It just might be, there are so many aspects of this war that remain uncertain, there's no question that Iran has outwitted Israel and the US on so many levels, and both were grossly unprepared with their strategies, and nobody knows where this is going at this point in time.

This situation is expected to trigger a chain reaction across the global economy, from shortages of raw materials in the petrochemical sector to rising pressure on global food prices in the months ahead. Nobody wants that. Or do they? And if so, why?

The Pentagon is severely limiting press access, everything in regard to this war is being censored by both the US and Israel, this entire war is being run by a guy who couldn't qualify to be the leader of a local Boy Scout Troop, and Trump is being advised by some of the least intelligent and least wise people in American history. In addition the US has not won a war in 81 years, despite having the world's most expensive military, and every single success any country has had in building a democracy has come about as a result of having soldiers on the ground for many many years, resulting in countless deaths and many trillions in debt.

To accomplish regime change in Iran might require the lives of tens of thousands of US soldiers over a period of many years. Are Americans up for that, are we truly willing to make those kinds of sacrifices, and will it be worth it? Or will it just be another Iraq, or Afghanistan, Vietnam or Korea?

Yesterday, Trump said that he’d do whatever is necessary to ease the oil crisis. He also assured America that the crisis “will be over soon.”

But that is total BS.

The problem isn’t just that Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz. It’s also that Iran, Israel, and the United States have all inflicted — and continue to inflict — serious damage to the oil and gas infrastructure of the Middle East. This damage will take any months, and more likely many years to repair.

What we are now witnessing is one of the grossest military and political blunders in modern history. It’s not hard to understand why Trump is trapped in Iran. He doesn’t listen to anyone outside his small circle of sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear.

But there’s something else. Iran has adopted an asymmetric war strategy that’s working. During the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd came up with a theory of competitive decision-making that shaped American military doctrine for a generation. He called it the OODA loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Boyd found that victory doesn’t go to the side with more firepower. It goes to the side that cycles through the OODA loop faster — observing what’s changing, orienting to its meaning, deciding what to do, and acting before its adversary does.

Iran has adopted Boyd’s approach. Iran hasn’t needed to match American firepower; it’s needed only to generate massive economic and political problems for Washington that outrun Washington’s ability to orient, decide, and act.

Iran has gotten inside Trump’s OODA loop because Iran has responded to U.S. airstrikes by widening the war horizontally — attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, launching inexpensive drones and many missiles at Gulf state oil and gas infrastructure, provoking the U.S. and Israel to destroy even more of that infrastructure, hitting Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain (causing regional outages for banking, e-commerce, and cloud services), and squeezing other choke points that the global economy depends on.

Iran’s leaders — veterans of asymmetric wars in Iraq and Syria — are applying the same asymmetric logic to Trump’s war. Inexpensive drones, short-range missiles, and sea mines can have the same effect that IEDs had in Iraq — only with far greater strategic impact, because they disrupt global supply chains.

On Wednesday Israel struck at the crown jewel of Iran’s energy industry — the giant South Pars gas field that Iran shares with Qatar and is by far the largest in the world. (Israel says Trump gave the attack his blessing; Trump says he didn’t.) Iran quickly retaliated with an attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility. More ego driven stupidity.

Since he and Israel began bombing Iran, Trump’s strategy has been entirely reactive. Iran is generating problems for Washington faster than Washington can contain them — a clear sign that Iran is inside Trump’s OODA loop. Trump did not even have the vision to fill the US strategic stockpiles prior to invading Iran. What level of stupidity is required to avoid doing something like that in preparation? What was he thinking and why wasn't the planning done better? This amounts to sheer recklessness and near total hubris and he is playing with our wallets, and our quality of life, not his own. He doesn't care about his day to day expenses. But we do. 95% of the world does.

Trump is in so deep at this point, the destruction of Iranian oil infrastructure has been so intense they are likely entrenched to the point where they will either refuse to negotiate or they will negotiate on their own terms.

So hey Don. How about you withdraw all your bases from the Middle East forever, before we seize operations and agree to the ceasefire that you desperately need? ? Are you really in a position to deal with $200 oil for a sustained period? Can your economy handle it? We can, we're used to living without, and we're used to hardship.

The American people are some of the softest people in the world, they're not willing to make any real sacrifices, certainly not long-term, and certainly not without any well outlined and specific objective in mind. Did your tiny brain even consider these possibilities? Are your advisors really that ignorant? How much truly important and relevant information are they withholding from your sorry mind?

The MSM that Republicans regularly accuse of fake news is engaging in massive censorship and being as complicit in regard to this war as they were with the war in Iraq, and the American and Israeli people are being denied the true facts and the true extent of the damage and setbacks that the US military and the Israeli public are facing. That truth will eventually emerge. It's unavoidable, you can't cover up truth forever.

They already cost him the midterms. He and Israel have recklessly bombed thousands of apartments buildings, office buildings, hospitals, schools, and homes. What's else do they have to lose? Iran will possibly dare the mindless goomba to find out.

^^^

All the above, thousands of deaths, and the only actual reason that makes any sense is one man desperate throw of the dice to deflect from the disgrace and scandal that really defines his Presidency. That is what it really comes back to!

But Isreal in the mix you say? Well Nethanayu is facing elections in 6 months, Gaza has played out too early, and spinning it out has way overplayed what was justifiable defensive action against Hamas. The Israeli public is sensitive to that, and the deepening international condemnation brings; he sees his only hope is to, once again, play the existential threat to Israel card, so this manufactures one.

Two flailing political leaders, unhindered by scruples, and their attempts to prop up their power bases coincide!

2 minutes ago, JAG said:

^^^

All the above, thousands of deaths, and the only actual reason that makes any sense is one man desperate throw of the dice to deflect from the disgrace and scandal that really defines his Presidency. That is what it really comes back to!

But Isreal in the mix you say? Well Nethanayu is facing elections in 6 months, Gaza has played out too early, and spinning it out has way overplayed what was justifiable defensive action against Hamas. The Israeli public is sensitive to that, and the deepening international condemnation brings; he sees his only hope is to, once again, play the existential threat to Israel card, so this manufactures one.

Two flailing political leaders, unhindered by scruples, and their attempts to prop up their power bases coincide!

Just wait and see how those two boys will still be in charge next year. They got it figured out,

Yes, and the biggest criminal conspiracy in history as well! The courts keep saying what's being done is illegal, but nobody is being held accountable.

Just now, Hummin said:

Just wait and see how those two boys will still be in charge next year. They got it figured out,

Nope. Both of them are in so far over their heads this time, and I think they're just starting to realize that. This is not going to end well for either one of those power hungry nitwits. This is truly the beginning of the end for Donald Trump. Iran will be his undoing, and it could take the GOP many years to recover from this extreme blunder.

And that's a great thing for the American people and the world.

It's up there, but I think the worst to date is the $2.3 TRILLION that went missing right before the 9/11 attack.

Just now, HappyExpat57 said:

It's up there, but I think the worst to date is the $2.3 TRILLION that went missing right before the 9/11 attack.

And how about the billions of dollars on pallets that went missing in Iraq? My guess is that Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush Jr. And Wolfowitz, got most of that money. The corruption in America is astounding, it always has been, and it always will be, it's just better hidden than it is in a place like Thailand.

14 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Nope. Both of them are in so far over their heads this time, and I think they're just starting to realize that. This is not going to end well for either one of those power hungry nitwits. This is truly the beginning of the end for Donald Trump. Iran will be his undoing, and it could take the GOP many years to recover from this extreme blunder.

And that's a great thing for the American people and the world.

I truly hope you are right, but I do not have any high hopes. If it happens, it will be a pleasant surprise.

However, Im not sure todays government will leave voluntarily.

6 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

It's up there, but I think the worst to date is the $2.3 TRILLION that went missing right before the 9/11 attack.

I read some time ago that the "plane" that struck the Pentagon hit the very office that was investigating the missing trillions.

21 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

It's up there, but I think the worst to date is the $2.3 TRILLION that went missing right before the 9/11 attack.

Pentagon did not report trillions of dollars missing the day before 9/11

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jun/29/instagram-posts/pentagon-did-not-report-trillions-of-dollars-missi/#:~:text=If%20Your%20Time%20is%20short%20*%20The,and%20an%20official's%20testimonies%20long%20before%209/11.

It is increasingly difficult to pretend the entire war isn't anything more than a desperate attempt to distract from Epstein. Every day there is new information that screams Trump has things to hide.

--Just this week it was revealed that upon Epstein's death, all while the FBI and local law enforcement was investigating, the DoJ went into the jail and destroyed hundreds of documents related to Epstein

-It is now known that upon Epstein's arrest, local and State LE in NM were searching Epstein's Zorro Ranch, until Trump's DoJ ordered them to stand down. Only now is that ranch finally being searched ny NM authorities.

-the manner in which Bondi's DoJ has withheld files, made weird redactions, and claims some damning files were "misplaced" until an investigative reporter noted Bates #s and the Dems then took that and demanded disclosure

-Bondi's perjury before Congress when she said there were no allegations against Trump, when files show Trump has been accused by a woman who clams Trump tried to force her to put her mouth on his mushroom. The FBI interviewed her 4 times, which is proof they took her allegations seriously. "Somehow" it was those transcripts which were not released, until Bondi was forced to do so.

-Newly released documents show Trump lied again, claiming he threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago

19 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

And how about the billions of dollars on pallets that went missing in Iraq? My guess is that Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush Jr. And Wolfowitz, got most of that money.

They successfully laundered 362 tons of money into their checking accounts.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1

18 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

I read some time ago that the "plane" that struck the Pentagon hit the very office that was investigating the missing trillions.

Yeah, 9/11 was a Jewish plot to hide the missing money.