It is time for the world to embargo Israel and to apply pressure to the US. Europe should close all US bases immediately.
War with...Iran?
- Thread starter Technarch
- Start date
Countries that host US military bases that are being used to attack Iran should have expected to be attacked, shouldn't they?
Lycanthropos
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
I feel like in a few decades we're going to get the full scope of that influence and be horrified at what all can be traced back.
Kinda like the Epstein files, come to think of it
Kinda like the Epstein files, come to think of it
There is a segment of the lobby that is very good at weaponizing guilt, too.
Don't forget that Israel is a key part of the apocalypse fantasies for a lot of religious Americans.
The heads of government are run by Evangelical Christian authoritarians who want Israel to exist in order to usher in the apocalypse.
Jesus lives there and we're still sadfaced over the holocaust (what about all those other folks that were fucked? Don't care I guess).
It's all I can figure out. I'd have cut those fuckers off decades ago.
And we all made fun of the Iraqi Information Minister.
Seems an insane thing to say out loud weeks into a war you started with them.
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I wouldn’t go that far, but Europe needs to remind Trump and his idiot admin that those bases are dual purpose: to protect Europe against Russia (the real enemy, remember!) and for the US to project power globally.
The US stayed here after WW2 for many reasons. Self-protection and containment of the USSR were central.
I certainly understand the neoliberal narratives and the Evangelical angles here. You'd think (hope) there's a practical tipping point for the folks not itching for the apocalypse.
This is an instance where Trump should be uniquely situated to pull the plug. Unlike Biden or other establishment neoliberals we've been given for decades who need to continue the same dog and pony show, he's not bound by that baggage (or maybe I'm mistaken and he is). He's not religious. He is amoral, transactional and doesn't give a shit about anyone.
Therefore, I'd expect that Bibi has promised him (not the US - him) something . Otherwise, the longer this goes on, the less sense it makes, specifically for Trump. I sincerely doubt Trump started believing in God. Or at least I hope not. He's already nuts enough. Adding God into the mix for his troubled and deteriorating mind is definitely a recipe for the apocalypse.
This is an instance where Trump should be uniquely situated to pull the plug. Unlike Biden or other establishment neoliberals we've been given for decades who need to continue the same dog and pony show, he's not bound by that baggage (or maybe I'm mistaken and he is). He's not religious. He is amoral, transactional and doesn't give a shit about anyone.
Therefore, I'd expect that Bibi has promised him (not the US - him) something . Otherwise, the longer this goes on, the less sense it makes, specifically for Trump. I sincerely doubt Trump started believing in God. Or at least I hope not. He's already nuts enough. Adding God into the mix for his troubled and deteriorating mind is definitely a recipe for the apocalypse.
Easier to just accept that the most powerful man in the world started something he can’t control.
Lycanthropos
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Wasn't he worrying recently about going to Heaven? One of his rambling speeches a few months ago or something?
NewNinetyNine
Ars Centurion
From the earlier Guardian article I shared, at least one diplomatic participant in the Iranian negotiations considered Kushner and Witkoff as "Israeli assets". The "why" was not explained - corruption, zealous belief, incompetent suggestibility?
We know that Trump is intellectually lazy, impulsive, ignorant, and encouraging of corruption. So you have corrupt and incompetent lieutenants advising an idiot king who lacks the sophistication and judgement to parse his incoming opinions. That creates many, many vectors for corruption and true believers to drag the US willy-nilly.
We saw how easily Biden was lead by the ear into a Gaza blank check with a conventionally "competent" team and consensus baby boomer foreign policy views. Trump is orders of magnitude more vulnerable to foreign policy blunders.
It's the worst elements of the blundering hereditary kings of the past with a modern superpower force footprint.
Yes but to me it sounded like an old weasel trying to rhetorically hop on Pascal's Wager late in the game as he nears death. I doubt the man believes in heaven.
Exclusive: Iran attack wipes out 17% of Qatar’s LNG capacity for up to five years, QatarEnergy CEO says
The arrogance of Iran's neighbors hosting bases and assets used to destroy their country and expecting absolutely no retaliation is simply astounding. The other thing that stands out to me is what this says for future conflicts; the modern economy is predicated on incredibly long and fragile supply chains that can be crippled for pennies on the dollar for years by anyone who can get a drone through to just the right pieces of equipment.
Edit: for more context, Qatar supplies about ~20% of global LNG.
To be fair, they were probably led to believe that overwhelming U.S. military superiority would minimize any retaliation. And because most of them are in their positions due to family connections, not merit, they believed the promises without scrutiny.
I'm sure they, like 51% of voters, made the mistake of assuming a modicum of competence from this administration.
Because it's a domestic political totem. Just like Cuba and Iran. Doing things with either is signalling to the domestic base that cares about these things. And since they've been in the spotlight for so many decades now, these countries have become totems. Being against is shorthand for "I'm extra very much and totally with you guys, so vote for me? Or at least give me a cush job!"
Well, and some of these countries probably thought they bought protection by funneling so much money to Trump's family.
Trump can't even do being a mob boss with the world's most expensive military right.
Should probably go back to hawking steaks at a loss.
Well, not only is it a domestic shibboleth, but Israel is explicitly America’s proxy and, at least partially, exists as a regional counterbalance to all its neighbors.
They think beating up Iran is good for their own power/money. The Middle-East countries are not friends. They have their own rivalries.
Pentagon seeking 200 billion in funding for Iran war....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pe...-request-iran-war-washington-post-2026-03-18/
But but, trump said it has already been won
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pe...-request-iran-war-washington-post-2026-03-18/
But but, trump said it has already been won
I wonder how they'll manage that when Trump refuses to sign anything before the SAVE Act passes?Pentagon seeking 200 billion in funding for Iran war....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pe...-request-iran-war-washington-post-2026-03-18/
But but, trump said it has already been won
alterSchwede
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Just financing the victory parade. Such a historically fast and total victory needs a big parade.Pentagon seeking 200 billion in funding for Iran war....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pe...-request-iran-war-washington-post-2026-03-18/
But but, trump said it has already been won
Might as well ask for $2T if the war in Iraq was anything like how Iran is going to be.Pentagon seeking 200 billion in funding for Iran war....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pe...-request-iran-war-washington-post-2026-03-18/
But but, trump said it has already been won
$200 billion? Well, that's perfect! We just freed up billions letting the ACA subsidies expire.
Let's see, CBO estimated we'd "save" $30 billion / year by cutting them. Some estimates put current costs of the Iran War at ~$2 billion a day. So by allowing more Americans to die, we can get 15 days of a war we can't win!
This really is taking me mentally back to the Iraq War days. Neolibs gonna neolib.
Let's see, CBO estimated we'd "save" $30 billion / year by cutting them. Some estimates put current costs of the Iran War at ~$2 billion a day. So by allowing more Americans to die, we can get 15 days of a war we can't win!
This really is taking me mentally back to the Iraq War days. Neolibs gonna neolib.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-...her-crimping-war-tightened-supply-2026-03-19/
China is going to restrict fertilizers export to ensure its domestic industry have enough. Fun time.
China is going to restrict fertilizers export to ensure its domestic industry have enough. Fun time.
Because you don't want to be anti-semites do you?
And you owe us for the Holocaust! Again and again!
To put that number in perspective, $2T is enough to buy 20TW worth of solar panels at today’s wholesale prices ($0.10/W). In comparison 2025 the US peak demand was 759GW.
$2T is 20TWh of of batteries ($100/kWh), that is over 300 million cars worth (65kWh/car).
But instead piss that all treasure up a wall to reinforce oil dependency while China laughs at us all for being idiots.
The other Gulf states in general urged Trump to start the war and continue bombing behind the scenes.
Maybe if they will suffer enough damage, they will cut the ties they established with Israel with the Abrahamic Accords.
But it's clear that Netanyahu manipulated Trump into the war and is STILL manipulating him ike the attack on the Iraqi gas fields, because they can trigger escalation and that just prolongs the war, which is what Israel wants. They want US to exhaust their munitions on Iran. This is more than just mowing the lawn. They're trying to uproot as much vegetation as possible.
Of course Netanyahu avoids legal troubles and probably gets more support, since the whole of Israel is hung-ho for this war. Greater Israel support is probably just growing.
So much for the only democracy in the Middle East, they can be manipulated to support authoritarian and expansionist aims.
You know how nobody wanted to send ships to protect oil tankers going through the strait of Hormuz? About that…
View: https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2034651315989585955?s=20
They are ready to contribute. Interpret that as you wish. Let’s revisit in a few weeks.
View: https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2034651315989585955?s=20
They are ready to contribute. Interpret that as you wish. Let’s revisit in a few weeks.
Sadly for Europe and Asia they're going to be forced into following along with the escorts. If nothing else but to protect their own economies from imploding from fuel shortages. Not just high prices, but full on shortages.
And don't think for a second Trump won't restrict exports to save his own skin at the mid-terms. So just buying expensive fuel from the US is not likely a reliable option for these countries even if available.