How's it going America,
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Let's get into it:
Saturday morning, we all woke up to a video from Trump saying we'd teamed up with Israel to bomb Iran. Over two days, the US and Israel took out over 40 of Iran's top leaders. He encouraged the Iranian people to stand up and take over their own country. Just who will lead the country is the real question. Will the crown prince come back? Will a new ayatollah be named from the rubble? Will the Kurds step up? Or will the people be able to muster together some kind of government where women won't be stoned in public anymore?
Trump announced that the entire military command of Iran had been taken out. "The entire military command is gone," Trump said. "And many of them want to surrender to save their lives. They want immunity. They’re calling by the thousands." What does that mean coming from a nation where the hardliners shout "death to America" both in the streets and in Parliament? While there are those calling on Trump to surrender, there are plenty more who declare they will destroy America.
So far, the US has lost four service members, all of whom were stationed in Kuwait at a fortified tactical operations center. Speaking to reporters Monday morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that most of the missiles had been intercepted, but sometimes there'll be a "squirter" that gets through. The hit on the operations center was one of those. As horrible as it is to lose our guys, it's shocking we haven't lost more.
Trump said we would likely have more casualties, and of course we all hope these will be as few as possible. Trump said the fighting would go on for four weeks or less and all weekend I think we were watching to see how soon this whole thing could come to an end. Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Caine spoke about operational plans, noting that they would not be detailing specifics because of course why would the US reveal all our plans to the enemy?
With the bombing in Iran last June, Operation Midnight Hammer, it was super short, as was the Maduro operation. This is a much larger undertaking for sure as the stated goal per Hegseth is to not allow Iran to have power outside its own borders, but the longer this goes on the more likely it is to become another quagmire like Iraq or Afghanistan. Hegseth said outright that this is not nation-building and that it would not be a forever war.
I'm no fan of wars, I doubt anyone is really, but now that we're in it I would definitely prefer a swift, decisive win for America. Hegseth was clear that this would be the mission.
There are concerns that there could be sleeper cells in the US. In Austin, Tex, a Senegalese man who became a naturalized citizen under Barack Obama opened fire in a bar on the crowded, touristy 6th Street. He killed two, wounded 14, and was himself shot to death by officers. His violence was inspired by an adherence to Islam. The FBI was on the scene investigating a potential terrorist motive.
Trump said that Iran "has waged war against civilization itself" and said that the US is the greatest, most prosperous nation "by far." For sure we are, and how much better it is for us to be at the top of the food chain than somewhere mixed into the chum of the bottom.
Libby