War highlights strained alliances, unfettered militaries and a Washington with renewed appetite for regime change
A joint US-Israeli operation that appeared to use nuclear negotiations as cover. Gulf leaders courting Donald Trump as he decided to launch a major Middle Eastern intervention. Europe boxed out and a G7 defence minister caught so off-guard that he was grounded in Dubai as the bombs fell. And from Moscow, a strongly worded condemnation of the missile strikes against a fellow member of the anti-US “axis of upheaval” – and little else.
The war unleashed by the US and Israel on Saturday has exposed the new rules of geopolitics in Trump’s second presidency, with strained alliances, unfettered militaries and a Washington that has regained its appetite for regime change.
Despite an administration that claimed it would pull back from the Middle East and Europe in order to focus instead on the growing threat from China, the White House has toppled one leader in Latin America and has launched another war – that could easily become a regional conflict – with no clear plan for a transfer of power in Iran.
How the hell did they get caught off guard? He telegraphed this so loud that we could hear it coming a week away.
We were even getting articles that stated we’d be at war by the end of the week
I’m getting to the point where I basically predicted it would happen on Saturday too, because Trump has to make every single day all about himself. He just hates that weekend break where people do things like…not think as much about politics and spend time with their loved ones. It’s also why he posted some unhinged amount of posts over the Christmas / New Year’s holidays.
Look, I’m just saying, maybe… extraditing him to Iran after his term might be a funny solution to him that doesn’t get tied up in the courts. Just black bag him and do it right away just like his goons do right now
The funniest solution would be Maduro becomes US president and Venezuela gets Trump.
Thats cruel and mean. Venezuela doesn’t deserve that.
Caught off guard?
I know, right? The only thing surprising about this, is the fact that people are acting surprised about this.
I think the timing caught people off guard.
Everyone thought there would be more sabre rattling.
It’s surprising for sure.
That the Ayatollah was above ground, at his marked compound.
Iran had been saying he was no longer in Tehran, with outside sources claiming he’d fled.
US/Israel very likely considered he’d be hiding in one of very large number of deep underground bunkers. Smoking him out would take weeks to months.
But there he was, above ground, in Tehran, in a very watched compound.
I’m surprised they actually got the dude. Not that they bombed Iran though.
Wasn’t he just in his office?
Dunno. I definitely wouldn’t be chilling in my office if I was the leader of a nation at war with the USA, a nation well known for it’s ability to deliver a warhead to within a metre of it’s intended target with a high 90% probability of success.
I think the nation you are referring to is more well known for blowing up entire weddings to kill one guest. None of the USA’s “precision” munitions are anywhere near as accurate as you have described according to the people who actually use them. The supposed accuracy is just propaganda to make citizens more accepting of the government bombing other countries as they think the government “will only kill the bad guys.”
The reality is what happened to those 100+ school girls in Tehran. “Collateral damage” is the US militaries catchphrase.
I’ve heard speculation that was caused by a failed Iranian missile landing on the school, not by the US.
I wouldn’t take it at face value, but it’s a possibility.
There has been a disinformation campaign going around claiming that the Iranian government admitted responsibility that has been debunked and also false photographic evidence that has also been debunked.
It seems like someone or some organisation is putting a fair bit of effort into a disinformation campaign to muddy the waters on this one. This is shameful stuff to be amplifying at this stage without any evidence, you should be ashamed.
Well it could have been a meteorite
Don’t take it at face value
They took out Soleimani with a precision missile from a drone. Of course it’s costly but there’s no reason to doubt they have this capability
The loitering predator drone fired several missiles engulfing two cars in the explosion, killing 10 people. That does not sound to me like precision and more kill them all and let God sort it out.
Or do they have this capability to put a missile within a metre of the target and hit that girls school in Tehran on purpose?
You’re not reading what I’m writing. They do have high precision weapons, but it’s too costly to use them for everything.
It’s very unlikely that they wanted to bomb girl schools and only hit one, don’t you think?
I don’t think they considered he would actually follow through. He’s backed down like a little bitch when it actually came down to it previously.
The cowardly thing for him to do was bomb Iran, that was clear as day.
He sometimes did, he sometimes didn’t. He did bomb them at least once publicly.
That should have been enough for people to assume he would do it again when he feels cornered on an issue like the Epstein files.
Like when he abducted a South American president?
More than just abducted, he made a deal with their military to be the de facto puppet and give up maduro.
Just let them deal with this shit. Not our problem.
This may become at least Europe’s problem when they’re confronted with thousands of refugees.
Well we are gonna get that anyway when the middle east becomes uninhabitable due to global warming.
