US drone strike takes out top Iranian general

[jack D and coke]

16 minutes ago, Des Lynam said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if some in the higher echelons of the Iranian government weren’t in on this. Those running the country are completely at odds with the people of Iran. This might be the nudge that was needed to bring regime change. 

The ME is so confusing you could be right. Personally think Israel’s stance is pretty telling though. 

[Des Lynam]

43 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

I reckon America, if Trump wasn’t in charge would’ve had some faction do the job and claim terrorism and keep their proxy war going. Because it’s a Trump and he’s such a narcissist and big headed buffoon he wants the credit for it and doesn’t realise the possible implications. 
It’s hard to get inside the heads of a people like the Iranian’s. The amount of them at a military mans funeral is truly mind boggling. Human’s could be the dumbest beings on this earth without a doubt. 
Worshipping a ****ing madman. How do you deal with that? 

Don’t be fooled for a minute that this was Trumps call. The military and the intelligence agencies have wanted to send Iran a message for years. The Iranian government have been up to all sorts of covert stuff in that region. The regime’s only concern is to stay in power and this strike will send the right messages to those concerned. 

[jack D and coke]

5 minutes ago, Des Lynam said:

Don’t be fooled for a minute that this was Trumps call. The military and the intelligence agencies have wanted to send Iran a message for years. The Iranian government have been up to all sorts of covert stuff in that region. The regime’s only concern is to stay in power and this strike will send the right messages to those concerned. 

Yeah I’m aware they wanted this guy taken out I just think they could’ve done it and blamed terrorism. Trump is so far up his own ass he had to take the credit. 

[Des Lynam]

3 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

The ME is so confusing you could be right. Personally think Israel’s stance is pretty telling though. 

Didn’t take Iran long to threaten Israel again. I’m just thankful that Israel has America’s protection.  The Iranians are wonderful people who are sadly governed by fanatics. At the tail end of last year they had to crush pretty serious dissent again. The ME region is fighting a Sunni/ Shia war. 

[JimKongUno]

1 minute ago, Des Lynam said:

Didn’t take Iran long to threaten Israel again. I’m just thankful that Israel has America’s protection.  The Iranians are wonderful people who are sadly governed by fanatics. At the tail end of last year they had to crush pretty serious dissent again. The ME region is fighting a Sunni/ Shia war. 

 

looking at the scenes in the streets on TV id say a good chunk of the population are also fanatics .

[Des Lynam]

Just now, jack D and coke said:

Yeah I’m aware they wanted this guy taken out I just think they could’ve done it and blamed terrorism. Trump is so far up his own ass he had to take the credit. 

Trump is an arsehole no doubt. He’d love to have dictatorial powers to run America. Clinton’s role in his rise to power has been forgotten far too easily. It’s sad that you need to hope the economy in America tanks so we don’t have four more years of this clown.

[jack D and coke]

7 minutes ago, Des Lynam said:

Didn’t take Iran long to threaten Israel again. I’m just thankful that Israel has America’s protection.  The Iranians are wonderful people who are sadly governed by fanatics. At the tail end of last year they had to crush pretty serious dissent again. The ME region is fighting a Sunni/ Shia war. 

Tbh Iran could threaten Israel all they wanted I’m fairly sure Israel would obliterate them. There’s no country in the ME who could seriously threaten the Israelis. It would have to be a team effort and they can’t agree on the colour of shite out there it seems. Size wise possibly but Israel has the frightening firepower and of course, nukes. It would be the biggest mistake the Iranians would make imo. 

[JimKongUno]

9 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Tbh Iran could threaten Israel all they wanted I’m fairly sure Israel would obliterate them. There’s no country in the ME who could seriously threaten the Israelis. It would have to be a team effort and they can’t agree on the colour of shite out there it seems. Size wise possibly but Israel has the frightening firepower and of course, nukes. It would be the biggest mistake the Iranians would make imo. 

 

This

Theyve been threatening to destroy israel for 40 years , they know fine well if they do Iran will get the same back

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Des Lynam said:

Didn’t take Iran long to threaten Israel again. I’m just thankful that Israel has America’s protection.  The Iranians are wonderful people who are sadly governed by fanatics. At the tail end of last year they had to crush pretty serious dissent again. The ME region is fighting a Sunni/ Shia war. 

 

Which Soleimani was in charge of putting the demonstrations down, so it's been reported.

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, jack D and coke said:

Tbh Iran could threaten Israel all they wanted I’m fairly sure Israel would obliterate them. There’s no country in the ME who could seriously threaten the Israelis. It would have to be a team effort and they can’t agree on the colour of shite out there it seems. Size wise possibly but Israel has the frightening firepower and of course, nukes. It would be the biggest mistake the Iranians would make imo. 

 

They tried that in 1967 & then again in 1973 and got their arses kicked both times by the Israelis.

[jack D and coke]

2 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

They tried that in 1967 & then again in 1973 and got their arses kicked both times by the Israelis.

Exactly. Was it a 7 day war or something too? 
Absolutely wasted them. 
The Arab states leaders can gob off and wave their willys about Israel all they want but I reckon deep down they know if push comes to shove, they know what happens here. 
The Israelis are utterly ruthless. 

[alwaysthereinspirit]

1 hour ago, JimKongUno said:

 

looking at the scenes in the streets on TV id say a good chunk of the population are also fanatics .

Its not difficult to get a mob on the streets and make them all look 100% behind their leaders.

That was a tiny amount from 80 million though. I'd guess 90 odd percent of Muslims would love to just get on with everyday life.

[indianajones]

16 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Exactly. Was it a 7 day war or something too? 
Absolutely wasted them. 
The Arab states leaders can gob off and wave their willys about Israel all they want but I reckon deep down they know if push comes to shove, they know what happens here. 
The Israelis are utterly ruthless. 

 

Only because they have the backing of the west. 

[JimKongUno]

13 minutes ago, alwaysthereinspirit said:

Its not difficult to get a mob on the streets and make them all look 100% behind their leaders.

That was a tiny amount from 80 million though. I'd guess 90 odd percent of Muslims would love to just get on with everyday life.

 

It was a bit more than a mob there were millions of them. You'd need some size of a team to round all that lot up at a day's notice. All stampeding to mourn the passing of a murderous ******* army general. 

[jack D and coke]

1 minute ago, indianajones said:

 

Only because they have the backing of the west. 

Yeah that’s true they have the backing. I’d like to bet they wouldn’t need any of us though. Britain has never been a particularly close ally of Israel. The only reason the west or America I should say gets involved is to keep the Israelis out of certain things and to stop them from really going to town on some of their neighbours. 
They’re surrounded by countries and people who despise them. They have around 300 nukes....they could blow the ME back to the Stone Age imo. 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

9 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Yeah that’s true they have the backing. I’d like to bet they wouldn’t need any of us though. Britain has never been a particularly close ally of Israel. The only reason the west or America I should say gets involved is to keep the Israelis out of certain things and to stop them from really going to town on some of their neighbours. 
They’re surrounded by countries and people who despise them. They have around 300 nukes....they could blow the ME back to the Stone Age imo. 

 

The Israelis will act to protect themselves if they feel threatened, such as the 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility, an attack which drew Worldwide condemnation, but as I remember from the time the Israelis said that one day the World will thank them for stopping Saddam acquiring nuclear weapons.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-israels-air-force-crushed-saddam-husseins-nuclear-weapons-dream-63807

 

Just imagine how the ME would look now if Iraq had acquired nukes in the '80's.

[jack D and coke]

15 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

The Israelis will act to protect themselves if they feel threatened, such as the 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility, an attack which drew Worldwide condemnation, but as I remember from the time the Israelis said that one day the World will thank them for stopping Saddam acquiring nuclear weapons.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-israels-air-force-crushed-saddam-husseins-nuclear-weapons-dream-63807

 

Just imagine how the ME would look now if Iraq had acquired nukes in the '80's.

Decent article. 
There can’t be many, if any, better military personnel in the world than the Israelis. 
Absolutely ruthless. 

[Sharpie]

1 hour ago, jack D and coke said:

Decent article. 
There can’t be many, if any, better military personnel in the world than the Israelis. 
Absolutely ruthless. 

 

I totally agree, but as far as fighting is concerned the Iran, Iraq war was one of the bloodiest and cruelest I have seen reported. They used illegal weapons such as gases, the two combined with some other Middle East fanatics prepared to sacrifice their lives would be quite difficult to handle. My personal fear although my natural life span is minimal now is for my young family should some fanatic get hold of nuclear weapons

[jack D and coke]

9 minutes ago, bobsharp said:

 

I totally agree, but as far as fighting is concerned the Iran, Iraq war was one of the bloodiest and cruelest I have seen reported. They used illegal weapons such as gases, the two combined with some other Middle East fanatics prepared to sacrifice their lives would be quite difficult to handle. My personal fear although my natural life span is minimal now is for my young family should some fanatic get hold of nuclear weapons

Yeah I know Bob. It’s also a different thing though them having the capability to hit us which is where the Russians come in and are the ones we really need to be concerned about. As far as the ME goes it’s quite comforting having the Israelis out there imo. Not only Is their intelligence incredible but they’d blow the lot of them to smithereens before we need worry I reckon. 

[Sharpie]

36 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Yeah I know Bob. It’s also a different thing though them having the capability to hit us which is where the Russians come in and are the ones we really need to be concerned about. As far as the ME goes it’s quite comforting having the Israelis out there imo. Not only Is their intelligence incredible but they’d blow the lot of them to smithereens before we need worry I reckon. 

 

Despite the fact that prior to the foundation of todays Israel the Jewish people many  basically refugees from the Holocaust were pretty nasty to the Brits. I am a strong supporter of Israel and its inhabitants. Thier system of defence is excellent and everyone at some time is trained to and serves in the military. Their performance although outnumbered in their first war against an Arab nation was heroic, and their total defeat and military humiliation of Egypt was classic. They are no doubt still a target, I just wonder and hope all their "allies" particularly the United States turn up if needed. Just watched Pompeo trying to cover up for Trump, and I can't help but shake my head and believe that Trump is still in position, has any authority and any decision making power. There re some who give a compliment to Trump that unlike his precedors he ahs not spilled blood, he may never, but if it does happen it will be copious.

[ri Alban]

49 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Yeah I know Bob. It’s also a different thing though them having the capability to hit us which is where the Russians come in and are the ones we really need to be concerned about. As far as the ME goes it’s quite comforting having the Israelis out there imo. Not only Is their intelligence incredible but they’d blow the lot of them to smithereens before we need worry I reckon. 

People swallowing the Israeli myth. The SAS/SBS would take their special forces to the cleaners. 

[jack D and coke]

19 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

People swallowing the Israeli myth. The SAS/SBS would take their special forces to the cleaners. 

Not saying they’re not good. Just wouldn’t like to ever get into any shit with Israel tbh. 
What I mean by that is they faced extermination in the face and they just don’t give a ****. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by jack D and coke

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, jack D and coke said:

Yeah I know Bob. It’s also a different thing though them having the capability to hit us which is where the Russians come in and are the ones we really need to be concerned about. As far as the ME goes it’s quite comforting having the Israelis out there imo. Not only Is their intelligence incredible but they’d blow the lot of them to smithereens before we need worry I reckon. 

 

And that was why the whole Iraqi WMD thing was utter total BS, simply put, there was no way Israel would or could allow any of it's neighbours to have weapons capable of inflicting mass Israeli casualties. 

Notwithstanding that the Israelis said that Saddam didn't have any WMD's and if anybody would have known if Saddam still had WMD's or not it'll have been Mossad.

[alwaysthereinspirit]

1 hour ago, ri Alban said:

People swallowing the Israeli myth. The SAS/SBS would take their special forces to the cleaners. 

😎

[felix]

2 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Not saying they’re not good. Just wouldn’t like to ever get into any shit with Israel tbh. 
What I mean by that is they faced extermination in the face and they just don’t give a ****. 

 

Israel's never really faced extermination, and don't give a **** - so long as Uncle Sam has their back.

 

[SectionDJambo]

2 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

And that was why the whole Iraqi WMD thing was utter total BS, simply put, there was no way Israel would or could allow any of it's neighbours to have weapons capable of inflicting mass Israeli casualties. 

Notwithstanding that the Israelis said that Saddam didn't have any WMD's and if anybody would have known if Saddam still had WMD's or not it'll have been Mossad.

And that is where all of this started. The invasion of Iraq was never about WMDs. The weapons inspector, Hans Blix, I think his name was, told Bush and Blair that there were none. Bush, certainly, had another agenda, and ignored him. 

The result was no WMDs found, because he didn't have any. It was all a bluff by Saddam. But a good excuse to try for the oil. Look at the mess left behind every time western governments meddle in the Middle East.

And the lesson is never learned. 

[Sharpie]

The hostage takings in 1979 were somewhat of an introduction to major tensions between U.S.A. and Iran. When Iraq invaded Kuwait America took a lead role in a coalition to defeat them and remove them from the area. President George HW Bush was criticised by some for not following defeated Iraqi forces into their Country and teaching them a serious lesson. When his son took the Presidency I remember there was some feelings that he wanted a reason to finish what his father didn't and at the first opportunity, the WMD story ,went in, killed the leader and occupied the country. This done nothing to improve relations.

The Middle East has been a thorn in westerners flesh for probably centuries, the creation of the State of Israel was another hard dose to swallow. The conflict has basically always been there, in my own time of conflict there weapons were still fairly basic, war was not sought but activists now known as terrorists were. The method of terror was more of periods of peace with unsuspecting as a result servicemen and women being murdered or abducted and murdered whilst off or on duty, no formal attacks or challenges. The change now is the sophistication of the non military combatants, hidden explosive devices, sophisticated weaponry, and plans and strategies by knowledgeable commanders.  Its a different time, and a different century. It regardless of who wins not finish well.

[Sharpie]

1 minute ago, bobsharp said:

The hostage takings in 1979 were somewhat of an introduction to major tensions between U.S.A. and Iran. When Iraq invaded Kuwait America took a lead role in a coalition to defeat them and remove them from the area. President George HW Bush was criticised by some for not following defeated Iraqi forces into their Country and teaching them a serious lesson. When his son took the Presidency I remember there was some feelings that he wanted a reason to finish what his father didn't and at the first opportunity, the WMD story ,went in, killed the leader and occupied the country. This done nothing to improve relations.

The Middle East has been a thorn in westerners flesh for probably centuries, the creation of the State of Israel was another hard dose to swallow. The conflict has basically always been there, in my own time of conflict there weapons were still fairly basic, war was not sought but activists now known as terrorists were. The method of terror was more of periods of peace with unsuspecting as a result servicemen and women being murdered or abducted and murdered whilst off or on duty, no formal attacks or challenges. The change now is the sophistication of the non military combatants, hidden explosive devices, sophisticated weaponry, and plans and strategies by knowledgeable commanders.  Its a different time, and a different century. It regardless of who wins will not finish well.

 

[jake]

White Helmuts openly exposed on C4 news.

Whod have thought.

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

40 minutes ago, SectionDJambo said:

And that is where all of this started. The invasion of Iraq was never about WMDs. The weapons inspector, Hans Blix, I think his name was, told Bush and Blair that there were none. Bush, certainly, had another agenda, and ignored him. 

The result was no WMDs found, because he didn't have any. It was all a bluff by Saddam. But a good excuse to try for the oil. Look at the mess left behind every time western governments meddle in the Middle East.

And the lesson is never learned. 

 

As Bob has alluded to, it started when we didn't go all the way and remove Saddam Hussein in 1991 when IIRC we were about 100 miles from Baghdad with nothing to stop us, it was mentioned at the time that by not removing Saddam and leaving his Republican Guard relatively intact that it was only a matter of time before we'd have to go in again, which we did in 2003, of course I always thought that one of the motives was for Bush jr to out do his father and finish the job daddy had started in '91.

 

As Bob also said and is perfectly true, you could trace tensions between the West and this region way back past both World wars and further back when it was still called Mesopotamia.

 

[Cade]

1 hour ago, SectionDJambo said:

And that is where all of this started. The invasion of Iraq was never about WMDs. The weapons inspector, Hans Blix, I think his name was, told Bush and Blair that there were none. Bush, certainly, had another agenda, and ignored him. 

The result was no WMDs found, because he didn't have any. It was all a bluff by Saddam. But a good excuse to try for the oil. Look at the mess left behind every time western governments meddle in the Middle East.

And the lesson is never learned. 

Iraq used to have WMDs.

The Americans gave them plenty in the 80s to use on Iranian soldiers.

Turns out he'd used them all up.

[SectionDJambo]

1 hour ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

As Bob has alluded to, it started when we didn't go all the way and remove Saddam Hussein in 1991 when IIRC we were about 100 miles from Baghdad with nothing to stop us, it was mentioned at the time that by not removing Saddam and leaving his Republican Guard relatively intact that it was only a matter of time before we'd have to go in again, which we did in 2003, of course I always thought that one of the motives was for Bush jr to out do his father and finish the job daddy had started in '91.

 

As Bob also said and is perfectly true, you could trace tensions between the West and this region way back past both World wars and further back when it was still called Mesopotamia.

 

The western powers still wouldn’t have had an exit plan the first time. They’ve never had one for the Middle East.
It’s easy to invade. How do you get out without leaving a mess behind?

[SectionDJambo]

45 minutes ago, Cade said:

Iraq used to have WMDs.

The Americans gave them plenty in the 80s to use on Iranian soldiers.

Turns out he'd used them all up.

So he didn’t have them when the invasion was deemed to be justified by them being there. Just as the UN weapons people said beforehand. 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, SectionDJambo said:

The western powers still wouldn’t have had an exit plan the first time. They’ve never had one for the Middle East.
It’s easy to invade. How do you get out without leaving a mess behind?

 

Ah, that's the $64,000 question, ain't it.

Even during WWI, when one of my Great Grandfathers who was fighting the Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia in 1916, there would probably be no exit plan thought out when they landed at Basra, from India, there rarely is.  The first objective is to defeat the enemy, after that it's make it up as you go along, because even the best laid plans tend to go tits up.

 

 

1 hour ago, SectionDJambo said:

So he didn’t have them when the invasion was deemed to be justified by them being there. Just as the UN weapons people said beforehand. 

 

And the Israelis, they also said Saddam didn't have any WMD's.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Jambo-Jimbo

[redjambo]

4 hours ago, felix said:

 

Israel's never really faced extermination, and don't give a **** - so long as Uncle Sam has their back.

 

 

So what did they face during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948? I don't think the Arab aim was just to tweak their nose.

[Cyber]

Looks like Iran has just attacked a base housing US troops in Iraq...this is goin get real messy now

[Sharpie]

1 minute ago, Cyber said:

Looks like Iran has just attacked a base housing US troops in Iraq...this is goin get real messy now

U.S. Air Base struck by ten rockets, Irani Reolutionary Guard claim credit. Nor reports of injuries or damaage. Lets see how mu ch fire and fury Trump is going to let fly to enhance his election chances. Just watched a couple of programs where there are claims that the whole attack by the US was done on  lies story perpetrated by Trump and Proebus and others.

[Rab87]

4 minutes ago, Cyber said:

Looks like Iran has just attacked a base housing US troops in Iraq...this is goin get real messy now

I think it depends if there are US casualties or not. 
 

if it’s just property damage. Trump will just take the hit and decide not to further escalate. 

[AlphonseCapone]

Going to be an intense couple of days where this thing will either settle right down or escalate into proper warfare. Leaning towards the latter just now. 

[AlphonseCapone]

4 minutes ago, Barack said:

Iranian Air Force apparently been launched.

 

Claims that American F-50's launched from UAE. Not sure if accurate though, lot of noise on Twitter. 

[Sharpie]

There was an MSNBC report unsubstantiated that there are American deaths, hard to believe with the number of rockets there are no any. If you are a Trump hasn't spilled blood like his predecessors hold on to your ht because it looks lik that is going to change quite considerably in the next few days. I said a couple of days ago, and my opinion was bolstered today in a press conference for the Greek President. Trump made his usual bravado statements, and has tweeted similar, well its to late to shut up, so he better be prepared to put up.  I said his demise wsill be stimulated by his mouth and tweets, its time has come.

[Sharpie]

Now reported that all casualties are Iraqi, no Americans reported so far.

 

[Last Laff]

I get literally every prediction wrong so I’m going to say this is going to end badly.  

[AlphonseCapone]

11 minutes ago, bobsharp said:

Now reported that all casualties are Iraqi, no Americans reported so far.

 

 

It's also being widely reported as US bases but I think they are actually Iraqi bases housing US troops so there are likely significantly more Iraqi troops in them than US. 

Edited January 8, 2020 by AlphonseCapone

[Gorgiewave]

44 minutes ago, AlphonseCapone said:

 

Claims that American F-50's launched from UAE. Not sure if accurate though, lot of noise on Twitter. 

They don't seem to have any F-50s. Maybe Iraqi F-50s.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eagle

[AlphonseCapone]

28 minutes ago, Gorgiewave said:

They don't seem to have any F-50s. Maybe Iraqi F-50s.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eagle

 

I think it was maybe F-35's, made a mistake?

[Sharpie]

1 hour ago, Barack said:

 

Yes and an unsigned letter was sent by DOD to Iraq saying that plans were in place to remove US troops from Iraq. The letter is now being stated as a mistake, and should not have been sent. This is the leadership that cannot even get mail properly handled, and their crazy Pres is promising to reek havoc.  It seems like for once his strategy of deceit is working, nobody knows what the hell is going on. Five or six hours since the attack took place and they still have no firm knowledge if there were any American casualties. Trump was going to give an evening TV briefing but that was cancelled.

The good news is Hannitty and Carlson arguing in disagreement about Trumps action. When the gang start fighting amongst themselves the enemy have no need to worry.

[gjcc]

Ukrainian passenger Jet has crashed in Iran. 
 

They’ve also had what I hope is a natural earthquake. 
 

hopefully both are coincidental. 

[The Internet]

176 people killed in the plane crash. 'technical difficulties' caused it. Video seems to show it on fire on the way down. Tragic. 

[Justin Z]

Can't help but sit here and think about the apologists for Trump who claimed he wasn't so bad, much less not the worst president in the modern history of the United States, because he hadn't warmongered yet.

 

As if all of us, every single one of us, could not have easily sussed out this was going to happen. Or as if even if it hadn't, the steps he has taken to reverse progress on things that affect millions or even billions of lives, like withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords, and removing Environmental Protection Agency rules, won't have harmed countless individuals in the short and long term. As just a couple of examples among scores of them.

 

But no, people had to make themselves feel special and woke by claiming he really wasn't that bad.

 

Welp, nice ****ing work. Bravo. ****ing *****.