We Have A President Again

I don’t think Trump understands what he’s demanding today, or how likely it is that forcing it will not result in what we are trying to prevent… things have changed, “the times they are A-changin’.” Bob Dylan
 
Infidel 762 said:
I absolutely agree religion is at the core of this, along with power, security, and history all feeding each other. At this point, both Israel and Iran see the other less as a rival and more as a threat to their survival — and that’s what makes every escalation so dangerous, and now we are caught in the middle of it.

But I also think this has grown beyond religion alone, to keep us committed. To me, oil running our livelihoods has become the second, if not dominant, objective. Once oil and infrastructure get involved, the effects stop being regional and start hitting common folk everywhere.

I could be wrong, but it feels like resuming strikes is just a matter of time, and we’re heading toward another cycle where both sides frame escalation as “defensive” or “necessary retaliation,” and each response becomes the justification for the next one.

My concern is that this doesn’t end with a few fast strikes. It grinds on as a long, contest of wills where civilians continue to suffer and die while governments call it strategy.

At some point, it stops feeling like politics and starts feeling like people everywhere just trying to hold onto basic livelihood. That, or we call a strategic loss a win and walk away. They were willing to negotiate the nuclear aspect before; now they are not, and have every reason to pursue it to ensure they never get hit like this again.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Iran wont budge, their beliefs are deeply rooted.
 
Iran has officially ordered that its near weapons-grade uranium remain inside the country. Tehran is also rejecting outside pressure to ship enriched uranium abroad as part of peace negotiations.

At the same time, Iran is now asserting control over additional territory. The IRGC and the newly formed “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” released a map claiming expanded military and regulatory authority over a larger section of the strait, including waters belonging to the UAE and Oman.

In simple terms, they’re throwing up a middle finger to our red lines. At this point, it’s hard to argue that either the military strikes or the negotiations have achieved the objectives we were told they would. So why does this still get framed as a victory by Trump?
 
the-last-great-act-of-defiance.jpg
 
DAA said:
Seems like Iran would not want to let this end until after the mid terms.

- DAA
Click to expand...
iran doesn't want it to end. I like to use a term I call "confession through projection" notice how trump says Iran is "begging" for a deal. what that means is he is begging for a deal. If you apply confession through projection you will find it works for alot of things you see happen in the world.
 
Iran’s leadership can afford to drag this out because wealth there is extremely unevenly divided. The people making the decisions — especially the top regime and IRGC leadership — are incredibly wealthy and insulated from the economic pain.

So while our blockade crushes everyday Iranian civilians with inflation and shortages, the shot callers remain insulated and willing to sacrifice at the expense of others. That’s why they can sit at the table for years without urgency.

Trump is also wealthy, but desperate not to go down in history owning a quagmire of world-changing proportions. His word holds little weight outside of MAGA and FOX News. And like the IRGC, he too is willing to sacrifice at the expense of others.
 
Venezuelan President Maduro thought Trump wasn't a leader when he gave Trump the middle finger on TV.
I think Maduro, other world leaders and the Democrat party regret underestimating Trump.
Iran's real leaders are living in caves praying to Allah that a predator drone doesn't end their lives.
They are living on borrowed time and know it.
Maybe Trump should've followed Obama + Biden's lead and sent plane loads of currency to Iran and kicked the can down the road till Iran built a nuke ?
SJC
 
Saw an interesting article today. A mob boss after prison. Said he was providing the boss guy 2 M$ a day. Sure the Iran boss get more than that. And hide it from the citizens.
 
shoots100 said:
Venezuelan President Maduro thought Trump wasn't a leader when he gave Trump the middle finger on TV.
I think Maduro, other world leaders and the Democrat party regret underestimating Trump.
Iran's real leaders are living in caves praying to Allah that a predator drone doesn't end their lives.
They are living on borrowed time and know it.
Maybe Trump should've followed Obama + Biden's lead and sent plane loads of currency to Iran and kicked the can down the road till Iran built a nuke ?
SJC
Click to expand...
Trump already had four years as president, so acting like he just arrived on the world stage doesn’t really hold up. Iran expanded enrichment capability, fought through proxies, and kept moving forward during his first term too.

At this point, all the “what could have been” and “what should have been” no longer matter. What matters is where we are now, and the lies people are being fed about the current situation.

I don’t think Democrats regret underestimating Trump nearly as much as Trump regrets underestimating Iran. He tore up the nuclear deal, started a war, and is now begging for a deal similar to the one he walked away from.

Before all this, Iran was at least willing to negotiate parts of the nuclear program Trump is now trying to salvage. Now their position is basically a hard red-line “no.” So acting like they’re hiding in caves begging for mercy does not really match reality.

What Iran is doing now with the strait and its refusal to even discuss the nuclear issue would have once been used as justification to attack. Now it’s happening after the attacks, and we’re trying to get them to agree to something good enough for Trump to claim victory and save face.
 
Come on Jeremy, You know Trump was too busy pulling the knives out of his back to really do anything during his first term, but as is his MO, he didn't let that happen this time around and hit the road running.
Obama's deal with Iran was a farce and Iran broke that deal before the ink dried.
Trump tore the deal up in 2018 and Biden released more funds to help them enrich uranium and fund terror around the globe instead of putting his slipper down.
You taking the word of any Iranian news agency as gospel is truly disheartening.
Toilet paper is worth more than Iran's currency.
They're down to using sail boats as navy vessels and kites as an air force.

SJC
 
Back
Top