Posted on 06/21/2019 7:22:23 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
For some, you could hear the sound of war drums. It was coming. Iran had shot down a surveillance drone in international waters. President Trump did not mince words, saying Iran made a huge mistake, though was cagey about military action. He told the press “you’ll find out” when asked. President Trump has taken action before, firing cruise missiles at an airfield in Syria in 2017 after a horrible chemical weapons attack struck the town of Khan Shaykhun. The airfield was the staging ground. Reports trickled in last night that air strikes were ordered against Iran but were halted by Trump. We didn’t know why, but earlier this morning the president tweeted that he aborted the mission because the retaliatory strikes were not proportionate (via WaPo):
EXCLUSIVE: Iran received message from U.S. President Trump via Oman overnight warning of imminent attack on Iran - Iranian government officials pic.twitter.com/kzV1S1MCHC— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) June 21, 2019
....On Monday they shot down an unmanned drone flying in International Waters. We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2019
....proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world. Sanctions are biting & more added last night. Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not against the WORLD!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2019
President Trump ordered an attack on Iran on Thursday in retaliation for the downing of a surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz but called the operation off just before it was due to occur because it would have caused extensive casualties, he said Friday.
In a series of morning tweets, Trump said he called off strikes on three Iranian sites minutes before they were to be launched because he was informed of the likely loss of life among Iranians.
“We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die,” Trump tweeted. “150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it.”
Such a death toll was “not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone,” Trump wrote, adding: “I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world.
How in the heck can “porportionate” enter into this situation. Iran is poking a far bigger opponent who swings a huge stick. U S taxpayers pay for a fantastic military capability that must be used to end activity such as this once and for all!!
Iran can send a freight there with a bomb or attack assets in Europe or the middle east as they do now.
Also, you may not realize Israel is an ALLY. That used to mean something when we had honor and determination. How even conservatives pee in their loans at the thought of stopping the worst supporter of terrorism in the world.
Dems and RINOs try to make sure that the appropriations are “targeted” for something other than border/immigration security.
Since our guys were gearing up for a counter strike, I think sitting vulnerable dead in the water to collect debris just outside 12 miles of Iran with Iranian gun boats probably looking for confrontation about, would not be the first priority. Second, finding some fragments drifting on the surface after the event wouldn’t be difficult, and they can drift into their waters by currents, or they could all be faked anyway. Having done lots of FONOPS in my earlier navy days, I am going to believe the Navy when it says the drone was legally in international airspace.
The next democrat president will just give them the bomb.
Exactly right. Iran isnt doing this on their own.
Suppose there was a way for US cyber ops to control the image and info displayed to Iran’s air defense system. If “we” wanted a full blown war we would display a US manned aircraft outside Iran as an unmanned drone inside Iran. But displaying a drone outside Iran as a drone inside Iran would cause it to be attacked, and the US would have some options.
An appropriate response would be to take out the leadership, those who give the orders.
“Bomb some unmanned facility worth 250 million dollars if youre worried about casualties being disproportionate.”
Take out one active oil rig.
zaklee
Trump is doing what has to be done instead of leaving it for the future. Sanctions are crushing the mullahs so hard and are such a threat to their control, that they prefer to have bombs dropped on their country instead.
You suspect some of the newer UFO sightings are a ‘vaporware’ weapon? You might be right. And yeah, it would give us more options.
Some ally, we give them $5 billion a year, and they reward us with their relentless spying, selling secrets to Russia, selling tech to China.
China Is Spying On Israel to Steal U.S. Secrets
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/24/china-and-russia-are-spying-on-israel-to-steal-u-s-secrets-putin-netanyahu-xi-haifa-ashdod-iai-elbit/
US accuses Israel of alarming, even terrifying levels of spying
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-accuses-israel-of-alarming-even-terrifying-levels-of-spying-9341264.html
Israel Won't Stop Spying on the U.S.
https://www.newsweek.com/israel-wont-stop-spying-us-249757
so we pull back from Israel. Good stuff. you don’t have alchemy as to the big picture in the middle east. Given some of the presidents we have had, i would spy on us too were I Israel.
we have been here before people in the street in teheran and then it dissolves.
We should attack Iran because they attack and threaten us and are developing weapons to carry out the threat. That’s the reason. When they have the bomb and ICBMs you’ll still be waiting for the revolution.
I am Iraned out. Someone take the last word.
There is a fine line between deterrence and vengeance. You cannot have both.
This is exactly why U.S. military action should be RARE, not as pathetically commonplace it has become.
Our system of government with its frequent transitions of power is simply not set up to engage in the kind of long-term idiocy that has become the norm in these foreign entanglements.
Further complicating all this is that we allow foreign interests to lobby our government buy our political leaders, so our "foreign/military interests" usually coincide with the interests of whichever country is more successful in buying Congress and the White House.
I had a dream about Trump last night. Mainly it was him as a strong father figure with big shoulders and he would make sure everything was ok.
Oh I get the big picture all right, it's just that my perspective is one of American interests first, not Israel (or Saudi)interests first.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.