Most Americans agree that Trump is a buffoon, but they like it very much when a Presidential candidate actually does what he promised to do. Trump has largely done that -- not completely, to be sure, but largely.
Here's an example of the opposite; In the 2008 campaign, Barrack Obama promised to close Guantamo immediately after he was elected. He was elected, but he never closed Guantanamo; it remains open today. He "justified" his failure by arguing that closing Guantanamo was more difficult than he'd anticipated. But it was difficult during the campaign, when he made the promise; it became no more difficult after he took office; he simply failed to carry out a solemn campaign promise.
Trump hasn't performed all of his campaign promises (for example, the deficit/debt has grown since he took office, though he promised the opposite would occur). But he's largely tried, and succeeded. Campaign promises are not sacred vows -- I get that. But American voters do think they mean something, and I do give credit to Trump for trying to honor them.
6
The Vietnam War was a HUGE mistake (though one may be forgiven for forgetting this salient fact in light of the recent adulation being heaped on veterans of that war).
Donald Trump was a draft dodger, but so was I and so were millions of other American young men. It's true that his (and my) draft-dodging meant that some other American boy (women were not drafted) served in his place, and that's bad. But it doesn't change the fundamental fact: The Vietnam War was a HUGE mistake.
1
Donald John Trump brings us closer to armed conflict, within & without our borders, than any other president wtithin the sharp memory of Etta C. Etta is 94, her ma was a nurse in France in WWI. Etta is horrified we are again facing white nationalism all over the world. ‘My neighbors & friends died defeating these people. We can’t do this again.’
1
I'm glad Trump didn't escalate this conflict, period.
I always wondered what he'd do if a US soldier had been killed or hurt. Frankly, it never occurred to me that injuries would be found days after the Iranian missile attack. I'd ignore them if I were Trump (as he apparently has), and tell the "concussion" soldiers to just suck it up. What Iran did was no more than it had to do to keep from looking weak; it was entirely appropriate for Trump not to retaliate, and I'm glad he did.
Hillary Clinton would have handled this differently: We'd be at war with Iran right now if she'd won the election.
Oh, and for those who argue that HRC DID win the 2016 election: Wrong. She lost. Suck it up.
4
Amen:
"If only [our soldiers] weren't being forced to serve in utterly useless wars."
Trump promised to avoid useless wars, and he's lived up to that promise. Though I never thought I'd see the day, it appears that Republicans have become the party of peace and Democrats have become the party of war. More accurately, Democrats oppose troop withdrawals simply because Trump promotes them, and Democrats oppose anything and everything that Trump does.
Step back and ask yourself: Are you glad, or not glad, to see the US winding down its military presence in the Middle East? Are you being sensible to oppose that wind-down simply because Trump thinks it's a good idea?
4
"All because of [the] red clown hat who actually lost the election."
Presumably this comes from one of the many commenters who've argued that HRC won the 2016 popular vote and that the election "should" have counted the popular vote and ignored the Electoral College vote, even though the Electoral College vote is how ALL Presidential elections have been decided since Day One: that part of the Constitution has never been amended. HRC and Trump were well aware of the rules on Election Day and throughout the campaign, and they presumably planned their days accordingly. It is always tempting to change the rules after the game is over, and argue that one's team won if only the changed rules had been in effect, but that doesn't actually change the rules. HRC lost.
3
I can just hear Trump soon denouncing the “fake media” reporting. But when it finally sinks into him that it’s the commanding officers who are reporting—
I can hear the simpleton then saying, “But even if somebody was hurt it doesn’t matter because no one was killed”.
1
Why can't we get our stories straight from the beginning instead of looking like jerks when the truth comes out?
1
President Trump harms our active duty servicewomen and men,
with his compulsive lying,
far more than,
any Iranian missiles.
All because of that suit of lies and his red clown hat who actually lost the election.
How frightening to know the 'fate of our civilization' has literally been placed in that suit of lies, petty hands, by republicans in the electoral circus.
I've got an idea. How about a government Of The People?
Think about it.
Trump thinks concussions are not an injury b/c he's brainless, hence no brain, no injury. Iranians have long memories. Just ask Capt Rogers of USS Vincennes that shot down the Iranian civil airplane in 1988 :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
and the bomb years later that nearly killed his wife:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-11-mn-792-story.html
Sadly this will not be the end of the story
Captain Bill Urban just destroyed his career.
Just another lie. Not surprising.
Someone who suffered bone spurs so agonizing that he could not serve his country probably thinks a concussion is not worth mentioning.
4
We are surprised? Not.
2
Indeed, Trump is unique. He lies continually and he knows we know. No one believes a word and he could care less. The GOP is in stride, beginning to emulate him. Devin Nunes can explain anything, nothing is too outrageous. If that's really Trump's strategy, it's working. Don't ask me how. Maybe, he's really a genius.
1
All is 11 servicemembers seriously wounded for life level well?
All is Iraq demanding America leave after 15 years of sinking trillions in the achievement of nothing level well?
All is a new paradigma that we can arbitrarily assassinate each other's government officials level well?
I could go on far beyond my character limit here, because...
All is well.
1
I look forward to a newsworthy headline someday...'The president of the US said something that's nor a lie!'
1
Trump speaks to his own needs, always. He says what will make him happy. In this case, he wanted to avoid the perception of acting in a reckless way that caused harm to Americans, because it might affect the perceptions of him by his base of supporters.
The rockets did much damage on impact, they were like big bombs with devastating shock waves that can kill people, and not all troops could hunker down below these effects. Concussions from these explosions is not uncommon. I am sure that Trump could have been informed but he may not have been of these kinds of injuries in particular. The initial reports probably only reported no fatalities and non-life threatening injuries, which was good enough for the President.
9
@Casual Observer I think you may be giving President Trump more credibility then he deserves. I doubt he gave any thought to the soldiers, other than they weren't dead or maimed. Just as He gave no thought to taking the Ukraine ambassador's job, committing extortion or bilking the American Veterans Charity of $2,000,000.00.
Trump's world is small; it only contains his ego.
6
Trump has no respect for service or duty to country. We've all heard about him telling Howard Stern on his radio show that living and dating in the 80s was his "own personal Vietnam," knowing he had provided false documentation to be excused and ensuring someone else went in his place. He does seem to admire those soldiers convicted of war crimes, who then are used as props at his rallies.
5
Being near large explosions is extremely unhealthy. We are often biased to overlook those effects because big explosive weapons tend to kill people with flying shrapnel and debris and we think of those nearby as lucky if they are not killed, but this is myopic. They are anything but lucky.
Turning to policy, absent a capacity to shoot down a missile barrage far from its target and defeat similar attacks, it seems ideal to base forces on large ships if forces are needed in a troubled region. This is of course very expensive, but prioritizing safety while denying an enemy easy and politically vulnerable targets has enormous value.
Is anyone compiling these endless lies? I’m imagining a chapter book but somehow also a coffee table book.
Mr. Trump’s Book of Lies.
Somewhere in my upbringing I learned that my lies and misdeeds (pretty minor, I think) were compiled in an etheric eternal ledger (possibly a Dickensian image).
Could this be the Trump Presidential Library?
4
Be Nice Bernice,
"Etheric ledger" I have read a reference to "the flying scroll" which follows each person and diligently marks down all the good and bad deeds. It was related in a civil war memoir. Very colorfully written in a style similar to that of Mark Twain.
It just goes to show you that we cannot trust either side in this all but undeclared war between the US and Iran to tell the truth. I read the Tehran Times report that 80 Americans were killed (https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/443924/Over-80-U-S-forces-dead-in-Iran-s-missile-strikes-on-targets) in the missile strike and then searched for corroboration on the Internet and couldn't really find an answer. I then assumed that Iranian regime was playing to their home audience to make it look as though they extracted a big enough revenge against the US for Soleimani's assassination. Down with Trump and down with the dictator. This is far from over.
1
What must that feel like - to be one of the seven and have trump deny your sacrifice? What are the long term effects to military morale?
6
Just like Trump doesn't respect those in the military like John McCain because he was captured, I'm sure Trump doesn't respect or care about people in the military who get concussions when attacked by missiles. He probably doesn't respect Bush 41's WWII service because he was shot down. But cut Trump some slack in not understanding these things since no one in the Trump family has ever served in the military in their four generations in America.
4
Yes, well, Mr. Trump lies constantly.
4
You can always tell when Trump is lying. His lips are moving.
2
Can't help but think that these 11 injured Americans are in for it now.
Calling the president a liar, our commander in chief? His base won't like that and you will have to pay. Court martials for all, at the very least. The truth is what he says it is, not what you think lying there in your hospital bed.
4
High Explosives can cause concussions without external head injuries according to the follow CDC document:
https://www.cdc.gov/masstrauma/preparedness/primer.pdf
Quotes from "Explosions and Blast Injuries
A Primer for Clinicians" above follow:
Page 2
"Explosives are categorized as high-order explosives (HE) or low-order explosives (LE).
HE produce a defining supersonic over-pressurization shock wave."
Page 3, Table 1 Table 1: Mechanisms of Blast Injury
"Concussion (TBI without
physical signs of head
injury)"
Page 5
"Primary blast waves can cause concussions or mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI)
without a direct blow to the head."
1
At least this lie kept us out of war.
1
You guys are relentless. For three years you have been performing a vivisection--not for the nation, not for the Constitution, not for our precious grandchildren, but simply because it did not go your way. Out of embarrassment, elitist, anointed America is going to use every misspelling and mispronunciation as a moment to wag its fingers in a grand "We told you so." Balm for self-importance.
3
Anything trump says is either a lie, an exaggeration, incorrect or just plain babbling nonsense.
He is an inexcusable disgrace to the office he has been placed into.
That he and this administration lied about the concussions is not a surprise, but do not take that as meaning it was to avoid further conflict... the lie came first, the “reasoning” second.
The initial lie was pure impulse, the natural reflex of the con artists, incompetent riff-raff and racketeers that infest this administration on every level.
Only after the lie came the attempt to attach a reasoning to it.
The “reasoning” behind the lie was to make the attack seem ineffective and trump’s decision to have Soleimani killed appear to be without consequences for the day or two it usually takes for this administration to do something deplorable that eclipses all other news.
Now some are attributing the lie as an attempt to de-escalate the situation and avoid a war... most assuredly that was not the case, and merely a convenient side effect.
This entire administration’s default mode is to lie without thought.
Entirely without thought... like a dull third grader trying blame the dog for throwing a ball through a window.
But that is entirely within their IQ level and that of their followers, so no big surprise there.
1
Another day, another fifty lies.
2
How many times do you have to be told? Concussions are NOT injuries! It's why football is harmless!
How many times do you have to be told? Facts don't matter to the president! Facts get in the way of the "story"!
1
to quote Hank Williams Thomas - " ALL LI ES COUNT"
There seems to be a plethora of the expected "another example of Trump's lies..." in the comments here- which the story seemed to bait.
The truth may be simply that medical fact that symptoms of concussions often take days if not weeks to surface and become apparent. That may be the case here, or not, but not including it is certainly is a error of omission - (intentional, or simply a glaring mistake). A complete and unbiased story on concussions would , of course, certainly need to point that out. Perhaps the NY Times assumed its readers attended medical school, or knew this already. IDK. Disclosure: I can't stand any candidate for president of either party, but I really can't stand incomplete reporting.
5
Surely Glorious Leader could not have lied. Perhaps the troops just fell down some stairs as part of a deep state conspiracy.
1
What? Trump told a lie? Impossible. That must be a lie!
Nobody believes anything anyone says coming out of DC anymore, why is this a shocker. It’s just another Friday. Pathetic country we’ve become.
No bone spurs, so nothing serious.
1
Lets recall that old song "Signs". (Five Man Electrical Band)
Replace the word 'signs' with"lies", among a few others, and anyone can write an appropriate parody. Do it in the car, the shower and while prepping dinner...even let the kids join in. Make it a family game.
"I didn't do that, don't know him...cant you hear the lies....!"
"Lies,lies, everywhere the lies, coming from the Trump all down the lines...Ohhhh, cant you hear the lies..."
2
When you lie about things big and small,
I cannot trust you at all, at all.
1
Another lie told to the American people by this CORRUPT President! You'd have to be a real chump to believe anything this administration says.
1
What?!?! You mean the "president" LIED AGAIN?!?! Those 11 injured personnel apparently didn't get the memo.
1
To clarify, Trump meant that no one that he KNEW was harmed. And, in fairness, the list of people he knows is always shrinking.
7
This is not a surprise. Almost every day someone knowing the truth has to contradict Trump. Each time we just have to wait a few days for the real story.
3
Since we know he likes military people who don't get captured, maybe he also only like service members whom don't get injured, especially when he prompted the retaliatory attack.
He cant possibly be responsible for any negative results of his own impetuous actions.
2
Trump is an extreme example of the boy who cried wolf. Nothing he says can be believed after so many lies. NOTHING. It is extremely fortunate that there are government employees, both in diplomatic and in military service, who continue to speak truth to power. Power to them and the press.
1
We know we can not believe the leaders of Iran. But when will we learn that what, more often than not, spews from Trump's, Pompeo's, Esper's, and Barr's mouths are either exaggerations or downright lies? Look at the chain of events since the killing of Suleimani. The retaliation did indeed harm our soldiers in uniform. Some may consider 11 too much, I consider 1 to be too much. Then after that a passenger airplane with hundreds of the innocent killed instantly was shot down from the skies by misguided Iranian missiles. There are degrees of tyrants from Kim to Putin to MBS to the Ayatollah. But make no mistake that the trajectory of Trump and his loyal trifecta will be, if not already, joining that list.
3
To be fair, for Trump anything short of a bone spur is just a mere inconvenience.
3
Just when you think a person cannot go any lower.....
To the 11 and their families, you have our sincerest apologies that your sacrifice is not recognized by the person you are sworn to obey. Thank you for your service!
5
I hope this lie doesn't deny service members their rightful entitlements to the proper care down the line (i.e. any brain damage or PTSD). How much longer is the State Department, Pentagon and other U.S. Government agencies and officials, particularly Republican elected officials, going to just to limp along on their leader's lies? They must start calling them out and standing up for the truth before we become a third-world style dictatorship. This responsibility should not be left only to the media.
5
DJT lies are tiresome. Apart from updating the astonishing total nothing comes from repeating DJT does not know and can not speak truthfully. Consider adding to that refrain a comment such as.
"Ending DJT's tenure and that of the host of Republican Senators such as McConnell, Graham, Cornyn depends upon voting the rascals out in 2020. Let McConnell's orchestrated impeachment show "trial" be his last."
By adding it (or something about voting in 2020) to each comment prompted by another DJT lie readers will be frequently reminded of their central role in ending the DJT presidency.
1
I thought from the beginning the idea Iran intentionally missed U.S. troops gave the Iranians far too much credit. Once the missiles start flying, all bets are off and anything can happen.
It was some advanced warning + dumb luck that nobody was killed. It's also very lucky for the Iranians, or we might be in a full-scale war that would not go well for Iran.
2
Trump claimed that assassinating a top Iranian general will make it safer for our troops than under Obama's policies.
It took just three days for that tragic, incompetent policy to be conclusively proven wrong.
1
The military stalled for days before finally acknowledging that what Trump had declared to every American was a lie.
3
I always know a truth from a lie and Trump never lies he merely stretches the truth by prevaricating.
1
This issue is being way over parsed. But lets have it your way; and open warfare with Iran. Concussion protocols are routine and ordinary when troops are within a certain radius of explosions.
2
Hang on, so he LIED? That just doesn't seem right to me. I don't think he ever lies.
1
Ironic that Trump constantly rants about 'fake news' when he cant be trusted to give a factual statement about anything.
5
Another lie to add to the thousands already in the repertory.
3
Are we really attacking Trump for avoiding war over no deaths? Crazy world.
3
@Don Q Uh, no. You might notice that everyone is "attacking Trump" because he is incapable of telling the truth. This is yet another example of that.
3
@Don Q 179 people died when their plane was shot down by panicked and confused Iranians. That panic and confusion was CAUSED BY OUR "PRESIDENT".
2
Iran and Ukraine are currently more reliable messengers of truth than America. Iran admits to mistakenly shooting down a commercial airliner but The Apprentice president lies about injuries to our troops. Meanwhile a member of Trump's dirty dozen Ukrainian team, Lev Parnas, feels the need to tell the story of his shady actions on behalf of Trump because he believes William Barr will simply cover up the truth. Parnas describes the mood around Trump as a cult and that sounds right. Evangelical and end-timers like Pence, Pompeo, Perry, Barr will follow this guy because he's "the chosen one"..right, just like David Koresh...
2
Of course there could be concussions in any kind of military conflict. At least that was my experience. I haven’t heard of any physical injuries. So, I guess the left thinks Trump should have escalated. Trump has shown that he is not interested in war unlike his predecessors. We killed a terrorist who was much worse than Bin Laden. Iran is the country that is now battling discontent Sit back and think without being hypocritical
1
@Ray Trump supporters should stop trying and telling everybody what Democrats think. They couldn’t possibly know how Democrats think and do a really poor job when they write a sentence that begins,”I guess the left thinks,” The Republican idea of what is acceptable behavior in a president is completely at odds with intelligent government.
What Democrats think is that presidents shouldn’t lie to them. It seems that the only time Trump’s mouth is moving and he is not telling a lie is when he is eating a Big Mac.
Take your own advice and sit back and think.
2
so will there be a Benghazi type investigation to go after Pompeo?
2
11 soldiers with concussion symptoms vs the decapitation of the strategic head of the worst terrorist organization in the world. I will takwe it every day of the week and on Sunday
@storkreb The point of the article is that once again the president can’t tell the truth. Perhaps if his record on the truth was a bit better he would have more support for his actions. Nobody but Trump’s advisers want a war with anybody.
1
Shame, donnie lies and our troops get hurt or worse.
1
The Iranians lie, protests in the street. Trump lies, we check Netflix for the weekend.
3
@Run2Eat
We should be in the streets with pitchforks and torches. Shame on us for enabling and encouraging a miscreant President and his Republican Party.
Trump lies again. Republican Congress shrugs. Trump voters call this fake news.
2
I hate trump. but he is substantially right about no injuries. this kind of article makes the times look hysterical
1
At the time, I wondered how long it would be until we found out the truth. Direct hits on a number of bases could not have resulted in no American injuries whatsoever, unless the bases were entirely empty, which was highly doubtful. But I am so inured to Trump's lies that I simply shrugged and mentally chalked up another lie to his discredit. Thanks for letting us know, so that those who pray can do so for the injured and their families, and the rest of us who don't pray can take a few moments out of our busy lives to silently acknowledge and contemplate the sacrifices our soldiers make. If only they weren't being forced to serve in utterly useless wars.
27
Absolutely nothing, I repeat, nothing coming from this Trump administration or any of the people can be trusted to be the truth. We have a Vice President Pence who helped with the corrupt Ukraine deal with the help of our Attorney General Barr, along with Pompeo, Perry, Nunes and probably more Republicans in Congress. America is a Banana Republic.
26
At least they didn't suffer bone spurs in some foot, they're not sure which. That he didn't tell the truth, once again, is his norm.
12
So now Republicans can be counted on to investigate ala Benghazi, right? And no one even lied about Benghazi injuries either, like trump is. I'm betting trumpies will insist it's too mean of Dems to ask questions...
5
One of the greatest truisms about war, even from a government that is at least trying to be ethical in its administration of policy, is that truth is the first casualty of any war. Whether you want to call Trump a congenital liar or a pathological liar, he is a liar none-the-less and we can expect that we will lie about anything and everything. The basic question we should ask ourselves, do we want our children, our grandchildren, and anyone else who will be affected by this madman's delusions, to be sacrificed to assuage his ego and to get him re-elected? The answer from me is an unequivocal no. When it comes to the matters of war with this president, we should all question his motives, and express our deep concerns to our representatives and take to the streets if necessary.
11
I would think this is a big deal for the many people who have family members in the service. Is the government going to tell us the truth if our family members get hurt?
9
@Tim Atomic bomb testing, agent orange, Gulf War Syndrome.....what are the chances? It’s either all in your head, mass hysteria, or there is no proof.
So how long before we find out there were actually fatalities?
11
There will literally be more serious injuries in the NFL Conference championship games this weekend.
3
@d
Probably not, but if Trump was the referee, he'd cover it up and lie about it.
1
@d If there are the NFL will lie about it too.
1
@ d
Just curious if you’d be upset that any NFL players knelt during the national anthem? Isn’t that disrespecting our troops?
Your comment is disrespectful of all those soldiers who put their lives on the line for our safety.
There are thousands of veterans out there, many of whom read the NYT, and even more family members of our troops. Let’s try to remember that before we belittle injuries or any sort when they are incurred on our behalf.
It could be Mr. Trump does not consider suffering a concussion as being “harmed.” At a 2016 campaign rally, after a woman fainted and returned, he said, “That woman was out cold, and now she’s coming back. See, we don’t go by these new, and very much softer, NFL rules. Concussions — ‘Uh oh, got a little ding on the head? No, no, you can’t play for the rest of the season’ — our people are tough.”
The military, however, was correct in its assessment and actions. Concussions are brain injuries which should be taken seriously — as, indeed, NFL players are learning.
10
The real story here is that Iran really did try to kill American soldiers. That makes Trump's backing down and not retaliating cowardly.
6
Does anyone expect to see trump at the bedside of these victims of his policies, or see them in a ceremony at the White House?
Of course not. After trump has condemned Obama for being the reason Iranian proxies have killed and injured US troops, trump will never discuss the fact that his policies have caused traumatic brain injuries among our troops due to Iranian missile attacks. These troops are just more fallen pawns in trump’s broken chess game.
4
So, trump lied again.
It will be news if he ever tells the truth.
12
Apparently Iran notified the Iraqis prior to the attack (6 hours).
2
I don't like Trump's tendency to lie. But his response to Iran's military strike seemed to defuse the situation at the time.
Of course, not assassinating Soleimani in the first place would probably have been a wiser course of action.
4
Other news sources say ..."Trump also said that no U.S. service members were injured or killed. CNN reports that a military official explained that the discrepancy was because troops developed symptoms days after the attack.
“That was the commander’s assessment at the time. Symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution,” the official told the news outlet.""
2
No Americans were injured. Suleimana posed an imminent threat. The phone call was perfect. The Russia investigation was a hoax. Tariff wars are easy to win. North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. Mexico will pay for the wall. I know more than all the Generals. The tax cut will pay for itself. China is paying the tariffs. The press is the enemy of the people. I am a stable genius.
13
Russell Goldman presents another false narrative driven by Trump derangement syndrome. There were no serious injuries that would be normally reported by the military from Iranian missile strikes in Iraq at American installations.
Where the focus should instead be directed is that this was the first intelligent guided missile attack directed at U. S. troops from a foreign country and demonstrates the new tactical shift in military engagement. Russell Goldman has provided no cogent information as his focus is obviously only directed against the U.S.
3
If we think of this as trump would, it all makes sense:
Since in trump-world, "brains" don't really exist, therefore no brain injuries (concussions) could occur. He had declared the concussions as "fake news".
Or an (even!) simpler explanation... he didn't care about veracity, and said what he wanted. To him, "facts" are whatever he says.
3
At what point does Mr. Trump's easy, regular lying to the American public become unacceptable?
4
Constant lies. And lies about injuries suffered by young men who put their lives up for us. Isn't that a high crime ? It should be.
5
So I assume that Trump is scheduled to give another speech in which he will address the harm to the American servicemembers. Right?
4
His base will still support him, no matter what, and he knows it. Unfortunately, this story will be no more than a blip on the radar for the GOP. I will not vote to keep any Republican in Congress at the next election - period! If the ones I think are overall decent and have received a vote from me in the past, you must suffer and lose my vote now - you do not deserve to represent me or my country any longer.
4
Before journalists were embedded during wartime (Vietnam), injuries and casualties were massively understated in favor of government propaganda. It's no surprise that the trump admin has rolled back to these old standards. Kudos to the journalists out there who are taking nothing at face value.
4
A concussion is not a small thing. Some folks suffer serious future problems. This was hid to protect whom?
3
On the other hand, a concussion is a brain injury. I doubt anyone in the administration would see that as more harmful than a torn fingernail.
2
If you hear of people harmed in a bombing, your not thinking concussion. No one was injured by the bomb in traditional thought. People a long way from the actual blast got a headache from the noise. The blast harmed no one.
1
@Blake reikofski
So, you’ve never been to war. You think like the folks who stay home. Maybe watch the action on TV.
When, in nearly three years of Donald Trump's presidency, has he provided a single piece of accurate information? Go ahead, think, I'll wait.
2
So much for the assurances that "All is well." How sad that the public is only now learning the full extent of the damage from this attack. If some of these young soldiers had to be evacuated to Germany, I doubt that their head injuries were minor.
54
@Julie W. I think so, since the more serious cases usually go to the huge US military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany.
2
@Julie W. The military did not report there were any fractures or bleeding wounds. Concussions are nothing to mess with but this is a poor stretch on the part of you and others to use this to say he lied.
1
@omamae1 Correct, I'm a veteran, and for serious injuries, they always go to Landstuhl. State of the art hospital. I've been there, very nice.
1
I wonder why the reliable leaks of information to the media, did not report sooner, on the many serious injuries that were suffered. Apparently Trump was also misinformed about deaths and injuries needing hospitalization. Someone should be fired or at least demoted by the military, and the media should ask its secret sources why they failed to do their jobs.
20
@William McCain -- your point is interesting. But you "blame" the military for not letting the President know about these casualties. It strikes me as more plausible that President Trump was told about the casualties up front, didn't like the way that sounded, and made up his mind to once again NOT be truthful. He has a long, long history -- this President -- of not being truthful.
2
It is interesting that you write Trump was misinformed. What would ever give you that idea? The US military runs on discipline and chain of command. The commander-in-chief would have had a full and accurate briefing immediately. What he chooses to do with truth is a known element.
2
@William McCain
I doubt anyone failed to do their job. He heard what he wanted to hear whether it was said or not. He is a fabricator extraordinaire - always was, always will be. We have a very, very bad man as president.
4
I am now fully conditioned not to believe anything that comes out of Trump's government. Congratulations, Trump.
109
"It would be odd if he actually spoke (or tweeted) "the truth". Therefore, whatever Trump says or tweets is not "news". Get used to it, unless you already have.
2
@JL Pacifica
Have been for quite some time.
2
It minimizes his lies to say “It’s just another lie “ but this lie ignores and insults every service member in harms way and that is a particularly pernicious lie.
56
@Herbert L. Klein. A lie that avoids a military confrontation is something to which you object? How did you feel about Obama and Kerry’s falsehood that the nuclear deal would prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, when all it accomplished - thanks to its sunset clauses and weak inspection regime - was to kick the can down the road and make dealing with a nuclear Iran a later President’s problem?
" All is well " is another lie to add to Trump's resume to be unfit to be Commander in Chief and President. On the other hand, Pentagon also lies about many wars that they have engaged in. The difference is this time, the President, his staff and many in GOP just lie blatantly in the open now.
48
Our allies must be shaking their heads and wondering how the last superpower has fallen so far.
We’re still a leader. We’re just not leading the world in the right direction.
44
@Steve Empires all fall because power corrupts fully. Liberty and limited government gave way to empire and the hubris that monopoly central planning works rather than serves special interests and becomes decadent.
1
@Steve : "We're still a leader." Really? Do you see anyone following us?!
4
@Steve "We’re still a leader." Is this so important?
3
I'm certain the initial report of any injured Servicemen was correct, no one required immediate medical attention. The signs and symptoms of a concussion can be subtle and may not show up immediately. The article should have been for informative.
11
@Jimd I agree, but I also think that Trump eventually knew the truth and just chose not to share it.
3
@Jimd
If it had been more "informative" it would not have been able to slur Trump. Frankly, you are correct regarding the signs and symptoms of a concussion - just like some minor bone fractures on a child may take days before it shows up or can even be detected, which, unlike some media bias becomes immediately apparent.
1
@Jimd A concussion is an injury by any objective standard. Another lie to put on the big board.
4
Just another lie to add to the pile. I think Trump has topped 16,000 since he took office.
27
Even though it is well established that Trump lies constantly it is still easy to believe him at times, particularly when it concerns the military. He seems to have lied about the reason for the US strike as it turns out there apparently was no imminent threat and with regard to US injuries from Iran's retaliation it now seems he told another lie. Americans have no experience in having an autocrat for a president. Americans who previously lived elsewhere under a dictatorship are probably more skeptical about statements from Trump then Americans born in the US. What is most astounding is how many Americans are willing to support a president who lies so often, or perhaps because they only follow the news on right wing media and are clueless to the fact that Trump lies so frequently. In any case, democracy is in big trouble in this country because it depends on citizens having the same verified facts on which to base their political decisions.
26
@Bob
The real failure is a free press not doing its job. The MSM sticks to the government line, with no real critic and opposition to be seen. The TV cable news is all about million $$$ salaries and ratings. Guests are mostly former government officials no outside critical expertise or very little at best can be seen.
Our press is not really as free as we are made to believe. A critic of neocon policies is not welcome.
17
@ARL The 'free press' is not responsible for this debacle (unless your referring to Fox). President Trump has systematically tried to destroy them and limit their ability to factually and honestly report the news! Like us, the press has to sift through the endless lies of this President to find the truth and report it in a timely manner. They are doing a good job, despite this administrations attempts to hobble them
2
@ARL Hear, hear!
In this case I think a temporary lie was acceptable because it helped defuse the situation, and prevented more deaths and injuries.
7
@T you are correct. The purpose of the lie was to prevent American citizens from knowing and reacting to the actions of our own government.
Just as it was best for us not to know that the Trump Administration attempted to extort political assistance from a foreign government.
This is not what democracy looks like.
66
@Terry
Exactly! Except for we don’t have a democracy. It’s a Republic. I’m tired of folks calling the uS a democracy.Trump would not be president if our votes counted....a democracy.
3
@T
trump would never get into a war before the coming election, knowing how unpopular it would be, but if he
gets in, beware.
Because trump is unethical, immoral, a liar, a cheat, and above all, has proven he’s inhumane, the senators in Congress must do what’s right. They need to abide by our Constitution and the rule of law. They MUST abide by the oath they took yesterday, standing in Congress, with their right hand up, and swearing they would uphold the Constitution, otherwise, they can’t be fair and just, just as they swore to do. They must allow witnesses and evidence that is requested. They cannot “work alongside of the White House OR the president” throughout this trial. If there is any defense whatsoever, let it come out. Another republican attempt to create a circus is not what the people want to see or hear. We don’t want to hear screaming and yelling about “how horrible the democrats are, or why are they condemning this president.” They had absolute NO defense of what he did. They didn’t even back up the presidents comment of “it was a perfect call.” They know what he did was wrong and it was not legitimate for a president to do!
20
He's a reflexive liar.
As he cruises into his 4th year it becomes more likely we won't be rid of him.
And yes, his poll numbers are up.
Don't believe me, go to RCP average page or 538.
Another EC win is well within his reach.
10
The soldiers were a target just as much as the Iranian general and the collateral victims.
10
@ARL: I disagree. The Iranians could have easily killed and injured a whole lot of American military personnel. They chose to not do so as a message to Trump that they can do it if Trump doesn't act in good faith.
@ARL
Exactly. Who believed the nonsense? The missiles just missed. That’s the way it works.....
Just one more example of trump’s pathological lying. Our troops did sustain serious injuries. However, it could have been worse. But trump is still responsible. I believe that Iran purposely inflected as little damage as possible—they are not suicidal nor are they incompetent.
13
@Kb: The article did not report that the injuries were "serious".
3
@johnlo Even a mild concussion can take a turn for the worse. Concussions can be life threatening, when it includes a traumatic brain injury.
7
@johnlo Having suffered a concussion years ago, the effects can be long lasting if not deadly.
12
Intentionally lying about casualties of war?
Isn't falsification of war records grounds for impeachment?
But Republicans will just chalk it up to another number "fudged" by their number challenged president.
That's just Donald...just a few casualties off.
20
This is a bit misleading - what's missing from this article is this - the following day after the airstrikes, eleven troops were showing signs of possible concussions. The troops were brought to medical centers in and out of the AOR.
8
He really doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt because he lies about everything but isn’t it possible he didn’t know of the injuries so soon after the attack?
“I’m pleased to inform you the American people should be extremely grateful and happy,” the president said on Jan. 8. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.”
9
@Bronx Jon
Injuries are almost always reported immediately after an attack. He knew it but wanted to defuse.
1
@Bronx Jon :
A normal person does not say "no injuries" if they are unsure of the facts.
A simple test to show this: if the police (officials) asked you to recount events at an accident you witnessed, would you guess or improvise? A normal person would not. So it's now very clear that trump is not normal.
trump does not care for, or wait for, the truth. He shoots from the hip, and nearly always misses (lies).
To him, "truth" is whatever is in his mind: whatever "news" last entered his mind (from Fox "News"), or whatever he's hoping/wishing for, ignoring any facts.
@Bronx Jon: You are implying that the US military would not immediately report the conclusions to the POTUS. That is ridiculous.
Pat Tillman says "hi". I think he also says "stop voting for liars who'll get the deaths of American soldiers like me covered up", but voices get rather muffled as they travel down from heaven. Hard to tell.
15
A reminder that whenever military tensions boil, the military's first instinct is to lie.
2
Concusions are not really a big deal. I had a concussion playing football one day. Glad no one died. No one had limbs torn off.
4
You are incorrect. They vary in severity. For someone with previous concussions they can cause permanent injury.
16
Sometimes concussions are a big deal. Your single experience does not represent all concussions. More importantly, our president once again lied about something very important. Even more important, 35 million Americans don’t care that he tells these lies.
33
@Abdur Rahman
Therefore, it's fine that the president lied about it!
12
If only Trump had said this to our concussed personnel, he’d have more support herein:
‘If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.’
(Somehow Democrats and ‘progressives’ think Trump should’ve waited until all of our personnel at the site of the missile attacks were medically evaluated for brain injuries before celebrating that there was no loss of American life. Yet another reason he wins big in November.)
3
@EGD
Actually, progressives think Trump should maybe try telling the truth once in a while.
This may sound crazy, but it is actually possible to celebrate the fact that there was no loss of life while acknowledging that there were injuries!
29
@EGD
Here's the difference: Yes, Obama was wrong when he said the line about "like your doctor, keep your doctor". As the program launched, it turned out to be incorrect. Being incorrect is NOT necessarily a lie.
45 lies all the time - about big stuff, little stuff, all stuff in between. Don't take my word for it: watch the videos. You can juxtapose him saying one thing and soon thereafter saying the exact opposite. ALL THE TIME!!
IF he had a habit of truth-telling, most folks would cut him a break on this.
By the way, is there anything he could do to open your eyes to the fact that he cares not one whit about you or yours?
2
@EGD
Right...Trump, Obama, Trump, Obama. What’s the difference?
Of course he could’ve, and did, celebrate that no lives were lost.
The point, EDG, is that he lied....again.
So square with me how one Obama falsehood is comparable to the thousands by Trump.
...crickets...
1
Now I’m waiting for Trump to say the troops are Democrats faking their injuries for political purposes.
30
Let's get our soldiers of empire out of Iraq and then they won't be exposed repeatedly to harm. Seventeen years since the Iraq War Crime transpired seems like enough to this weary military tax payer.
8
Will those service men/women have to claim they were not injured so as not to contradict Trump?
14
To be specific, no Americans that Trump cared about were harmed. Apparently, as far as the rest of us, including servicemen and women, are concerned--injuries and death are unimportant, as long as Trump gets whatever little prize he believes he won.
18
Thankfully, there were no U.S. military fatalities that we know of, but concussions are nothing to write off--they can be debilitating and life-long. All of the events linked to the assassination of Suleimani exemplify Trump's short-term thinking and inability to grasp the long-term and often terrible consequences of his actions. He lives for the sound byte, and then he moves on, blaming everyone and everything if things don't go well.
11
This doesn't sound too different than Iran claiming to not have shot down the Ukrainian jet. We are used to lies from countries like Iran and Russia, but not the US.
11
Unfortunately we have been for the last three years
8
@Don Santos Unfortunately we have been since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Blame this on Trump our profoundly immoral President the Evangelicals called him not long ago. If any pass away he and the GOP own this . President Obama and our allies all liked the nuclear arrangement not this evil Trump. I hope the senate will impeach this trouble maker and lock him up.
11
Commenters here are correct, Trump lied and instead should have made a huge issue out of this thereby leaving no option other than a significant military escalation.
6
@Mike
Or just be truthful. A military escalation afterward isn’t always warranted - though with a fragile ego like Trump’s who knows what would happen. But if an escalation is ordered at least we have an honest basis on which to judge it’s merits.
What a concept!
7
That is a false choice. He didn’t have to make it a big issue and go to war. Heck, the Turks killed many Kurds (our allies) after he warned them he would ruin, and he did nothing. He shouldn’t have lied and then still could have looked for diplomatic options. Now we’re in the same situation anyway.
12
@Mike. Well, there is precedent unfortunately. One could make the case that President Obama lied when he claimed that the nuclear deal prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon when, absent a regime change before the sunset provisions took effect, all it did was make it a later President’s problem. I recall that Obama deliberately framed the issue as either you support the deal or your support a war, no doubt that was his way avoiding any discussion of the deal’s evident flaws which, themselves arose from a deeply flawed strategic vision that he chose not to keep hidden from the American public.
Credibility, especially in matter like this, is hard-won and easily lost.
We've just lost ours.
13
@M. We lost ours three years ago.
14
Trump even lies about the consequences of his military actions.
He is not to be trusted in any of his Presidential duties since he is amoral and devoid of honor, integrity, and veracity. How is he still President?
What is wrong with the American people and the Republican Party? What will history think about our decline into this corruption of any ideals that America should represent at its best?
158
@IN This is what Trump thinks of our military commanders according to a Daily Beast article.
"Trump—a man who, remember, managed to get out of military duty in Vietnam due to a supposed bone-spur problem—is said to have told the assembled forces: “I wouldn’t go to war with you people... You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.”
2
@IN Why is he still in office? Because Congressional Republicans and just about everyone at Fox, their propaganda organ, are also devoid of honor, integrity and veracity.
3
@Jacquie It was also in the Washington Post, from a book, by 2 journalists who work for that paper.
Seriously, at this point, only those who buy off on Trump as a cult leader, rather than President believes anything he says. There is a reason he preys on Evangelicals and other members of orthodox religions. If they can literally believe the bible, they will believe anything. P.T. Barnum used the same ruse.
23
@Bill
Really?
Is this mindless Republican devotion to Donald Trump just all about judges and Roe vs Wade?
1
@JM Not completely but those two issues have obsessed the Republicans for decades.
1
@JM That's a by-product, first you need the mass of guppies who eat anything thrown their way. Trump is manifest destiny and doesn't care about anything but votes and expediency and that was the expeditious bait on the lure. But it is all about a mass of gullible population. He tried the same thing with Jews by putting the embassy in Jerusalem. The only critical mass he has there are the most orthodox, who once again are the most gullible of that population.
1
Having to medevac your troops several thousand miles to another continent counts as 'injured' to me.
So Iran drops - accurately - a significant number of missiles, inside the perimeter of a joint US/Iraqi base injuring eleven US servicemen; and Washington's response is?
Forgive me if I don't see the US 'win' here.
22
Washington’s response at first was, no fatalities. I don’t even recall them saying there were injuries. Suddenly, a week later, there were injuries. How did they expect Iran would response to the killing of one of their Generals? It was obvious there would be some retribution. He left our troops there, at those bases. Why not clear out the bases before killing the General? Keep our troops safe. But no, President “impulsive” had to break free from the Iran agreement, because Obama agreed to it. Mr. Impulsive was ready to attack a General, without the thought that he could’ve started a war in the Mid East.
1
@NY RES President Trump already started a war in the Mid East. Economic war (i.e., U.S. sanctions on Iran) is War.
The president lied (again!) while dismissing head injuries as non existent. Concussions can have long term effect depending on the victim.
16
News flash: Donald Trump lies as naturally as he breathes. If he’s awake and communicating, he is lying. He serves no master other than, if you believe in that sort of thing, some warped, satanic version of capitalism, one in which there is no room for mercy or humanity or compassion. Everyone, regardless of how soft the circumstances of their upbringing, knows that life contains cruel, misbegotten, not quite human beings who are missing some vital piece of the psychological puzzle that lets them truly see their fellow man. Occasionally, through the shifting of whatever forces move the dealings of men, one or more of these “people” is elevated to great power, often in reaction to great suffering, or what passes for great suffering, among the lower classes around him. We’ve rarely seen it happen here in the West, but such a person is Donald Trump. It is his turn in the spotlight now. We can only hope that he passes out of it, in turn, without having irreparably damaged the nation. But, even if so, having been seen, he cannot be unseen, and we need to learn from the experience and take steps to ensure that such as him can never again reach the level he has.
11
He could have said there were no significant injuries to American personnel. Instead he chose to lie. Why is that? Because it makes him look better. By now any observant person would have noticed that Trump has never apologized, never acknowledged a mistake, exaggerates every accomplishment, and calls anyone who opposes him names. In short he exhibits all the symptoms of narcissism. Narcissism is a recognized personality disorder, a form of mental illness, characterized by pathological lying and delusions of grandeur. One has to wonder why Trump supporters refuse to acknowledge this as fact.
17
The reason why Trump supporters ignore the Presidents lying is because they enthusiastically support his positions on abortion, tax policy and immigration. Additionally, they are supportive of his efforts to roll back civil rights.
Trump supporters are willing to lose their constitutionally guaranteed rights over these issues and submit themselves and their families to tyranny.
The November vote is the most important since Abraham Lincoln.
19
@W.A. Spitzer
To think about what he will do after the impeachment if he is not removed from the office? He is surrounded by people just like him, Pompeo can't wait to attack Iran.
7
@Practical Thoughts Agreed. As well as the dismantling of environmental protections. Greed and fear, i.e., the basest of human motivators.
I hope no one is terribly disappointed by Mr. Trump's having lied to the American people yet again. It's one of the few presidential skills that he has mastered.
10
For Donald J. Trump the only thing that really mattered in those attacks was that Donald J. Trump wasn't harmed.
18
The world now has a more intimate understanding of a malignant narcissistic personality disorder. Create chaos and problems that previously didn’t exist and then believe they had no choice to create damage and catastrophic harm in response. Character matters in who we elect to represent us. I hope we will elect the most trustworthy leader to address climate change and attempt to balance the power in this country to one person, one vote. Oligarchy is when one citizen’s vote contains more power based on wealth than almost every other vote combined. As an entrepreneur, I see how by voting for Bernie, we can take responsibility to participate and support policies to help us all lead higher quality lives, so that we can become a representative democracy again.
5
I’m surprised at all petty juvenile responses to this article. The president was clearly playing down the Iranian attack so that both countries could save face and stop the escalation. That is what a leader does. You don’t get to know everything when it comes to military actions. Posturing in the right way is an important tool in avoiding war. The military spokesman who contradicted the president in this case should be court marshaled.
5
@Max
Hard to say if the spokesman contradicted President Trump since Mr Trump didn't define what "harm" meant before of after the speech. To me harm would be more than a headache. And the article intentionally fails to mention the context in which that statement by the military was made. It could easily have been in response to a question about anyone seeking medical treatment. If the spokesperson had lied about that, then that would be a court marshal offense.
My take is someone probably asked that treatment question and got that answer. I can't remember the last time that I saw concussion treatment mentioned in an article. Plus no mention of concussion statistics in the article.
This was brought up in the manner it was purely to rile up the haters. Again and again. No President in recent history has ever had every word he ever speaks twisted, examined, and re-examined like what has happened with Mr Trump.
In the end this is another slanted piece constructed in a manner that will only cast dispersions on Mr Trump.
4
@Max No, a good leader doesn't start the escalation in the first place by pulling out of an agreement that is working, then slapping hard sanctions on the innocent party then assassinating the innocent party's military leader. Trump has been provoking Iran since he pulled out of the de-nuc agreement.
12
@Max Not lobbing missiles at opponents in violation of your agreement with the host country is another way of avoiding war.
When a person lies, they lose all credibility. That is how it is for adult humans.
5
Soldiers know that if they complain of concussion symptoms, they get Purple Hearts. The medal confers benefits, include hiring preference in civil service jobs.
1
@William Case So your point is that the soldiers lie about their injuries and not Trump?
9
@William Case I’m a retired 40% disabled vet and I receive hiring preferences but I can honestly say I’ve never met someone who had a concussion be awarded the Purple Heart. I’ve n met a number of Purple Heart recipients and not one ever even mentioned a concussion. I hope a service member would be awarded the medal if they had a traumatic brain injury which may be a difficult thing to diagnose
4
@JD. my father was awarded the Purple Heart in WWII, when he was shot in the back. They don’t just award this at a whim. It was a great honor to receive this award to him
3
If there was a choice between immediately announcing that 11 soldiers were hurt resulting in Trump feeling compelled to order a massive military retaliation, and waiting a little before disclosing those injuries, I would take waiting every time. Of course if one feels that the US should have retaliated there’s nothing stopping it from doing so now.
2
@Jay Orchard: While I agree with you, Trump has never shown any such instinct or motivation.
So it turns out that 11 US soldiers were concussed from a volley of some 17 Iranian ballistic missiles. President Trump had claimed that no servicemen had been killed or injured, while Iran boasted that 80 US servicemen were killed and some 200 injured. Pundits were nearly unanimous in warning of an inevitable shooting war between the two countries after Soleimani’s death. Instead, Iran recognized its weakness and acted accordingly. Each side created a convenient fiction to satisfy their constituents and avoid further bloodshed. That seems a reasonable outcome - in some ways similar to JFK proclaiming victory in the Cuban missile crisis when in fact we had agreed to dismantle missiles in Turkey as the quid pro quo.
Bottom line: US deterrence has been restored. Iran has been shown to be a rational actor by refusing to engage a militarily superior power. While Iran now faces an enraged population and demoralized proxies, along with European powers clamoring for new and broader negotiations to rein in Iran’s hegemonic aspirations, now backed with a credible threat of US force, diplomacy has been given an opening. Lets see what happens.
5
Imagine what it feels like for these soldiers to have their TBIs dismissed as not being an injury by the President! He continues to need a minder, a babysitter, to behave not only like a responsible adult, but as a Commander in Chief.
19
@Beth Graybill
For Trump soldiers are cannon fodder, just as he said, they knew what they did when they signed up for the job.
He does act accordingly, political value is what counts. He will pardon war criminals if it is politically opportune.
2
@Beth Graybill
TBI? So you're on staff at the field hospital that treated them? Doubt it. If they had TBI's they'd have been evacuated and that would have been noted as well.
@Mark They were evacuated to military hospitals in Germany. and Kuwait. They weren't treated at field hospitals.
Did you read the piece?
What's your point?
I have zero sympathy for soldiers of a foreign military being hurt while illegally occupying a conquered nation. You don't want Americans hurt? Stop initiating illegal and unjust wars and attacks.
9
@MB Your humanity is heart warming. And the servicemen were there with permission of the Iraqi government.
1
@MB
Wow..how incredibly misguided.
Tell all the families of the proud soldiers who served in our military who were injured or killed protecting freedoms for the world, you have zero sympathy for their loss or pain.
You can, because these proud soldiers are protecting your life and right of freedom of speech.
Please - move to Iran, complain about the government and the Revolutionary Guard - and then see how well you are treated.
And btw - soldiers go where they are needed. They do not get to decide where they are stationed.
4
@DB:I'm the son of a proud WWII veteran. I grew up on military bases. I support each and every service member even though I an anti-war. That doesn't mean that I have to support a government that sends our military into wars against people countries and people who are no threat to the USA. The T Iraqi-Iranian conflict has been going on for 1300 years. It is a religious war between two Islamic factions. Explain to me why the US is involved in an Islamic religious war? Explain to me why the US is on the side that bombed New York City and wages war against Israel?
gee, now why i did think he was lying when he said no Americans were hurt during the Iran retaliation? with that lie he excused himself from starting a war and messaged his base that he could be counted on to avenge harm to American soldiers and contractors. now? it's just another lie among 1000s and his base will not care because "when he lied nobody died".
17
And if Trump calls for a retaliatory strike against Iran right now this paper and many reading it would say Trump is escalating a conflict where no American were injured. It is really hard to be objective when people are so easily swayed by their political ideology.
5
@AmateurHistorian
My reasons for not supporting a strike, if the President called one now, would be rooted in his complete and utter lack of honesty. How on earth is anyone supposed to know he is telling the truth? And when American soldiers’ lives are on the line, I need to be able to trust my President, and he has forfeited my trust.
Sometimes, when I read the news of our country, and particularly this President, I have to pause for a moment and remember I’m not reading about some third world dictatorship. I’m reading about my country, who has a leader who acts like a third world dictator and who thinks he can say whatever he wants and get whatever he wants. A man like that doesn’t get my trust.
3
@S
What politicians say and what they do are always different things. Obama were extending an olive branch while ordering increased cyber attack on Iranian infrastructure.
Actions are louder than words even if harder to nail down and verify.
@AmateurHistorian: You are right. But is is just as prevalent in the conservative wing too. Based on Trump's lifelong actions, I find it laughable that he would withhold the information that US military personnel were injured in the Iranian attack if he had known it.
We were extremely lucky these soldiers are as tough as they are. Had any been killed, I'm pretty sure we'd be fighting a war right now.
And Godspeed on your recovery from these injuries, soldiers. You deserve a far better Commander in Chief, one who doesn't lie to minimize your sacrifices to this Country for his own personal benefit.
18
@Brannon Perkison
Huh?
Tough?
All the evidence is that, due to advanced warning (possibly from Iran itself), US personnel were under cover - in bunkers and similar.
Where would you be if you were told a bunch of missiles were heading directly for you? Standing out in the open practicing the 'tough' look?
2
What the president said was "All is well!"
So either he had no idea what was really going on, or his so-called support for our troops is a hollow, meaningless PR stunt.
Either way, Americans should see that he is not a real leader. This is not one of your reality shows, Mr. President. US troops were placed in harm's way and injured because of your recklessness.
11
Trump lie number 16,097:
"No Americans were harmed."
So do the Republicans give Trump an award when he reaches lie number 20,000?
17
Hopefully those that were injured will not develop serious long term health problems that will affect their ability to serve honorably such as CTE or bone spurs. God bless the troops.
12
Is it at all possible that our so-called president can say even ONE thing without it being a lie?
(Asking for a friend)
40
@David: There is a huge difference between "possible" and "probable." It is possible that Trump may not lie, but it is not probable.
Interesting that the GOP members will try to discredit all the past a future witnesses, trumps Senate trial, now to include Parnas. I along with most Americans have been paying attention for the past 3 years, and guess what trump has lied to us so many times if he had Pinocchio's nose it would already be sniffing around Mar's. No need to send real humans. Trump was just Impeached by the House, offering no defense although he kept claiming it was the 'perfect phone call". Really he chose to be Impeached over providing witnesses and physical documents that would have proven his innocence. Impeachment is now and forever part of his legacy, no Republican Judge can save him (to include the Supreme Court). Sorry, folks, how does the saying go 'I was born at night, just not last night", trump is either really dumb or didn't have proof of his innocence, one or the other. Okay for his base, maybe a little of both.
13
The attack took place 9 days ago. Why has it taken so long to know there were injuries?
264
@Javaforce Because it would be bad for President Trump's image if he couldn't manipulate the public's perception of his actions. "All is [not] well."
55
@Javaforce Maybe they didn’t show symptoms immediately
1
@Javaforce It's called a cover-up.
4
Football players who get tackled hard are quite often required to be removed from the game and treated for possible concussion. Were they injured? And if you are in a place like Iraq, the military is wise to take personnel to a modern hospital to ensure that they are not actually injured. You wanted the President to say, “We had several cut fingers, a few owies, and a few with concussions”? Give us a break. Anti-Trump hysteria lives and, in this election year, will surely get worse.
5
@ehillesum
Expecting truth could be "anti-Trump" in a sense (since he never tells it), but what kind of person considers that "hysteria"?
14
@ehillesum
Assasinating foreign leaders is illegal under US law. Starting wars which kill civilians is immoral.
That's not "anti-Trum hysteria."
Trumpista apologists who make false equivalences between war and football only perpetuate the damage that Trump is doing to our country.
Let's hope that the anti-Trump movement continues to grow, and returns sanity and civility to our country.
27
@ehillesum I have a hard time believing that soldiers would be medevac'd to Germany for "cut fingers, owies, and concussions." And to your point: concussions are indeed real injuries, and, as a prior service member, I would appreciate a "soldiers experienced minor injuries," from the person responsible for putting them in that dangerous position. But such transparency would be inconvenient for Trump if he had to disclose any harm because he promised to commit a war crime if any Americans were injured.@ehillesum I have a hard time believing that soldiers would be medevac'd to Germany for "cut fingers, owies, and concussions." And to your point: concussions are indeed real injuries, and, as a prior service member, I would appreciate a "soldiers experienced minor injuries" from the person responsible for putting them in that dangerous position. But such transparency would be inconvenient for Trump if he had to disclose any harm because he promised to commit a war crime if any Americans were injured.
17
Don't forget that if those strikes had managed to kill a bunch of Americans - which was absolutely possible - we would be in a shooting war with Iran right now. Trump lucked out that things went as comparatively well as they did.
15
@Chris Hinricher And, ironically, it was Iran who showed restraint by making a strike that they knew would very likely result in no casualties.
6
How many Iraqis and Iranians have been killed and wounded by America and it's allies covert and overt war against their nations?
23
Concussive symptoms? I've addressed the issue as a lacrosse official and there's an infinite spectrum of outcomes. Don't get carried away with preliminary symptomology to support your agenda. Recall that in one day in the Democratic dystopia of Baltimore last week, 12 were shot and 5 died. Those folks are only symptomatic of 50 years of Democratic failures. They actually suffer from ballistic wounds. Know the difference.
9
Over 160 people died when the Iranians shot down a commercial airliner, an incident that only occurred because of Trump’s escalation of hostilities with Iran by assassinating their general. While I’m glad our troops were only injured in Iran’s counter strikes, and I’m not mourning Suleimani, to pretend that Trump’s actions are less lethal is wrong. Just because those people did not include Americans doesn’t mean their lives don’t count.
1
Folks, when Americans are flown from Iraq to Germany for medical treatment (probably Landstuhl Hospital run by the military), their injuries are severe. Go back to a decade plus of reports where Americans are flown to Germany due to injuries and the stories are always the same - these are severe injuries requiring more medical expertise than the military has within a thousand miles.
They’re lying to you. It was bad.
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@BrainThink True. My brother was injured during his service during desert storm and flown into Germany. He was in a vehicle accident where the other person died. To this day he still suffers the effects of that injury.
It's alarming that we're only finding out about this now. A week after the incident. And it probably took family members of these injured service members starting to say things to make them finally admit that "no Americans were harmed" is a lie.
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@BrainThink exactly. They don’t waste resources.
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@BrainThink
I think it extremely unlikely that the medical services of US Iraq command lack the ability to assess a case of concussion, that they have no American physicians on the ground with training in battle neurology. MRI, CT in Iraq? You bet.
US forces abroad want for very little. War being outsourced these days, the use of civilian logistics is common. One of my close relatives worked for a German outfit in Kabul for a while. His main job was ensuring that the American occupants of Bagram and environs got their daily Coca-Cola. Two tons of it, every 24 hours.
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Amazing we are just now hearing this. But I'm glad it wasn't used as an excuse to escalate after Trump's self-serving act of war and stupidity.
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I remember a time when we trusted our government to tell the truth because we didn’t trust our military.
Now we trust our military because we clearly cannot trust our government, at least our Chief Executive.
Wouldn’t it be something if we could someday reach a point when we could—with good reason—trust both?
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@Paul C. McGlasson
Clearly, it's time to change governments.
Oust every last Republican in November and start over.
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@Paul C. McGlasson I say this as a member of the club and with all due respect "okay boomer"!
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@Paul C. McGlasson I'm not sure we've trusted either in the recent past, but as Stephen Colbert joked, they at least had enough respect for us to put some effort into their lying.
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WHY does Donald Trump insist on lying to Us? I know he figured that by claiming that "No American was hurt" he "thinks" that he's claiming victory. Actually this was an insult to the American soldiers that were hurt in the Iranian retaliation for HIS actions.
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Easy to figure out. Trump didn’t want to respond to the Iranian retaliation. So minimize the casualties to make it look like an equitable quid pro quo. He’s good at that.
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@Rick Morris
We should be thankful he found a way to back out of a major strike on Iran. Would that GWB had done the same for Iraq, no?
"11 Americans Were Hurt in Iranian Strike, Military Says, Contradicting Trump"
That is very interesting! It was clearly stated by the president of the United States that "No American was hurt." So, why the sudden change of heart? Is this another disagreement between the White House and Pentagon?
Could it be that Pentagon wants to have a pretext for future military attacks on Iran? Could it be that these individuals were hurt somewhere else in Middle East?
The number of US injuries in Afghanistan has suddenly jumped, after US decided to impose conditions on Taliban's offer to stand down its fighters to restart the peace talks.
If in doubt, please see the Washington Post article:
"The past three months in Afghanistan have been the deadliest for civilians in a decade"; 2019/10/17.
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@Eddie B. No, trump lied like he always does. It is just that simple.
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@Eddie B. : I grew up the child of an active duty US Military man. As the group, military personnel are more anti-war that the Vietnam protesters were. Of course we were all angry that the protesters blamed the military for the Government's policy in Vietnam. It is always non-military people, like draft dodger Trump, who love war as long as someone else fights it.
It feels almost as if the military itself covered up the impact of this strike for the president's benefit. Concussions can be really serious, debilitating problems. I had a student in a college class who had them from his time serving in Iraq, and he wrote an essay about how it's the sort of ignored injury among vets. Sad that we can't believe anything said by our government at any level.
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If you are in a combat zone and missiles are flying around, of course there are concussions ... Fortunately we have on the ground medical services that immediately diagnose concussions and treat other injuries immediately ... same as our much revered football teams ... how many times have you heard coaches or general managers give a tally of concussions after each game?! Let’s start a blog calling them all liars.
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@Elizabeth Cook And how many coaches or general managers go out after a game and boast that "no players were hurt"? Of course football players get hurt, of course soldiers get hurt but if the "coach" could just keep his yap shut, he wouldn't have to continually be called out on his uninformed statements. Sometimes he lies, sometimes he just has absolutely no idea if what he says is true or not - both lousy qualities in a "coach."
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@Elizabeth Cook
Comparing soldiers stationed in dangerous areas abroad to a football game is absolutely ridiculous.
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@Elizabeth Cook
The soldiers were medevacked out of the country so their injuries were potentially serious. Using football as an example of how unimportant these injuries were is ludicrous. Traumatic brain injuries caused by concussions are causing horrendous damage to our football players up to and including death. And yes, the NFL leaders ARE liars because they denied these injuries.
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I think Iran is luckier than we were there were no casualties
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@Michael Livingston’s (aka Vladimir)
So you're saying there were no injuries? This article is ABOUT the injuries?
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@Michael Livingston’s not sure how you come to this conclusion..... there would be no winners in another war in the region. it's too bad that trump supporters can't handle the truth. 11 injured soldiers are a very bad thing but not as bad as starting a war over their injuries.
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@Michael Livingston’s: It is clear that Iran was staging a political demonstration with no intention of harming any American soldiers. Iran has the capability to cause tremendous casualties.
Who else covered up this lie? They had to know immediately this happened. So was Trump afraid he might have to follow through on his threats or did the military tell him “no casualties” because they’re afraid of his reaction? Either way it smacks of the US being afraid of starting a war. Ridiculous situation, again, that Trump has blundered into. God help us!
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Look at the damage to the air base as shown in the accompanying picture. That has to all be rebuilt at who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It's truly a wonder no one was killed. And for anyone dismissing concussion as a headache, you know nothing about concussion - it's quite serious.
As for the person responsible for all of this - is anyone surprised that he lied? It's what he does. With abandon, relentlessly, whatever the subject. So very sick and tired of the man.
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@Deb
Imagine how much worse it would have been if the Iranians had not warned us (via the Iraqis) that the strike was coming.
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@Deb "That has to all be rebuilt at who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Millions. Many millions of $. and don't forget that defense contractors will get a huge cut of that.
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@Deb And 175 innocent civilians were killed including dozens of Canadians. That's on Trump as well.
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So I am grateful no one was killed and happy we are not going to war with Iran but I would like to point out that Iran crossed a red line that trump laid down. He stated that any retaliation would be met with total destruction of Iran. Some times it is a good thing that all he does is lie.
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@oscar jr Another Trump lie. He’s not going to start a war with Iran. We’re already losing 2in the Middle East and are being lied to about it as reported last week.
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@oscar jr
"If Iran does anything... anything it shouldn't be doing...anything at all (insert threats of Armageddon). Trump said this less than 48 hours before Iran did something.
Glad to hear that dropping twenty one accurately targeted missiles within the perimeters of two joint US/Iraq bases injuring American servicemen such that they required medevac to another continent doesn't count as 'anything at all'.
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No it’s not.
My granddaughter was diagnosed with two concussions during high school volleyball. She’s fine. These were not concussions but just symptoms. That means a headache. The soldiers will be fine. End of story.
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@Shamrock I'm glad, as their doctor, you took the time to follow up with us on their status. Because I'm sure only their doctor could actually know their status.
This is like when my car was hit by another car going through town; thankfully it was just a fender bender. So when another car going doing the interstate gets hit I know it's not a big deal; because I was fine in mine. I can keep on driving and not worry.
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I’m glad your granddaughter is doing well, but do you suppose her experience might not be equivalent to a thorough medical examination for soldiers wounded by an exploding guided middle?
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@Shamrock Guess you believe that applies to football players too. Just nothing?
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This is pathetic. So, there were in fact eleven casualties. That amounts to eleven lies in one sentence. A record?
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A concussion review isn’t a casualty.
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@Michael Livingston’s "A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion."
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@Michael Livingston’s
These soldiers were medevacked out for medical reasons. That constitutes a casualty. If their officers weren't concerned, they would have just been observed at their base.
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No Commander in Chief should ever lie about the state of our troops.
But, of course Trump will, and that reflects on every Republican willing to stand by his lies and abuse.
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@Suzanne Moniz and those who vote for him!
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@Suzanne Moniz
Granted. But under what declared war motion is Trump a CinC? Did he simply inherit the mantle from Obama, who apparently inherited it from GWB? Will the next President be sworn in as Commander?
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@DaveD: Constitutionally the President is always the Commander in Chief. Don't they teach the Constitution in Michigan schools?
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The man is utterly incapable of telling the truth.
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He doesn't respect anyone enough to try being honest. And he could not care less about anyone or their injuries.
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@Katherine Kovach My theory is that, given the close Iran-Russia ties, Trump was told by Putin or his surrogates (perhaps via Erdogan) that the U.S. was not to go to war with Iran.
We don't know what exactly Putin has on Trump, but it's something meaningful.
The Iranians were provided with this chance to bomb a base as a way to save face. Trump was to say that there were no casualties so he could avoid the war that Putin doesn't want. U.S. soldiers were put near enough to harms way so that it wouldn't be obvious to everyone that the whole thing was staged. And they were a little nearer than they should have been, because Trump didn't especially care if they were hurt, just that they were present but not killed.
There is no bottom. We are in free fall.
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Donald Trump probably has never heard of a concussion, an injury to a human being. He probably thought a concussion was a part of building structure damage, or something else we cannot even concoct or imagination what Trump could come up with.
Dealing with Donald Trump is not like dealing with a normal, intelligent person. His mind doesn’t work like we would expect. He also has a barrier in his brain tissue that does not differentiate between truth and lies.
To the eleven soldiers that indeed did receive injury because of this Iranian incident, we acknowledge your injury. We are sorry for your injury. And we, the American people do sincerely thank you for your service and dedication to the United States. You do not deserve to go without acknowledgement, nor do your loved ones, who know what has been done deserve to be ignored and lied about. We hope you will have a full recovery, too.
Hoping we will not have to be apologizing for Donald Trump much longer and that one way or another, impeachment or election, he will be banned from being the leader of the United States of America. Then maybe “All” will be well.
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At what point is it enough? Our president lies at the time. Please call it that. He lied about our troops being injured. He lied about our embassies being under threat. He lies constantly and worse, he gets agencies and his cabinet to lie along with him.
From Barr at home and Pompeo abroad, we are in some serious hurt. I don’t believe a thing on the economy either.
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@Lynne while trump is in the wheel house spinning the wheel, pushing buttons and pulling levers? the ship of the (Obama) economy continues to cruise in the open ocean..... there is a question as too how long this can continue as trump continues his antics. it takes a lot to stop, turn or even slow a big ship but once it's accomplished? getting back on course and up to speed takes years....
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First, it was "No American servicemen were killed or wounded in the retaliatory missile strikes of Iran on US military installations," and that "Iran's missiles hit nothing but dirt." Now it's: At least "11 American troops were treated for concussion" following those strikes that the US air defense systems failed miserably to stop.
What's next? A "freak accident" involving US servicemen where a number of them are killed? That's the way to reveal casualties without admitting that you took a military hit these days.
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Brain concussions are not minor injuries. They often have long term consequences. How can the President lie about a soldier's injuries? They must be a code of conduct for the commander in chief.
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@SridharC
"...must be a code of conduct for the commander in chief."
This would be funny to me if it weren't so sad that you're being so naive here. It is increasingly apparent that social norms, mores, and respect for the Oval Office are the only things that have protected the American people from someone like Trump up to this point. There is no honor in this administration.
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@SridharC "How can the President lie about a soldier's injuries"
Because he lies about everything. If he's talking, he's lying. Every.Time.
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@M.A.A And they still tell me that most active duty men and women vote for him. I am shocked. He is so callous with their lives yet they vote for him.
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Concussion symptoms from a missle? My son-in-law was thrown across a room from a mortar blast while serving in Afganistan a few years ago. The brain-rattling effects were immediate and may be with him forever.
His two friends weren't so "lucky".
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@Rc
Thank your son for his service. I hope he his disability isn't severe and that he continues to improve.
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@ExPatMX thank you. His disability is not severe (according to those who don't feel them) but it is persistent at this time. Fingers crossed.
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@Rc For all we know, these injuries are that bad. I half expect them to admit somebody was killed by the end of the day.
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Concussive injuries are serious (too,)
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“... contradicting earlier statements by President Trump that no Americans had been injured.“
So ... the Iranian government lied at first to the Iranian people ... and the American government lied at first to the American people ...
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and the trump administration continues to lie to the american people on the impulses that led to the strike on soleimani
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@Satire & Sarcasm Therefore: the American government is no better than the Iranian government. Actually, Trump and the Republicans *are* trying to install a theocracy here.
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"I'm pleased to inform you the American people should be extremely grateful and happy". What kind of an autocratic egomaniac lies about eleven injured soldiers and then tells people how they should feel about an illegal, controversial assassination by missile?
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@tony There is no contradiction between what Trump said and 11 soldiers later feeling concussion symptoms. Trump didn't "lie"; and the killing of the Iranian general was not illegal (and not an "assassination") especially where he was the designated head of a terrorist organization. Virtually every word in your post is inaccurate and yet you got a huge number of "recommends."
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@tony
Trump is trying to time an invasion of Iran for October, so he can run as a War President in November.
He accused Obama of planning that twelve years ago, but Obama wasn't self absorbed enough to start a war to get re-elected. Trump is.
Trump rattles his sword against Iran to keep tensions high, but backs off, because he can't invade too early.
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@R.P. Been near a ballistic missile impact lately? You are apologizing for what may be a lying cover-up. The soldiers felt that immediately, I'll tell you right now.
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