5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It's also clear evidence of the importance of optics in the rescue. According to reports, a special ops C130 costing around $200 million was destroyed during the operation.

However, that is small potatoes when one considers the possibility the US was dragged into the conflict by Israel, using Mossad's knowledge of the Epstein files.

If true, the optics must be so bad Trump is wiliing to spend almost $1 billion a day to keep the file contents on him under wraps.

Actually 2 c130s and 1 little bird helicopter……so what we have hundreds yes hundreds of c130s mothballed just outside of Tucson.the equipment is easily replaced.not sure about the files definitely possible though as we know Epstein definitely used his brothel as a blackmail cash cow/leverage for his schemes.Bottom line in my view Donald sucked us into this fiasco without allies without permission and without understanding the consequences a truly epic blunder that is adversely affecting each and every human being on the planet.tired of winning yet magga?

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Actually 2 c130s and 1 little bird helicopter……so what we have hundreds yes hundreds of c130s mothballed just outside of Tucson.the equipment is easily replaced.not sure about the files definitely possible though as we know Epstein definitely used his brothel as a blackmail cash cow/leverage for his schemes.Bottom line in my view Donald sucked us into this fiasco without allies without permission and without understanding the consequences a truly epic blunder that is adversely affecting each and every human being on the planet.tired of winning yet magga?

The C130's used in the expedition would not be run of the mill C130's. They were almost certainly special ops C130's, equipped to the gills with state of the art technology. Probably why they were destroyed rather than have the equipment fall into Iranian, Russian, or Chinese hands.

2 would be a loss of $400 million.

4 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

That's quite a conspiracy theory. Have you taken your inspiration from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion?

It does explain why Trump consulted no other country.

I am well aware of the fact 44 million Jews have produced over 200 Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, whereas 1.4 billion Arabs have only managed two.

You can stick your inference of anti-semitism where the sun doesn't shine.

21 hours ago, JimCM said:

Netanyahu funded Hamas. $35 million a month, so they could fight with PLO and prevent the only solution, 2 states.

I'm thrilled to see that you recognize Iran as a remarkable nation. Have you thought about the possibility of moving there? It could be an exciting adventure!

On 4/4/2026 at 7:24 PM, Purdey said:

Someone explain: why is it fine for the USA to give Israel billions to then go on to kill Palestinians (i.e. sponsoring terrorism) by the thousand while Iran is not held to the same standard?

It's white supremacy.

Some low value posts have been removed:

13. Low-Value Posts - Posts that add no written contribution are not allowed.

    This includes emoji-only replies, very short comments, memes, GIFs, screenshots, or embedded social media posts without explanation or opinion.

10 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It's also clear evidence of the importance of optics in the rescue. According to reports, a special ops C130 costing around $200 million was destroyed during the operation.

However, that is small potatoes when one considers the possibility the US was dragged into the conflict by Israel, using Mossad's knowledge of the Epstein files.

If true, the optics must be so bad Trump is wiliing to spend almost $1 billion a day to keep the file contents on him under wraps.

Ahhh, the Epstein files...

What a hoot

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It does explain why Trump consulted no other country.

I am well aware of the fact 44 million Jews have produced over 200 Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, whereas 1.4 billion Arabs have only managed two.

You can stick your inference of anti-semitism where the sun doesn't shine.

First, we have no idea who was or was not contacted.

They needed surprise, and no doubt there would have been leaks.

1 hour ago, nick supreme said:

I'm thrilled to see that you recognize Iran as a remarkable nation. Have you thought about the possibility of moving there? It could be an exciting adventure!

Huh? I don't think Iran is a remarkable nation.

Why would that thrill you?

Strange troll post.

2 minutes ago, JimCM said:

Huh? I don't think Iran is a remarkable nation.

Why would that thrill you?

Strange troll post.

I am no fan of Iran, but they are a pretty remarkable nation.

2 minutes ago, JimCM said:

You mentioned on another thread about serving in the British armed forces. Is this why you feel connected to the USA forces in this illegal war(which you also said correctly).

How is the war illegal?

8 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

An indicator of mental illness is emotional instability that often manifests in outbursts of inexplicable hate. It is associated with the enthusiastic embrace of bigotry. Another indicator of mental illness is an inability to sleep.

Thanks for the confirmation of your illness, as we are all aware of your hate against Muslims, and the time of your posting clearly shows your inability to sleep.

Go see a doctor

A personal attack dragging up that poster personal life has been removed.

You were publicly warned about this yesterday and here you are doing the same thing again, you either stop these stalking attacks or you will be suspended @JimCM

15 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

A personal attack dragging up that poster personal life has been removed.

You were publicly warned about this yesterday and here you are doing the same thing again, you either stop these stalking attacks or you will be suspended @JimCM

Just do it, 1 strike is enough.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It does explain why Trump consulted no other country.

I am well aware of the fact 44 million Jews have produced over 200 Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, whereas 1.4 billion Arabs have only managed two.

I'm not sure how Jewish Nobel Prize laureates figure into this thread, but I am curious about "44 million Jews." Where does that figure come from? The world population of Jews peaked in 1939 at 16.6 million and is only returning to that level at 16.5 million in 2026, or 0.2% of the world population and 2% of the U.S. population.

It's clear that Jews are hugely overrepresented in terms of intellectual achievement that benefits all of mankind. The Nobel Prize breakdown of Jewish winners:

Chemistry (37 prize winners, 19% of world total, 27% of US total)

Physics (57 prize winners, 25% of world total, 38% of US total)

Physiology or Medicine (61 prize winners, 26% of world total, 38% of US total)

Literature (17 prize winners, 14% of world total, 38% of US total)

Peace (9 prize winners, 8% of world total, 10% of US total)

Economics (40 prize winners, 40% of world total, 50% of US total)

https://www.jinfo.org/Nobel_Prizes.html

Of course some of these laureates are Jewish by ancestry (at least one Jewish parent) and don't practice Judaism as a religion. A few never have, not even as children , as their parents were secular Jews.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

You can stick your inference of anti-semitism where the sun doesn't shine.

No inference is necessary. It's an uncomfortable (for you) fact that all conspiracies involving Jews are close to the conspiracy outlined in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

How is the war illegal?

Yikes. I expect that the Mr. Cut & Paste of AI generated answers is going to appear and do a major dump of incomplete out of context information. 😁

8 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

No not now not ever. Apparently he is seriously injured.

And yet the injured pilot was able to scale a mountain and to hide in a crevice, and to hold out for rescue, while being pursued by the bloodthirsty Iranian Revolutionary Guards. No food, no water, no pain relief, the pilot showed what being tough and disciplined is all about. The reality is that the man is alive and recovered. It is an excellent result and speaks to the US military principle of leaving no one behind. I will be watching the US press conference later today and hope to here from President Trump more about this heroic event.

1 minute ago, Patong2021 said:

And yet the injured pilot was able to scale a mountain and to hide in a crevice, and to hold out for rescue, while being pursued by the bloodthirsty Iranian Revolutionary Guards. No food, no water, no pain relief, the pilot showed what being tough and disciplined is all about. The reality is that the man is alive and recovered. It is an excellent result and speaks to the US military principle of leaving no one behind. I will be watching the US press conference later today and hope to here from President Trump more about this heroic event.

And what about that bloodthirsty offer of a reward from the Iranian Government to capture him alive?

"Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it shot down the high performance fighter, and the Iranian government dangled a $60,000 reward for the crew member’s capture – while urging local villagers to find them first.

“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” said an announcer on a local TV station. The directive came after an earlier instruction to shoot the pilot if they were found, according to Turkiye Today."

https://nypost.com/2026/04/04/us-news/military-continues-urgent-search-for-f-15-co-pilot-behind-enemy-lines-in-iran/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Another example of bloodthirstiness?

3 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

And what about that bloodthirsty offer of a reward from the Iranian Government to capture him alive?

"Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it shot down the high performance fighter, and the Iranian government dangled a $60,000 reward for the crew member’s capture – while urging local villagers to find them first.

“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” said an announcer on a local TV station. The directive came after an earlier instruction to shoot the pilot if they were found, according to Turkiye Today."

https://nypost.com/2026/04/04/us-news/military-continues-urgent-search-for-f-15-co-pilot-behind-enemy-lines-in-iran/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Another example of bloodthirstiness?

A dead airman is not worth nearly what a live, pilot and or weapons officer is both politically and for technological reasons. Iranians holding Americans hostage coming up to the midterms, the left would be creaming with glee.

But you know that, yes?

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

A dead airman is not worth nearly what a live, pilot and or weapons officer is both politically and for technological reasons. Iranians holding Americans hostage coming up to the midterms, the left would be creaming with glee.

But you know that, yes?

Thanks for supporting my point that the characterization of the IRGC as bloodthirsty makes no sense in this situation.

31 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

It is an excellent result and speaks to the US military principle of leaving no one behind.

I assume all armies do the same.

You'll be calling to he US army the most moral in the world soon....oh, w as it as moment, that's already been used for the IDF

11 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

An indicator of mental illness is emotional instability that often manifests in outbursts of inexplicable hate. It is associated with the enthusiastic embrace of bigotry. Another indicator of mental illness is an inability to sleep.

This was an incredible undertaking by the US military and its intelligence community. It is no secret that both Israel and the USA have an intelligence network in Iran. The Iranian and Kurdish community both inside and outside of Iran is co-operating in significant numbers with the US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

The role of the US and Israeli operatives has already been reported on. The amount of detail varies, from a mention of Israeli assistance by Reuters, to some idiot "off the record" oversharing with the Israeli media. Time and Axios have gone into greater detail; The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was at the center of the operation, launching a deception campaign to throw Iranian officials off, according to Axios. It said CIA operatives spread a false campaign within Iran that both crew members of the downed F-15 jet had already been found and that U.S. forces were working on exfiltration, trying to confuse Iranian officials who were also working to capture the officer. The CIA also reportedly facilitated an “unconventional assisted recovery,” a process in which the agency contacts civilians willing to aid or shelter U.S. military forces.

Because of Israel's situation, it has historically relied on in country operatives who's primary responsibility is to be able to assist in the recovery of personnel. The Israelis were providing real time intelligence to the US. The stories are now appearing in the general media.

The USA just gave a lesson in team management and leadership by deploying the best of the best of US personnel, and by managing multiple assets including intelligence information streams, of which, the Israelis were one of many. I doubt there are any other militaries who could do similar. President Trump will be providing more details at 1 PM eastern time. Be sure to tune in and hear all about the rescue. 😄

No doubt it was an extraordinary operational achievement But so what? I remember all the exultation when Maduro and his wife were seized. I also remember how the right's vociferously expressed concern for the Venezuelan people vanished in the wake of this kidnapping. Just like that concern for the Iranian people seems to have vanished from the right in regards to the Iranian people. Trump's threats to blow up power stations, which has drawn widespread condemnation from a large segment of the right in the case of Putin inflicting it on Ukraine, it being a war crime and such, seem to have been met with either indifference or enthusiastic approval by the same parties.

I, a former crewmember in the USAF flying over a 100 combat missions and also undergoing the same survival training that the colonel had undergone though mine personal was done in preparation for VN and the survival in the mountains was during Jan/Feb timeframe, 21 below zero Fahrenheit with 5 feet of snow on the ground - had to wear snow shoes the entire time in the mountains - of course VN has no temps of that level nor snows but in any case, it just teaches one how to survive without anyone really helping - and the colonel apparently did as he was trained and the experts at searching for and rescue did exactly that. I for one applaud all the efforts to never leave one of ours behind and am pleased it all working out in the end. This why if one is a VN vet for sure, if you hear the whump whump one immediately looks up to see where that helicopter is at. I was there 60 years ago and still look for that helicopter. My wife laughs but she will never understand anyway but anyone that has been sitting in the jungle or wherever waiting for a rescue knows exactly what I feel. Those pilots flying on those rescue helicopters are the true heroes of any rescue, especially during wartime IMHO.

Cannot compare because in any war, obviously one life absolutely does not matter be it to America, UK or any state leader engaged in a war.

The point here is about image, politics and public opinion.

If Iran had captured the pilot it would have given them leverage to bully america.

The US public opinion would have further shifted, changed it's mind on pursuing the war engaged initiatlly by Israel, on seeing images all over the medias of a blindfolded USAF (or whatever) pilot captured.

And of course at the end of the day, a human life remains a humain life. Be it an American...or some 9 month baby in Gaza.

10 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Could be worse another top fail.

regarding your very small group of SAS / SBS who use all US and Israeli tech and tactics we teach them

Maybe a Bradford deployment of those Lads is in the cards but probably too far gone , pity as such

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

And yet the injured pilot was able to scale a mountain and to hide in a crevice, and to hold out for rescue, while being pursued by the bloodthirsty Iranian Revolutionary Guards. No food, no water, no pain relief, the pilot showed what being tough and disciplined is all about. The reality is that the man is alive and recovered. It is an excellent result and speaks to the US military principle of leaving no one behind. I will be watching the US press conference later today and hope to here from President Trump more about this heroic event.

Good for you, Pat. We all get our kicks where we can. When I was a kid, I lived for the Hotspur and Victor comics heroic pilots outwitting the 'Hun' or the 'Japs' against all odds. It’s classic stuff.

But then I grew up and looked at the invoice.

It’s a bit rich calling this a 'heroic result' when a multi-Million dollar 'stealth' jet gets downed by an Air Defense system that Trump’s own PR machine claimed was '100% destroyed' weeks ago. We’re trashing high-end kit and spending hundreds of millions just to retrieve one man who was sent to bomb civilian infrastructure.

While you're cheering for the rescue, don't forget the 'heroic' orders that pilot was following. Trump has already promised that Tuesday is 'Power Plant and Bridge Day.' If the plan is to throw 80 million people into darkness and starvation by trashing their water and electricity, then the 'beautiful superpower' isn't winning a war it’s conducting a massive, expensive experiment in human misery.

Enjoy the press conference. I’m sure the 'Greatest Showman' will make it sound like a Marvel movie, but some of us are watching the actual math of this 'illegal and unprovoked' mess.

2 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

I'm not sure how Jewish Nobel Prize laureates figure into this thread, but I am curious about "44 million Jews." Where does that figure come from? The world population of Jews peaked in 1939 at 16.6 million and is only returning to that level at 16.5 million in 2026, or 0.2% of the world population and 2% of the U.S. population.

It's clear that Jews are hugely overrepresented in terms of intellectual achievement that benefits all of mankind. The Nobel Prize breakdown of Jewish winners:

Chemistry (37 prize winners, 19% of world total, 27% of US total)

Physics (57 prize winners, 25% of world total, 38% of US total)

Physiology or Medicine (61 prize winners, 26% of world total, 38% of US total)

Literature (17 prize winners, 14% of world total, 38% of US total)

Peace (9 prize winners, 8% of world total, 10% of US total)

Economics (40 prize winners, 40% of world total, 50% of US total)

https://www.jinfo.org/Nobel_Prizes.html

Of course some of these laureates are Jewish by ancestry (at least one Jewish parent) and don't practice Judaism as a religion. A few never have, not even as children , as their parents were secular Jews.

No inference is necessary. It's an uncomfortable (for you) fact that all conspiracies involving Jews are close to the conspiracy outlined in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Bring out the tar and feathers. I was relying on memory when I posted 44. It should have been 14.

Not having read The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, I'll have to take your word for its contents.

Let me try to connect the dots for you.

The Epstein files have never been fully released. The contents that have are full of clumsy redactions. Trump is mentioned 1500 times in what is visible.

Mossad is widely acknowledged, even by its opponents, as one of the finest intelligence organisations on the planet.

Epstein was Jewish. He may even have been a sayanim.

Attacking me as antisemitic is argument ad hominem, demonstrating you are either too lazy or too intellectually feeble to discuss a hypothesis with any honesty.

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Ahhh, the Epstein files...

What a hoot

Trump is mentioned in the ones that are visible 1500 times.

I am guessing when your house shows signs of smoke, you wait until the roof is in flames before calling the fire brigade.

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Thanks for supporting my point that the characterization of the IRGC as bloodthirsty makes no sense in this situation.

As if.

They kill thousands of protestors, but because they do not kill and American serviceman that they can ransom and (with the left's help) make political hay with, it shows they are not bloodthirsty.

Thanks for the leftist-logic lesson.

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

A dead airman is not worth nearly what a live, pilot and or weapons officer is both politically and for technological reasons. Iranians holding Americans hostage coming up to the midterms, the left would be creaming with glee.

But you know that, yes?

He would have been treated well like those sailors and he would have been an illegal alien with bombs - how would a person like that be treated in the US ? Most probably be dead. Did he get a visa before setting out to bomb people and let's not forget the girl's school. The Iranians know all their stories their smiles and joy that was snuffed out by a US high explosive bomb that shredded their short lives as they went to school. A far as I know in Iran they don't get tooled up and reguarly masacre their own schools like the US. Savage people these Iranians.