UAE says 4 ships targeted by ‘sabotage’ off its coast [too convenient]

Associated press ^ | 5/12 | Jon gambrell

[Cold War Veteran - Submarines]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)

[Cold War Veteran - Submarines]

Why do I get the feeling of a setup. Perhaps trying to cause a flare up to get POTUS to react and create a dilution to the stream of Muller stuff coming out?

[Innovative]

It could be Iranians.

[BeauBo]

Remember the Maine!

[dp0622]

You think that these two countries are playing around with actions that could lead to war because they give a flying #### about this whole mess over here??!!?!?!?!?

I am worried about the REAL concern.

Countries over there AND military equipment companies wanting boots on the ground again, this time against Iran.

That’s the real threat.

[proust]

How convenient.

[buckalfa]

"Countries over there AND military equipment companies wanting boots on the ground again, this time against Iran."

Shades of the past?:

"Come on Wall Street, don't be slow Why man, this is war au-go-go There's plenty good money to be made By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb They drop it on the Viet Cong." (Apologies to Country Joe and The Fish).

[Demanwideplan]

Iran is not a threat at all. We will be in their capital within a week if the Generals turn us loose!!
Iran could not defeat Iraq. Remember how quickly we did.

[Does so]

Plant a Uranium bomb on the seabed, entice a U.S. carrier, trigger the bomb, leave a U.S. uranium “signature” using Uranium-One
production.

[faithhopecharity]

suspicion is always justified when it comes to things like the Tonkin Gulf....

but we must remember just how threatening, hostile, and dangerous (now that Obama protected and financed their nuclear bomb and ICBM factories)

I’ve always been of the view that its far better to put a stop to threatening enemies before they actually carry out their threats against you

and it is sure far, far less expensive in lives (and $)

done right, that is....

[dljordan]

“Why do I get the feeling of a setup. “

Yeah. Once again we get lead by the ring in our noses.

[sparklite2]

It’s odd how people who’ll tell you they hate hippies
so blithely espouse the same anti-military conspiracy
theories the hippies did.

[Zhang Fei]

[Why do I get the feeling of a setup. Perhaps trying to cause a flare up to get POTUS to react and create a dilution to the stream of Muller stuff coming out? ]

---

There’s probably a feeling among Iranian leaders that Trump is unwilling to mount a serious operation against them. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Iranians did actually attempt to block the Persian Gulf. Just as Reagan’s pullout from Lebanon after 200 Marines were killed in an Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah attack prompted the Iranian mining of the Gulf, Trump’s non-invasion of Venezuela may prompt Iran’s government to plug up the oil supply from his Gulf Arab neighbors. They don’t have much to lose, given the amount of economic pain they are about to endure, thanks to a complete shut-off of their oil exports caused by the cessation of the oil import waivers granted to various buyers (India, China, et al) of Iranian oil.

[Bommer]

Why do I have a feeling we have a sub just waiting to rock their world the second they think they are capable of attacking us?

[buckalfa]

"It’s odd how people who’ll tell you they hate hippies so blithely espouse the same anti-military conspiracy theories the hippies did."

Good observation. It is interesting too see how attitudes on Free Republic have morphed since 9-11 and March 2003. Chest thumping armchair generals (me included) dominated discussion at that time. Now with hindsight, we can say that despite noble goals, the strategy left much to be desired as we are still bogged down with a potential for continuing land war in Asia.

[sparklite2]

What happened March 2003?

[Robert DeLong]

The difference is if Trump decided to move on Iran, he would do so with the intention of winning decisively & quickly, and then leave. No nation building. But I see him moving against Venezuela before he moves against Iran, since they are in our hemisphere, & Guido is pretty much begging for America’s assistance to remove Maduro.

[null and void]

Wars are won on the battlefield and lost in the halls of congress.

[sparklite2]

Vietnam, I’d say, was lost in the White House under two different presidents, Johnson and Nixon.

[null and void]

Yep, then blame the fallout on The Great Satan mishandling a warhead on the carrier, inshallah...