"Israel, if it topples the Khamenei regime, could end up leaving Iran in the hands of violent factions even more dangerous than they are now."
That's fundamental truth, for anyone wondering what such a thing looks like these days.
One person who absolutely does know and understand fundamental truth is former Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin. Within days of Israel's overreaction to the attacks of 10/7, Austin observed - and I'm paraphrasing - "Israel is taking tactical victories at the expense of strategic losses". I couldn't agree more.
And so it continues, our cultural death wish of short-term gains over long-term stability.
Exactly. "Trump" is a mad dash to whatever satisfies the ego in whatever moment of every situation. That's what "Trump" means to those who so reverently advertise it. "Trump" is immediate - and oh so very temporary - gratification of fear based desires. Like any serious addiction, these desires can never be fully satisfied - only postponed, one fix at a time. "Trump" users trade away every tomorrow for a perceived win - no matter how petty - today.
Even more so...toppling the Khamenei regime could lead to the complete Balkanization of Iran, with four or five different countries.
And a further observation...not a single one of them will be a democratically elected government, because democracy is NOT in the Muslim cultural outlook, and probably never will be.
which is why people smarter than trump and Hegseth need to drive. I get the sense trump hasn't thought at all about what comes next if Israel manages to topple the Iranian regime. no concept that it could get even worse.
Leave it to Trump to turn the Iranian people against us. His recent success with Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Mexico, and Panama have only energized him.
Why would Trump say to evacuate Tehran? That's not where the uranium enrichment is being done and shouldn't be a military target, except for very targeted strikes
Because he's going after the head of government...and the best way to do that is through "righteous overkill."
Or, to paraphrase Chesty Puller..."Kill them all, and let God sort out the good ones."
And, if there's collateral damage and thousands of Iranians are killed when he bombs the crap out of Teheran, he'll bluster and pontificate about how it's not HIS fault, because he TOLD them to get out of town.
Ms. Haake, agree with all of this. One thing not mentioned, and I’m not sure if Iran is bluffing. They could be. It is their threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and attack US bases and soldiers if the US attacks. If one major naval vessel goes down from drones, it will all be on President Huff and Puff TACO. Even the maga base feels betrayed by TACO dragging the US into a hot war.
Republicans are cowards. Massie and Khanna have introduced a new War Powers Resolution, asking for Congress approval before letting TACO bomb Iran.
A $1 trillion military budget used to subdue Americans at home is a monstrosity.
agreed. but how can you ask for a trillion dollar budget while promising not to use it on foreign soil without the US Senate figuring out what he wants it for? he's even posted, numerous times, that he wants to liberate people from democrats. if that's not a cry for civil war I don't know is.
100% correct Ms. Haake. Every Republican needs to be thrown out of office. We are paying the price for letting the insurrectionists stay in office after 1/6. Not sure why Dems are not more vocal on the trillion dollar budget that will be used against them.
I mean anyone supporting the coup are all insurrectionists according to the 14th Amendment. We vote them out. It will take time. We reform the judiciary. They will rig, voter suppress, and gerrymander as best as they can, using Texas as their guide. Our best opportunity is electing pro-democracy representatives before the 2030 census. We need to start now.
And we reduce and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.
You're assuming you can find prosecutors who will take the cases.
And President Trump has pardoned all of the insurrectionists, so double jeopardy applies.
Reforming the judiciary will take a Constitutional Amendment, unless you're just planning on packing the court, in which case you need control of at least 60% of the Senate.
Voting them out will take relocation of a lot of voters, or enticing voters who WILL vote them out.
Sorry for the delay. I don’t like Substack’s new interface. I wiped out my earlier comments.
Congress has to give teeth and enforcement power to the 14th Amendment.
I am specifically talking about the maga insurrectionists occupying federal office. Our partisan Supreme Court should not allowed TACO back.
I propose a series of Constitutional amendments, as our current Constitution allowed a despotic regime to take power (Ruth Ben-Ghiat notes this is the most common way a dictatorship forms).
- Directly amending the Constitution via national federal votes
- Asking every citizen to vote in every federal election or pay a small fine
- Term and age limits for all 3 branches
- Supreme Court ethics reforms
- Disallowing any kind of slavery or indentured servitude via changing 13th Amendment
- Clarifying what is a weapon of war and allowing regulations on such weapons
- Making Roe not only a law but baked in
- Proportional representation in House and Senate
- Overturning and preventing the corruption from Citizens United
- Authorizing federal government and states to have a wealth tax
- Giving the emoulements clause real punitive teeth
- Changing electoral college to a national vote
- Adding back the Equal Rights Amendment
- Ban gerrymandering and use independent redistricting commissions
- And that’s all I can think of currently.
Yes. We need to convince the non-voting population to vote. They are the largest group left. The 2030 census is key to make widespread changes to affirm democracy.
Autocrats always resort to military action as a “unifying” political move though it rarely works, Blowing up the Iranian nuclear facility will create another million terrorists looking to kill Americans.
It’s interesting that back in 2022 (I think), Trump said Biden was going to start a war with Iran because he didn’t know how to negotiate with them saying Biden was weak.
Edit:
I found a link to the Hypocrite in Chief calling Biden weak about Iran:
trump is a moron for sure, and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement was all about Obama having negotiated it. god help us, we've given the nuclear codes to a toddler.
Thank you for mentioning the $1 trillion defense budget in terms of its being used for domestic use. Sounds true to me.
The soldiers in Trump's foolish parade were reported to have not marched in step: if that's true, God bless them and keep them safe. Soldiers know how to get things expressed with never a word spoken out loud.
Sorry, it was my dad, who was a New Zealander, born 1896, who spent four years in the trenches in WWI. Basically, walking rather than marching was a non-threatening way to express "discontent" when told to act ceremonial after they'd spent four years close to death. He was shot three times, survived, died young 35 years after the end of the war in his early fifties. So, no footnote to go, I'm afraid, just oral history, not to be regarded as more than folktale. But, ask a soldier who is with us still who may well discount it.
It’s going to be awfully difficult to feel sorry for anybody whose kid comes home in a box now that they’re no longer plucking people off the streets and forcing them to fight, at least for now.
Wanna be the world’s police force? That’s part of the price. Best you know that up front.
Worth noting that the entire strategy is predicated on the assumption that its targets are obtunded Untermenschen, permanently incapable of serious thought and retaliation.
This was and is clearly Netanyahu's view of the Gazans, leading to the laxity that allowed Oct 7, and justifying the use of blast, starvation, and disease to decimate them.
Similarly for the Iranians. Roughly along these lines, Jennifer Rubin writes (as opposed to Haake's view) "Realistically, the only thing that would permanently remove an Iranian threat is the ever-elusive regime change." As if they are mere putty in the hands of blinkered fanatics and permanently incapable of putting together a better-functioning military to protect themselves and realize national ambitions.
I don't see it as a contrast- killing the nuclear sites will lead to regime change, at least that's what Netanyahu keeps suggesting. then again, many say it's his own regime change he's fighting against. the similarities between him and trump are remarkable.
I'm new to this site. "Forever War" conjures up images of casualties and stalemate. Rightly so. Since 1948, Israel has had to remain in a war economy mode. Israel cannot lose a skirmish, a battle, or a war. For Israelis it's unthinkable. Israel is alone. Allies, yes Israel has allies. But Israel must think and act as if the country is constantly surrounded by enemies. And they are, Masada comes to mind.
I have no credentialed expertise. No one is going to shove a microphone in my face for my opinion or my sagacity, frankly on anything. Even if the bunker buster bombs are NOT deployed to Israel, likely the IDF has a strategy to eradicate the threat of nuclear proliferation from Iran.
You could argue Israel has a biblical fiat for its existence.
Please remember I'm Irish and I got my own war. Not interested in anyone else's war.
Can the G6 (no US) stop trade with the genocidal state? I guess France thinks they still like it, but let's just isolate them. Let them support themselves. No more arms for genocide and starting illegal wars. I know this isn't very coherent, but I'm frazzled.
I would imagine the G6 or any group could decide to stop trade with any country they choose. but each member state will have different reasons to continue trade with certain sectors, depending on their own domestic production needs. remember the idiot in chief declaring that all parts of all items must be produced in the US, without understanding that for most products, components are manufactured all over the world? I'm not even sure what Israel exports or manufactures other than war. but it's not fair to blame Israelis, many of whom hate Bibi and are stuck with him, even as he tries to gut the supreme court's authority. (sound familiar?) blaming them for him is like blaming me (and you) for trump.
I wonder, would it be possible to transfer the airmen of the B2 to the Israeli Airforce for a period of time and to change the identification on the bomber itself from American to Israeli , so that the USA can show it was NOT involved in the action , thus avoiding being dragged into a war that has been on going since Moses cross the Red Sea
Tom Lehrer, musical satirist of 1960's, sings these lyrics (performance @ youtube of his song, We Will All Go Together When We Go). Excerpt:
For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbors too
There'll be nobody left behind to grieve
And we will all go together when we go
What a comforting fact that is to know
Universal bereavement
An inspiring achievement
Yes, we all will go together when we go
We will all go together when we go
All suffuse with an incandescent glow
No one will have the endurance
To collect on his insurance
Lloyd's of London will be loaded when they go
Oh we will all fry together when we fry
We'll be french fried potatoes by and by
There will be no more misery
When the world is our rotisserie
Yes, we will all fry together when we fry
Down by the old maelstrom
There'll be a storm before the calm
And we will all bake together when we bake
There'll be nobody present at the wake
[...]
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs
~eric. MeridaGOround.com
makes me think also of the movie "Don't Look Up"
"Israel, if it topples the Khamenei regime, could end up leaving Iran in the hands of violent factions even more dangerous than they are now."
That's fundamental truth, for anyone wondering what such a thing looks like these days.
One person who absolutely does know and understand fundamental truth is former Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin. Within days of Israel's overreaction to the attacks of 10/7, Austin observed - and I'm paraphrasing - "Israel is taking tactical victories at the expense of strategic losses". I couldn't agree more.
And so it continues, our cultural death wish of short-term gains over long-term stability.
that's trump moronic ethos in a nutshell- short term gains over long term stability, long term health, long term survival.
Exactly. "Trump" is a mad dash to whatever satisfies the ego in whatever moment of every situation. That's what "Trump" means to those who so reverently advertise it. "Trump" is immediate - and oh so very temporary - gratification of fear based desires. Like any serious addiction, these desires can never be fully satisfied - only postponed, one fix at a time. "Trump" users trade away every tomorrow for a perceived win - no matter how petty - today.
As Loren Eiseley wrote years ago, "man is a crisis animal"
Even more so...toppling the Khamenei regime could lead to the complete Balkanization of Iran, with four or five different countries.
And a further observation...not a single one of them will be a democratically elected government, because democracy is NOT in the Muslim cultural outlook, and probably never will be.
which is why people smarter than trump and Hegseth need to drive. I get the sense trump hasn't thought at all about what comes next if Israel manages to topple the Iranian regime. no concept that it could get even worse.
Bombing over there to distract from his bombing over here.
and thieving
Excellent history, details, and assessment. We'll have to wait and find out if we (and the rest of the world) survive the next 4 years.
Leave it to Trump to turn the Iranian people against us. His recent success with Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Mexico, and Panama have only energized him.
Why would Trump say to evacuate Tehran? That's not where the uranium enrichment is being done and shouldn't be a military target, except for very targeted strikes
...for the same reason such a genius does or says anything,
because he's geographically (and culturally, historically, etc.) illiterate
Because he's going after the head of government...and the best way to do that is through "righteous overkill."
Or, to paraphrase Chesty Puller..."Kill them all, and let God sort out the good ones."
And, if there's collateral damage and thousands of Iranians are killed when he bombs the crap out of Teheran, he'll bluster and pontificate about how it's not HIS fault, because he TOLD them to get out of town.
The Xian Dominionists have long been frothing at the mouth over the idea of turning some Middle Eastern city into a “sea of glass”.
Something about Gog or Magog …
Step 1: nuke Tehran
Step 2: ???
Step 3: the Rapture
Kirk Cameron et al make the underpants gnomes look like Nobel laureates 🤬
yeah, and just who is prosecuting this war?! Stooge of Moscow Tucker Carlson made a fool of Ted Cruz over this point....
Ms. Haake, agree with all of this. One thing not mentioned, and I’m not sure if Iran is bluffing. They could be. It is their threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and attack US bases and soldiers if the US attacks. If one major naval vessel goes down from drones, it will all be on President Huff and Puff TACO. Even the maga base feels betrayed by TACO dragging the US into a hot war.
Republicans are cowards. Massie and Khanna have introduced a new War Powers Resolution, asking for Congress approval before letting TACO bomb Iran.
A $1 trillion military budget used to subdue Americans at home is a monstrosity.
agreed. but how can you ask for a trillion dollar budget while promising not to use it on foreign soil without the US Senate figuring out what he wants it for? he's even posted, numerous times, that he wants to liberate people from democrats. if that's not a cry for civil war I don't know is.
100% correct Ms. Haake. Every Republican needs to be thrown out of office. We are paying the price for letting the insurrectionists stay in office after 1/6. Not sure why Dems are not more vocal on the trillion dollar budget that will be used against them.
And, how, legally, do you propose to do that (throw Republicans out of office)?
Wishful thinking does not solve problems.
I mean anyone supporting the coup are all insurrectionists according to the 14th Amendment. We vote them out. It will take time. We reform the judiciary. They will rig, voter suppress, and gerrymander as best as they can, using Texas as their guide. Our best opportunity is electing pro-democracy representatives before the 2030 census. We need to start now.
And we reduce and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.
You're assuming you can find prosecutors who will take the cases.
And President Trump has pardoned all of the insurrectionists, so double jeopardy applies.
Reforming the judiciary will take a Constitutional Amendment, unless you're just planning on packing the court, in which case you need control of at least 60% of the Senate.
Voting them out will take relocation of a lot of voters, or enticing voters who WILL vote them out.
Sorry for the delay. I don’t like Substack’s new interface. I wiped out my earlier comments.
Congress has to give teeth and enforcement power to the 14th Amendment.
I am specifically talking about the maga insurrectionists occupying federal office. Our partisan Supreme Court should not allowed TACO back.
I propose a series of Constitutional amendments, as our current Constitution allowed a despotic regime to take power (Ruth Ben-Ghiat notes this is the most common way a dictatorship forms).
- Directly amending the Constitution via national federal votes
- Asking every citizen to vote in every federal election or pay a small fine
- Term and age limits for all 3 branches
- Supreme Court ethics reforms
- Disallowing any kind of slavery or indentured servitude via changing 13th Amendment
- Clarifying what is a weapon of war and allowing regulations on such weapons
- Making Roe not only a law but baked in
- Proportional representation in House and Senate
- Overturning and preventing the corruption from Citizens United
- Authorizing federal government and states to have a wealth tax
- Giving the emoulements clause real punitive teeth
- Changing electoral college to a national vote
- Adding back the Equal Rights Amendment
- Ban gerrymandering and use independent redistricting commissions
- And that’s all I can think of currently.
Yes. We need to convince the non-voting population to vote. They are the largest group left. The 2030 census is key to make widespread changes to affirm democracy.
Trump and Hegseth are eager to jump into war but they won't be around when Iranian terrorists strike back in the U.S.
just as they won't be here (at least trump won't) when miami slides into the ocean.
My goodness but the boys surely do queue up for the big, big weapons!
Autocrats always resort to military action as a “unifying” political move though it rarely works, Blowing up the Iranian nuclear facility will create another million terrorists looking to kill Americans.
It’s interesting that back in 2022 (I think), Trump said Biden was going to start a war with Iran because he didn’t know how to negotiate with them saying Biden was weak.
Edit:
I found a link to the Hypocrite in Chief calling Biden weak about Iran:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1198379492087154
trump is a moron for sure, and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement was all about Obama having negotiated it. god help us, we've given the nuclear codes to a toddler.
Thank you for mentioning the $1 trillion defense budget in terms of its being used for domestic use. Sounds true to me.
The soldiers in Trump's foolish parade were reported to have not marched in step: if that's true, God bless them and keep them safe. Soldiers know how to get things expressed with never a word spoken out loud.
you've read that it was intentional? would love to see a link.
Sorry, it was my dad, who was a New Zealander, born 1896, who spent four years in the trenches in WWI. Basically, walking rather than marching was a non-threatening way to express "discontent" when told to act ceremonial after they'd spent four years close to death. He was shot three times, survived, died young 35 years after the end of the war in his early fifties. So, no footnote to go, I'm afraid, just oral history, not to be regarded as more than folktale. But, ask a soldier who is with us still who may well discount it.
It’s going to be awfully difficult to feel sorry for anybody whose kid comes home in a box now that they’re no longer plucking people off the streets and forcing them to fight, at least for now.
Wanna be the world’s police force? That’s part of the price. Best you know that up front.
Worth noting that the entire strategy is predicated on the assumption that its targets are obtunded Untermenschen, permanently incapable of serious thought and retaliation.
This was and is clearly Netanyahu's view of the Gazans, leading to the laxity that allowed Oct 7, and justifying the use of blast, starvation, and disease to decimate them.
Similarly for the Iranians. Roughly along these lines, Jennifer Rubin writes (as opposed to Haake's view) "Realistically, the only thing that would permanently remove an Iranian threat is the ever-elusive regime change." As if they are mere putty in the hands of blinkered fanatics and permanently incapable of putting together a better-functioning military to protect themselves and realize national ambitions.
This is not long-term thinking.
I don't see it as a contrast- killing the nuclear sites will lead to regime change, at least that's what Netanyahu keeps suggesting. then again, many say it's his own regime change he's fighting against. the similarities between him and trump are remarkable.
I'm new to this site. "Forever War" conjures up images of casualties and stalemate. Rightly so. Since 1948, Israel has had to remain in a war economy mode. Israel cannot lose a skirmish, a battle, or a war. For Israelis it's unthinkable. Israel is alone. Allies, yes Israel has allies. But Israel must think and act as if the country is constantly surrounded by enemies. And they are, Masada comes to mind.
I have no credentialed expertise. No one is going to shove a microphone in my face for my opinion or my sagacity, frankly on anything. Even if the bunker buster bombs are NOT deployed to Israel, likely the IDF has a strategy to eradicate the threat of nuclear proliferation from Iran.
You could argue Israel has a biblical fiat for its existence.
Please remember I'm Irish and I got my own war. Not interested in anyone else's war.
TN10670
The other thing to remember about Israel is this.
The Arabs can lose every war they fight with Israel, and they'll still manage to survive.
If the Israelis lose ANY war they fight, they'll cease to exist.
Anybody who thinks otherwise is indulging in wishful thinking.
fair enough.
Can the G6 (no US) stop trade with the genocidal state? I guess France thinks they still like it, but let's just isolate them. Let them support themselves. No more arms for genocide and starting illegal wars. I know this isn't very coherent, but I'm frazzled.
I would imagine the G6 or any group could decide to stop trade with any country they choose. but each member state will have different reasons to continue trade with certain sectors, depending on their own domestic production needs. remember the idiot in chief declaring that all parts of all items must be produced in the US, without understanding that for most products, components are manufactured all over the world? I'm not even sure what Israel exports or manufactures other than war. but it's not fair to blame Israelis, many of whom hate Bibi and are stuck with him, even as he tries to gut the supreme court's authority. (sound familiar?) blaming them for him is like blaming me (and you) for trump.
I wonder, would it be possible to transfer the airmen of the B2 to the Israeli Airforce for a period of time and to change the identification on the bomber itself from American to Israeli , so that the USA can show it was NOT involved in the action , thus avoiding being dragged into a war that has been on going since Moses cross the Red Sea
pretty sure the Iranian regime, and every other world leader, would know who was wearing the duck suit.
no one would be fooled by this!