Bannoi

I couldn't agree more

I suspect NATO in its current form is on its last legs. As far as Europe is concerned the only real threat is Russia and after the Ukrainian war has finished and Putin is gone hopefully we will be able to back to more normal relations. All it would take is another Trump-like President and NATO in its current form would be finished. Europe is quite capable of forming its own alliance or even its own military without the US and would be a lot safer if it did without the possibility of being dragged Ito more pointless wars perhaps even Canada Australia and NZ would like to join. That would require all US bases in Europe and any other countries that joined to tell the US to get lost. Certainly Europe maybe even the Middle East (apart from Israel unless it changes) and perhaps the world would be a much safer place. There seems to be a big difference between the mindsets of European and US people/governments Europeans would rather spend money improving the lives, health and wellbeing of it people whereas the US it would appear would rather spend the money on its military and making the wealthy even more so. Rather than "We the People" it's becoming more like "Sod the People" we got the money so we're more important.

John Kelly confirms Trump privately disparaged U.S. service members and veterans https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/john-kelly-confirms-trump-privately-disparaged-us-service-members-vete-rcna118543 There are many more sources even some video's

I think you'll find the problem is the 5yr old sitting in the White House.

Why is it that Trump just cant keep his mouth shut. By warning them not to mine or block the Strait of Hormuz he's effectively just telling them what's hurting him the most. As if they're going to take any notice of his threats of overwhelming retaliation what does he think is happening now and they're laughing at him. I fully expect Iran to concentrate even more on the strait because of his big mouth. The US may have destroyed some minelaying ships but mines can be deployed from any just about any boat ship or who knows maybe even drones. The strait may be 20 miles wide but its fairly shallow the usable, deep-water lanes for large tankers are only about two miles wide. Sink one or two and its going to be blocked for a long time None of this was necessary Trump has upset just about every country in the world with the exception of Israel and all the death and destruction raining down on the Iranian people are not going to make them more friendly towards America if anything they are going to support their own government more.

To be fair it's got to be a hoax. I don't think even Trump & Co. are stupid enough to telegraph a special forces operation in advance..................on second thoughts um.

Great idea couldn't possibly go wrong. I should think the US public wouldn't be best pleased to see public beheadings in Tehran as a reprisal for the Ayatollah though.

You're right they didn't invade perhaps I should have said attacked from a distance even out of range of reprisals in some cases. To invade they would to have had some guts and a backbone. Something the IDF in particular is sorely missing.

Maybe something to do with the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine. Perhaps the UK should confiscate the US & Israel's assets for invading Iran.

In 2015, Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany and as far as we know Iran was complying fully with the agreement. Then along comes Trump who going against all the other members of that group just rips it up. Why simple because it was Obama's deal. Now we have all this <deleted>e. If Iran was pursuing a nuclear capacity it is purely down to Trumps actions and even if they were they were years away from a viable weapon. There was no reason at all to attack Iran at this moment in time, apart from Trump wanting to play with his box of toy soldiers and being pressurised into it by Israel. Negotiations were taking place that could of secured a deal, surely getting Iran to formally give up any attempts to build a nuclear weapon and allow regular inspections by the IAEA in return for lifting some sanctions would have been significantly preferable to what we have now. But then that would require a grown up to make a deal like that. Right in the middle of the negotiations the US and Israel decide to murder Iran's Ayatollah and his family and start attacking Iran with missiles and bombs. This is not over by a long way and will continue not necessarily in its current form for years to come. Once again the US is sticking its nose in throwing its weight about creating chaos thousands of miles away from its own borders. Trump will probably pull all the carriers and planes back retire to the White House order another burger & fries and say its not my fault it Biden's or well it's they're own fault they should have done what I told them. America desperately needs to amend its Constitution because the famed checks and balances don't appear to be working all that well.

If there is anything Iran has learned from all this its 1 The US is not to be trusted so no point in negotiating with them. 2 If they don't want to be attacked again they must have nuclear weapons. They only have to look towards a certain little fat man with a bad haircut who openly boasts about building more even bigger more powerful Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles that could even reach the US, greatly expanding his nuclear arsenal and building AI drones. And the silence is deafening.

Don't worry we're not going to need a lot of gas summers coming. I predict a glorious summer just like the one in 1939.

I must be obvious to anyone with even the slightest idea of economics that the current trajectory is unsustainable perhaps Trump thinks he can just declare bankruptcy get the dept wiped out and start again, in other words legal theft as he has always done in business with no thought to those who he cheated and stole from. The US is paying over a trillion dollars in interest every year yet they keep borrowing and the interest keeps climbing everyone knows it's unsustainable but thats the problem with democracy. In order to get into power you have to get the votes. Say you are going to raise taxes and lower the voters standard of living and they won't vote for you. Thats one reason Trump is imposing tariffs and pretending it's other countries that are paying them in reality he's imposing higher taxes on the citizens of the US. The problem with that is it's been tried before and just doesn't work it has too many undesirable consequences. As long as the dollar remains the worlds reserve currency its unlikely there will be a sudden crash more likely a slow decline as the current trajectory is clearly unsustainable in the long term. if however it were to lose that status as the worlds reserve currency that could change practically overnight the cost of borrowing and financing that debt would most likely increase. At some time the central bank would have to take action possibly by buying its own debt, printing more money, devaluing the dollar, interest rates would increase all of which causes more inflation and living standards will fall.

As an ex-soldier you have no idea how much it turns my stomach to see this coward saluting. Avoided the draft 5 times with made up excuses while others went in his place and fought and died for their country in Vietnam then the had the audacity to call them suckers and losers. Now he seems to think that using the military to fire off missiles and bombs no matter how many are killed as long as they're not American is OK like it's some sort of game. Well I can tell you it's not a game 100's of people are dying 1000's of ordinary peoples lives are being destroyed. Im 85 now and can still remember the screams and the pain of losing friends seeing them drown in their own blood or calling for their mothers or wives. Friends who lived but whose lives were never the same again scarred mentally or physically or both. Thats bad enough but seeing their families when we returned home mothers fathers wives children crying it breaks your <deleted> heart. Even makes you feel why couldn't it have been me. And the worse part it never really solves anything. Going to war should really be the very last thing to do when every avenue has been explored and exhausted.

Attempted robbery gone wrong?

I shall treat that with the contempt it deserves.

Something wrong with that the UK favourable opinion of the US only down 4%. I can assure you its a lot more than that It looks to me like someone forgot to put a 0 after the 4.

Trump says If Trump says "the United States had already secured victory" what exactly does that mean is he now going to stop and tell everyone he's won leaving the middle East on fire. This isn't over by a long way. From what I heard Starmer wasn't considering sending a carrier to join at the US in attacking Iran it was to try to protect British people assets and allies in the region from the <deleted>storm caused by a petulant little kid who thinks its some sort of video game and a fanatical zealot trying to eliminate his enemies

And when the bombs stop falling & the missiles stop flying in the Middle East there are going to be thousands more. Will the USA & Israel feel they have a responsibility to take them all, they should seeing as they are the ones who will have caused it. But the chances of that happening are less than zero. Most likely Europe & the UK are the going to have to deal with it. The chances of hundreds if not thousands out for revenge & payback no matter what the cost are though I would say extremely high.

Yet if you are responsible for killing thousands of people including children some people think thats perfectly acceptable and even applaud them.

Sending it to Iran by air mail on behalf of Israel.

Ive now done 2 things I never thought I would do I've just ordered a new electric car. Ive been considering it for some time but not really 100% convinced this latest debacle has just convinced me. The 2nd is how I pay for it. I have always either paid cash or HP. Now this is for UK readers mainly. I have just ordered a brand new top of the range Frontera electric Ultimate PCP for £121 a month 5000 miles per year with free (charging) electricity for 12 months. I have seen it for £115 a month (without the free electricity). This means I can get rid of my 2.0 ltr diesel before it depreciates too much. As these days I only do between 1000 - 2000 miles a year, mostly no more the 20 miles from home and I always park on my drive outside my garage for me it makes perfect sense financially and I get a new car with all the latest gismo's and safety features. So no MOT's no diesel fuel cheaper servicing cheaper road tax, none for the first year (£10 paid) no repair bills (3yr guarantee) and I get to drive a brand new car as well as money in my pocket from the sale of my old one. The disadvantage is it's coming straight from the factory (after being checked at a local dealer) and I will have to wait until June before I get it.

Try a cheese egg beano. Toast a slice of bread butter it then melt cheese on it under a grill (Red Leicester or Cheddar preferably) pile baked beans on it and 1 or 2 fried eggs on top of that. Nectar from the gods.

Oil prices up airfare prices up mortgage rates up energy prices up food prices up gas prices up, did nobody think about sitting Trump down and explaining to him in simple terms that even a 5 year old could understand. Actions have consequences. I was watching TV tonight it would appear that none of the US allies were even warned before the idiot decided to launch strikes on Iran. They were even in the middle of negotiations. If he had informed them they just might have had a chance to get him to hold off. This is Israels war Netanyahu & Trump have dragged not only the American people but Europe and the rest of the world into it.

Every British Army Officer is required to study history wars, battles, conflicts, campaigns and learn from them there is always something to learn. If the US army is like you and doesn't think it's important that could go a long way to explaining why we kicked their arse on just about every exercise I ever engaged in with them.