3 minutes ago, beechguy said:

Because the last time we left, ISIS kicked the <deleted> out of the Iraqis. Those bases probably take some incoming on a regular basis, but the media can't be bothered to tell you that.

No idea why you are rambling in this manner.

 

Read the post I responded to and interpret my post in light of it...

1 hour ago, PhonThong said:

Those were rocket or mortars. Iran has fired surface to surface ballistic missiles. That is a game changer. 

Not really, they are still hitting dirt, and not very effective. As I said, same as a Palestinian throwing a rock. Now that they have had their little tantrum, things could calm down, but I wouldn't want to be an Iranian and count on that.

4 minutes ago, beechguy said:

1 hour ago, PhonThong said:

Those were rocket or mortars. Iran has fired surface to surface ballistic missiles. That is a game changer. 

Not really, they are still hitting dirt, and not very effective. As I said, same as a Palestinian throwing a rock. Now that they have had their little tantrum, things could calm down, but I wouldn't want to be an Iranian and count on that.

The overnight rocket attacks on the two US-manned bases in Iraq was simply the equivalent of firing Kalashnikov's in the air. They just buried one of their leaders after all so I imagine there's lot of that going about. I would be very surprised if any Iranian rockets hit anywhere inside or close to the American servicemen but I am sure the Pentagon and State Department will need to discuss this before bolstering their initial claims that nobody was hurt. It will be tougher for them to make up stories and pictures of American casualties but it wouldn't be totally unexpected as they strive to justify an equal response. The Canadian and British up in Erbil have already said none of their servicemen were injured or killed.

 

If the US reads this 'retaliation' as anything different and chooses to respond in kind, then they are increasingly on their own as the rest of the civilized world, including major coalition allies that weren't afforded the courtesy of advance warning, has voiced the real need for restraint here.

1 hour ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Airspace is being cleared of  commercial aircraft over the Gulf in general.

 

Nope.

My flight from BKK to Paris, stops in Dubai.

Dubai and Muscat (Oman) are the biggest passenger flight hubs on the planet.

2 minutes ago, Enki said:

Nope.

My flight from BKK to Paris, stops in Dubai.

Dubai and Muscat (Oman) are the biggest passenger flight hubs on the planet.

Yes, sorry.  I amend that to US  based airlines.

4 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Yes, sorry.  I amend that to US  based airlines.

SIA instruction to keep clear too. Any more amendment. To err is human. 

Some inflammatory bickering posts and replies have been removed. 

 

A post containing a link to a private site has been removed as an unapproved source. 

3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

NBC is now reporting that Iran is warning that if there is retaliation for the two waves of attacks they launched their 3rd wave will destroy Dubai and Haifa.

https://www.westernstandardonline.com/2020/01/live-irans-revenge-underway/

 

I suspect if the mad mullahs level Dubai and Haifa that Iran will be turned into a large sheet of glass. Time for the Iranian regime to face reality, they picked a fight they just can not win.

So you are quite happy that 82 million people may die to satisfy Trump's ego?

45 minutes ago, beechguy said:

Because the last time we left, ISIS kicked the <deleted> out of the Iraqis. Those bases probably take some incoming on a regular basis, but the media can't be bothered to tell you that.

A common but inexplicable misconception. Iran and ISIS are sworn enemies. US spent years trying to rid Syria of ISIS, then Russia and Iran joined the fray and cleared Syria of ISIS in months. Iran has always been our ally in the fight against ISIS.

49 minutes ago, beechguy said:

Because the last time we left, ISIS kicked the <deleted> out of the Iraqis. Those bases probably take some incoming on a regular basis, but the media can't be bothered to tell you that.

It should not surprise you that the media does not report on what you personally feel to be probable events.

Well,  there goes my trip to Iran. 

 

 

 

 

Some troll posts have been removed. 

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Iran can hit hit Israel and probably cause a lot of damage but either those mullahs are stupid or senile not realising what israel can do to them in return or simply they have a deathwish and don't give a toss if millions of iranians will perish in a cloud of nuclear fallout...

Possibly true, but was it worth Trump provoking this scenario where hundreds of thousands may be killed on both sides over several countries, and of course the tit for tat killing may go on for years on US and other countries' soil too. Just because some protesters vandalised part of the US embassy in Baghdad without any casualties?

Is Trump so narcissistic and deranged to actually want this?

Just like Columbo said in the old TV show.  It all washes out in the end

2 hours ago, URMySunshine said:

Ukrainian airliner with 180 on board crashed in Iran.

 

Is it true that it might have injured an Iranian missile in flight?

1 hour ago, AllThaiedUp said:

Articulate?  Really?  Iran has vowed that their ultimate goal is to blow Israel off the map...what more do you need??

Baloney. They want to end Zionism not Israel. 

Iran just played trump and put him in a bad place.

 

iran had a reasonable proportionate response to in sending missiles to the air base in iraq from which it was attacked. They then said thats it, they will do no more.

 

but for trump, he has said any response or bombing of air bases will be crossing the red line. So if he does nothing he is weak like he claimed about obama. If he does anything he is starting a war he will regret with no exit strategy. Which is against his promise to get out of there.

 

if he does nothing im sure his supporters will be on here to say he is a weak president.

3 minutes ago, dexterm said:

Baloney. They want to end Zionism not Israel. 

Dexterm,  I don't think many folks know the difference between zionists and Israelis.  

3 hours ago, rabas said:

Maybe even get rid of the mullah tyranny in Iran, at least that is what many Irani expats are hoping. 

 

OTOH in Iran itself far more Iranian people are supporting the regime.

 

3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

deleted post

 

3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Not sure I count airlifting them those pallets of billions of dollars in used banknotes really counts as serious economic pressure. It is more like appeasement. Give them riches and pray they will be by mate afterwards. It was exactly this appeasement that led to the violence we are now seeing.

Do try to research the topic before you post. It saves you looking more foolish forever.

 

BTW that story was just another one of Trumps's lies. (He doesn't do research either).

 

And whose money was it in the first place?

 

https://apnews.com/f53aeebcb0f64b76a2e2a54b2b002dad

 

August 27, 2019

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday assailed the Obama administration for being hoodwinked by Iran, making his case with a frequently told and false story about the U.S. giving billions of dollars to Tehran.

 

THE FACTS: It’s the kind of deal that did not actually take place.

When Iran signed the multinational deal to restrain its nuclear development in return for being freed from sanctions, it regained access to its own assets, which had been frozen abroad. There was no $150 billion gift from the U.S. treasury or other countries. Iran was allowed to get its money back.

The $1.8 billion refers to a separate matter, also misstated by the president going back to before the 2016 election.

A payout of roughly that amount did come from the U.S. treasury. It was to pay an old IOU.

In the 1970s, Iran paid the U.S. $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured.

19 minutes ago, billd766 said:

OTOH in Iran itself far more Iranian people are supporting the regime.

And increased by Trumps actions.

3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Not sure I count airlifting them those pallets of billions of dollars in used banknotes really counts as serious economic pressure. It is more like appeasement. Give them riches and pray they will be by mate afterwards. It was exactly this appeasement that led to the violence we are now seeing.

Ah yes, the fake '150 billion' regularly regurgitated by you-know-who when he can't get his way.

 

FWIW, they did withhold the second tranche of about $400 million for several hours as leverage to get some US CITIZENS freed from Iranian jails. Now that is an appropriate way of pressuring a hostile foreign government to do something good and legitimate for America. Maybe DJT misread Obama's game plan when it came to the Ukraine? That nasty, recurring 'But Obama' affliction kicked in and stymied his self-professed huge brain into thinking he could buy some foreign help from a friendly government in the coming election if he sat on their funding?

27 minutes ago, billd766 said:

3 hours ago, rabas said:

Maybe even get rid of the mullah tyranny in Iran, at least that is what many Irani expats are hoping.

OTOH in Iran itself far more Iranian people are supporting the regime.

I would doubt that, remember the population is not free to express their views, far from it. However, looking for data, it seems roughly 70% would oppose it. This is from a well-known Tehran political science professor. Brookings Institute:

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/07/11/four-decades-later-did-the-iranian-revolution-fulfill-its-promises/

 

Of course it is hard to say as Iran is divided between modern Iran and the under-developed religious rural areas. Iran has always been a bit schizophrenic along these lines.

1 hour ago, DannyCarlton said:

A common but inexplicable misconception. Iran and ISIS are sworn enemies. US spent years trying to rid Syria of ISIS, then Russia and Iran joined the fray and cleared Syria of ISIS in months. Iran has always been our ally in the fight against ISIS.

Subscribing to the myth that Russia and Syria somehow magicked ISIS away 'in a few months' made everyone feel safer and happier.

 

Nobody asked where all these radical fighters were magicked away to, let alone verified the claims that they'd actually gone. But MSM jumped on the bandwagon and grudgingly acknowledged that somehow they had achieved what the US and her traditional coalition partners had failed to do.

 

I reality, they have never left, it's their homeland, they all look the same and they are still there waiting to fill the vacuum that yet another perilous American misadventure in the middle east will inevitably bring. Only this time, by assassinating people and (possibly) attacking Iran, the resultant vacuum will be 'yuge', another dubious superlative for the current POTUS to embellish his resume with.

9 minutes ago, rabas said:

I would doubt that, remember the population is not free to express their views, far from it. However, looking for data, it seems roughly 70% would oppose it. This is from a well-known Tehran political science professor. Brookings Institute:

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/07/11/four-decades-later-did-the-iranian-revolution-fulfill-its-promises/

 

Of course it is hard to say as Iran is divided between modern Iran and the under-developed religious rural areas. Iran has always been a bit schizophrenic along these lines.

So you think that more than 41 million Iranians oppose the current regime based on a report from a political science who is an exile?

 

Your choice.

5 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Subscribing to the myth that Russia and Syria somehow magicked ISIS away 'in a few months' made everyone feel safer and happier.

 

Nobody asked where all these radical fighters were magicked away to, let alone verified the claims that they'd actually gone. But MSM jumped on the bandwagon and grudgingly acknowledged that somehow they had achieved what the US and her traditional coalition partners had failed to do.

 

I reality, they have never left, it's their homeland, they all look the same and they are still there waiting to fill the vacuum that yet another perilous American misadventure in the middle east will inevitably bring. Only this time, by assassinating people and (possibly) attacking Iran, the resultant vacuum will be 'yuge', another dubious superlative for the current POTUS to embellish his resume with.

Not. The majority were foreign fighters, now languishing in prison camps in Northern Syria or dead. Thousands of them.

7 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

Not. The majority were foreign fighters, now languishing in prison camps in Northern Syria or dead. Thousands of them.

Not right. The Kurds estimated that ISIL has around 200,000 fighters and about 5-6 000 foreigners. You known of any prison that can accommodate 200,000 ISIL? 

8 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Not right. The Kurds estimated that ISIL has around 200,000 fighters and about 5-6 000 foreigners. You known of any prison that can accommodate 200,000 ISIL? 

"There are many foreign fighters in ISIL's ranks. In June 2014, The Economist reported that "ISIS may have up to 6,000 fighters in Iraq and 3,000–5,000 in Syria, including perhaps 3,000 foreigners;"

 

"As of September 29, 2015, the CIA estimated that 30,000 foreign fighters had come to join ISIL.^[70] As of October 2015, 21% came from Europe, 50% from Western Asia or North Africa, and 29% from elsewhere; according to the Global Terrorism Index and other sources, they were of the following nationalities:^[71]"

 

 

ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_activity_of_ISIL

 

 

6 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Not right. The Kurds estimated that ISIL has around 200,000 fighters and about 5-6 000 foreigners. You known of any prison that can accommodate 200,000 ISIL? 

Well not since trump abandoned the kurds to let turkey have a go at them causung thousands of isis to escape prison.

We will attack the White House- several old missiles fired into the next Muslim country ????