quote:

Originally posted by Carpentermaass84:

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:
Have folks not been paying attention to that 3 day special military operation? The future is here, and it's Walmart drones with a hand grenade.

Fortunately Iran is almost out of drones and missiles and we have plenty of more jets to spare.

Unfortunately, in the last 4 years the Russians have increased their drone production that they have enough to spare some.

Russia delivering drones to Iran.

And this article from CNN(not sure how credible)
about how a majority of the parts found in an Iranian drone were US.

US parts

Using a war to “finish” anything doesn’t always happen—especially if the goal is to keep from ever being bothered by the same people again. As someone (Victor Davis Hanson?) observed recently, it took three major wars before Germany was no longer a threat to European peace (for now, anyway). Even the last war didn’t accomplish that by itself. It was necessary to occupy the country and control its institutions from within. And that was a civilized country that wasn’t run by religious fanatics who knew that their god demanded they continue the fight.

VDH does describe in his book The End of Everything how certain cities and regimes have been destroyed never to rise again, but his last example was from over 500 years ago, and the methods used by the conquerors are not anything the US would ever use. Short of the nonsense about parking lots or glassine pits, the best that an outside power can do with a country like Iran is to temporarily degrade its ability to wage its wars. Is it possible the people there could demand an end to oppression and turn it into a rationally-run, liberal (in the real sense) society? Yes, but very unlikely at this time.

And that, boys and girls, is part of the reason a country like ours never stops fighting wars of one type or another.

I've been trying to get my head around this whole thing all weekend. This is pretty much where I am at.

It's obvious now the people of Iran are not going to rise up and seize their country. They have no weapons and no real leadership. They have been under the Ayatollah's rule for 47 years. It's just not going to happen.

I agree with some others here that have cautioned about putting boots on the ground. In the beginning of all of this we were told by Rubio and others that would not happen. Have our original objectives not been met?

I think it was Saturday and I was watching Fox news and they showed a brief interview with Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana. He was asked his opinion about the thousands of our troops now in the Middle East. He said our objectives laid out at the beginning of Epic Fury have been met and it is time to get out of Iran. Here is a link HERE If that doesn't work it is easy to find thru Google. I'm thinking now he might be right.

I know our leadership has good intentions;

But the road somewhere is paved with those.

Good outcomes demand a clear plan, achievable objectives, sufficient domestic and international support, as WELL as the good intentions.

That’s never been a strong suit, and expecting otherwise would ignoring the past reality.

Is its too much to hope that other middle eastern countries would step up to help with regime change? I mean they are right there and it would certainly benefit them long term. And Iran has the "goods" to help fund the takeover.

Guys I am not going to nitpik this conflict at this point. There are so many things going on and much of it isn't about iran. What is going on there has a ton of impact on greater things than the middle east. It is certainly a part of it. But just a part. If you do not want to do the hard work. Than you won't be the one that has the opportunity to make the meaningful decisions about getting the results you want. Someone else will. Jmtcw.

War Horse...

All I saw was a wussy get bumped out of the way, then curling into a fetal position. To be honest it it looked like he was trying like hell to give some personal injury lawyers something to work with for his anticipated settlement.

Sorry Ass Cheesedick.

Off-Ramp In Progress? Israeli Media Signals 'Completion Phase' Of Iran War

It's no secret that Washington is looking for an off-ramp amid what has been a steady pattern of escalation with Iran over the past month since Operation Epic Fury began. The White House's anticipated timeline and even list of objectives has seriously shifted since the war's start, as has the scope, given Tehran's 'unexpected' big retaliatory strikes on the Gulf and Israel - including on energy and infrastructure targets.

It seems Trump was thinking Iran could be parallel to the Venezuela situation - where a 'decapitation' operation swiftly removed Maduro and the US basically acknowledged a pliant puppet in his place (Delcy Rodríguez). That's why White House officials at the very start were talking about an operation that would lust just 'days' or maybe a couple weeks. Now, one month in, and we have fresh headlines like this: "Iran war enters its fourth week with no clear end in sight."

The US administration is meanwhile trying to refocus its definable objectives, however overall vision and strategy for a 'mission accomplished' end-goal has been anything but clear. For example, the start of the war saw the White House officially list as an objective the end of Iran's nuclear program and removal of enriched uranium - but that is no longer listed.

Instead, the State Dept. - citing Marco Rubio - has issued the following military objectives in Iran:

1. The destruction of Iran's air force

2. The destruction of their navy

3. The severe diminishing of their missile launching capability

4. The destruction of their factories

These are much more 'achievable aims' allowing the Trump administration to save face by declaring they've all been met, whenever it wants to proclaim a mission complete situation, and pull Pentagon assets from the theatre.

But the fact that Iran still has de facto hold over the Strait of Hormuz remains a big problem, as does its ongoing nuclear capabilities, despite that nuclear sites have been degraded or possibly destroyed.

One big and somewhat surprising sign that the US-Israeli coalition could be about to wind down the war is that Times of Israel on Monday ran the following headline:

"A month into the war with Iran, the Israeli military has almost completed bombing all of the targets it defined for itself at the start of the conflict, and has now been ordered by Israel’s political leadership to shift to hitting 'economic' targets of the Iranian regime," the publication wrote.

It goes on: "The Israeli Air Force has conducted hundreds of waves of strikes in Iran, dropping over 13,000 bombs on Iranian regime and military sites, including air defense systems, ballistic missile launchers, weapon production sites, some nuclear facilities, and various headquarters."

The same report also details how dozens of top civilian and military leaders have been killed in the campaign, and most importantly longtime Ayatollah Ali Khamnieni. However, the report also mentions one Israeli objecting of "setting the conditions" for some kind of popular uprising which could topple the government, and that has not happened. Still, the language in the report strongly suggests an offramp could be in the works, perhaps under pressure by the United States:

On Saturday, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that “within a few days” the military would complete targeting all of the “critical” assets of Iran’s military production industries, sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel. The military has also said it has taken out most of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems.

And here's a key line from Times of Israel:

Israel’s defense establishment is now in what it described as the “completion phase” of the goals it set out at the start of the war, meaning it believes it has largely achieved its objectives of degrading Iran’s military capabilities and “creating the conditions” for the Iranian regime to fall, The Times of Israel has learned.

Yet there are still other signs which suggest the war could go on for quite a bit longer, and even turn into a deeper quagmire, given the White House has yet to rule out ground forces.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...tion-phrase-iran-war

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Is its too much to hope that other middle eastern countries would step up to help with regime change? I mean they are right there and it would certainly benefit them long term. And Iran has the "goods" to help fund the takeover.

That would likely reinflame the Shia vs Sunni schism in Islam, and it'd become a holy war.

Iran is mostly Shia, and the only other ME country that is close is Iraq. Iraq is a disaster that isn't going to stabilize anything.

Everybody else is in ME is majority Sunni.


If you expand to Muslim countries in Asia:

Azerbaijan is the only predominately Shia country, and they're not going to dominate anyone.

The remaining Muslim nations in Asia are majority Sunni

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

tt, thanks for the education. Well shit...

Kuwaiti loaded oil tanker ablaze in Dubai Port after Iranian attack

https://www.reuters.com/world/...unharmed-2026-03-30/

Iran attacked a fully-loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai Port's ​anchorage on Monday, setting it ablaze and damaging its hull, Kuwait's state ‌news agency reported, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which warned of a possible oil spill.

The apparent strike is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air ​and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the ​U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28

Some video coming out shows Isfahan being hammered and some very large explosions - word has it they hit a missile storage site. Lots of really nice secondary explosions.

You're daily reminder that most of the world are idiots:

https://x.com/K_AminThaabet/st.../2038605555657211979

Wow…that inbreeding sure is working out for the betterment of mankind.
Probably well on their way to room temperature IQ in Nome.

"Trump Tells Aides He’s Willing to End War Without Reopening Hormuz".

If the above headline in the 3/30/26 evening edition of the WSJ is credible, what is the whole f'n point of Trump's alledged plan? Leave a dumpster fire for the rest of the world to clean up?

quote:

Originally posted by coyotedude:
"Trump Tells Aides He’s Willing to End War Without Reopening Hormuz".

If the above headline in the 3/30/26 evening edition of the WSJ is credible, what is the whole f'n point of Trump's alledged plan? Leave a dumpster fire for the rest of the world to clean up?

Hormuz was open to begin with, how could the whole point of Trump's plan be to open that which already was?