war with Iran, trade war with China, cold civil war at home - what more can be said? Trump is destroying America.
6
Why? Why would we be going to war in Iran?
7
Just what the world needs: Trump and his minions planning a military response to Iran. Anything to drain the economy and become a "war president."
Yes, truly the inmates are in charge of the asylum.
7
This is where it gets scary. Trump in charge of an international problem, with his ego and Bolton whispering in his ear. As with other issues and distractions, we know every move he makes is about reelection, looking like a tough guy to his base, and distracting the country from focusing on his problems and investigations.
I don’t think for a minute he is a statesman, nor are those surrounding him. He may not be a hawk, per se, but if a war offers a distraction, he is very likely to start one, and then claim it is bad to change Presidents in the midst of a war.
His unilateral, egotistical, do it my way or get fired mentality might cost us for years in this case, simply because he sees it as a way to please his base and get a second term, wherein he can work tirelessly to change the law so he can pursue multiple extra terms.
The guy is a threat to our way of life.
6
Why are people not protesting in the street? Are people really that fat and happy that they don’t care about wars we have not business fighting? Has no one learned the lessons of our past mistakes? Enough of this madness. We need a regime change here not in Iran.
7
It is heartbreaking to watch one's beloved, though imperfect, country rot before our eyes. Making elected leadership profitable, our representatives belong not to the people but to their masters. We have taken the gift of the USA and shown utter contempt towards it. Suicide by greed.
7
Trump would call it Making America Great by strength. Democracy is for losers, Dictators get things done.
2
The extremist wing of the Republican Party, including Bolton, thrive on any sort of anti-Muslim bigotry. They were happy to support Bush’s disastrous invasion of Iraq by providing lies and propaganda, and they’re doing the same thing now to goad Trump into attacking Iran. Trump might just do it, too, when he needs a PR push for the next election.
3
So what is the rationale to attack Iran and risk the lives of Americans and their hard earned treasures, again? Sober and reasonable Europeans still support the nuclear deal with Iran and IAEA still confirms Iran’s compliance. What happened to rebuilding here in America so our kids no longer have to drink water contaminated with led? Why are we not talking about repairing dams, bridges, levies, water channels, sewage and power lines so our towns don’t burn into ashes or our towns don’t drown under water and so on. Isn’t Iraq war enough? As a result Isn’t the creation of ISIS enough? Isn’t spending over $1 trillion dollar and countless death and injured endured by American soldiers and civilians enough — if we count the interest on the money borrowed probably the actual number may come to $2 trillion or more. Why America has to fulfill the wishes of Netanyahu, MBS and John Bolton? The next $1 trillion dollar must be invested and spent right here in America. American and Israeli generals want US to renter Iran nuclear deal because it serves American and world’s security and interests.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/50-retired-generals-and-diplomats-urge-united-states-reenter-iran-deal-46747
4
look at the big picture:
djt wants to PLAY commander-in-chief during a war -
the ultimate ego trip.
command the most powerful military on earth in a war.
his ego has always driven him - but this war path poses a danger to all life on earth
forget all his illegal and immoral domestic activities.
he wants to BLOW UP WHOLE COUNTRIES that don't OBEY him.
look at iran - they have done done NOTHING to US other than defy our superiority.
and djt is doing all he can to start a war w/ them.
3
As long as there is no draft and enough uninformed military recruits seeking excitement or escaping poverty, our Republican led dictatorship will gladly dupe them into enlisting into this contrived forever war economy.
1
Next they will discover Venezuelan troops in Tehran, aided by Cubans, advising the Iranian military.
4
we will not be greeted as heroes this time either
6
If the attacks on the oil tankers are the responsibility of Iran then this would be a United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia problem. Three out of the four tankers were theirs. Trump in the rest of his foreign policy (NATO) has made it clear that the US military will not "carry water" for the rest of the world. What is different here?
8
@Sandy Attacks? Gulf of Tonkin?
Finally, a situation where we need Trump to stay true to himself, i.e. his isolationist self. And we need our European allies - Germany, UK, France - to stay in the Iran Deal. Wait out the Trump administration guys, 2020 is coming, don't push Iran to any egregious violation of the deal. American voters? Get ready for "regime change".
Save the date: Nov 3, 2020
14
So the chicken hawks who never served but are “experts” want to send our friends, family and neighbors off to another war for private agendas.
As a veteran, I have nothing but contempt for such people, regardless of party.
There is no threat to the United States from Iran and any threat to Israel is debatable.
Make a deal- let’s put the sons and daughters of those clamoring for war on the front line on point. That way the war will never happen.
16
"...they worry that tensions between Washington and Tehran could boil over, possibly inadvertently."
No chance of that. The Trump-Bolton coalition will do everything in it's power to ensure a war is started. Indeed, it already has with the Trump provocations against Iran.
Remember how inept the Bush people were at running the Iraq war? Just try to imagine how bad the Trump clown troop will be...then increase that dysfunction by a factor of 100.
12
Bolton is a menace to America. We have not conclusively won a war since WWll. And all we are doing now is protecting our Saudi friends, who are not our friends, because of their Oil.
Remember is was the Saudi's men who attacked us on September 11th. Not Afghans, not Iraqi's. And remember it was Trump who pulled us out of the Iran Treaty. I doubt that we would be sending troops to the Persian Gulf if it were not for that fact.
We need to start protesting again. Sending our troops to incite war again is a very bad call.
But then John Bolton and company never saw a war they didn't like.
11
The US House of Representatives should act to stop Trumps's trade war against China and to block his attack on Iran.
10
What a coincidence! A new military adventure just in time to distract from trump's shenanigans and alter an election. Better check to be sure the Russians aren't secretly blowing up Saudi pipelines and tankers in an effort to lure trump company into a war with Iran to influence the upcoming election. Crazy, I know. But, hey we now live in trumpworld where crazy is the new normal.
8
Russia blowing things up to lure Trump into war? There was a one and a half hour Telephone conversation with Putin that we know nothing about. It is not inconceivable that plans like this were not discussed.
2
@DSS
HA! Right, thanks. This isn't a lure situation its a PLANNED situation. What was I thinking? Crazy.
That's right, destract us from impeachment with yet another manufactured crisis.
Bolton was hand-picked for the job.
We are looking just terrible to the rest of world. We break a viable agreement, impose sanctions for no good reason, and make threats out of the blue.
This gives the American people the proper focus of their hate and anger so that Trump becomes the excellent Commander in Chief who can do no wrong whatever and must remain in office to protect us all from the dreaded Muslims.
Could it be that this is not contrived? How will Congress see this? Looks like a litmus test of power.
2
Trump needs to get a war started to ensure re-election. All Americans need to remember how Bush's lies got us into the last war. Trump is most likely lying now considering no one has produced any credible evidence that there is anything going on (and anything Bolton says should always be considered an outright lie). Indeed, most likely Trump will start a war in the Gulf of Tonkin tradition -pretend something happened and scare Congress into agreeing.
hopefully the American People will not be bullied into starting a war just to satisfy Trumps neediness.
4
There is one difference. He will not even consult Congress. We have a one party government where all are required to agree with the dear leader and those that don’t are traitors or enemies of the People.
And just when did Congress declare war? Oh yeah, the Constitution. Remember Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia. It was considered for impeachment. When will we stop this War madness? America has long since lost all morality. We now approach war crimes. There’s a reason why Bush withdrew us from the World Court on War Crimes. Fear of justified prosecution. My God, my country is becoming an evil presence in this world.
11
@Malcolm: Your comment is so beautifully eloquent. My sentiments exactly!
2
@Malcolm
Good post.
But the US government doesn't "approach war crimes."
It has been committing them for decades, under every administration.
1
One can only hope Bolton displeases Trump soon and gets fired before we enter another war that never ends.
4
Has Congress wrested back its war power?
3
What is so shocking? Every American knows that when Russia meddles in their elections they have to bomb Iran. This flows from the foreign policy doctrine that you retaliate against Saudi terrorists by invading Iraq.
4
When in doubt of what to do next, start a war...
a war with Iran, a trade war with China, etc etc.
4
Look how we ruined Iraq. Look how we ruined so many people's lives. American and Iraqi's. Must we do it again? No, no, no.
5
As the economy is faltering, and an election is coming, it's not a bad idea to keep the masses quiet and distracted, offering it the panem et circenses, bread and circuses policy. Lol.
4
Obviously, this country has to defend its national security interests. However, I and millions of others cannot see how increasing tensions with Iran does anything to achieve that objective.
Yes, if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon then that country will become more dangerous. But why, then, would we encourage more effort by the Iranians to build nukes by withdrawing from the agreement reached by the Obama administration and by encouraging Saudi nuclear programs?
Why do we continue to present Tehran with overt suspicion and hostility as opposed to a willingness to honestly discuss that nation's security needs? After all, have we forgotten that Iran has reason to distrust us? While we are understandably bitter about the 1979-80 hostage standoff, Iranians are probably equally bitter about the Mossadegh overthrow in the 1950s that led to a restoration of tyrannical rule by the Shah.
It's wise to be realistic about Iran's behavior. The country does have a record, since its Islamic revolution, of supporting some terror groups and it would be a significant threat to Israel and other nearby countries if it becomes more militarily powerful.
But that practical view does not dictate our own militarism. Not only has Iran proven that it won't respond to it, but the costs we would incur (in human lives and in dollars) by starting a war with Iran would also be intolerable. Ultimately, we have to find a way to get along with Iran.
The recent rhetoric from Trump et al. is not helping.
228
@CastleMan
Trump's glaring incompetence is directed at one thing - from-page headlines an an attempt to declare a fake national emergency that would give him the power to further suspend more of OUR Constitution and solidify his position as an autocratic dictator like those he admires (Putin, Xi, Kim, Orban). The Senate must see this but they are too feckless to do anything about it and the Democrats don't have the Congressional numbers right now to prevent it.
Why are Americans so oblivious to what is happening before their eyes? Those who speak Russian and/or Chinese will have a huge leg up in what is left of this country in the near future.
27
@CastleMan - Time and time again, Republicans have demonstrated a lack of ability to understand geopolitical consequences of actions that could lead us to war. In fact, they almost relish it.
What’s truly appalling is their willingness to completely ignore when we are being openly attacked by a country such as Russia. Is is because they are not brown people? Is it because Russia’s efforts helped Trump get elected?
Regardless, their choices will plunge us into another needless war. This time, we don’t have any budget cushion like the surplus left from the Clinton admin. No, this time we will start a war with a 20 trillion dollar debt on our books and a trade war with China... a country who we need to buy our debt of we want to lay reasonable interest rates and not have hyperinflation as we add trillions more to our debt fighting yet another needless war.
265
@Y GOP is the pro business; pro war; pro Trump party. Profits are always number one. People always come last.No to war. Vote out GOP. Ray Sipe
13
For a president that was ultimately against the Iraq War, I have a glimmer of hope that he'll avoid a prolonged conflict with Iran. Somebody just has to show him it'll be bad for his chances in the election.
1
@Matthew
Trump supported the invasion of Iraq until long after it had taken place, when he reversed himself because it affected his profits.
He cannot be trusted to hold off on Iran, as his political capital with his base is at stake. A war is just what he needs, just as did G. W. Bush, to detract from his domestic policies.
1
We haven't won a war since WWII.
Our soldiers should not be treated as if they were the mercenary of oil and heroin cartels, as they were in Iraq and Afghanistan.
No more undeclared wars.
No more improperly authorized, unfunded wars.
We are 22 trillion in national debt because of reckless war policy.
9
@jan - Gee, wasn't Grenada a totally necessary and complete triumph? Making the world safe for offshore medical diploma mills.
1
If it takes a war to galvanize Trump's supporters, then a war it will be.
This is entirely the doing of neocon John Bolton.
Like he did, while promoting the invasion of Iraq, Bolton now is taking dubious, partial evidence and pumping it up into a case for invasion of Iran.
He long has advocated the view that an invasion of Iran is essential to the security of the United States.
2
When developments on the domestic front were not going well, Nixon often decided to turn the attention of his Republican base to foreign issues and visited China.
Dubya and Chaney tried a “Shock and Awe” war against Iraq to impress the Republican base. But this was an expensive disaster from beginning to end at the cost of billions of dollars, body bags being flown home and international disgrace.
The Twitter in Chief and Boulton are trying to do a rerun of Dubya and Chaney’s debacle, this time in Iran, to impress their Republican base.
There are no strategic or material objectives or potential gains involved in this misguided adventure. This will end in another national disaster which will cost billions of dollars, body bags being flown home and international disgrace.
What do you do with someone who is digging a hole to drag everyone down to doom? You take away the shovel.
7
Things going poorly politically at home? Start yet another war to distract everyone. Endless war. How many of our young men and women need to be fed into the maw of death and destruction to satisfy the unending appetites of politicians and the transfer of money to the military industrial complex from struggling Americans?
6
This certainly feels like the opening chapters of a Wag the Dog conflict in advance of the 2020 elections....Donald Trump, a Wartime President surrounded by His Generals.
3
" As recently as late April, an American intelligence analysis indicated that Iran had no short-term desire to provoke a conflict."
Hopefully not the same clowns who produced the "intelligence" that led us into the Iraq war....
2
Just google Secretary of State Pompeo and take a look at his activities during the past few days if you have any doubt that the Trump administration is orchestrating an attack on Iran.
3
Well, US President's approval ratings always sky-rocket during times of war. Enough said.
1
Cheney-Bush used lies and paranoia to start a war. Then they used lies and the war to get re-elected. That is simple enough to fit in a tweet. That is simple enough even for the Donald to figure out, and then tweet to his minions.
2
This kind of thing is a prime example of why many of us are so concerned about a President and an administration who have taken lying to the American people to a new level.
There is no way at this point to have confidence that Bolton is not the new Dick Cheney, who manipulated intel and convinced W. that Iraq was stockpiling WMD's. This administration cannot be trusted to tell the truth about anything.
5
The one and only positive thing I was ever able to say about Trump as President was "well, at least he hasn't gotten us in another war." So much for that . . . .
2
War games are common for governments to play, especially and including ours. It is also correct that any withdrawls or peaceful overtures does lead to increased agressiveness by the currrent government of Iran. A most non-Western type of thinking. However, there really is only one military goal with Iran that I can see-- taking control of or rendering useless its 9 or 10 semi underground nuclear facilities.
We do have a seemingly significant military presence in the area as is, and can put a cruise missile in anyone's house in the world in short order. Although I am no supporter of appeasement with Iran, in no way do I support the deployment of 120,000 of our troops anywhere in the world at this time. The tens of thousands of US troops already stationed around the world seems excessive these days as it stands. WW2 ended in the 1940s and our main Asian and European allies can stand on their own two feet as far as ground operations. I would hope this is just war games and intimidation.
1
@Mark
"It is also correct that any withdrawls [sic] or peaceful overtures does lead to increased agressiveness [sic] by the currrent [sic] government of Iran."
I disagree.
Iran is currently responding to Trump's withdrawal from the no-nuke agreement, which it was honoring.
Trump and Bolton are deliberately antagonizing Iran to spark a confrontation.
Invading and/or attacking a sovereign nation without provocation is not just a "military goal" — it is a war crime. Iran has as much right to nuclear weapons as the United States and Israel.
"No wartime president has been defeated for reelection!" Would Trump endanger America's military and countless civilians to hold onto the White House in 2020. Sadly, I believe he would.
10
@John K
Of course.
G. W. Bush did.
Trump is even more likely.
120,000 more troops in Middle East is 120,000 more American lives in danger. 120,000 more targets for Iran and its proxies. 120,000 time more insult to the pride of people in our host countries. 120,000 more reason for them to hate us. And I will not start on the cost to tax payer. I would rather have effective generic drugs, affordable health care or better roads than be forced to pay for misery of another nation across the globe.
As much as we want to claim we defeated the ISIS, anybody who has followed the news knows that all the heavy-lifting has been done by Shia militia. Trump's going to force them to join forces with ISIS-like groups and set the world on fire.
And, Bolton's support for MEK tells you how much he knows about Iran --- i.e., ZERO.
5
Bolton is as dangerous a character as Trump. Neither one has the values or intellectual capacity to be in charge of millions of lives. I think I need to go back to simply being glad to wake up in the morning and find we are not at war. The Mueller report pales by comparison.
4
Could another Gulf of Tonkin resolution be waiting in the wings in case the Courts rule against the Administration on the Congressional Subpoena front? Can see it coming a mile away.
4
I think this is more Bolton than Trump. Bolton's been pushing for regime change in Iran for a long time.
The problem is both Russia and China are against it. Iran is a military ally of Russia in the Middle East and China is a major importer of Iranian oil. Neither one of them want outside interference in their arrangement with the current Iranian government.
The Trump administration is playing a dangerous game.
Very dangerous.
5
Part of trump's re-election strategy. We can't be changing horses in the middle of the river, or presidents in the middle of a war. Plus the added benefits of extended war-time powers.. republican presidents love that ploy. Just more stuff driven by politics and trump's personal agenda. If it costs trillions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of Iranians dead, and thousands of dead American soldiers, so be it, especially if it helps the re-election bid. I think we've seen this movie before.
5
Any suggestion of war by this White House needs to be closely examined and discussed.
It seems Trump is simply looking for ways to take the heat off of himself and seem like a "big man."
It's terrible to think of a U.S. president like this.
I take no comfort in saying it.
4
I have a queasy feeling that Trump wants this war. It would make him feel powerful and would be another repudiation of Obama's prudence. Sadly, we can assume the GOP establishment would go along. War is always profitable for the investor class who are the GOP's controlling elite.
4
Well said.
Why is our military incapable of understanding the limits of conventional military force against unconventional guerilla fighters?
We have amble evidence from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia that we have the tools to start wars, but we lack the tools to stop wars.
Iran as a functioning state signed onto a nuclear treaty and was abiding by it. If we turn Iran into a failed state, there will be no one who can sign onto any treaties and no one with the power to make fellow citizens abide by such treaties.
If the U.S. bombs Iran, destroys the nation's functional structure, and create millions of Iranian refugees, not only would that be a war crime, but it would also create a new level of guerilla warfare and a new level of barbarism right in the middle of the Persian Gulf.
Do we really want an endless, uncontrollable guerilla war in the midst of some of the world’s most valuable oil fields and oil shipping lanes?
(I’d make an appeal to our humanity and mention all the American kids in our military who would also be killed and injured, but apparently our leaders don’t care about people, they care only about profit.)
9
does ANYONE even know why the U.S. is siding w/ sunni countries over shia countries - especially - saudi arabia over iran?
6
Look in the mirror. I weary of reading garment-rending comments critical of Bolton and Trump (or Bush, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld; or Johnston, Kissinger and McNamara, or any of the other brainiacs who populate the American foreign-military policy elite) whenever American starts another bloody, immoral and unwinnable war.
Americans from both parties, from all regions of the country, of all races and economic status, support militarism as a core national value. No one refuses to buy tickets or turn of the TV when the NBA, NFL and Big League baseball begin their games with militaristic ceremonies. There is little if any concerted objection to unconscionable "peacetime" military budgets. A country that spends more on its military than the next six countries combined will, of course, go to war.
Arrogance, combined with a belief in invincibility, starts wars. But few Americans wince, much less object, when presidents call America exceptional, or the one indispensable country, or the leader of the free world, or the most powerful country in the world.
The war-like impulses of Boltons, Wolfowitzes, Kissingers and McNamaras, the Kennedys, Johnstons, Nixons, Bushes, and Trumps, could gain no purchase if the American people were not themselves militarists at heart.
So when Trump and Bolton start a war against Iran or China, don't call it their war. Call it your war.
4
Bolton wrote in his Yale 25th reunion book: "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."
He joined the reserves so someone else's son could die in his place.
Bolton's a part of a large list of politicians who'd be quick to send your children to die but not their own or themselves.
I'll never forget my cousin who refused any type of draft avoidance. He didn't want anyone else to die in his place. In 1969 he was combat wounded, shot up while driving his Lt. to a new combat engineering position. They both made it back. My cousin is my hero.
Regardless of party, draft dogging must permanently eliminate a person from elected or appointed office.
5
Bring back the draft. No deferrals. No bone spurs. No wars. I am tired of old people sending our young people out to war so they can profit. Rumsfeld and Cheney should have been indicted. But that's another topic.
5
@Donna
If the draft is brought back, millions more young people will be forced to kill and die for the war profiteers.
Bad, bad idea.
@Jerry Engelbach If there are no deferrals for the children of those who are hot for war the rhetoric slows down. Once the college deferrals were eliminated and all bets were off, the protests against the war in Viet Nam got much, much louder. Not that simplistic but when it's closer to home and you can't send volunteers and it's not an option to send the "other" to fight your ginned up conflicts and the sacrifice is yours, you might be more involved and vocal in expressing how bad an idea armed conflict is. Bring back the draft.
Iran is an expansionist theocracy, but a military confrontation with them is a bad idea. It should be pointed out that Iran wouldn't be so successful in taking over other countries in the region; Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, if their main rival Saddam Hussien's Iraq hadn't been taken conquered by the US, and then turned over to the Iranians. The same Bush/Cheney authors of that misbegotten war are now pushing us into a new confrontation. A bad idea on many levels.
1
It was a matter of time before Trump’s lunatic appointments delivered a war based on propaganda, rumors and religious mythology as interpreted by the evangelical fringe.
The shiny new “Look over here, not there” thing to pull the heat off Trump coming from the Mueller Report endangers us and everyone in the Middle East.
Who can stop this insanity?
Perhaps Putin, if he has a mind to, but we have lost our own country.
3
I think most of us have long assumed that Trump would start a war with Iran to boost his re-election campaign. There's no reason to ponder whether this will happen, but only when. "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism." --Hermann G.
3
When the adults leave the room, the children run wild. All very predictable.
1
Want to stop march toward war? Congress (Pelosi) can declare that they will not appropriate funds for any military action.
3
@Barton
Fat chance.
The Democrats went right along with the Republicans in increasing the military budget.
Bring back the draft and make sure all Americans - including the offspring of politicians - are included in the draft.
3
@Irene
Saudi Arabia has always wanted US to have a war with Iran. We sell them weapons, but they are never the aggressors themselves unless it is absolutely necessary, as with Yemen. And, then, only if they know they are bigger and stronger.
3
A war to destroy or fatally weaken Iran has been the dream of neo cons in Israel and their supporters in America, namely Adelson, Bolton, Kagan and the entire “New American Century “ crowd for decades: after that it would be Ukraine (already in the works) then on to Russia itself. Make no mistake these wars in the Middle East are all about destroying enemies of Israel, The Saudis are a player only because of their oil and support of Israel but their oil has largely been made optional with fracking, the Canadian pipeline and potential overthrow of the duly elected Venezuelan President. It’s all about Israel and with Trump and Kushner it’s pretty obvious no American sacrifice will be to great for Israel.
4
Are we totally going mad? Waging war with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, China all at once and still keeping troops in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Japan, Korea and Europe? Trump, Bolton, Pompeo, Bannon and Neo-Cons are warmongers who are dangerously delusional. We don't want more wars and spending more money on the military while our health care, education and infrastructure are deteriorating. We need a regime change here and now before it is too late.
5
Echoes of the schizophrenic foreign policy of the Carter Administration with Iran; when Brzezinski as National Security Advisor clashed with Carter/Vance on what direction to go with the Shah/Ayatollah. That didn't work out so well, and neither will Trump's instincts versus war hawk Bolton.
2
Are we as a nation really going to sit back and let John Bolton start a war with Iran? Is anyone going to "support our troops" and keep them out of harms way? Are we really THAT committed to Israel?
3
Recent provocation and military build up in the Iranian theater is likely a trump contingency plan.
If trump's personal legal and political troubles worsen before mid-2020, a full scale war will do wonders to distract the country and rally support for the Commander-in-Chief.
22
@D. Ben Moshe
Outside of his base though, I don't think there will be much support.
2
I completely agree. What a perfect ruse to distract and delay. Especially since there appears to be no credible intelligence basis. The Foreign Relations committee has not received a briefing. Is that because the evidence is thin or non existent?
exactly!
Had President Obama not committed the error to refrain from prosecuting the war criminals of the previous administration, we would not be facing this new threat of war. We missed this chance of our own war crimes trials to put our nation on a new foreign policy course. May be the next administration will seriously consider this option.
22
If Bolton pushes Trump to war, that will end Trump's career in the White House--we won't need his tax records or business documents--he will do it to himself. Much as I'd like to see Trump go, a war with Iran is the last thing we need. Having Bolton in such a position of influence and power is one of the worst decisions Trump ever made. Until recently, Bolton was persona non grata, kicked out of government service, he took his hard-line fringe ideas and made a career out of spewing his poison on Fox, and getting paid handsomely for it. If Trump knew anything about history, he'd realize that regime change by the US helped get us to this point in the first place. Ignorant, impulsive, erratic, with no foreign policy vision, Trump is a dupe for guys like Bolton. And the other irony? Trump thought the war in Iraq was a mistake and blasted W. for it. Short memory and bad governance, that's our hapless leader in the White House.
29
@Birdygirl and where are the voices of GWB and Obama this morning. I realize the there is an ex-POTUS club but time for these two to speak up - and for the Clintons to keep their mouths shut please.
trump having failed at everything from business to parenting will now start a war. geez.
25
Perhaps all he needs to do is start another war to retain the White House. Americans just can't seem to resist wars.
17
There are now 22 Democrats who seek to be president and one Republican that is the president.
Neither the hopefuls or the sitting president has explained to the American people why we are trying to instigate yet another Middle East war?
The US is preparing for a war with Iran and a proxy war with Venezuela and no one in congress is saying anything.
If congress cannot or will not assume its constitutional mandated responsibility for declaring war, it won't matter whether subpoena's are honored by the president or not.
The system of checks and balances will have been lost and we we be ruled by an imperial president who is also a mad man and whose chief foreign affairs staffers are psychopaths.
21
Republicans love their wars, the rest of us pay for it with our taxes and lives.
25
@Steve
and security and freedom.
As we all start up our cars, heating up the oil, surging fuel through the lines and hitting the accelorator towards our next best destination, we too are responsible. Our way of life is killing us, its like we are all smokers on four wheels, slowly killing ourselves for the liberty to be free.
Oil wars. here we go again. Whether we are wagging the dog for cheaper oil, or fanning flames of war to control the oil, its oil, its fuel, its individual liberty the first bombs fall for.
how free are we?
12
Let's see...dismantle Iran nuclear deal, watch Iran start up nuclear program, call foul, and attack Iran.
The Great Deal Maker is a sham people.
28
Well boys, if you want another republican war, then time to activate the draft, and use it. When little Brandon or Jared get called up, you’ll have to clearly explain why this is necessary for our well being, instead of posturing and strutting on faux news. And let’s be sure to include little Baron in the pool as well.
14
The biggest enemies our nation has faced the past two decades are insecure and cowardly war-mongering baby-boomer draft-dodging/military service avoiding politicians and their military service avoiding media propagandists. Hey...that sounds like a great song title.
17
Ah, good old 'regime change'. Guess we can thank the Dulles brothers for saddling the Iranian people with the Shah back in '53. Uncle Sam at his duplicitous best. The true architect of the Middle Eastern landscape of today. Who can blame the Iranian people for doubting American intentions.
12
There will be no war with Iran people.....the US only attacks countries that are weak and defenseless....Iran is neither. Their ballistic missiles can reach over 3000km meaning every single US military base AND ally, hence Israel, meaning a Middle East in flames if that's what Bolton wants.
4
We messed up our relationship with Iran, our best natural ally in the middle east. It happened more than 60 years ago when we brokered a coup d'état and overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh, (thanks John Foster Dulles) the properly elected Prime minister
We have never atoned for this sin against Iran and it has ruined our relationship and has been the underlying cause of every Middle East disaster ever since.
Do you think Trump or Bolton knows any of this history?....Doubtful
23
Echoes of Iraq, yes, and for the more elderly among us, echoes of the Gulf of Tonkin.
20
@ShenBowen
Another phonied up, unwinnable war. We just never learn.
When Pres. George W. Bush gave his axis of evil state of the union speech, I turned to my wife and said that we'll be at war with Iraq within a year. I was wrong, it was 13 months.
Now I see that we have some type of "sabotage" of ships as a pretense for fomenting a war, and little if any details about the nature or extent of the attack.
I now say that we will be at war with Iran within a year.
"Remember the Maine!"
14
@Fredd R: That would well suit Trump’s re-election timetable, which is what this is - fundamentally - about. Make him look strong and resolute; have him run on the stance that it would be crazy to change leadership in the midst of a crisis; wave the flag and rouse the base to frenzied, patriotic heights. The whole sickening scenario (which includes record profits for the military-industrial cabal) is so predictable you could make a mini-series out of it with a team of barely competent script writers. I despair.
3
I remember Trump once saying “War is good in an election year”. It’s the plan.
15
With Mattis gone, the fool Bolton pushes his usual agenda. Without Bannon, Bolton is indeed the biggest fool (of the many) at work in the current administration. What folly! We continue down the path of ignorance in the first war w/Afghanistan after 9/11. That turned on a dime and pivoted to Iraq. Both areas still in the quagmire of post-war/current fragmentation/economic disaster. Trump precipitously left the Iran agreement which not only we signed, but others. Yemen? Syria? We must rid our nation of Trump and his "advisors" et al.
12
Here we go! WMD Bolton says now that Iran is it. Clearly we don't trade with them. So they can be used for a distraction. Think about the 1st Iraq invasion a what was going on then. Silverado Savings and Loan scandal involving family members of the president. Same as it ever was. A war with Iran will divert America's attention.
8
As others have observed here it won't surprise us if an "incident" is created, perhaps by the Saudis or Israelis that will start the conflagration...
And then it's Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US against Iran. Another absolutely unnecessary war for our war mongering military - industrial complex.
The enmity and vitriol between Iran and its neighbors only adds to whatever justification Bolton/Pompeo will front to Trump.
Can the Europeans, Chinese, Russians, United Nations do anything now to prevent this?
14
Republicans have learned nothing from their past wars obviously.
7
@Berlin Exile On the contrary. They've learned they can bulldoze Congress into any misadventure they feel will profit the shareholders in the military-industrial complex, and no one will pay a price.
6
@Berlin Exile: They’ve learned that war is good for business, which is why our country exists in a state of perpetual conflict.
2
@Tom No one? Are millions of dead, wounded, suffering, grieving, shattered lives, no one?
1
Another useless war in the ME?
Well, I would suggest to send to the front line all the NRA supporters so eager to use their assault rifles, able to show their bravery only when they have to confront innocent unarmed people. Send Trump’s children and relatives to die for the country and, last but not least, the war lover Bolton.
Be certain that if all the above was slightly possible America would show to the world the real face of cowardice.
18
What is it about John Bolton that stokes his passion for sending others to fight and die in Mideast wars? Whatever his syndrome, here he's preaching to Trump, whose credo is "speak shrilly and carry a big bone spur." For all the blather, we won't be attacking Iran or anyone else during Trump's regime and Bolton must hope that Pence or someone else with no historic memory will again give credence to his vacuous saber rattling.
6
We have a sociopath as president, who has no idea what he is doing, and no concern about the consequences, a Secretary of Defense with no military experience and a presidential administration composed of a bunch of unconfirmed sycophants. It should not be possible for this unfit, unqualified fraud to start a war of diversion, yet it is. If we survive Trump, we need to fix our laws so this does not happen again.
17
Shocking! It's the same play book with this party over and over and over. Some Americans don't want to be called stupid. But when you just keep making the same mistakes over and over at some point it's just bad decision making.
Endless war. It's actually part of a larger imperial policy that Eisenhower warned us about. Since WWII the US has been involved in a military conflict almost continuously regardless of which party is in power. We spend what about $600 billion on the Pentagon? You gotta use all that hardware somewhere otherwise you won't need to order more and the whole military industrial thing breaks down.
As for guys like Bolton and Trump, they are chicken-hawks. In the tradition of guys like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld. These guys are big on deferments and short on bravery. They're all real brave with other people's lives but when it was the their turn...none of them stepped up.
They are in the one percent. That is of income recipients not those who go fight our military engagements.
13
The Trump regime to cooking this up to distract from his horrible record of lies and failures with an election coming up. Only this time, instead of making up immigration lies about poor families fleeing poverty for a better life, this fake crises -- initiated by Trump reneging on a deal we made and picking a fight with a well-armed adversary -- is a lot, lot more dangerous game. Looks like we can't wait. Dems need to start the impeachment proceedings now. Trump's gang of mafia-men want to seize war-time powers. This is insane. Trump is un-American, anti-Democratic, and a corrupt traitor as he has proven over and over again. He needs to be removed from office. Now.
8
Ironically, both Republican and fundamentalist Islamic thought point in the same direction: an inevitable and desirable return to the Middle Ages.
7
Like most of the Republican 'field marshals," Bolton was a draft evader himself. Strange how war becomes so attractive to these men when they no longer must risk anything of themselves.
10
War is in America's DNA. What's there to say? Our economy is based on it. Incessant taunts of "Death To America" get a little annoying as well. The planet's on its way out anyway, may as well do it with a bang. It's not if, but when.
1
Wasn't Trump the guy who wanted to pull out all the troops and bring them home? No more wars?
Promises made, promises broken.
5
Now can we talk about toxic masculinity?
6
Whatever one thinks of Trump or Bolton (I'm very negative!) Iran is an immense pain in the .... (forbidden in the USA?) of the whole world. I would be very glad if they topple this terrible religious dictatorship. As would most more educated Iranias.
The ayatollahs try to dominate the middle east, support the torture prisons in Syria, the war in Yemen and so on.
Lets get rid of these Middle Ages in the 21th century.
2
OK, Henk, why don't you go yourself, or send your own children, if you feel so strongly about it? The rest of us are not interested in participating in a war of aggression to destroy another country and its culture. If the Iranians are unhappy with their government, let them figure out how to change it. If we are unhappy doing business with Iran as it is, then we should do business elsewhere, where we are welcome.
256
@Henk Verburg
The JCPOA was a step towards that.
The US has not let up on its interference and aggression towards Iran since it took part in a foreign backed coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected president in 1953 and installed a vicious puppet dictator to do its bidding, which led directly to this state of affairs.
Actions have consequences.
A longer, measured world view is needed to go forward—hence the JCPOA, but Trump reneged on that. Ask yourself why? It is certainly not for any of the idiotic, mindless and uninformed reasons he has used as excuse.
11
@Henk Verburg
I want to point out that, as of my writing, this is the only pro-war comment out of hundreds.
9
Trump needs a war to gin up his base and distract the public from his scandals and domestic failures prior to the 2020 election. I expect that we soon will have a “Gulf of Tonkin incident” that will get things started.
3
When we stop having fools for candidates, we can stop expecting our legislators to act like fools.
Docile Congress, Trump, and his group of crazies treat war like an inconsequential national football game. So did English kings, until decades of war caused them to run out of money in the 1550's. As one aide put it, the numerous, sequential wars "spent out all our riches, and destroyed a great number of our subjects ... to the utter destruction of our realm."
Americans, the press, and a spineless Congress should rise up against more war.
3
Another American war with some Middle-East country has bad and good consequence.
First the bad: BAD KARMA. People will die. Ask how many veterans commit suicide everyday after they survived the battlefield and go home. George W Bush should visit Walter Reed hospital or some nearby veteran hospitals at least once a month. Obama too.
Is there any good at all? Perhaps. It will tie up US military so that they are less capable to stir up trouble elsewhere. That should be music to the ears of Russian & Chinese leaders. It will impede Americans to invest in productive areas such as infrastructures, schools, universities, industry, healthcare. Very good to global competitors.
US government is no longer for ALL the people anyway, only for SOME of the people. It is by some of the people, doing it to most of the people.
1
What are we doing because Saudi oil tankers are attacked? Whats that got to do with us? are we again the worlds policemen that are called out to fight battles for others? Thousands of lives will be lost, billions spent, millions of refugees, and years of conflict.
We were well on the way to negotiating an eventual peace with Iran when Trump and his crew of ignorant clowns came on. We have a 17 year war with Afghanistan and a 15 year war in Iraq, still going on . Thats what wars accomplish. If the congress does not finally step in we are on the way to another long disaster.
5
Time to fill the National Mall in protest. It helped stop a war 40 + years ago, maybe it’ll prevent one today.
8
I hope Trump is ready to convert Mar-a-Lago into a national cemetery for the soldiers, sailors, and airmen that will die as a result of his ill-conceived decision to attack Iran.
I hope Trump is ready to liquidate his assets to pay for the physical and mental injuries to the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who will have life-altering physical and psychological injuries inflicted on them as a result of his ill-conceived decision to attack Iran.
Are Trump's family members going to join the military to fight in Iran?
Are the Republicans in Congress going to stop Trump from bleeding America in this ill-conceived attack on Iran?
3
In what alternate universe is John Bolton not only not in jail for war crimes, but actively in charge of planning the next war?
Is it time to let Bernie Madoff run another investment fund and BP engage in more deep water drilling?
7
Under international law, what justification does the US have for starting a war if Iran merely goes ahead with developing nuclear weapons? How many Americans will Trump send to their deaths to try to accomplish what Obama already had accomplished by negotiation? Congress needs to stop this.
12
We all know that Trump is itching for war with Iran in advance of the 2020 election. He’ll get to play with his big toys, can puff up his feathers as the commander in chief, and improve his polling numbers as a “war president”. What’s not to like?
Just watch. There will soon be an accusation that Iran attacked our troops, justifying retaliation.
4
Trump was elected partly because the American people were sick of constant war in the ME and he promised a new approach. But when Bolton was brought on board it was a clear signal that the neo-cons were back in the driver's seat. This tanker attack smells alot like the Gulf of Tonkin affair in 1965 and we all knew what that led to. It seems that the USA is eager to send her sons and daughters to die for Israel and Saudi Arabia. Very sad.
7
Israel and Saudi Arabia should be paying for the coming war against Iran. But instead the US is giving Israel billions and MBS is getting weaponry and political protection.
10
Congress should pass a law - anytime the President elects to send more than 25,000 troops into combat, the country must institute a draft - with no deferments.
Maybe then, the country wouldn't be so cavalier about decisions to send men and women to their deaths for pet causes.
5
Stationing our troops in Saudi Arabia is what prompted the 2 World Trade Center attacks....here we go again. Anne Frank was right- humans have this need to destroy and rebuild.
4
I have two questions:
1. How come when they’re asked about exactly what the problem is, or what exactly Iran did or is planning to do, every Trump spokesman gets a faraway look, stares up into the rafters, and says exactly the sams thing: “I’m not at liberty to say?”
And before you try the “Security, dummy,” bit, this ain’t how it works. They suggest something, or they leak something: so far, crickets.
2. If 120, 000 troops is far to few to invade Iran, what exactly are the 120, 000 troops for?
I’d say I smell a rat, but in this case you can SEE the rat. This looks like cheap saber-rattling and deliberate provocation.
5
Then there's that old tradition, any sitting President that prompts a military action, gets re-elected.
4
When are the troops (aka National Guard which makes up a large part of the armed forces presently) going to say NO, ENOUGH ?!!
When are the generals refuse to move unless Congress declares war as is demanded in the Constitution.
When are the people going to realize this is more of the Bush- Chaney war program and demand an end?
4
Our military in so far as people are concerned is not big enough to sustain strategic deployments of 120,000 troops in many places and still retain the strategic ability to project force anywhere else. If we continue to do this, we need to greatly increase the size of our military.
The way people were sent to Iraq and to Afghanistan multiple times was one of the reasons for so many mental health problems. Not having enough people to avoid so many returns to the war zones is a basic need to keep our military able to perform well and not grind up people as we have done.
If we are going to play these 19th century imperial power games, we need a draft to provide enough people on the ground, indefinitely.
4
The Trump administration is trying to provoke a war. Have we learned nothing from our totally destructive involvement in the Middle East. This does not serve our national interests, only those of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the oil industry.
5
Trump and his supporters are drumming up a bogus was to divert attention from the Muller Report and multiple investigations of his criminal acts. He has no regard for American military lives or treasure.
3
Here we go again. Our leaders are all lying. Iran hasn’t invaded anybody for 200 years.
4
“The loss of life was considered irrelevant, as the services were manned by officers who cheerfully accepted the risks with the glamour, of war, and by a rank and file who were regarded as the riff-raff of the nation.”
2
And where or where is Congress in all of this? Why does Senate Majority Leader McConnell say about this? Are we going down the road of another "not war" as a result of the war powers Congress approved post 9/11? Do we really want another four or five thousand American military personnel dead, with thousands more wounded and the collateral civilian deaths that go along with modern warfare? Three years ago it appeared that we had reached an detente with Iran. The lunatic in the White House has taken care of that and with his attack dog, Bolton, is leading us into another interminable conflict.
3
In the run-up to an election we have a White House which invokes "threats", undefined except to say that Iran has long been a bad player, threatens "great harm" if Iran "does anything". Even leaving aside the obvious fact that it is this same Administration which has driven Iran further into pariahhood when it was being coaxed out of it, it is impossible not to fear that voters are being duped into a war so that they can be duped into voting "patriotically".
3
Saudi Arabia, UAW and Israel are reluctant to deploy their troops but keen to offer staging platforms so they can can claim some credit for the carnage and satisfy the hawks with whom they surround themselves.
3
The United Auto Workers are especially incensed.
Another manufactured conflict someone will make lots of bucks of.
6
Get rid of this administration now before they get a world war going and destroy the earth and its civilization. We saw how the Bush administrations caused the chaos we see today in the Middle East by having wars. The first Bush defended Kuwait who was stealing oil from Iraq, the second Bush listened to Cheney and his crowd claiming 'weapons of mass destruction' to start another war destroying Iraq and causing the turmoil we have in the Middle East now. So now we have Bolton, the hawk, taking Cheneys place while trump tweets and twitters. Trump and his administration is a failure to the American people.
4
Dr., We aren't causing the wars there. Those guys have been invading each other, beheading people, keeping their women beat down and running amok for centuries. We should have just minded our own business though, but that pesky oil influenced our decisions Togo and "Help".
I am wondering if the drones attacking the shipping lanes were sent there by our own government.
7
The REAL heroes are the ones who know how to keep the peace and avoid war." - Disraeli
5
And remember when you're choosing a Democratic candidate, forget likability issues and ask yourself this question:
Who has pledged to us that the United States will go to war as a last resort ONLY?
Forget how many languages a candidate speaks, forget the gender, color, ethnic background, polls, etc.
Ask yourself that question. Other issues will fall into place.
3
Bolton knows the US fleet in the Persian Gulf can easily provoke an aggressive move by some hot-headed Iranian commander. He will claim this an "attack on American forces" and use this to start the war he always wanted. He could care less for the American blood and treasure that his war will cost.
6
We absolutely need a "regime change"....in the U.S in 2020.
6
Yes, for sure, but this stuff is getting increasingly scary, and I’m getting worried about how we’ll survive the 20 months until January of 2021.
4
Right on schedule. Incumbents do better during wars. Trump needs a war in 2020. But not a big one, so Iran is about right. Spend a few billion. Kill a few thousand American soldiers. Get re-elected. What's not to like.
7
"I believe demolishing Hussein's military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk."
~Ken Adelman, February 2002
That, of course, is what the warmongers always believe. And the reality of the last misadventure never teaches them anything.
The reality of this moment is that Iran is not a nation, like Iraq, battered by more than a decade of "Allied" air strikes in the wake of a crushing military defeat in Kuwait. Iran, while not able to successfully confront US military power head-to-head, is fully capable of responding to a US assault in ways both deadly and economically disastrous, for the region and the world.
One would have to be as dumb as a box of unusually stupid rocks not to foresee the horrific mess that would result from pushing for a hot conflict with Iran -- which makes Bonkers Bolton just the guy for the job.
Anyone who isn't worried probably isn't paying attention.
7
Why should Americans let Bolton and Trump bring another needless war to the world? Protest. Walk off the job. Stop all discretionary purchases. Whatever it takes to bring this war machine to a halt.
7
Is it beyond the realm of possibility that Mr. Trump would issue statements that are total lies that Iran is readying nuclear missiles aimed at European and middle eastern targets?
1
@ Ron When you listen to the tape of him pretend to be “John”, the CFO of the Trump organization in a phone interview with a clueless reporter from Forbes in order to make it to the richest person list in 1982. There is nothing he won’t do to get what he wants and he has no discernible value system outside self promotion for himself and his family.
North Korea can only draw one conclusion from Iran: Never trust an agreement with the United States and never ever surrender its nuclear weapons program.
4
Sounds like the military can use the money they've decided to put into the Wall.
2
@mja Tariffs will pay for it - notice a pattern here?
Warfare has become our #1 export. Gotta feed the military-industrial complex. There's so much tasty green cash in all that red blood.
2
Well, a Republican administration that didn’t start a war would be an outlier
So here we go...
5
The House of Representatives must step up and investigate the coming disaster in the making.
Yes, we need to investigate past actions and apply the proper sanctions..... but, we cannot permit this rush towards war without a thorough review of the evidence. And it cannot be the usual manufactured evidence as seen in the alleged attacks on shipping by unknown parties. nod, wink....
Remember the Maine, Tonkin, yellow cake must never happen again.
1
Sorry Donny, but my kids can't go; They have bone spurs.
14
We have to expect that Trump is expecting more of what seems to be his pattern: build up a huge crisis, brag about his nuclear button and so on, and then have it resolve into meaningless talk, where he and the ayatollah fall in love after all, and nothing really happens. How did that old Cream song go? "On a boat in the middle of a raging sea, she will make a scene, but it ought to be -- ignored -- but wouldn't you be bored? Strange Brew... etc" That may be Trump, but how long it will work in the real world, without people getting hurt, is a question. And probably Bolton really does cherish dreams of a lightning war liberating Iran... only this time it will really work! Maybe in his mind the Iraq war really worked. We need lots more investigative reporting on all these issues.