The Killing of Soleimani: Is This The Beginning of WWIII?

[fraurosena]

Nancy Pelosi is not mincing words. 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by fraurosena

[fraurosena]

Trump’s chest pounding tweets don’t seem to have the desired effect...

 

[fraurosena]

Interesting thread explaining based on what and how the (chaotic) decision making in the Oval occurred and what the possible consequences are.

No unrolled version available yet.

[WiseGirl]

[fraurosena]

This.

 

[fraurosena]

This bodes well.

 /s

[Smash!]

But on the same time the top adviser of the Iranian president reacts very considerate and I like it

Congratulations 45, he played well because no one is talking about impeachment anymore [emoji2959]

[fraurosena]

Is sheer pettiness is the real reason Soleimani had to die?

Soleimani taunted Trump in a 2018 speech, calling him a ‘bartender’ and ‘casino manager’

[video embedded in the link]

Quote

In the wake of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top general, a video has resurfaced of Qassem Soleimani giving a speech in which he likened President Donald Trump to a “bartender or a casino manager.”

Soleimani gave the speech in July 2018, in response to Trump accusing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of making “demented words of violence and death.” Trump cautioned Rouhani from threatening the US, saying they would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”

Soleimani responded by giving a speech three days later in the city of Hamedan, Iran, calling Trump’s tweet “idiotic,” according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project.

He goes on to say that even though Trump had been in office for more than a year, “that man’s rhetoric is still that of a casino, of a bar.”

“He talks to the world in the style of a bartender or a casino manager. When he talks to China, to Russia, to Europe, or to anyone in the world, one feels that a gambler is talking,” Soleimani said.

Soleimani then gave a stern warning that “not a night goes by when we don’t think about you in our sleep.”

“Let me tell you, Mr. Trump the gambler… Let me tell you… Know that we are near you, in places that don’t come to your mind. We are near you in places that you can’t even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom,” he said.

He added: “You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end.”

On Friday, Mark Almond, director of the Crisis Research Institute in Oxford, wrote for The Daily Mail that “historians may well trace the moment Qassem Soleimani signed his own death warrant” to this speech.

It also harkens to another aspect of Trump lore – the idea that he was inspired to run for office after being made fun of by both President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Local speculation is that this move is due to fears of Iranian retaliation: "Visitors will need to show ID, as Arlington National Cemetery ramps up security"

Spoiler

Visitors to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia will need to present an ID, as the landmark increases its security.

Effective immediately, visitors who are 16 and older must show a valid state- or government-issued photo ID when entering the cemetery. Visitors who are 16 or 17 years old may use a school-issued ID.

Whether you are attending a funeral, part of a tour group, on a school trip or a personnel on official business, you will need to show an ID. This includes pedestrians, drivers and passengers.

The cemetery asked visitors to be patient, as this will add time to their travel.

“Physical security is everyone’s responsibility,” the cemetery said in a statement.

The military cemetery, which is under the U.S. Army, said the change is due to “current conditions.” It did not specify what these current conditions were.

The U.S. Park Police said it is stepping up patrols and vigilance at landmarks in three major American metropolitan areas as a result of mounting tensions with Iran, The Associated Press reported. A U.S. Park Police spokesman told The Associated Press the agency will have increased visibility and vigilance at different icons, though he declined to specify which ones.

U.S. Park Police is responsible for protecting several attractions in D.C., including the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city, its police department and the Department of Homeland Security “will remain in close contact with regional and federal partners to monitor evolving events — both at home and abroad.”

In the wake of the U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, cities across the U.S. have increased security despite reassurances there are no specific or credible threats against each location.

The Los Angeles Police Department said that it is monitoring events developing in Iran. Police in Boston said they are monitoring events around the world. As an added precautionary measure, Chicago has increased security presence at its airports. And New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that there will be heightened security at locations around the city.

 

[Smash!]

45‘s act seems to backfire:

This is an interesting friendship chart

[fraurosena]

Wanna bet Trump never imagined there would actually be serious and far-reaching consequences, like this one?

I see @Smash! was also posting about this.

Edited January 5, 2020 by fraurosena

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I'll believe it when I see it:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[Smash!]

Anders nailed it.

[Ali]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

 

Is she a veteran? All of these incompoops wanting a war should be forced to enlist.

[fraurosena]

What a ludicrous attempt at clearing himself of not informing Congress.

Just because he calls his tweets official legal notice to Congress, doesn't mean that it is. 

[Cleopatra7]

3 hours ago, Smash! said:

Anders nailed it.

Russia and Iran are allies though. If Trump really was just doing all this for Russia (which I don’t believe), it makes no sense that he’d do something that would alienate an ally of an ally. A much more plausible explanation is that the neocons have been gunning for “regime change” in Iran for 30+ years, and hoped that this would happen under Bush II but were sorely disappointed. Trump has no deeply held convictions about anything, but he has shown time and again that he’ll throw red meat out to the GOP base. The neocons were not on board with Trump until this, because his isolationism was directly against their own hyper-interventionalist foreign policy. Neocons also tend to be socially moderate and they looked down at Trump’s vulgarity and demagoguery. Attacking Iran has brought the neocons into “Trump, ride or die” territory, this further consolidating Trump’s control and influence over every aspect of the GOP. If Trump can appeal to every group in the Republican Party - the religious right, paleo-conservatives, neocons, libertarians, anti-immigration/racists - then he not only doesn’t have to worry about any possible defectors in the senate with regard to impeachment, but he can appeal only to his base during the election and still win.

What 2016 showed was that, contrary to what the GOP feared in 2008 and 2012, they can still still win elections by only appealing to the most reactionary elements among white voters. The Democrats are still pining away for those “white working class voters” they lost when LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act. Once an actual ground war starts (which I guess would be this Wednesday or whatever), expect the Democrats to fall in line with the “war president” lest they be seen as “unpatriotic.” 

[fraurosena]

Great. Now the rest of the world is also paying the consequences of Trump's idiocy.

Iran ends commitment to nuclear deal limits following US strike that killed Soleimani

[link leads to video]

[WiseGirl]

[LearningtoFly]

9 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Is sheer pettiness is the real reason Soleimani had to die?

Soleimani taunted Trump in a 2018 speech, calling him a ‘bartender’ and ‘casino manager’

[video embedded in the link]

 

It wouldn't surprise me.  This is the same person who has tried to undo anything done by President Obama since taking office.   He holds grudges for wrongs imagined or real.

Edited January 6, 2020 by LearningtoFly

[47of74]

Longshoremen up in New Brunswick aren't having any of fuck face's horseshit

Quote

Longshoremen in a New Brunswick port have declared that any military cargo destined for the Middle East is "hot cargo" and will refuse to move, load, or help ship the goods.

"We don't want to handle this port's cargo, or any cargo, intended for Iraq," said Patrick Riley, a spokesman for Local 273 of the International Longshoremen's Association in Saint John.

Mr. Riley said his membership believes any war on Iraq would be immoral.

"We have educated ourselves about what the issues are and we believe very strongly that we should take a strong stance against this war," he said.

 

5 hours ago, fraurosena said:

What a ludicrous attempt at clearing himself of not informing Congress.

Just because he calls his tweets official legal notice to Congress, doesn't mean that it is. 

I wish to Jesus Fornicating Christ on a goddamn flat, dry baked food that Jack's company would start enforcing their TOS before this orange butt plug gets us into WW 3.

 

[Dandruff]

1 hour ago, 47of74 said:

I wish to Jesus Fornicating Christ on a goddamn flat, dry baked food that Jack's company would start enforcing their TOS before this orange butt plug gets us into WW 3.

I'd love to see his reaction if they did.

[Audrey2]

7 hours ago, fraurosena said:

What a ludicrous attempt at clearing himself of not informing Congress.

Just because he calls his tweets official legal notice to Congress, doesn't mean that it is. 

Does anybody else read this tweet and think about an early Trump tweet about having nuclear weapons and what's the point of having them if you're not going to use them? I got a really bad feeling he just wants to use nuclear weapons and is looking for an excuse to do so.

[Ozlsn]

37 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

Does anybody else read this tweet and think about an early Trump tweet about having nuclear weapons and what's the point of having them if you're not going to use them? I got a really bad feeling he just wants to use nuclear weapons and is looking for an excuse to do so.

Still terrified he's going to use them to combat global warming.