That is not unreasonable advice.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
... while the EU have cowarded out.

Its worse than simple cowardice.
Its dhimmitude.

Victor Hanson: What Is It With The Fickle Europeans?
Europe’s Iran Schizophrenia on Full Display Now | Victor Davis Hanson



https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...-it-fickle-europeans

True believers want their beliefs validated as often as possible, and bots or not there are plenty of sources that will do that for them. The truth of the claims about their beliefs doesn’t matter in the slightest, and therefore people will oblige them without any thought or concern other than that they are garnering viewing clicks.

The Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels probably didn’t say it, but if he had, he would have been correct that if people hear something often enough they will come to believe it, no matter what relevance it has to the truth.

The “West” is a product of over 2500+ years of Greek, Roman, Judeo-Christian thought and history. It is its own creation. Each society is built upon what has come before in its development. You can’t impose your societal norms upon another who has never experienced what you have gone through and not expect pushback. All the US (West) can do is to setup the conditions for the population to decide who’s going to be in charge; it’s for them to decide who and what they want.


https://townhall.com/columnist...-to-be-free-n2672942

What If Iranians Don’t Want to Be ‘Free’?
Derek Hunter

I’m not one of those people tapping their foot saying, “When is the war going to end? It’s been dragging on and is a disaster!” No, those people are idiots actively hoping the United States is damaged because of who the President of the United States is. Nor do I think the Iranian regime didn’t deserve to be wiped out – those who used to be in charge (and alive) were evil and them no longer existing is a great thing for humanity. But what comes next isn’t up to us, it’s up to the people of Iran to act. And there is still an open question about what it is they want, so we have to consider the possibility that most of them simply don’t want to be “free.”

The theory of the Bush administration was that the people of Iraq would greet us as liberators when we took out Saddam Hussein, which they actually did. But after that, rather than embrace their newfound freedoms, they simply reverted back to centuries old tribal warfare with each other.

How could that happen? Because they didn’t have any concept of freedom, or they simply would’ve liked to be the ones forcing their will on others, rather than having the will of others forced on them. Kind of like Democrats here.

If you’ve never experienced liberty before, you don’t know what it is. It’s not the natural state of humanity. Most of human history is riddled with oppression. Not in the way a leftist would have you think, but in a raceless way of there being a leadership that tells everyone else what and how to be. The idea of voting existed in some places, but it was often ignored or tossed when it went against the wishes of the leaders, like Democrats here when they lose a referendum and sue.

We’ve had the concept of liberty in this country for almost 250 years, but another way to look at this is we’ve had the concept of liberty in this country for only almost 250 years. Human beings have been around a lot longer than that, and most of them never experienced anything like we have today.

In Afghanistan, as oppressive as the Taliban is, most Afghans are either down with because they share their oppressive religious beliefs, or they live in such remote, unconnected places that whatever government they have in Kabul doesn’t matter to them either way. We thought they were oppressed, they thought they were living how they’ve always lived. We were both right and they didn’t care to change.

All you can do is give people the opportunity to step up for themselves, you can’t make them take it.

Iran is slightly different in that before the radical Islamists took over, the country was very modern. There are a lot of people alive who remember what it was like to not have to cover women or fear their government murdering them because they’ve somehow offended religious sensibilities. They’ve likely told stories of what it was like before the fascists overthrew the Shah, so the concept isn’t foreign. But maybe it’s not wanted?

It's clear there was a desire for ridding itself of the fascist Ayatollah, which brought hundreds of thousands of Iranians to the streets in protest. But maybe that was all they were willing to do – march in protest hoping their government would change?

Revolutions are rarely bloodless, but to conduct one you must be willing to fight to the point of death, either to you or your opponent. The regime has proven time and again, from its founding, that it has the appetite to kill for power. The people who oppose it have not shown that.

Every few years, the Iranian people would rise up in the streets, then their government would quash them. A bunch of people would get killed, the world would condemn it, lather, rinse, repeat. Nothing would come of it.

We thought it was because the people didn’t have arms and the government did. Maybe that was part of it, but maybe it was also that protesting was about as far as anyone was willing to go? The regime had no problem killing, but average people do. Without that last step, failure was the only option as regime collapse wasn’t going to happen with nothing there to cast it aside.

Iran just slaughtered anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 of its own people for protesting, the remaining people are probably a little hesitant to step out again, understandably so. There’s also the possibility that the people willing to do what is necessary to overthrow their government were those people killed. It only takes a few to spark something, but a fuse doesn’t light itself. If the people with the fire are gone…

Or maybe they’re just waiting for the US to tell them it’s go-time, I don’t know. Personally, I think what happens to Iran is up to the Iranian people, so if a military guy is allowed to seize power and dominate, if the religious monsters stay in, or the people take over and implement something better is not my concern. I don’t want them to have a nuclear program, to fund terrorism or have any influence over shipping. The rest is up to them.

The actions the Trump administration have taken are helping on those points, what comes after, or even if there is a change, is up to the Iranian people. There will come a point ever soon where they will have a chance, probably their only chance, to overthrow their despotic oppressors. That is, however, only if they want to. A fish doesn’t know it’s wet, some people don’t know they’re oppressed. All you can do is give them the opportunity to take care of themselves, you can’t make them take advantage of it. I hope they do, because they’ll never have a better one.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Why does every FB post with “violates intl law and the Constitution”?

Seriously what are these people think they are referring to?

Performative outrage, been going on since 2003. If they can't do it to their friends, family or in the streets, they're going to take it online. Snapchat, Reddit, IG, FB, LinkedIn, Myspace, Tumblr, etc, pick a social platform and there's going to be a handful that parrot the same tired tropes and fictional beliefs. The current flavor is 'illegal war' and 'kill the Jews, free palestine'. Now they've got Ceasar Chavez to rail about.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfr...dkt_nbr=010502ckjxgl

Putin Tells Tehran: Russia Stands by Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz and said Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

The extent of Moscow's support for Iran, though, is in dispute. Some Iranian sources have said that they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the U.S.-backed Shah was toppled in the 1979 revolution.

Putin sent congratulations to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the Iranian new year, the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people to overcome the harsh trials with dignity and stressed that in this difficult time Moscow remains a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran," the Kremlin said. Russia says the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have thrust the entire Middle East into the abyss and triggered a major global energy crisis, while of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "cynical" murder.

Politico reported that Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to Washington: the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia, but the United States rejected the idea. The Kremlin has dismissed the report as fake.

Russia was deprived of an ally when the United States toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, though Moscow has benefited from the high oil prices triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, a strategic partner.

The published strategic partnership does not contain a mutual defense clause, and Russia has repeatedly said that it does not want Iran to develop an atomic bomb, a step that Moscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
https://x.com/Osinttechnical/s...in-iran-could-entail

As a kid growing up I was always led to believe that once the button got pressed and the ballistic missiles started flying, that was it. The only thing we could do was shoot back and hope we killed more of them than they did of us.

Then a number of years ago I read a Clancy novel where China launched an ICBM at DC and the navy knocked it down at the last second with an SM3. I've since wondered if that would actually work in real life, under real-world (non-training) conditions. Nice to know that it does.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
...a number of years ago I read a Clancy novel where China launched an ICBM at DC and the navy knocked it down at the last second with an SM3. I've since wondered if that would actually work in real life, under real-world (non-training) conditions. Nice to know that it does.

The US has been rolling out and developing SM3/Aegis specifically for ABMD (anti-ballistic missile defense) since the 1990's which was tested and went into production in 2005. We were actually going to deploy the land based version of it to Poland until Obama nixed it in 2009.

It's essentially the backbone of what Trump wants to implement as the "Golden Dome".

I think the Golden Dome strategy has been debunked. I read a book a few years back that explained it - I'll dig up the title/author this weekend and post.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
I think the Golden Dome strategy has been debunked. I read a book a few years back that explained it - I'll dig up the title/author this weekend and post.

I don't know what "debunked" means in this context, but I do know if we spent the money and installed the equipment, it will in fact knock down ICBM's.

You can question how many, or what percentage given various attack scenarios, but if you're strictly talking ICBM's there are actually land based versions (Aegis ashore) of our system installed in a couple countries. The main downside of these systems is that it's designed around ICBM's, not any other threat vector...

Hmmm, I’m no intelligence specialist but I find it interesting that Iran launched these missiles this late in the game.

My initial thought is this may be the last ditch flailing of a regime in its final death throes.


My guess is that those may have been the only two they had with that range, possibly even still in development/testing and rushed to deploy. They had a 50% failure rate after launch and the one that might have worked was intercepted. Maybe they figured sending them to DG might have a chance of success due to the assumption the US might think it was at a “safe” distance and not be heavily defended.

Last ditch, Hail Mary, hope and a prayer attempt to strike a blow (even if only symbolic) against the “Great satan” before total defeat.


It certainly lends credence to Iran being an “imminent threat” as a legitimate concern. Of course the left will never conceded DJT was right, let alone give him credit for doing what no other President had the stomach for.

I pray we don’t need to put US boots on the ground, but if that is needed for a final decisive sweep to bring liberation to the people I support it so long as the muzzle is removed and they are allowed to do what is needed to achieve decisive victory.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 911Boss,

I think we might get boots on the ground on Kharg island but only to control the infrastructure.

I’m also hoping we get a unit tasked to get the 460 kg of enriched uranium

How much does 460kg of 60% enriched uranium weigh? It's a gas stored in pressurized containers. How many containers, what do they weigh, and what precautions are required to move the stuff? Do we even know where it is?

I don't think we're going after it until the war is over.

Is it a gas? I know in the centrifuges it’s heated and is a gas but if it’s allowed to cool isn’t it back to a solid? I’m not a nuclear engineer. Where are the sub guys?

Crystalline solid at room temp. And is reheated until during any further enrichment. Requires reduction processing to convert to metallic.

Can be transported bottled under pressure or crystalline solid powder.

My cousin was a Navy Sub Nuc, and Fla Power and Lighting Engineer at St. Lucie plant in Vero Bch FL.

I started as a Nuc (Special Weapons) in USAF, but changed to Air Craft Maint.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...96uHMX%2FssZ2rIjc%3D

Trump Threatens to Attack Iranian Energy Sites If Strait of Hormuz Isn’t Reopened

In a social media post, the U.S. president issued a 48-hour deadline for Iranian forces to stop threatening the key Middle East waterway.

President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iranian energy facilities if Iranian forces don’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz and cease all attacks on the critical waterway.

“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Iranian forces have snarled traffic throughout the Persian Gulf, which serves as a key artery for fuel and other global commodities.

Oil prices have hovered at around $100 barrel in the weeks since U.S. and Israeli forces launched joint attacks on Iran, setting off the ongoing armed conflict.

This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.

Why in the world are people discussing the seizure of uranium? September 20th of 2025 Trump stated that we destroyed Iran's enriched uranium. Page 10 https://www.govinfo.gov/conten...f/DCPD-202500934.pdf

The only reason we need boots on the ground is to assist Iranian freedom fighters and the Kurds.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Is it a gas? I know in the centrifuges it’s heated and is a gas but if it’s allowed to cool isn’t it back to a solid? I’m not a nuclear engineer. Where are the sub guys?

You're correct. Uranium hexafluoride is solid under about 133 degrees F and a gas above at 1atm. That's what I get for believing what I read in several articles. It doesn't change my questions: how many containers, what do they weigh, and what precautions are needed to move the stuff?

Again, I'm assuming the articles are correct that Iran's claimed stash of 60% enriched uranium is uranium hexafloride and not some other form.

quote:

Originally posted by Carpentermaass84:
Why in the world are people discussing the seizure of uranium? September 20th of 2025 Trump stated that we destroyed Iran's enriched uranium. Page 10 https://www.govinfo.gov/conten...f/DCPD-202500934.pdf

The only reason we need boots on the ground is to assist Iranian freedom fighters and the Kurds.

If you were developing uranium for a bomb, wouldn’t you do it at more than one locale just so it didn’t get obliterated by the USA?

And when the enemy says they have a bomb or enough to make more bombs, after you just crushed a bomb making plant last month…you take them at their word and plan to destroy more stuff.