OK, sorry if this is just over the top, but this evening Trump’s close pal, Sean Hannity, has gone over the top both predicting and clearly supporting a full blown attack on Iran, “take out all their nuclear facilities.” Curiously a sign of how over the top this is was given by one of his guests, a colonel, warned that it would take nuclear weapons by the US to fully take out the most deeply buried Iranian capabilities.
I am reasonably certain that part of why Hannity was sounding the war trumpet rather than his usual “investigate Hillary and the Steele dossier” baloney is that today Trump put himself into a difficult contradictory situation, having gone doubtful last night on his followers in NC chanting “Send her back” to supporting those chanters today. So, much easier to distract everybody with a possible war in the Persian Gulf (sorry, not “Arabian Gulf,” not yet), especially given that there has been an ongoing escalation of incidents in the Gulf over oil tankers, with Iran pushing back against the US withdrawing from the JCPOA nuclear deal.
But the bottom line is that what Hannity spouts often ends up being what his close pal Trump ends up doing. I take this spout from Hannity all too seriously. We may well be in more serious war with Iran soon, with such an effort accompanied by far more massive lies than the Bush admin gave us when he stupidly invaded Iraq on false pretenses, although Hannity is assuring us that “It will be all over very soon, with no boots on the ground.” Yeah, we have heard that one before.
Barkley Rosser
yeah, we heard that one before.
but if “boots on the ground” is the part that worries us, we deserve what is happening to us.
Logistics inside Hormuz is a big problem.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/07/us-unprepared-mobilize-great-power-conflict/158560/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB:%2007.22.19&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
Short of s “major power” type mobilization boots on the ground in Iran is not an option.
What US gets, or endures, from a bombing campaign is questionable.
Let’s watch Turkey:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-07-18/kicking-turkey-out-of-nato-would-be-a-gift-to-putin?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB:%2007.22.19&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
Not quite ready to ask “who lost Turkey?”, but may be…. soon.
While US re-entering Prince Sultan Airbase is under reported. The base is 30 odd miles from Riyadh, Patriots air defenses there are to protect Prince Mohamed, US fighters there need a lot of refueling to make any display over the Persian Gulf.
Barkley:
If they keep changing the topic, we keeping moving on the dialogue. It gets confusing often and there is no serious thought or challenge by others who could answer to what has been said. Another strategy being used is to constantly lie and distort which is popping up at one site which does not have someone who actively monitors the dialogue. Trump’s racist (and they are racist) comments about the squad of 4 as well as about those at the southern border are being defended by people who know better. If only we could bring them to judgement for their influential lies they scatter amongst us after all is said and done and the orange-haired one leaves. Their actions and lies are purposeful and meant to confuse.
One lie yesterday by an astute person revolves around associating the Democrats of today with Nazis and the Social Democrats pre-WWII. The lie versus the truth:
“trying to win over German workers from the Internationalist Social Democratic Party and, in the aftermath of defeat (WWI) and revolution, to persuade people that Jews were primarily responsible for Germany’s plight.
In July 1921, he took over the leadership of the party, by then renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), and, less than 12 years later, it had become the largest party in Germany and Hitler was Reich Chancellor.” BBC, “The Rise of Adolf Hitler”
For many Americans who have had elementary or high school school history, this false notion is easily dispelled as a lie. I wonder though how many believe this bilge. In any case Hannity is doing the same, taking information and twisting it to suit his rating. Hopefully, wiser people prevail at the White House. Hannity, Conway, and the others need to go.
my impression is that Trump has been more influenced by Tucker Carlson than by Hannity & his ilk…
for instance, Carlson was at his side when he went to the Korean DMZ to meet with Kim (while Bolton was sent to the Gobi desert in Outer Mongolia)
while Tucker Carlson also spouted “Ilhan Omar is “living proof” that U.S. immigration laws are dangerous.” before Trump began his recent attacks on her…
run
of course they lie
but we can’t afford to wait until the orange one is gone.
we don’t need to worry about his base. we need to worry about OUR base.
we are letting ourselves be distracted.
the kids at the border is THE crime we need to focus on right now.
dale:
Refuting the lies is important too as many of the base are on the cusp. Refuting the lies and acknowledging to our base and the public such a lie is meant to distract us from what the real issues are is important. I did mention we should not leave the real issue behind in an answer to JDM on the Trump and the News Media post earlier. I know where you are coming from Coberly.
run
we can walk and chew gum at the same time.
so far we are only chewing gum.
Hannity is not the President of the United States. He is not a member of the Congress of the United States. He is not a spokesperson for the United States military.
Hannity doesn’t get paid by the word but he does get paid to fill air time. And that is what he does.
Watch less of him and you will feel better.
If you must watch him, then turn the audio down very very low and listen to Andres Segovia play “Recuerdos de la Alhambra”.
But the music is better with no video at all.
JimH
good advice, but hanity is paid by the same people who tell trump what to do. i don’t watch, or listen. but millions do. and apparently Believe.
JimH,
I do not watch Hannity because I believe him or support him. I do so because reportely he and Trump communicate almost daily, and a long record shows things a pushing showing up as Trump policies. So this is a matter simply of being on top of what is goiing on.
It does seem that Carlson has gained some of Trump’s attention, and he and Hannity seem to have some differences of opinion, especially regarding possible war in Iran. In this case we may nope that indeed Carslon is more influential than Hannity.
I have often been wrong, but get the impression that President Trump does not want to spend money on a war. Threatening one costs him little, although it may escalate the situation in unanticipated directions.
Jon:
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jon
trump does not mind spending money, especially on war.
but yes, it may escalate in unanticipated directions.
but if that’s all that’s stopping us, we deserve it when they fight back.
Dale Coberly
I understand he likes increasing spend on the military (a boost to the economy), and delights in starting “trade” wars but haven’t yet seen any sign of him committing to start/fight a war. He has continued supporting Saudi in Yemen but that is continuing an existing policy rather than initiating. Is his current approach not brinkmanship – push as far as he can with threats / embargos? Not saying this wont end in tears; I guess if he does start a military fight with Iraq then we know that approach has ended!
Jon
you could be right, of course, but starting wars has a long history in the united states as well as the world as a way of unifying the home population behind a political agenda as well as seizing another country’s resources and territory. I see trump as likely to follow that pattern.
as for brinkmanship, hitler pushed that as far as it could go before Britain was prepared to fight against what it knew as a cancer before it got itself ready. unfortunately the united states today has no credible opposition.