Ah, what a week.
Despite all the bad wishes and doom porn expended all over the blogosphere, no nukes are falling anywhere, and a lot of folks expecting the worst are really butthurt about that.
Even more folks got their white hoods and robes out of mothballs, and got them all wrinkled and dirty, for nothing.
Israel is satisfied Iran's nuke precursors are destroyed, to the point they agreed to stop bombing the Iranian f**ks back to the 6th century.
We're satisfied of that too, because we've seen the craters we put into their facilities.
Iran is convinced their nuke program is toast, to the point they agreed to stop dropping missile payloads on their favorite JOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooS!!!
People are so discombobulated by Trump ending a war with one phone call, they've forgotten to tell us that Russia's still winning after a mere 1219 days, and counting. Final Victory: Any Day Now™, just like for the previous 1218 days. At this rate, just imagine how much harder they'll be winning on Day 2000! Or 5000!
That's pretty conclusive evidence that 7 B-2s and a couple of SSNs with Tomahawks and a case of the ass, can end a war in about an hour, or your pizza is free.
But cheer up, pessimists: The Democommunists are only behind in either house of Congress by a few seats, and Dopey Joe still oversaw a few trillion dollars' worth of dollars printed three shifts a day, seven days a week, for pretty much four solid years.
So relax, secure in the knowledge that sooner or later, something huge will eventually shit the bed, and make all your apocalyptic fantasies come true, and you won't have all that stuff stocked up for nothing.
Things can always get worse.
Government's only happy when it's fucking things up massively, and our government is catering the biggest Happiness Party ever imagined, to a metaphysical certainty.
It's just not That Day. Yet.
A temporary setback for the mullahs. They will reorganize, rebuild and and continue their quest for nukes. They are muslim. That means they MUST seek the destruction of Israel and the rest of us infidels. So all that has happened is the mushroom clouds over Israel and other Middle East cities has been postponed. Their savage pseudoreligion will not allow for peace...ever.
ReplyDeleteNo one I know, in spite of levels of wailing driving me crazy for a week, received thier draft cards for WWIII, so either the war isn't on or the post office is slacking. /sarc
ReplyDeleteSadly, I expect since there was no regime change in Iran, this is merely an armistice, not a peace, and Iran will be back at it soon enough. They're bent on seeing the world destroyed. This will slow them down but I don't think it will stop them.
Rhea
Trump gave the can a mighty kick down the road, for sure. Whether his decision to declare victory and strong-arm the Israelis into accepting a ceasefire immediately afterwards, instead of continuing to prep the ground for a successful rebellion against the Mullahs, was a strategic mistake, only time will tell. There may have been good strategic reasons to cease when he did, such as a credible threat to mine the Strait of Hormuz and thereby disrupt the world economy at a rather delicate time, or fears of becoming embroiled in a proxy war with China should Beijing decide to get involved. However, declaring victory before there was time for a proper assessment of the strikes - we don't actually know how badly damaged the nuclear program is and won't for some time yet, though indications are encouraging - and giving the regime breathing room may yet come back to haunt us. As of now, whether by playing some as yet unknown cards or catching a lucky break, it appears that the Mullahs may have pulled a bad tactical defeat out of the mouth of total catastrophe. That might very well count as a win of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Trump's virtues need enumerating here, but I note that amidst all the triumph there are some worrying signs. First, assuming that his public pronouncements made in anger reveal his real thinking, he seems to be making much the same error as George W. Bush by believing that all people want what he sees as the highest good for a nation - material prosperity, safety, and comfort - and when confronted by those that have different ideals either expressing bewilderment or dismissing them as immature or aberrations.
Second, there is a perception, most notably from the Chinese, that Trump is more interested in quick, superficial successes that will allow him to claim a win and then move on, than he is at substantive, long-term gains. I'm not sure that that assessment is entirely accurate, but against the Houthis and against the Iranians he has indeed opted for a ceasefire leaving a threat in place over continuing to fight until more substantive gains were made. There might be good strategic reasons to pursue that course in those particular cases, but the pattern isn't encouraging, particularly since some of his moves on trade seem to follow the same process.
Grey-with-an-E-Fox-not-that-Gray-with-an-A-Fox-Idon't-know-him-he-isn't-me