Things are still happening. Here’s a selection of tweets.
US official confirms to ABC that ballistic missiles have been fired from inside Iran at multiple US military facilities in Iraq including Erbil in northern Iraq and Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, the official said. No information on casualties – @Elizabeth_McLau @LMartinezABC
— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) January 7, 2020
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran state TV says Tehran launches "tens" of surface-to-surface missiles at Iraq's Ain Assad air base housing US troops
— Aamer Madhani (@AamerISmad) January 7, 2020
? ?? JUST IN ?? ?
— Press TV (@PressTV) January 7, 2020
PRESS TV EXCLUSIVE
First #IRGC footage emerges showing #Iran missiles targeting #AinAlAssad airbase in #Iraq in response to General #Soleimani's assassination.#GeneralSoleimani #DecisiveResponse #SoleimaniAssassination pic.twitter.com/vpXA0HvLXG
IRGC statement confirms missile attack on US military base in Iraq, warns:
— Sam (@sonofnariman) January 7, 2020
1. US response will result in further retaliation
2. Regional allies responsible for assisting US response will be directly targeted
3. Israel and US are considered as one
4. US must withdraw from region
I may be jumping the gun but such an attack which US forces must be ready for in Iraq and which is being trumpeted on TV in Iran looks like a way for Iran to make a lot of domestic noise with little damage. If they really wanted to hit back this is not the drastic way I think. https://t.co/DlVmKJbkWc
— Ali Shihabi (@aliShihabi) January 7, 2020
The best-case scenario was always that Iran launched a retaliation:
— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) January 7, 2020
— symbolically significant enough that it could move on
— limited enough in damage that the US could shrug it off
— with no loss of life, civilian or military
Here’s hoping that’s what this is.
Iran is practicing its right under international law to self defense as stipulated by Article 51 of UN Charter. The targets are not “Americans” or civilians, but combatants who have been asked to withdraw from Iraqi sovereign territory
— Amal Saad (@amalsaad_lb) January 7, 2020
I’ll add more in the comments as they show up.
Drones Over Colorado And Nebraska
Major Major Major Major
Thanks, Cheryl.
debbie
Thanks, Anticipator in Chief!
Cheryl Rofer
Anyone want tweets from the rocket nerds trying to figure out what kinds of rocket they are?
Baud
I hope Pence is up to the challenge.
The Dangerman
Hold on. Trump told us we killed for peace. Of course, that’s like fucking for chastity but I hate to think Trump told another fib.
Cheryl Rofer
sab
Damn. Friends of mine have kids stationed there.
MomSense
This must be the winning part because I’m exhausted.
Cheryl Rofer
Baud
Earlier story today.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-escalates-his-attack-on-trump-over-iran-saying-the-president-has-made-the-us-less-safe/2020/01/07/a0af8f70-317e-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html
Another Scott
The BBC is broadcasting a live Sec. Esper press conference (that just ended). He was getting questions about all kinds of things – I don’t know if this attack came up.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
MisterForkbeard
It really flabbergasts me that this is the BEST situation we could have hoped for. I kind of agree, but Jesus H Christ it’s weird to feel relieved that they ‘only’ fired missiles at a base where we have troops.
I do expect Trump to need to retaliate loudly, because the embassy attack was relatively minor in comparison, especially because no one died and very few real weapons were used.
Cheryl Rofer
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
And yet, it will be Obama who gets the blame. //
Another Scott
Al Jazeera:
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
I disagree. This is all Trump.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Too bad Trump is president. Stupid fucking move by Iran
Cheryl Rofer
And false images are showing up on Twitter. I’m going to be very careful in what I share of images.
debbie
Is this the base the U.S. troops were supposed to withdraw to?
Martin
Guessing this will not cause much if any loss of life. Iran doesn’t want to escalate. But they need to act and demonstrate they can do more if needed. Attacking the bases we said we’d leave (if only taking it back a few hours later) seems like a good ‘here’s what we can do, but y’all won’t get too upset by it move’.
I sure as shit wouldn’t want to be the guy answering the question of ‘what will make Trump mad, but not nuclear mad?’.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud:
Good for him. Don’t back down.
David Anderson
@Cheryl Rofer: knowledge is always useful
Cheryl Rofer
FelonyGovt
Hoping for the best for those who are stationed at that base. Why couldn’t they have attacked the Trump Tower in Turkey instead.
MisterForkbeard
@Baud:
It’s a really good statement. On facebook it’s gotten a ton of rote “BIDEN IS A REPUBLICAN” and “BIDEN VOTED FOR IRAQ” incoherent screaming as a response.
rikyrah
@FelonyGovt:
you and me on the same wavelength
Cheryl Rofer
Rocket nerds. Mayhew asked for it.
Baud
@MisterForkbeard:
Klobuchar supporters are the worst
Patricia Kayden
Cheryl Rofer
I’ve sent some things to other publications along these lines. Will let you know when they’re published.
debbie
Ha! Didn’t think you’d be eating your words so soon, did you, Secretary Esper?
rm
Since the United States has such sane and steady leadership, the US will recognize that this is a symbolic act designed for domestic political purposes, and is an off-ramp from the escalating spiral of conflict. None of our decision makers are unfathomably stupid, belligerent, and impulsive, so they would never mistake the situation and start a disastrous war.
Cheryl Rofer
Cheryl Rofer
Roger Moore
People have been saying for the past three years that the one saving grace of Trump’s time in office has been the lack of a major international crisis to test his leadership. Our grace period is over.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie:
Hey asshole, we still haven’t finished the last 2 we started.
Spanky
@FelonyGovt: You’re assuming this is the end of their response. I doubt it is.
Cheryl Rofer
debbie
Totally O/T, but it was nice to find this among all the Iran tweets. Yay, seals!
Cheryl Rofer
Roger Moore
@OzarkHillbilly:
Yeah, we haven’t done a good job of finishing wars for the past 70 years or so.
JPL
@Cheryl Rofer: That doesn’t appear to be good news. just sayin
Jim, Foolish Literalist
great typo
One of the MSNBC reporters (Courtney Kube?) said that Pentagon people she talked to have been on edge all day because they figured something was coming…. so they shut down early? how much snow is expected?
Frankensteinbeck
I don’t know what to expect. Trump hasn’t finished the flailing period yet of realizing the Suleimani thing backfired. He will prooooobably issue stern threats that will make people think he’s doing something insanely dangerous, then actually do nothing. It’s not reliable because he’ll be too much under stress, too deep in knowing he fucked up, to be predictable. There’s a strong random element.
sab
@Cheryl Rofer: Reassuring there are saner heads out there with expertise. Hope some of them are still in governmnt.
Cheryl Rofer
jl
@Baud: One area where Biden excels is that he knows how to attack Trump that is both accurate and (I believe and hope) will be politically effective. Far better than other candidates.
debbie
@JPL:
“Here’s your hat. What’s your hurry?”
Cheryl Rofer
@JPL: Not good news, but it’s the kind of thing that happens when you say you’re withdrawing troops and are going to charge Iraq for it.
chopper
but after assassinating soleimani trump specifically said no backsies!
VOR
Obligatory clip from The Hunt for Red October.
OzarkHillbilly
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
None.
Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The snow is arriving via 250kg warhead, apparently.
Cermet
Oh, fuck; the orange fart cloud will want to prove his small hands aren’t to be mocked and try some similar (I hope not worse) symbolic attack and then it goes from there. Damn, the stupid amerikans that voted for this ass wipe; well, mostly their children will do the dying if it escalates.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
It would be nice if someone reminded Trump how Reagan withdrew from Beirut after we were bombed. Maybe he can be convinced to emulate that.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Looks like they let everyone out early to beat the snow, which only resulted in severe gridlock. Is that a metaphor for this country at this moment, or what?
Rob
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: 1-2 inches were expected around the Pentagon, 2-possibly 5 or 6 inches in the western & northern DC suburbs where many federal employees live. All federal employees were basically dismissed as of 1 pm DC time this afternoon.
Spanky
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: All govt offices in DC shut down around noon because of a dusting of snow that was turning to ice, and will ice up later tonight. Naturally, it created a major tie-up. Took my wife 2 hrs to get home.
There are a lot of “essential personnel” at the Pentagon that didn’t get to leave, but the support staff did.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie:NWS says there is a 20% chance of snow tonight. That’s it for the next week.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
I’d feel a whole lot better about all of this if we had a real president right now instead of that thing squatting in the White House.
Adam L Silverman
Mike in DC
Iran does have larger,more accurate missiles in its arsenal. They could upscale this attack in the future, if they wanted to, and also expand the target list to include the KSA and/or Israel.
chopper
@Cheryl Rofer:
of course withdrawing after this would make the US look like it’s leaving with its tail between its legs, so there’s no way in hell there’s going to be a withdrawal any time soon.
iran, of course, benefits either way.
trollhattan
Just great, more dick-waving.
I’m certain Trump will take the news cooly and rationally.
Adam L Silverman
Al Asad is where the Cinnabon is in the theater of operation.
Mike in DC
@Adam L Silverman: They’re hitting our cultural sites!
Cheryl Rofer
Sebastian
@Cheryl Rofer:
Pence is being pushed to the front because Donny is incoherent after his stroke on top of his progressing dementia.
There should be concerted questioning where the president is in this time of crisis.
jl
@Adam L Silverman:
@Mike in DC:
Could be initial feeler that backs up Iran’s statements that seemed to be designed to isolate US in world opinion. The serious retaliation kept in reserve. Attacking inside Iraq also best to stir up anti-American sentiment there, as opposed to attacking US forces elsewhere in Middle East.
cmorenc
Now there’s theme for the next protest demonstration that might just draw some media attention. Count me in! :=)
OzarkHillbilly
@Adam L Silverman:THIS TIME THEY”VE GONE TOO FAR!!!
Cheryl Rofer
jl
@Mike in DC: “They’re hitting our cultural sites!”
Sadly, some true snark there. Will not be snark anymore if reactionary jingos get their way. Then it will just be true.
Chris
I like the “countries that assist the U.S. will be targeted too” bit. Left unstated: on the other hand, if you don’t assist the U.S, we’re still good. Given that Soleimani’s assassination came just as Iran and the Saudis were supposed to be talking deescalation, it’s worth noting. We’ll see if the Saudis take the hint.
Another Scott
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The OPM ordered that the DC area federal agencies leave 4 hours early, no later than 1 PM.
It wasn’t just the Pentagon, it was the whole federal government.
The forecast was only 1-2″, so it seems like a vast over-reaction, but maybe it was much worse NW of the city.
Cheers,
Scott.
Roger Moore
@Mike in DC:
Some jackass is already complaining that the Democrats are interested in protecting Iran’s cultural sites, but they’re more than happy to take down Confederate statues.
cliosfanboy
We live just south of the Pentagon off of 395. We got maybe an inch of snow.
Cheryl Rofer
Baud
@Roger Moore:
Our country, our rules.
cmorenc
It’s been more or less inevitable that the major international crisis facing Trump would be self-created and of an unnecessary sort for another President of mature judgment and sensibilities to fall into.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in DC:
@OzarkHillbilly:
The ability to either get temp duty in theater to al Asad or to get stationed there so one could get to the Cinnabon is a huge deal. And a box of those things is worth my weight in gold in Iraq. This outrage will not go unavenged!
Another Scott
@Frankensteinbeck: I expect him to say that he’s willing to talk to the Iranians, and would love to get a “beautiful letter” from the Supreme Leader, but as in the past, I expect them to tell him there’s nothing to talk about as long as the US is out of the JCPOA.
tl;dr – Donnie thinks that Iran will back down and he’ll get to play diplomat like he did with Kim. He doesn’t realize that Iran knows his tactics backwards and forwards.
Cheers,
Scott.
Skepticat
If we had a real president right now, we wouldn’t have this problem to begin with.
chopper
@Cheryl Rofer:
if there’s any one thing trump is legit good at it’s painting himself into a goddamn corner.
Cheryl Rofer
There’s a report that American planes are taking off from UAE airfields, but it’s being disputed. Let’s wait to conclude anything on this.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
Wouldn’t they do that just for recon?
Cheryl Rofer
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: Or to take the planes out of a target zone. But it’s not clear it’s even happening.
MomSense
Anyone else remembering Trump’s statements about the use of nuclear weapons? Is there anyone left in his vicinity who would stop him?
Cermet
The real question is what the orange fart cloud decides to do to punish Iran – this is the question. Does he defer to the Pentagon or his small hands. The world wants to know … . wrong historical sentence placement there for history buff’s.
JPL
So the casualties so far are on the Iraqi side. Somehow I doubt this is good news.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: The serious retaliation will be unconventional, will leverage all elements of Iranian national power, and some will be deniable.
Mary G
That sound in the first video makes me feel sick.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Another Scott:
I think the Romans tried them 2 millennia ago.
Bendal
CNN is reporting there are casualties at the Al Asad airbase. They did say they were Iraqi but we’re not getting a lot of information either. CNN is also saying there are reports of a second wave of missile launches from Iran…
Major Major Major Major
My hot take is that striking a relatively unimportant military target is a de-escalation from the state assassination we committed.
Patricia Kayden
Yep.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Frankensteinbeck
@Bendal:
Iran’s intended result may be for Iraq to tell the US “You are not doing this on our territory. Get out.” Come to think of it, I don’t think anyone at all wants the US to do this on their territory.
Cheryl Rofer
Evil_Paul
@Cheryl Rofer: Well, that answers my question before I even had a chance to ask.
Shit.
For those wondering, most rocket attacks against bases in Iraq and Afghanistan are Katyusha and Grad rockets. Smaller, short range jobs (20-40km) with relatively light warheads (20 kg or so). Each roughly the equivalent of a single light artillery shell of the 76-122mm range. The real danger from weapons like that are if they get used in huge numbers.
If they’re firing from outside the country, that’s sounding a lot more like something bigger and heavier. If Michael Elleman’s tweet is correct, then 30+ warheads with 250-500kg payload each?
Fuck. This isn’t symbolic. This is meant to draw blood.
I hope this is wrong.
Ken
They’re going to offer to let him build a hotel in Teheran, aren’t they?
If they do, we might lose half the Republican establishment to whiplash from the 180 they’ll be forced to do.
Mary G
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The replies from MAGAts in that tweet are disgusting.
Another Scott
@Adam L Silverman: The BBC reporting says that Donnie was there about 6 months ago, and Dence was there in November. That’s another symbolic reason why they picked that base, it would seem.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@MomSense:
So much winning that it’s not tiring, but exhausting.
Aleta
(NYT) Days After Suleimani Killing, Trump Campaign Promotes It on Facebook
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: and no Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Warfare.
Patricia Kayden
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@FelonyGovt: because the guests and the people who work a Trump properties are civilians who have nothing to do with this. The service members on the bases are active duty combatants in what’s been a long running proxy war. It sounds cruel but anyone who enlisted after we invaded Iraq 17 years ago, for basically nothing, knew we were playing endless war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I have advised more than one young person that the military they were thinking of joining was not the mostly peacetime military I was in until 2000.
lamh36
MomSense
Iran just launched a second wave of attacks.
Sam
Those are 500 plus kg warheads. If they hit something it will be destroyed. If there are people in the something those people will be destroyed. This is not at all like a rocket or mortar attack. Really praying for the people at al Assad. Iranians claiming 30 us casualties. Omg
mrmoshpotato
@Cheryl Rofer: Part of me says yes for the nerdtasticness of it, but then they f’ing rockets. And not the “Space! Here we come!” variety.
Mike in NC
Trump is on the phone with key foreign policy advisors Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity.
Cheryl Rofer
@Evil_Paul: Others in the rocket nerd community are saying these are much bigger than Katyushas, and fired from Iran.
Elleman is good.
I’ll post more as they show up.
Butter Emails
I have to admit I’m somewhat surprised by this attack. There were indications that Iraq was getting a bit testy with Iran prior to Trump putting the US in the position of being the most serious irritant. Striking at Iraqi bases and killing Iraqis seems a bit counterproductive.
Patricia Kayden
Arghhhh
Frankensteinbeck
The thing is, right now Trump is quaking in fear because what he thought would be a victory lap that he was better than Obama has turned into a clusterfuck where people are pointing fingers at him and it is only getting worse. If he is angry, he will not be angry at Iran, he will be angry at the world for not appreciating how brave and perfect his Suleimani kill order was. This all makes him extremely hard to predict.
Quinerly
13 American soldiers killed? I just turned on the news. Did I hear this correctly?
lamh36
@Evil_Paul:
Patricia Kayden
@Mike in NC: That is so reassuring. Now I can sleep soundly tonight.
JPL
So is trump sitting in the oval office screaming no Benghazi… No Benghazi.. No Benghazi..
Patricia Kayden
@Quinerly: CNN is reporting that the casualties are Iraqis.
Bendal
@Sam:
CNN just ran cellphone video showing multiple hits in the distance, reportedly at Al Asad.
Mary G
O/T At least somebody knows what they’re doing:
Quinerly
@Patricia Kayden: OK. I literally just turned on. The reporting on MSNBC was in the background.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Mike in NC: Meatloaf and Dennis Rodman are in the war room.
Another Scott
@MomSense: Careful – the attacks probably happened at the same time. It takes time for the “recipient” to figure out what happened, how much damage there was, etc., etc.
Al Jazeera:
Pence’s calls to Pelosi and Schumer were at 5:30 PM ET, so these events may have been over for 2.5 hours, or longer, now.
“Fog of war”, and all that.
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mary G
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Mary G: Badass woman.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
That ought to help
Kent
@Baud: All 10 of them? I picture Klobuchar supporters to be 55 year old female HS social studies teachers. Competent, no nonsense, and unfamiliar with twitter.
Baud
@Mary G:
No, we’re worried about Trump’s desire to escalate and that depends on how many U.S. casualties there are.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Only if he resigns.
Sam
@Cheryl Rofer: they said fateh 110s, 500 kg he warhead. These weapons, when they hit a building, will destroy the building and kill everyone inside. There are probably casualties, we are likely headed to a war
mrmoshpotato
@debbie: ? and an impressive umm…wrangling amongst the herd.
Mary G
Please no.
Cheryl Rofer
Another Scott
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh my.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
Frankensteinbeck
@Sam:
That raises a big question, though. What war? We can’t invade. NO ONE wants to host us exchanging long range fire with Iran.
Cermet
@Mary G: Obivously not born and/or lived here in the good old US of A where black lives don’t matter.
Cheryl Rofer
@Quinerly: I have not seen any casualty numbers
Jim, Foolish Literalist
MSNBC Tehran correspondent said something about US casualties? Iran vowing to attack Israe
ETA: Hayes clarifies: claims of American casualties are coming from Iranian state media
Another Scott
Oh, in case you’re wondering, FTFNYT says Pompeo pushed Donnie to kill Suleiman (at least according to the headline).
Grr….
Cheers,
Scott.
janesays
@Quinerly: The figure I heard on MSNBC was actually 30 American soldiers reportedly killed, but it’s coming from Iran State Media, so take it with a grain of salt. There’s going to be a lot of bad information flying around for the next 24-48 hours.
Quinerly
@Cheryl Rofer: I walked in and MSNBC was on in background It seems Iran state media is reporting American casualties. Listening to Chris Hayes show now.
Chris
@Adam L Silverman:
I kind of assumed that at the very least some of it would be deniable. Given how much they have to lose from an all out war, I’m kind of surprised to see even this level of brazenness; I was expecting worse consequences (like a dead ambassador or general at minimum) but more deniability (done through Hezbollah or another proxy).
But I suppose the very brazenness of the American act demanded something equally unequivocal in retaliation.
Lum’s Better Half
War?
This was just a few air strikes.
I’m told that’s no big deal.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
I know it’s early to pass judgment, but it looks as if Dump’s claim that assassinations lead to peace was incorrect.
Frankensteinbeck
@Quinerly:
How would they know?
mrmoshpotato
@cliosfanboy: Seriously, why does a dusting of snow always fuck up DC?
Quinerly
@janesays: thanks. Like I said, I was blindsided. Had MSNBC on on the Echo. Just heard a # being reported but didn’t hear the full story. Thanks. I’m in a fog. My dog, Poco, died yesterday and I have been trying to tune out the world.
jl
@Frankensteinbeck: “What war? We can’t invade. NO ONE wants to host us exchanging long range fire with Iran. ”
Will be interesting if Iranian retaliation focuses on US forces based in Iraq. Make maximum problem for Trump in Iraq, and isolation of US in Middle East. If Iran keeps pattern up, will Saudi Arabia, Qatar, not make a fuss if US tries to base retaliatory strikes from their territory. If Iraq sticks to retaliation that is perceived as proportional and within laws of war, isolation for US on world stage, except for some of Trump’s tin pot authoritarian heroes running small countries not named North Korea.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Quinerly: Iran is not in position to know.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so he’ll be doing that squinty, third-grader-asked-to-read-aloud thing worse than usual, probably with a few phrases from Miller that he and trump think ring Churchillian
janesays
@Frankensteinbeck: Hence the “take it with a grain of salt”.
Mary G
Dow futures dropped 350 points since the air strikes. Also airline stocks tanking in after hours trading.
Cheryl Rofer
I’m going to the living room for my nightly session with dead wood media and the kitties.
Another Scott
@janesays: I keep an alJazeera.com tab open all the time. They seem fairly reputable in reporting what’s going on over there. Beware quick takes.
They’re not giving any casualty numbers (that I’ve seen).
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mary G: speaking of things trump will notice, I’d just been wondering about that
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: Well, Kim played Dump for a chump. Not much achieved with diplomacy when they just go back to testing missiles.
jl
@Chris:
” But I suppose the very brazenness of the American act demanded something equally unequivocal in retaliation. ”
There is also domestic sentiment that demands visible and timely retaliation.
zhena gogolia
@Quinerly:
Oh, I’m so sorry.
Chris
@Patricia Kayden:
Welp, those last two are about to get exactly what they’ve been pushing for all decade. A little late for recriminations.
How would H. L. Mencken have put it: “Trumpism is the theory that Saudi Arabia and Israel know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He can’t do that! That will preempt Ellen DeGeneres’s new game show!
JPL
Just the idea that trump might interrupt programming led me to Netflix. So I’m watching something called Salt Fat Acid and Heat .
lamh36
Lordt…I’m off to watch new season of Finding Your Roots, I need the distraction. This looks to be a great ep to get into and get away from war news…smh
See ya’ll on the flipside
Baud
@Quinerly:
I’m very sorry. My condolences.
Aleta
https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1214714393755189250
(photo of landed missile)
wiki: The Qiam 1 entered service in 2010, with a range of 750 km (470 mi) and 500 m (1,600 ft) accuracy.
Frankensteinbeck
@jl:
This is far from my area of expertise, but my understanding is that Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy is “Let’s you and him fight.” They hate Iran, but absolutely do not want to be up close to any war with them. Qatar has even less reason to support this.
Cheryl Rofer
Quinerly
Hey, everybody give me a break with the Iran state media/Iran not knowing… I walked into my house, with MSNBC blaring in the background about American casualties. I was blindsided. Yes, now being clarified that Iran is reporting that. And, yes, obvious… How would they know? I’m cranky, my dog is dead, and I had been trying to tune out the world.
Chris
@jl:
That’s what I mean.
JPL
@Quinerly: HUGS
MomSense
@Quinerly:
oh no! Biggg hugs, Q. We all have fallen in love with Poco and have enjoyed your adventures. Thank you for giving him such happiness.
mrmoshpotato
@Patricia Kayden: Sounds like it’s time for a Coalition of the Willing! *spits
Evil_Paul
@Cheryl Rofer: Yeah, that’s the thing. People got a habit of brushing off rocket attacks like they’re no big deal. But that’s because (most of the times) the attacks were carried out by relatively light munitions.
I spent seven months in Kandahar and out of maybe 50+ rockets, we had a grand total of one fatality, and that was from a freak direct hit.
These things? If they hit something (like a building or bunker), it’s going to be bad.
Sloane Ranger
CNN reporting that Trump is planning to address the nation tonight. I assume that it will be a long, blustering rant promising harsh retribution.
In terms of war gaming, I suspect that the Iranians have much better developed and sophisticated plans and options than the current US government.
I hate to say this but I don’t see how this ends other than with the US Administration using nukes as each side escalates missile strikes in a tit for tat fashion. Adam has already covered the multiple difficulties of a US invasion of Iran and the US doesn’t have the troops to both conduct a successful invasion and occupation of Iran and keep fighting its other wars.
No doubt, some Trump supporters will be excited at the prospect, Armageddon just around the corner!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Vladmir Putin was in Damascus today on an unannounced (I think Richard Engel said on MSNBC), he’s supposed to go to Istanbul tomorrow. Could get curiouser.
Frankensteinbeck
@Quinerly:
It’s cool, I was trying to reassure you with why that report wasn’t believable.
Eunicecycle
@Quinerly: So sorry about Poco. Even when you know it’s coming, it isn’t any easier. Take care of yourself.
Ken
@Mary G:
I wish I could be more certain that Trump wouldn’t take direct control of the fleets and order two or three aircraft carrier groups into the Persian Gulf, figuring the concentration of forces so close to Iran should make them back down.
Another Scott
Interesting commentary on the BBC now, the guy is saying that the Iranians might have used accurate missiles to hit the Iraqi side of the base to intentionally try not to have American casualties. And that the missiles had to come from Iran for the Iranians to save face.
Lots of things may be going on in the background and cultural aspects are important (as a certain Dr. Silverman has told us as well).
The US would be well to consider these things before reacting.
But the reactions will depend on the specifics of the casualties, “were the Iraqis warned to stay away from the bases?…”, etc.
Dangerous times, but it’s not hopeless.
Cheers,
Scott.
(“Of course, there is a brain damaged narcissist in the White House, so…”)
mrmoshpotato
@Mike in NC: Excuse me while I spit thrice.
Cheryl Rofer
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Quinerly: Sorry to hear about Poco, condolences.
Frankensteinbeck
@Sloane Ranger:
Trump’s Saudi business partners would have hysterics. I think we’re safe from that one.
Mary G
@Quinerly: Oh, I’m so sorry. Poco was a very good boy and travelling companion and I always enjoyed hearing about him.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: Oh, Quinerly, we knew that day was coming, but I am so sorry. So very sorry.
This gave me comfort when my kitty soulmate died, offering it here in the hopes that it might help you, even a tiny bit.
Kelly
@Roger Moore:
So how do we get the Iranians to take out Confederate statues?
Another Scott
@Quinerly: I join everyone here in expressing my condolences for your loss of Poco. :-( Remember the good times.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Aleta
@Aleta: Re photo shown at the link above:
https://twitter.com/Bilesa_Shaweys/status/1214708265935867910
Blesa Shaways @kurdistan24 diplomatic Correspondent.
Photo shows An #Iranian missile landed near #Erbil military Airbase which’s host #KTCC (#US , #Italian , #UK , German troops) without any casualties.
Ken
I thought the idea was to stay away from Trump?
Chris T.
@mrmoshpotato: The DC area is just not built for snow.
It snows there, now and then, yes. But not often and not much, so no one knows or remembers how to drive in snow. And what few snowplows they have take a long time to get prepped and run and no one remembers how to drive them.
(I used to live in Beltway Bandit territory, long ago. There’s more Metro now, but nothing else has really changed.)
mrmoshpotato
@Patricia Kayden: Nice Arghhhh but have you tried this?
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Quinerly: My heart goes out to you. Sending you peace and hugs.
gbbalto
@Quinerly: So sorry – You did your best for him
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Aleta: Richard Engel was reporting from Erbil and he said they heard some explosions but didn’t seem to be under a serious attack. Of course I have no idea what the size/geography of Erbil is, so that’s not a definitive report.
mrmoshpotato
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Fucked up that it’s plausible.
Suzy
No, it’s just the de-escalation part, dixit Pompeo.
jnfr
@Cheryl Rofer:
Thank you for that reminder. It’s so hard to be mindful at these times.
jl
@Butter Emails: “Striking at Iraqi bases and killing Iraqis seems a bit counterproductive. ”
True, but there is a strong and large very pro Iran faction in the Iraqi government, and a lot of Shia in Iraq, IIRC a slight majority. Question is, who will these Iraqis blame as primarily responsible?
This is a situation where there are no alternatives without some very risky counterproductive consequences. Question is, does targeting US forces in Iraq make things, on net, worse for Iran in Iraq, or worse for Trump in US. Politically will be more difficult for Trumpsters in the US if big problems develop for US presence in Iraq.
mrmoshpotato
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: “Iran is a total loser! Look at all the farmers’ fields I won in 2016!”
Aleta
@Quinerly: I’m so very sorry. ?
schrodingers_cat
@Quinerly: I am sorry to hear about Poco. May he RIP.
raven
@Quinerly: Aw I’m so sorry.
Suzy
@Baud: Problem is do we really have the capacity to distinguish between supporters of Klobuchar, Sanders, Warren, etc. and russian bots, or republican operatives ?
Kent
@Sloane Ranger:
The US has been dropping enormous volumes of precision munitions on middle east countries via drones, conventional aircraft, and cruise missiles for 3 decades. In Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Kuwait. And they have the most sophisticated satellite reconnaissance in the history of the world, by far. The Trump administration may be utterly incompetent. But I expect the US military knows how to blow shit up from long distance better than anyone else. And they probably also know where most of Iran’s stuff is hidden. At least the major permanent military installations.
What the Iranians are going to be better at than the US is manipulating public opinion in the region, especially among the Shia. Americans are hugely incompetent at that. Or don’t even bother to try.
Chip Daniels
Well, Trump demanded “No More Threats!” from Iran, and they complied.
Dan B
@Quinerly: So sorry to hear you lost Poco. Yout travels with him sounded so sweet. Shedding a few tears for you.
delk
@Quinerly: so sorry and saddened to hear this. He sure sounded like a good boy and great traveling companion.
Quinerly
Thanks everybody. Going to tune out. I have been binge watching Dark Shadows from 1966- on Prime. Pretty mindless, silly stuff. That’s the place I’m going to now. Sorry about any misinformation from this end. Hugs to everyone. All your kind words are much appreciated.
mrmoshpotato
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry. I hope the tribe comforts you. (hugs)
frosty
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry to hear about Poco. It’s hard, even when you can see it coming. Best wishes to you.
jl
@Suzy: We don’t, at least in immediate wake of publication or tweet from obscure sources. I think a mistake to react like Trump would when nonsense of unknown provenance first pops up on social media.
Ken
Yes, I remember the excellent resolution, as revealed by that tweeted picture of the classified satellite images, sent from a personal cell phone that had been brought into the secure briefing room.
Chris
@Sloane Ranger:
One of my darker thoughts about the future of the world is that with this big and growing a nuclear club, and especially as Cold War balance of terror memories fade, it’s inevitable that someone, someday, is going to drop a nuke.
Not start a nuclear apocalypse, you understand. Just your standard bullying nuclear power dropping a nuke, probably out of frustration and laziness at one of its neo-colonial conflicts gone wrong, on a smaller and non-nuclear country. China dropping a nuke on Vietnam, America dropping a nuke on Afghanistan, that kind of thing.
And sure, it’ll horrify the entire world. But the nuclear taboo will have been broken. Some time later, someone else will do it. And so on, until it becomes so normalized that some day, nuclear powers really do go to war.
I had hoped it wouldn’t happen in my lifetime. It still might not. But you’ve got to admit, Trump is an exceptionally likely choice to be that First Guy To Drop A Nuke Since 1945.
Another Scott
@Quinerly: Barnabas Collins!!
:-)
Mindless is good, especially these days.
Take care.
Cheers,
Scott.
raven
@Evil_Paul: I’ve been on the business end of some 122’s, they ain’t light if they hit you.
Denali
So sorry to hear of your loss, Quinerly.
Rick Taylor
@Patricia Kayden:
They told me if I voted for Hillary, we’d be going to war with Iran. Well I voted for Hillary, and now it seems they may have been correct.
Bill Arnold
@Major Major Major Major:
Likewise. In no way is this as bad as assassination of a major Iranian leader. It would be much worse if the missiles had a smaller CEP, but they didn’t.
raven
@Kent: If they know where it is it ain’t hidden.
raven
@Bill Arnold: And that mean what?
Mary G
A small blessing, if it holds:
He’s probably sundowned and can’t be cleaned up for cameras this late in the day. He’ll probably call into Two Boobs and a Blonde tomorrow a.m.
realbtl
@Quinerly: Sorry to hear. I sometimes think rescues are even harder to lose as one has seen them gain so much.
Chris
@Kent:
True. I think a very likely possibility is that we try to do to Iran basically what we did to Iraq from 1991 to 2003 – no boots on the ground, but we seize control of their airspace and start dropping bombs wherever and whenever we want.
Of course, given who’s in charge, our actual response will probably be dumber.
Bill Arnold
I hope regulators in all countries will be looking at suspicious trades:
Asian shares slump; gold, oil soar after Iran strike on U.S. forces (Andrew Galbraith, 2019/01/07)
mrmoshpotato
@Chris T.:
LOL thanks for the explanation. :)
Patricia Kayden
@Rick Taylor:
GregB
I’m told Jared Kushner is ready to roll out his regional peace plans.
Patricia Kayden
@Quinerly: ((hugs))
So sorry that you’ve lost such a beloved member of your family. What a rough day.
FelonyGovt
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry to hear about your beloved dog. Hugs.
mrmoshpotato
@Mary G: And the three couch tumors will slobber all over him.
khead
If anyone really thinks that important Pentagon people went to their suburban MD/VA home at 1PM today I have some beachfront property in WV to sell you. Tucker is pimping that crap on Fox.
Evil_Paul
@raven: Yeah, totally. I agree. Sorry if I was giving the impression I was saying otherwise.
My point was that people have a bad habit of hearing the phrase ‘rocket attack’ and thinking it’s not a big deal. These Fateh rockets sound to be on a whole other order of magnitude from Katyushas and Grads.
mrmoshpotato
@Chris:
We’ll be greeted as Liberaces?
MomSense
@Mary G:
I just texted my kid that the adderal probably wasn’t enough to counter the sundowns.
Kent
@Chris: I expect the stock prices of whichever companies make cruise missiles and precision munitions are going up right now.
Follow the money….
Always follow the money.
Emma from FL
@Quinerly:
Oh no. No, no. I traveled vicariously through Poco and his tribe. I am so sorry!
raven
@Evil_Paul: Roger that.
Annamal
@Kent:
I would have thought that Iran was quite likely to resort to Cyber warfare where the US is vulnerable and Iran might have fortified following Stuxnet (the US has more resource but more vulnerabilities).
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Quinerly:
I’m so sorry, Quinerly. Peace to you.
Baud
Drum
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
I’ll add my condolences. Poco will always be in your heart
LongHairedWeirdo
This is one of those things, too.
When I heard Benghazi was a CIA outpost, and not a mere diplomatic area… well, what can you *do*?
If the attackers knew it was a CIA outpost, then it was not “terrorism” in the strict sense – a CIA outpost, in a war zone, isn’t a neutral territory.
But the US was going to treat it as terrorism, and, in fact, it was a Republican (OF COURSE!) that tried to make it seem *worse* because it was a legitimate military target. Like, if it had been a *diplomatic* compound, only, it wouldn’t have been as bad as if it were CIA, when, morally speaking, the exact opposite is true.
And, of course, one of the Republican talking points was that Obama was slow to label the attack “terror”, and I think by saying “acts of terror” he was *precisely* as honest as a President should be – not confirming it was, technically, a CIA outpost we were calling “diplomatic”).
If the Republican Party had *any* honor, *any* decency, at all, if Obama had been hesitant to label it “terrorism” because it was CIA, then we (the people) would know they had honor, but, of course, they didn’t. Let’s face it: for a long time, the CIA thought that the attack’s *proximate* cause was a riot at another embassy (causing the attackers to think “if we strike now, they’ll think it’s just another protest, until it’s too late”) , and the GOP dishonestly used that to claim the administration was lying – when, in fact, as far as I know, the attacks timing might well *have* been due to the earlier riot. See, it doesn’t matter what the TRUTH is, if you convince the *press* that there are two sides to the question.
So we know the GOP will lie, even about important stuff, for political advantage. We know that they’ll tell obvious, bad-faith lies, the worst *kinds* of lies to tell, about such an event , to try to get people to trust Trump and Pence over their ham handed, incompetent, unthinking, and flat out stupid actions; and to try to sow mistrust toward anyone who isn’t under their thumb, like anyone whose name you frequently see with first_name, last_name (D, state_name)” in the newspaper, or anyone who does their job competently, well, and honorably (like (some of) those telling the truth about Trump’s crimes).
Kent
@Evil_Paul:
Probably because when we hear about rocket attacks in the news it is usually in the context of Hamas lobbing rockets across the fence into Israel. And my understanding is that those sort of homemade rockets are little more than long distance mortars.
WaterGirl
@Annamal: Iran could very well still do that. I imagine that we will see retaliation in a lot of different ways. This is just the start.
Kattails
So what about the fairly serious reality that many of Donnie’s advisors are excited by this because it’s the route to the rapture they’ve been promised for so long? My crude rude parts wonder if Pence has had to change his panties several times in the last couple of days. I understand that DKos doesn’t get much traction here but a community post by a KR Wehrstein was titled “Get the crazed mass-death cult away from the manipulable narcissistic dotard with the button”. The point was that the end-times cult is in and of itself wildly narcissistic and cares not one whit for anyone or anything not of itself. That faction can’t be discounted and adds yet another wild card factor to the reactions coming from the White House.
Not to cheer things up or anything.
raven
@Kent: Here’s a rundown from an Israeli paper.
Kent
I was expecting them to use proxies to attack some US ally in some sort of vaguely deniable manner. Like blow up an oil terminal someplace and say that it was drones launched by Yemen or something.
zhena gogolia
@Kattails:
I don’t really think they are hoping for the rapture. They want money and comfort.
Baud
@Kent:
They have a domestic audience too.
andy
@Adam L Silverman: Might one of them be hacking The Leader’s financial records and them releasing to media worldwide?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Baud:
Question is, who’s signature?
Ken
@GregB: IIRC Kushner’s last regional peace plan involved Saudi Arabia giving Egypt some Red Sea islands (or maybe the other way around), in exchange for a resort hotel being built somewhere.
There may have been something about a percentage of the greens fees going to Palestinian relief?
Dorothy A. Winsor
Apparently Trump’s address to the nation has been called off.
scribbler
@Quinerly: I’m only an occasional commenter but I have so enjoyed the exploits of Poco on the road. Wishing you some comfort over the next hard days.
Ghost of Joe Lieblings Dog
Oh @Quinerly, I’m so sorry.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
spudgun
@Quinerly: Oh no…I knew it was coming but I didn’t know it was yesterday. Delurking to say how sorry I am for your loss. I know how much you loved him. I really enjoyed hearing about your adventures together.
You gave him a good life. My sincere condolences.
jnfr
@Cermet:
I don’t think he’s capable of any restraint. He will lash back.
chris
@Quinerly: Aw, so sorry to hear of Poco’s passing. It’s always too soon.
Chris
@LongHairedWeirdo:
One of the most exhausting things about the Iraq War media was seeing every attack on U.S. troops breathlessly reported as a terrorist attack, never mind that targeting uniformed combatants in a war zone is exactly what you’re supposed to do to, well, not be a terrorist.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Best news of the night, especially for people who don’t want to buy a new TV to replace the one they threw a vase through.
West of the Rockies
@Quinerly:
I am truly sorry. Poco was a genuine presence here. Cyber hugs to you.
Tazj
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry. I enjoyed reading about your travels together.
Aleta
Richard Hass’s first two comments below were tweeted before today. The last four were tweeted this evening.
Kent
@Chris:
@LongHairedWeirdo:
They were “terrorists” because they wouldn’t stand and fight but detonated IEDs via remote control.
The US, on the other hand sent in drones remote controlled from a nondescript office someplace outside of Las Vegas.
And the difference is…..oh never mind.
chris
@Chris T.:
No snow and no snow tires either, I’ll bet.
sdhays
@jnfr: If the reports following the assassination of Soleimani are to be believed, all that Dump’s advisers (e.g. Mr. Anonymous with his self-congratulatory book coming out soon) need to do is to make sure that the options given to him in the future don’t include another batshit insane option “that he’ll never choose”.
I guess we’ll find out if those reports were the self-serving bullshit they seemed to be or if they were at least somewhat based on reality. Although the idea that these supposedly sane/competent people thought that it was safe to provide Dump with options that no one thought were a good idea doesn’t provide one with a lot of confidence…
dmsilev
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Isn’t it a Hell of a thing where the best we can hope for from the US President is that he gibber and rage in private?
danielx
@Quinerly:
Ever so sorry.
Bill Arnold
@raven:
Sorry. Here, since it will probably be a part of the good reporting:
Circular error probable
Kent
@sdhays:
We need some sane advisor to create some new “batshit crazy” extreme options like. Reinstate the Iran Agreement because it is so so batshit crazy they will never expect it.
sdhays
@Dorothy A. Winsor: He’s always been pretty incompetent at playing President, even for short periods of time, but I wonder if his abilities are now waning to the point that they really can’t put him in a “normal” setting anymore.
Another Scott
@sdhays: See #144 above – FTFNYT says Pompeo pushed to have Suleiman killed.
(Pompeo’s body language in a press conference that I saw today (dunno if it was actually held today or earlier) was very haughty to these eyes.)
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
raven
@Bill Arnold: I just meant that it made little difference if it’s better or worse than the assassination but that info is interesting.
Be the first one on your block to have your kid come home in a box.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry about Poco. Please take care of you. I understand.
sdhays
@Kent: Ha! Call it the “Trump Peace Accord” and he just might buy it!
Kattails
@Rick Taylor: My Hillary sticker has held steadfast to my rear window. Your first sentence (keeping things brief) might just make a fine companion piece.
Bill Arnold
@Kent:
Our secretary of defense might have some skin in the war game, perhaps?
Pentagon nominee Esper, a former Raytheon lobbyist, must extend recusal, says Warren (Joe Gould, July 15, 2019)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Esper
Patricia Kayden
Huge sigh.
lamh36
Frankensteinbeck
@dmsilev:
The best we can hope for is that he’s cowering in his bed eating a tub of ice cream after ordering someone to find a way to simultaneously back out of this and claim he has the biggest penis in the world.
Kent
@sdhays: No, call it the “Trump Deal of the Century.” The biggest and most perfect deal ever.
Jinchi
Thank God we finally know who to blame for this fiasco.
TS (the original)
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
This wouldn’t be happening if there was a real President in the White House. The last real President signed an agreement with Iran that was only broken because trump.
raven
@lamh36: The original tweet also included the Iranian flag just like numbnuts did on his.
Kent
@Frankensteinbeck: He just needs to be distracted. Porn Stars. Impeachment. Plate of Chalupas. Whatever works.
debbie
@Quinerly:
Oh, I am so sorry for your loss, but what a life you two had!
Kattails
@zhena gogolia: ok how about money and power? And unquestioning obedience…
But I do worry about the evangelical influence on all of this. It’s a wild card and can’t be discounted. Even if the higher ups are simply greedy and cynical, there are millions of the believers who are seriously wildly emotional about this stuff; and Trump’s reptilian brain will connect with them, to an extent, bypassing the middlemen.
debbie
@Another Scott:
Don’t you recognize swagger when you see it? //
Jim, Foolish Literalist
raven
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s the thought that counts.
jl
@Kent: ” We need some sane advisor to create some new “batshit crazy” extreme options like. Reinstate the Iran Agreement because it is so so batshit crazy they will never expect it. ”
I like that idea. But I don’t think it will work. Apparently the assassination of Suleimani has been some standard option that has been around for a long time and frequently updated. I heard on the news that W and Obama decided against it. Kind of hard to hide that option by this time. Trump was oblivious, probably, but some last-in-the-room fathead told him (and egged him on by saying last two presidents, particularly Obama, chickened out) if the Pentagon didn’t offer it as a feasible option at this time.
jnfr
@Quinerly:
I’m sorry for your loss. It’s always hard.
Especially with all this shit happening, take care of yourself.
Kamala.Harris.2020
I haven’t seen this anywhere else and dont know if its true, but NPR reported an interview where it was claimed that Solimani’s mission at this me he was killed was actually carrying a letter as part of a peace negotiation:
ADIL ABDUL-MAHDI: (Through translator) This culminated in a constructive call from U.S. President Donald Trump calling on Iraq to play a mediating role for the truce with Iran, given that the two sides state that they do not want war. Let history record, I was supposed to meet General Soleimani at 8 a.m. the day he was killed because he was holding a letter for me from the Iranian side as a response to a Saudi letter which we delivered to the Iranians to achieve agreements and important breakthroughs in the situation in Iraq and the region.
Bill Arnold
@Jinchi:
Well, along with 65,853,514 – 1 other Americans.
Another Scott
+1. We need to vote all the monsters out. Donnie is a symptom, not the cause, of what’s been ailing national politics for a very long time.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kent
You mean setting the middle east on fire to hasten the second coming? Lots of evangelicals actually believe in that.
Sloane Ranger
@Quinerly: I am so sorry for your loss.
Aleta
Raven Onthill
Feathered brothers and sisters, we eat tonight!
(There, got that done. As to the politics…)
I’ve been thinking over how the USA might best respond, if de-escalation is the goal. These are first thoughts based on very little research:
Do I think Donald Trump is likely to do the sensible thing? Nah. I think he will either escalate, or cower.
And a long loud series of raspberryish croaks to all the armchair warriors who were certain Iran would not respond, and another one to all the US politicians who didn’t grasp that Trump’s assassination was a de facto declaration of war.
chris
@Kattails: Pompeo, Pence and, under the radar, Kellyanne Conway. Not that she’s close to the preznit or anything.
Beeb
@Quinerly: I’m so sorry.
TS (the original)
@Quinerly:
So sorry to hear your news Quinerly. Poco was a wonderful friend to you & a great member of BJ – missed by everyone
Another Scott
@Aleta: :-(
Thank you.
Cheers,
Scott.
chopper
@Quinerly:
so sorry to hear about poco.
Another Scott
@Aleta: The SacBee URL is a little mangled.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article239053173.html
Cheers,
Scott.
CaseyL
@Quinerly: Oh, no – I am so sorry! I loved the stories of your travels together.
Citizen Scientist
@Quinerly: oh no! So sorry to hear about Poco! Condolences.
Chris T.
“Snow what now?”
“Slow tires? What are ‘slow tires’?”
“Snow trackers? There’s no such thing!”
(Funny thing is, living in a snowy state and driving a Subaru, I did fine with all-weather tires. They even worked in ten plus inches of fresh powder coming home one Christmas-ish storm, though going 20 to 25 mph on the freeway for 100 miles was incredibly wearing. Still, I’m happy to be done with shoveling snow, now that I’m in the SFBayArea.)
Uncle Cosmo
So much wrong here, starting (ending) with the misuse of the apostrophe. C’mon, you’re better than that. (And if you aren’t you’re a grammatical ignoramus.)
The phrase you were looking for is THE WORLD WONDERS – used as a tag in a coded msg to Admiral “Bull” Halsey during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Let the Trumpanzees try (& fail) to rewrite history – we need to get it right.
scav
@Quinerly: My condolences.
Like an iceburg, you can be assured that all those expressed are only about 10% of the whole. Not that it will be anywhere near enough.
Aleta
@Another Scott: yikes, thanks!
Aleta
“All is well!”
“Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!”
What a lying sack of
Aleta
Audio and transcript of NPR— All Things Considered Interview With Iran’s Foreign Minister
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/07/794175782/transcript-nprs-full-interview-with-iran-s-foreign-minister
J R in WV
@Quinerly:
Sorry about Poco, your best friend!
I have no doubt you will find another best friend soon, not to replace Poco, but to add to Poco.
Best wishes to you and yours!
SWMBO
@Quinerly: So sorry to hear this. He was much loved because he was a good boy.
Ruckus
@chopper:
if there’s any one thing trump is legit good at it’s painting himself into a goddamn corner.
If there’s any one thing trump is legit good at it’s shitting himself into a goddamn corner. With of course causing as much damage as possible.
Fixed it for you.
Ruckus
@Chris:
Think if Iran had killed our #2 with a drone.
How as a country would we over react?
No One You Know
@Quinerly: I am so sorry for your loss.
Ruckus
@Quinerly:
Sorry about Poco. Losing a beloved pet is always difficult. Knowing it’s coming doesn’t make it any easier. Peace be with you.
No One You Know
There’s been a strong uptick in “See something? Say something” ads overnight. It’s not obvious who paid for the ads. Or what they’re really targeting.
About impeachment, I’m trying to avoid being bitter over the what appears to be toothlessness in the face of ruthlessness. Trump, McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and their ilk apparently have no decent regard for Constitutional rights and responsibilities, let alone the opinions of others. So how do we return? When even a letter to the Iraqi government is in dispute about what the US armed forces will or won’t do?
I’m sad. And angry. And out of money for donations. Pretty sure I signed a petition twice because it came from two different groups. Does any of this mean anything when dark money can drown grassroots?
I don’t know what else to do with myself, so I’m going to bed. Will try for attitude adjustment in the morning.
Raven Onthill
What the USA might do about the war with Iran: sit tight, remove Trump, apologize, negotiate.
What the USA will probably do instead: escalate.
Fkity fkity fkity fk.
jayjaybear
@chris: Don’t forget to include Barr. He’s not evangelical, but he’s definitely involved in the Catholic version of Dominionism.
Mike in NC
Looks like Lindsey Graham wants a declaration of war with Iran. What could possibly go wrong there?
Mandalay
Trump speaking to the media when meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece yesterday:
Trump spews complete garbage about knowing millions of people he’s never met, and it’s not even a story.
His compulsion to gratuitously tell absurd lies about absolutely anything is bizarre.
Nomad
@Raven Onthill: I’m actually thinking the lack of a US response is because events have moved so rapidly that there just aren’t enough Tomahawks in the region to cover all the targets, and more ships and planes are being shifted around right now. I did hear that six B-52’s had been moved to “an Indian Ocean base” (Diego Garcia) yesterday. Iran has a ton of missile sites; I’m not sure we can destroy all of them if we tried, at least not immediately. Remember Iraq continued firing SCUD missiles throughout Desert Storm even after six weeks of aerial targeting of their launch positions.