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.

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      • Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works
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        15 hours ago

        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.

        • Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world
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          12 hours ago

          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.

          • Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works
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            4 hours ago

            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.

          • couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip
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            7 hours ago

            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

            • Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world
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              6 hours ago

              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?

              • couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip
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                6 hours ago

                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?

                • Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world
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                  5 hours ago

                  You responded to me disputing how accurate the USA’s precision missiles are by using the murder of Soleimani as an example of the USA’s precision weapons. I disputed this by saying Soleimani’s murder was hardly a precision strike and more a loitering reaper drone with knowledge of its target’s arrival unleashing several missiles in a hellish fireball that engulfed two cars and killed 10 people.

                  Surely attempting to blow up a target next to a small girls school would be the perfect time to use one of these costly precision weapons, if they exist? Now 150 children are dead, thanks for the “freedom”, I’m sure those girls parents are delighted.

                  • couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip
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                    3 hours ago

                    The point is: there’s not one accuracy for US missiles

                    If you can limit the damage to juqt two cars from a motorcade from a high flying drone, I think it’s pretty disingenuous to not call that a precision strike.

                    I think your last post shows that you just have a lot more baggage that you want to add to this.