Bick
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Post by Bick on Jan 2, 2020 22:14:34 GMT -8
Our embassy is attacked (by mourners) ... We send in troops to reinforce. Then we take out the guy that did it.
Don't eff with us, we won't eff with you. Seems like a pretty easy concept.
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Post by ProfessorFate on Jan 3, 2020 1:08:44 GMT -8
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Jan 3, 2020 6:16:49 GMT -8
The only reason there is much interest in the Middle East is the oil, obviously. The reason Iran is a concern is 1). Because it is trying to dominate its neighbors and ultimately manipulate the world oil supply, and 2). It can attempt to shut off oil shipments through the Persian Gulf. Not an existential problem for the US but it is a major problem for the rest of the world and therefore a threat to overall stability, which is a key US interest. So you can't walk away from the area but at the same time you don't also have to try to make Jeffersonian democrats out of largely illiterate populaces. It becomes a matter of having sufficient presence to deter while at the same time avoiding a full on war. I suspect that the mullahs feel so much on the ropes politically and economically that they believe their best bet is to trigger a crisis with the US in hopes of getting the Iranian population behind its unpopular government again, while gambling that the US won't commit overwhelming force (or that doing so will create such a backlash in the US and elsewhere that the US will back down). It's safe to say that every single Democratic contender would ostentatiously object to any definitive US military activity. Even now I suspect Theodore Roosevelt's axiom to speak softly and carry a big stick has its merits. I don't recall President Trump ever speaking softly, but he does seem to have a common sense aversion to getting overly involved in noncritical Middle East issues................................Luca I don't see us employing ground troops beyond a defensive force around strategic interests. Our offensive attacks / counter-attacks will come via the air, similar to Clinton's involvement in Bosnia. That seemed to have bi-partisan support then. I don't envision democratic support with anything trump does though.
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Jan 3, 2020 7:35:53 GMT -8
Same Drone took out an Iranian Deputy Chief of something, too.
People are saying Iran is coming after us, and others are saying “they’re not that stupid.”
I think, yes, they are that stupid and illiterate. But if they do, and, more than likely, they will stage it on Israel, it will be short.
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Jan 3, 2020 13:08:11 GMT -8
Off topic, but your byline says:
"No person can find true happiness in their hearts and minds in rejecting the natural and moral law." -Credo
That sounds more like Aristotle, or maybe Socrates. Is that a Credo original?
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Jan 3, 2020 14:12:04 GMT -8
Off topic, but your byline says: "No person can find true happiness in their hearts and minds in rejecting the natural and moral law." -CredoThat sounds more like Aristotle, or maybe Socrates. Is that a Credo original? I took it as a direct quote from one of his posts. i don’t discount the possibility that he plagiarized it (without giving proper citation), but you’d have to take that up with him. i do know he has said, in the last, he teaches philosophy and/or theology at the high school level, so it might well be an original Credo.
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Jan 3, 2020 14:26:11 GMT -8
Maybe Aquinas. I can't find the quote anywhere, so it appears we may have a master classic philosopher in our midst..........................Luca
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MDDad
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Post by MDDad on Jan 3, 2020 14:47:58 GMT -8
Come on, guys. Credo's from Servite. Of course he poached it from somewhere else.
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Luca
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Post by Luca on Jan 3, 2020 15:32:10 GMT -8
I think he teaches at Servite, but you never know. He may have been educated at Loyola. Or at least by the Jesuits.........................Luca
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Jan 3, 2020 16:49:30 GMT -8
Our embassy is attacked (by mourners) ... We send in troops to reinforce. Then we take out the guy that did it. Don't eff with us, we won't eff with you. Seems like a pretty easy concept. They have not learned that lesson from Israel in in he 70+ years of their existence as a nation, I’m not holding out a lot of hope that light bulb will suddenly go off over their head, now, with us. Interesting that I first see the liberal media outlets like MSNBC screaming that Trump has started a war and, some hours later, I see a lot of Facebook talking heads saying the same thing. I’m sure they all came to their own, independent conclusions, but It does seem awfully coincidental, don’t you think?
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SK80
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Post by SK80 on Jan 3, 2020 16:58:35 GMT -8
Well...., honestly......., I couldn't help myself from thinking of this epic film for most of today......
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Jan 3, 2020 18:52:55 GMT -8
Our embassy is attacked (by mourners) ... We send in troops to reinforce. Then we take out the guy that did it. Don't eff with us, we won't eff with you. Seems like a pretty easy concept. They have not learned that lesson from Israel in in he 70+ years of their existence as a nation, I’m not holding out a lot of hope that light bulb will suddenly go off over their head, now, with us. Interesting that I first see the liberal media outlets like MSNBC screaming that Trump has started a war and, some hours later, I see a lot of Facebook talking heads saying the same thing. I’m sure they all came to their own, independent conclusions, but It does seem awfully coincidental, don’t you think? Most of the stuff I've read is supportive, but I have to admit, I have pretty much filtered out much of the left in what I read. Lost patience with them, they lost patience with me. I look for a centrist view to the best extent possible. This isn't a war. I doubt Iran wants to go there. From what I understand of our capabilities to engage in war from some pretty well placed sources, it wouldn't be much of a fight so long as we have a CIC willing to let the military do its job. This CIC won't engage and have our guys go on with one arm tied behind their backs.
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Post by ProfessorFate on Jan 3, 2020 21:38:45 GMT -8
Well...., honestly......., I couldn't help myself from thinking of this epic film for most of today...... Funny stuff...Even the wife loved this movie.
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Jan 4, 2020 6:01:24 GMT -8
They have not learned that lesson from Israel in in he 70+ years of their existence as a nation, I’m not holding out a lot of hope that light bulb will suddenly go off over their head, now, with us. Interesting that I first see the liberal media outlets like MSNBC screaming that Trump has started a war and, some hours later, I see a lot of Facebook talking heads saying the same thing. I’m sure they all came to their own, independent conclusions, but It does seem awfully coincidental, don’t you think? Most of the stuff I've read is supportive, but I have to admit, I have pretty much filtered out much of the left in what I read. Lost patience with them, they lost patience with me. I look for a centrist view to the best extent possible. This isn't a war. I doubt Iran wants to go there. From what I understand of our capabilities to engage in war from some pretty well placed sources, it wouldn't be much of a fight so long as we have a CIC willing to let the military do its job. This CIC won't engage and have our guys go on with one arm tied behind their backs. Since the days of the A-ahola Khomeini, Iran has been big into saber rattling. Now, they have morons here supporting them so their Sabre’s might be louder, but no more effective than they’ve ever been.
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MDDad
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Post by MDDad on Jan 4, 2020 8:36:40 GMT -8
I heard a couple military experts on the radio yesterday conjecture that an all-out non-nuclear war with Iran might last as long as three weeks. I guess that makes Iran about twice as tough an enemy as Iraq was.
Factor in another 20 or 30 years to help rebuild the nation, and we should be out of there by early 2050.
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