Looks like he nailed the lack of WMDs in Iraq pre-war, but some of his other predictions and positions, oof:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SGX_sE7TkWw&pp=0gcJCZoBo7VqN5tD
This to me is an excellent overview, including in-depth looks into the history, the run-up, Iran‘s plans and motivations,, what Trump is saying and why it won’t work, there being no military solution, diplomacy is the only good solution, and it includes Russia and China and how and why. It also takes a look at the possible eventuality of nuclear bombs being invoked by Trump.
Ritter offered an opposing view on Portuguese radio station TSF: "The United States is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated. It is a war we can not win... We do not have the military means to take over Baghdad and for this reason I believe the defeat of the United States in this war is inevitable... Every time we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for ten years in Vietnam, but we will not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is already lost."[48]
In February 2005, writing on Al Jazeera's website, Ritter wrote that the "Iraqi resistance" is a "genuine grassroots national liberation movement," and "History will eventually depict as legitimate the efforts of the Iraqi resistance to destabilize and defeat the American occupation forces and their imposed Iraqi collaborationist government."[51] In 2012, Ritter said that the U.S. was "bankrupt, morally and fiscally, because of this war. The United States is the laughingstock of the world".[4]
In 2022, he became a contributor to Russian government-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik.[62][63] He compared Ukraine to a "rabid dog" which needed to be shot.[62][64] He compared the treatment of Russians under Ukrainian law to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews.[65] In October 2022, he posted a provocative tweet about Bucha, "Bucha was a war crime, Ukraine did it", to test the reaction of Twitter.[66] DisInfoChronicle, a website of the NGO Detector Media which claims to refute Russian disinformation, wrote that Ritter was being used by Russia to "promote narratives needed by the Kremlin".[66]
Oh, and for good measure:
In 2011, Ritter was convicted of several criminal offenses after engaging in sexually explicit online activity with a police officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.[10][11][12]
I don’t think this excursion has lasted long enough to rise to the level of carpet bombing. I think his (Jeffrey Sachs) concern is indiscriminate killing of citizens in Teheran (it’s more of an IDF-in-Gaza thing than US but now we’re complicit). He’s sounding a warning call. Msm is mostly not providing a picture of what’s happening in either Israel or Iran.
Carpet bombing is a specific act and not a function of duration, but I get the point you're making and it should be a concern.
I'd have to think if there was any evidence of carpet bombing, the MSM would fall into 2 camps. One that was screaming bloody murder about the genocide Trump was committing (or enabling or complicit in) and one that explained why carpet bombing was a good thing and much needed to shorten the duration of the campaign while guaranteeing successful results.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
The President is upset.
@aloha-hoosier what we are seeing is, "we started a war without consulting you, we didn't anticipate Iran playing their left bower, will you help bail us out?"
Cost of going it alone. And threatening NATO, and Greenland, and . . .The President is upset.
The Christian Nationalist spin on the Iran war mostly came from, IIRC, firsthand accounts of soldiers being deployed who said they were given pep talks about this being a holy cause that would set the stage for a return by Jesus. Which frankly sounds bizarre and I have a hard time believing
"You can't make someone listen to reason if they aren't willing to think"-- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Cost of going it alone. And threatening NATO, and Greenland, and . . .The President is upset.
Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Europe is screwed 10x more than the U.S. if the straight remains closed. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of them change their minds.
Hm…that is problematic. Being a curious spectator is a PITA.Looks like he nailed the lack of WMDs in Iraq pre-war, but some of his other predictions and positions, oof:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SGX_sE7TkWw&pp=0gcJCZoBo7VqN5tD
This to me is an excellent overview, including in-depth looks into the history, the run-up, Iran‘s plans and motivations,, what Trump is saying and why it won’t work, there being no military solution, diplomacy is the only good solution, and it includes Russia and China and how and why. It also takes a look at the possible eventuality of nuclear bombs being invoked by Trump.
Ritter offered an opposing view on Portuguese radio station TSF: "The United States is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated. It is a war we can not win... We do not have the military means to take over Baghdad and for this reason I believe the defeat of the United States in this war is inevitable... Every time we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for ten years in Vietnam, but we will not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is already lost."[48]
In February 2005, writing on Al Jazeera's website, Ritter wrote that the "Iraqi resistance" is a "genuine grassroots national liberation movement," and "History will eventually depict as legitimate the efforts of the Iraqi resistance to destabilize and defeat the American occupation forces and their imposed Iraqi collaborationist government."[51] In 2012, Ritter said that the U.S. was "bankrupt, morally and fiscally, because of this war. The United States is the laughingstock of the world".[4]
In 2022, he became a contributor to Russian government-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik.[62][63] He compared Ukraine to a "rabid dog" which needed to be shot.[62][64] He compared the treatment of Russians under Ukrainian law to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews.[65] In October 2022, he posted a provocative tweet about Bucha, "Bucha was a war crime, Ukraine did it", to test the reaction of Twitter.[66] DisInfoChronicle, a website of the NGO Detector Media which claims to refute Russian disinformation, wrote that Ritter was being used by Russia to "promote narratives needed by the Kremlin".[66]
Oh, and for good measure:
In 2011, Ritter was convicted of several criminal offenses after engaging in sexually explicit online activity with a police officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.[10][11][12]
AutoRamRod! Kind of self-deprecating moniker, n’est-ce pas? Guess ya gotta do wut ya gotta do…
@bradstevens Ritter was always a favorite of Mas. Enough said.
@bradstevens Ritter was always a favorite of Mas. Enough said.
After hitting our European allies with steep tariffs, repeatedly denigrating NATO, and going to war without consulting NATO, Trump is now demanding that NATO countries (and others) assist the US in securing the Strait of Hormuz. He warned NATO of a "very bad" future if it fails to provide assistance.
Maybe Trump will learn 1) to listen to military leaders when they warn of potential problems (General Caine reportedly told Trump that an attack on Iran would result in Iran blocking the Strait, but Trump blew off the warning, believing that Iran would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to block it and/or that the US would be able to immediately reopen it) and 2) that friends tend to be reluctant to help after you've repeatedly shit on them.
US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz | Reuters
I think there is a real question to ask…do they even have the capability to help defend shipping in the Persian Gulf?
Two of the three Lottoral minesweepers were photographed in Malaysia yesterday. The third has an unknown location so may be present in the Persian Gulf area. But two so far away indicates we were not at all prepared for Iran mining. From all outward appearances, we had no plan past bombs away. Someone will eventually write a book, it will be interesting to see if we thought a decapitation strike would end it.
https://www.twz.com/sea/u-s-navy-minesweepers-assigned-to-middle-east-have-been-moved-to-pacific
https://twitter.com/grey4626/status/2033567760718995826
It’s a information war that is now being waged
Much more difficult in this age of decentralized media, AI, etc. Happens to the best of us. Kudos for admitting it.Hm…that is problematic. Being a curious spectator is a PITA.Looks like he nailed the lack of WMDs in Iraq pre-war, but some of his other predictions and positions, oof:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SGX_sE7TkWw&pp=0gcJCZoBo7VqN5tD
This to me is an excellent overview, including in-depth looks into the history, the run-up, Iran‘s plans and motivations,, what Trump is saying and why it won’t work, there being no military solution, diplomacy is the only good solution, and it includes Russia and China and how and why. It also takes a look at the possible eventuality of nuclear bombs being invoked by Trump.
Ritter offered an opposing view on Portuguese radio station TSF: "The United States is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated. It is a war we can not win... We do not have the military means to take over Baghdad and for this reason I believe the defeat of the United States in this war is inevitable... Every time we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for ten years in Vietnam, but we will not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is already lost."[48]
In February 2005, writing on Al Jazeera's website, Ritter wrote that the "Iraqi resistance" is a "genuine grassroots national liberation movement," and "History will eventually depict as legitimate the efforts of the Iraqi resistance to destabilize and defeat the American occupation forces and their imposed Iraqi collaborationist government."[51] In 2012, Ritter said that the U.S. was "bankrupt, morally and fiscally, because of this war. The United States is the laughingstock of the world".[4]
In 2022, he became a contributor to Russian government-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik.[62][63] He compared Ukraine to a "rabid dog" which needed to be shot.[62][64] He compared the treatment of Russians under Ukrainian law to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews.[65] In October 2022, he posted a provocative tweet about Bucha, "Bucha was a war crime, Ukraine did it", to test the reaction of Twitter.[66] DisInfoChronicle, a website of the NGO Detector Media which claims to refute Russian disinformation, wrote that Ritter was being used by Russia to "promote narratives needed by the Kremlin".[66]
Oh, and for good measure:
In 2011, Ritter was convicted of several criminal offenses after engaging in sexually explicit online activity with a police officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.[10][11][12]
The amount of money flowing around from China, Middle East nations, etc. to influence U.S. opinion is immense and hard to figure out.
@spartans9312After hitting our European allies with steep tariffs, repeatedly denigrating NATO, and going to war without consulting NATO, Trump is now demanding that NATO countries (and others) assist the US in securing the Strait of Hormuz. He warned NATO of a "very bad" future if it fails to provide assistance.
Maybe Trump will learn 1) to listen to military leaders when they warn of potential problems (General Caine reportedly told Trump that an attack on Iran would result in Iran blocking the Strait, but Trump blew off the warning, believing that Iran would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to block it and/or that the US would be able to immediately reopen it) and 2) that friends tend to be reluctant to help after you've repeatedly shit on them.
US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz | Reuters
I think there is a real question to ask…do they even have the capability to help defend shipping in the Persian Gulf?
Good question. Do they? Do we?
In the past week, our president has said:
1) The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is too dangerous for our Navy to escort commercial vessels.
2) The crews of commercial vessels should "show some guts" and just sail through the strait.
3) We (the US) don't need help securing the strait.
4) We need help securing the strait.
5) I've asked for help from specific countries just to see how they would respond/react.
Some clarity around the situation in the strait would be beneficial, but clarity isn't in Trump's DNA.