for about 10 minutes

Say what you want about the Iranians, But I wouldn’t fuck with them without being ready to find out.

that scenario is my least favorite. Can you imagine the martyrdom? He would be apotheosisized and canonized in one fell swoop.

I want him in jail, not a coffin. While he is alive he will continue to destroy his legacy. Once dead, they'll create a myth that will be hard to touch.

If that is our only way out, then so be it.

plucky-crazy?

To them, WE are the barbarians.

And Trump is proving them right.

Persian civilisation- like Chinese civilisation- has been around a long ass time. They’ve seen it all pretty much and can just wait us out.
This won’t end well for the US

are NOT going to lead the people of Iran to rebel against their own government---
not when some other government (us) is BOMBING them and cutting off
their water and electricity !!!!

The end result would seem to be that 'The Great Satan'
that their own government has been warning them about (us)
for 40-some years will have DESTROYED their quality of life
while killing very many of them....

Seems to me that our attacks on them will destroy any chances
for the 'internal rebellion' which we were hoping would happen,
and indeed was STARTING to happen, before we initiated this
'Epstein Files Fury War' !

Trump and his advisors FAILED basic psychology courses, or more likely never took any---
(or some instructors were 'paid off' to 'pass' them)---

Rapist would win it every day, hands down.

Keith still does worst persons on his Countdown podcast twice a week!

I'm not a big podcast person, but I will have to look into this! Thanks so much for letting me know!!

I really appreciate it!

In the latest edition, he was sticking it to Katy Tur.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1322111045

I appreciate it!

The important stuff is up front, generally consisting of newsworthy topics.

By the time you get to the end, he's dishing dirt on his ex-girlfriends (like Katy Tur) or former colleagues (like Rachel Maddow).

If you listen to enough of these podcasts, you hear the same dirt about the same people.

Stop asking important questions

Thanks for the information.

The "provided by" seems rather to heavily qualify your "always been" subject line declaration.

I realize that there are people in the world for whom "because I say so" is sufficient clear military advantage, but I hope we do not find them here.

Madness. He’s putting a big fat target on all things American.

It’s only terror when it’s inflicted on the US

AFAIK, bridges are considered valid targets.

If that's the case, a enemy can bomb one of our bridges while civilians are traveling on them.

That is a war crime.

When Ukraine bombed it (although just a few as it was 3am)

No, not all bridges are legal targets in war. Under international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict), a bridge only becomes a legitimate military target if it makes an effective contribution to military action and its destruction offers a definite military advantage.

Bridges are classic examples of "dual-use" targets. While they are crucial for civilian transportation and infrastructure, their utility in moving military assets often makes them targets. The legality of targeting them often hinges on the Principle of Distinction, which requires parties to distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives.

If a bridge is used for civilian purposes, attacking it when there is no significant military advantage—or when the damage to civilians is disproportionate—is a violation of international law.

which has punishments.
War itself is not a crime, but has rules that people break and often get away with.

Insane.

when British Colonel Nicholson told Japanese Colonel Saito that his mistreatment of prisoners of war violated the Geneva Convention, Saito snapped, "This war, not a game of cricket!"

So at best we’re talking about a valid act of war in a war of legitimate self-defense and a valid act of war in an unprovoked war of aggression.

The wave of symmetrical terrorism that is sure to follow?

legitimate military targets under international humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the law of armed conflict, if their destruction offers a definite military advantage.

Otherwise, it is just state-sponsored terrorism.

-- Mal

incorrect.

Legally, they were bullshit operations that evaded Constitutionally-mandated procedures because the US Congress is a bunch of spineless eunuchs who have cravenly and systematically surrendered their duties to the Administration. The simple act of bombing places and killing people is not "war," or every two-bit terrorist with a pipe bomb in his mother's basement is fighting a war.

That these actions are colloquially called "war" by just about everybody does not make them wars by the legal definition of the word.

And it is utter bullshit to call state-sponsered murder "war" just because it makes you feel better.

-- Mal

Not a single one of the participating nations declared war. For that matter, neither did North Korea nor China. So not "wars" by any legal definition of the word.

-- Mal

You agree with Putin it's just a "special military operation"?

Everyone else thinks it's a war.

Modern international law (such as the Geneva Conventions) focuses on the existence of "armed conflict" rather than a formal declaration, meaning intense, sustained violence.

But thanks for playing. We have some nice parting gifts for you backstage.

and able to confirm that there was zero Iranian military activity on the bridge?

Just want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly.

Put another way: In your jurisprudence, if an Iranian soldier has crossed that bridge, it's a legitimate target?

absolutely not! What I'm saying is that no one knows.

Now, technically, if the bridge was used to transport military equipment, it is an approved target.

What a foolish post.

Proportionality and distinction play a role too, not just military advantage.

Good luck fitting in those principles to this obviously wanton act of destruction, terrorism against civilians and blackmail.

Though IHL doesn't apply to "excursions" in the first place, does it?

and Netanyahu and Putin and put them all on trial together for the world to see. Only a few men are causing all this. The world will be better without their fucked up leadership. What an example all three set ? It is like a game for them, who can be the biggest asshole to humanity?

"This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you".

It was bullshit then, it's bullshit now.

Amen again

F47 and the entire chain of command responsible for executing this obviously-illegal order are now war criminals, state terrorists. Top to bottom. This event marks the absolute end of a century where America and our ideals were widely seen as aspirational. Now we've become transparently evil, a warning flag to the rest of the world. And when the next terror attack on the mainland happens, we will respond with the usual barrage of awful things once again, but we will do them alone.

Was that just a function of his stupidity or was it intentional?

BTW Don't get bit by a skunk. There will be no one at CDC to test you for rabies. There is also no one at the Iranian desk in the FBI. Thomas Fugate is a nobody 22 year old Trump campaign staffer, U of Texas class of 2024, that sits at the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships security desk to combat violent extremism.

Good Luck! We are going to need it.

this time, there will be no headlines from the former allies we've repeatedly insulted proclaiming "we are all Americans now."

So Expect what you would expect if a RAT is cornered. Even a nuclear device being used in Iran.

Anything signed under duress and extortion is not valid.

This is sadistic.

they sent me a prize. 4/ We are negotiating with them. 5/ We don't need help from our allies because we have already won. 6/ We have achieved our objectives. None of these things can be true if he is still destroying their infrastructure and threatening to send them back to the stone age. He is a deranged lunatic who single-handedly has created a global crisis.

except for the part about single-handedly. Every one of his corrupt, cowardly, incompetent enablers has blood on their hands.

The whole mess is a page or two out of Putin's playbook.

Religious war.

Just think of the hatred just among Americans for this guy. 8 million on the streets last Saturday, visible in defiance of his presidency.

Across the globe, remember that he intentionally hurt Cubans and their babies, his threats to Greenland, his coup in Venezuela, what he allows for in Gaza, and what we fund.

His ICE agents across our country, the terror and death alone by that agency under his orders.

Blowback: unintended consequences, side-effects, or repercussions that result from an activity that has a negative effect on U.S. national security interests.
https://www.cia.gov/resources/spy-glossary/

in the ME is safe now.

Iran says bridges are fair game now.

https://bsky.app/search?q=karaj

Any military leader with a moral fiber left should go public with refusals.

Should he step foot on any country that is a member of the International Criminal Court.

It was an act of terrorism from the guy who said "Kill all Muslims!"

Link to tweet