Politics

[Tanks]

Oil prices will normalize as soon as Irans bank accounts are dry and they become desperate to sell oil again.. they will have no choice but to open the straits..

Iran is already selling their oil and letting ships with the oil they sold pass plus charging toll. We are not doing anything about those ships.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Any time I see Iranian leaders speak, all I can think of is the Black Knight from Monty Python.

 

[pilar]

Based on your logic, Russia never invaded Ukraine. With respect to people being "tired of this endless war," Europe should bear in mind that the Russian population have no opinion at all.

I absolutely believe Putin has classic territorial ambitions that fueled both the USSR's and Imperial Russia's efforts as much as any ideology. I think it is pretty clear that he covets the Baltics and Russia's claims on eastern Poland are very similar to the "historical precedence" argument Putin makes with respect to Ukraine. After all, Russia reached its greatest geographic size under the Tsars in the mid19th century.

While I would agree that the likelihood of a Russian Army attempting to advance to Berlin is very unlikely in the immediate future, a Europe dominated by Russian economic and policy demands is a very real threat and would be a far more oppressive environment than anything currently being experienced by Trump's periodic tantrums.

IMO the Ukrainian war is a diversion for what they are doing in northern and central Africa, “”

• The Russian defense ministry's special unit took over from the Wagner Group, which was restructured after its leader’s death in 2023.
• Key Locations: Major deployments are in Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic, with expanding influence in Niger and Burkina Faso.
• Goal: These forces are supporting local military regimes and protecting vital assets in exchange for security partnerships.

So the march on Poland or Berlin seems unlikely, when they have been having a free hand , where ever china hasn’t planted their own claims on the continent

 

[275r7x57]

Reminds me of the line from the movie "Money Pit"

My prediction is this war will be going of for quite some time.

Edit: I would say the markets will be very tough for the rest of the year.

 

[mdwest]

Iran is already selling their oil and letting ships with the oil they sold pass plus charging toll. We are not doing anything about those ships.

I dont disagree... just posting what Trump said in his address..

 

[mdwest]

Reminds me of the line from the movie "Money Pit"

I actually think 2-4 more weeks is reasonable if we are going to limit things to an air campaign.. there will be no strategic targets left to bomb...

and Trumps already made it clear that he has no interest in escorting ships through the straits that dont have a US national interest involved.. so its doubtful that most of the flotilla would need to stay in place any longer either..

all that changes if Trump decides to deploy ground troops in any capacity..

but if we're just interested in destroying missiles, drone factories, uranium, and IRGC facilities.. much of that is already gone.. and it wont take a whole lot more effort to take out the rest of it..

 

[275r7x57]

I actually think 2-4 more weeks is reasonable if we are going to limit things to an air campaign.. there will be no strategic targets left to bomb...

and Trumps already made it clear that he has no interest in escorting ships through the straits that dont have a US national interest involved.. so its doubtful that most of the flotilla would need to stay in place any longer either..

all that changes if Trump decides to deploy ground troops in any capacity..

but if we're just interested in destroying missiles, drone factories, uranium, and IRGC facilities.. much of that is already gone.. and it wont take a whole lot more effort to take out the rest of it..

I don't necessarily disagree, but the middle east has a way of sucking us into long committed wars.

 

[mdwest]

I don't necessarily disagree, but the middle east has a way of sucking us into long committed wars.

If the Iranians played things smart (Im doubtful that they will).. theyd hold tight, continue to take the beating (there isnt much they can do about it), and periodically launch another missile or drone attack if for no other reason than to be able to save face, tell the world they resisted the great satan, etc..etc.. and do little else.. which would encourage the US to leave once all of the strategic targets are destroyed (again, at this point there is little to nothing they can do about it anyway.. their air defenses are gone, their air force is gone, etc).. protecting strategic targets is entirely a defensive game for them at this point.. theyve got to hide them the best they can.. and things like army bases, naval ports, air force bases, IRGC buildings, etc.. are pretty hard to hide..

The US civilian population will grow tired of higher gas prices.. and the military will leave..

Strike one naval ship though.. and all bets are off... let there be a mass casualty event happen, and the military and civilian population will rally and there will be people demanding that we roll over tehran and kill every remaining member of the regime..

They can continue to hit a Saudi refinery or a Kuwaiti train station or a Qatari apartment complex once a week or so.. and we'll be gone in a few weeks..

But let them hit a USMC gator barge.. or one of the cruisers roaming around the gulf... and it will indeed turn into a long war..

 

[Brent in Az]

The Navy should bait the Iranians SoH defenses, so they can play "whack-a-mole" with those hidden missile bunkers.

 

[shootist~]

I missed the address--could anyone here summarize the major points, please?

Not a god speech at all, IMO. Usual start - i.e. Trump talking about how great Trump is.
Usual vocabulary as well: Best the world has ever seen, nothing like it, greatest ever (more or less same as always). He (Really!) needs a speech writer.
Sad.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Not a god speech at all, IMO. Usual start - i.e. Trump talking about how great Trump is.
Usual vocabulary as well: Best the world has ever seen, nothing like it, greatest ever (more or less same as always). He (Really!) needs a speech writer.
Sad.

He needs a brain. The guy talks and acts like a sixth grader on the playground because that is obviously the extent of his intellectual capacity.

I think Macron says it best.

'Be serious... don't speak every day': Macron criticises Trump approach to Iran war

The comments were an apparent jab at the US leader's sometimes contradictory stance on the US-Israeli war against Iran.

www.bbc.com

Trump needs to just shut up, and try to be coherent day to day. I mean really, why does anyone pay any attention to what he says anymore? First, all the Iranian nuclear capability was wiped out in last year's attack but now it's back again? The war will be over any day but now it's expected to go on indefinitely? Peace talks are happening but apparently that was a lie too. What happened to his playtoy Board of Peace project which he made himself dictator for life? Can't he get that crew to help bring this to a close? Not really much chance of that when "this" just changes directions every day. And what happened with all the voting records swiped from good old GOP Georgia? I guess proving that conspiracy didn't pan out. Or is Trump still trying to make something of nothing there too? It's all about trying to make a splash. Did any of you catch the unveiling of his presidential library plan. Complete with the giant Colossus standing gold plated statue of himself! No shit! What next? Adding his face to Mount Rushmore?

 

[John Wasmuth]

Bondi out as AG, Todd Blanche in as intern AG……. See where this goes…..

 

[Wheels]

Bondi out as AG, Todd Blanche in as intern AG……. See where this goes…..

Probably a sign that criminal cases haven’t been moving fast enough.

Solicitor Generals office and Civil Division have been doing a good job.

 

[275r7x57]

Yemeni block Bab al-Mandeb​

Houthis open new front in Iran war: Will Yemeni group block Bab al-Mandeb?

Blockade of strait, one of the world's busiest maritime routes, would prove disastrous for global economy.

www.aljazeera.com

This will make things interesting.

 

[tinktink12]

 

[Brent in Az]

Bondi talks a good talk behind the microphone, but that's about it.

 

[mdwest]

He needs a brain. The guy talks and acts like a sixth grader on the playground because that is obviously the extent of his intellectual capacity.

I think Macron says it best.

'Be serious... don't speak every day': Macron criticises Trump approach to Iran war

The comments were an apparent jab at the US leader's sometimes contradictory stance on the US-Israeli war against Iran.

www.bbc.com

Trump needs to just shut up, and try to be coherent day to day. I mean really, why does anyone pay any attention to what he says anymore? First, all the Iranian nuclear capability was wiped out in last year's attack but now it's back again? The war will be over any day but now it's expected to go on indefinitely? Peace talks are happening but apparently that was a lie too. What happened to his playtoy Board of Peace project which he made himself dictator for life? Can't he get that crew to help bring this to a close? Not really much chance of that when "this" just changes directions every day. And what happened with all the voting records swiped from good old GOP Georgia? I guess proving that conspiracy didn't pan out. Or is Trump still trying to make something of nothing there too? It's all about trying to make a splash. Did any of you catch the unveiling of his presidential library plan. Complete with the giant Colossus standing gold plated statue of himself! No shit! What next? Adding his face to Mount Rushmore?

Macron criticizing Trump is tantamount to a court jester claiming that he should be allowed to advise a duke.. for no other reason than they serve the same court..

Im pretty sure no one in the US other than you gives more than a taco bell turd about Macrons opinion on anything..

Personally I value it less than Starmers or Van Der Leydens..

Theyre all buffoons.. just buffoons of different flavors..

 

[Altitude sickness]

I liked the tenacity of Bondi. She didn’t take any crap.

But It appeared early that Bondi was in over her head. Not equipped or qualified for the position.

 

[Red Leg]

IMO the Ukrainian war is a diversion for what they are doing in northern and central Africa, “”

• The Russian defense ministry's special unit took over from the Wagner Group, which was restructured after its leader’s death in 2023.
• Key Locations: Major deployments are in Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic, with expanding influence in Niger and Burkina Faso.
• Goal: These forces are supporting local military regimes and protecting vital assets in exchange for security partnerships.

So the march on Poland or Berlin seems unlikely, when they have been having a free hand , where ever china hasn’t planted their own claims on the continent

After losing their Syrian bases, Venezuelan ally, and Iran as a meaningful proxy and weapons supplier, their options are getting rather limited. Also China, because unlike Russia it has money, is beating them on the African Continent. About all Russia can afford to offer is "regime protection," and that at high costs. Even there, Russia has registered several spectacular failures. Wagner's bloody defeat a bit over a year ago in northern Mali, where Wagner forces suffered major losses against Tuareg separatists and JNIM, is an excellent example. It was such a catastrophe that Russia's deployed mercenaries dropped the name Wagner and are now "Africa Corps."

Russia, for the immediate future at least, is very much on its back foot strategically.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/1etkhq5/more_footage_showing_the_tuareg_rebels_attack_on

 

[Red Leg]

Bondi talks a good talk behind the microphone, but that's about it.

I am not sure she even did that. In congressional testimony, she sounded like a truculent teenager arguing with her parents or teachers rather than dominating the debate with facts.