Posted on 06/23/2025 5:45:56 AM PDT by MtnClimber
What Trump’s Strike Means for Iran, the Middle East, and American Power.
1. What are we to make of Saturday night’s destruction of the three Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan?
Trump and the U.S. military took a great risk and succeeded in astounding fashion. Operationally, the destruction of the nuclear sites seems to have gone perfectly, in contrast to a long history of America’s Middle East debacles from the failed 1980 Carter rescue mission to the 2021 flight from Kabul.
The long-overdue message to Iran is that there are finally consequences for a half-century effort of killing Americans, promising death to the U.S. and Israel, and attempting to murder a U.S. president.
It’s also surreal to see leftist critics now say that Trump deviated from past presidents’ heroic, peaceful efforts to negotiate an end to the Iranian nuclear threat, when suddenly, after assuming office, Trump was apprised that Iran was weeks away from getting a bomb.
So, how did that happen after all those heroic diplomatic efforts? Why was the Iranian bomb program not ended during the Biden administration’s last four years? And who but Barack Obama opened the floodgates of Iranian revenue to fund these monstrous programs?
How strange the legal criticisms of the left are. In 2011, repeatedly bombing and killing hundreds of Libyan civilians and setting off a decade of chaos and mayhem were constitutionally okay, but a one-mission taking out a rogue nation’s nuclear facilities that threatened world peace and likely killed few, if any, civilians was unconstitutional and amoral?
Note well: Obama bombed, with B-2s no less, Libya again on his last full day in office in 2017—to finish off his disastrous five-year-long Susan Rice/Samantha Power/Hillary Clinton (“We came, we saw, he died”)/Ben Rhodes-directed destruction of Libya.
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
VDH ping
Bkmk
And how's that workin' out for ya? This passivity has been tried for decades and with what results? Thousands of US citizens murdered in 9/11, 200 marines in cowardly mass bombing, to say nothing of the lives lost by Israel since 1948. The Iranian leaders understand only one thing: violence. Until they show otherwise, show them what they understand and maybe...just maybe...they will learn that the US has a new policy: It's call FAFO.
Now vdh is in on the gaslighting.
I don’t care for it.
Still awaiting valid BDA…
If Carter pulled off the hostage rescue, he probably would have had a second term.
If any of our planes were downed during "Midnight Hammer", Trump's second administration would be effectively over.
But Carter failed and Trump didn't.
Nothing succeeds like success.
Well I am a more optimistic than you are, but I would prefer more concrete intelligence about the damage done before breaking out the champagne.
That not gaslighting. You don’t know the meaning of the term.
A valid point in VHD’s #6 question of if the MAGA base will splinter. He pointed out that Trump does so many things right for his base, that even the ones unhappy with Saturday night’s counterstrike on Iran will be forgiven. I agree with VDH. As loud as MTG and Rand Paul are against Saturday night’s counterstrike (and a few other things they criticize Trump over), they’re mostly happy with Trump.
Well I am a more optimistic than you are, but I would prefer more concrete intelligence about the damage done before breaking out the champagne.
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Huh - I broke out the good booze, had a couple.
Yeah I was looking for pics the next morning.
“concrete intelligence”
Last I heard the concrete was yelling “stop bombing me”.
Lol.
Alrighty, then. /s
“In truth, Iran was likely the most hated nation in the world.”
What do the billions of believers in Islam think? Israel (little satan) and America (great satan) are the most hated nations in their world. That has not changed. Martyrs are celebrated. Jihad continues. Civilization suffers.
Trump is road kill if he gets us into another Forever War and the Democrats will take both houses of Congress in 2026.
That's my major issue. Frankly, if I was an IRGC general, I'd order the release of isotopes to fudge the BDA intel.
I fear they've set themselves up for major egg on the face and it was wholly unnecessary. Additionally, I can't believe that Mossad doesn't know the exact location of all of the HE (a lot of qualifying remarks have been made in the hours after the attack).
Its chief danger will be hubris. Overconfidence led to the surprises of 1973. And hubris also led to 2023, 50 years later, to the very hour after being similarly shocked. Israel will likely be wary of its unprecedented success.
A late ping out to the Prof Hanson ping list. Long but thought provoking analysis of this weekend's events.
FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR
Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall
American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness
His website: Victor Davis Hanson
Please let me know if you want on or off this new VDH ping list.
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