Our new and improved Iraq discussion thread!

[JRB]

The difference is he was a high level official of a disliked but recognized government not a unrecognized illegitimate terrorist organization. No one at least here is seems to be questioning the targeting of just a terrorist like the Obama and G W Bush administration did and the Trump administration continues to do. It is the targeting of a general of a country we are not actually at war with that is problematic.

If they want legitimacy, fight us as a uniformed, flag wearing legitimate government and adhere to the fucking laws of war.

If you want to kill us with IED's strapped to kids and hidden piles of trash, machine gun your own unarmed civilians that dare protest against your corrupt fucking rule, fire your fucking Estes rocket kits at us when you're pissed off, and strap limpet mines to civilian oil tankers and take them hostage like fucking pirates...

Expect to get fucking treated like a fucking piece of shit pirate when we get you. Fuck the flag you claim.

[jrm]

If they want legitimacy, fight us as a uniformed, flag wearing legitimate government and adhere to the fucking laws of war.

If you want to kill us with IED's strapped to kids and hidden piles of trash, machine gun your own unarmed civilians that dare protest against your corrupt fucking rule, fire your fucking Estes rocket kits at us when you're pissed off, and strap limpet mines to civilian oil tankers and take them hostage like fucking pirates...

Expect to get fucking treated like a fucking piece of shit pirate when we get you. Fuck the flag you claim.

If this happening and we want to address it we need to declare war which is done by Congress who would need to be properly informed to do so. So are you now going to admit you have been flying off the handle or are you just going to admit you don’t give a fuck about the Constitution as long as it’s your guy in charge?

[blues]

To clarify my post on his condition, I think he has, or had, a cold. Given the time of year and the number of people he comes in contact with, it would only be surprising if he didn't. I also think his "deranged speech" (per WaPO) was not; it was the prepared boilerplate I would expect after such an incident.

If he wouldn't paint himself into a corner with his tweets concerning what he's going to do if Iran does such and such...he wouldn't look as much like a joke when he takes none of the action that his bluster promised.

I don't think any sane person wants war when it can be (reasonably) avoided...but the net effect of his spewing hot air is making us appear weak, and him a paper tiger.

(I learned a long time ago not to write checks with my mouth that my ass can't (or won't) cash.)

[JRB]

If this happening and we want to address it we need to declare war which is done by Congress who would need to be properly informed to do so. So are you now going to admit you have been flying off the handle or are you just going to admit you don’t give a fuck about the Constitution as long as it’s your guy in charge?

Going point by point:

-President Trump is not, emphatically, IS NOT 'my guy'. He's my Commander-in-Chief and I'll respect that position and hope like hell for steady hands on the wheel, same as I did for former President Obama, and for former President Bush before him. I would like to believe that it's safe to say that nobody was happy about the candidates for POTUS in 2016. 2020 doesn't look a whole lot better.

I know, it's astonishing to think that people can hold different politics than the current CiC and still respect the position and hope for the best instead of being an incessantly whiny bitch about it for smarmy social cred with other vapid oxygen-wasting fuckheads. Imagine, if you will, seeing that to your left and then seeing a bunch of tinfoil-hat fuddbilly armchair blabbering heffalumps that get their jowel's a shaking with OMG JADE HELM, FEMA INTERNMENT CAMPS! SANDY HOOK WAS A HOAKS! DUH GUBBERMINT GONNA KILL ALL DA GOOD CHRISTIANS! Kind of assholes.
Life is fucking weird and people are fucking weird, so for fuck's sake do your fellow Americans the courtesy of not digitally bucketing them all as 'Team A' or 'Team 1'.

-Because formal declarations of war have been an ongoing requirement for everything we've been doing since WWII... right Both sides are guilty of that overwhelming problem and tendency so don't lay it at the feet of current events. Why are you acting and phrasing that like it's suddenly a brand new current-administration fucking problem?

-Congress hasn't exactly been inspiring a lot of confidence with their collective behavior, or where and how they're focusing their efforts. I wouldn't include them in my decisions either unless absolutely necessary were I the POTUS right now.

-When I can get through an entire election cycle without worrying about how both sides are trying to fuck with the civil rights of American citizens, then and only then will I have more than a passing thought to spare about the exjudicial execution of TCN terrorist assholes. Especially ones that have been directly responsible for killing or maiming hundreds if not thousands of my brothers and sisters in uniform with traps and bombs like a fucking coward.

-Furthermore, then-President Obama's the guy that went ham using drone strikes on known terrorists including known American citizens. So please check 'your guy' before talking smack. If being a piece of shit terrorist that blows up civilians and American service members can justify exjudicial execution of an American citizen that happens to be a jihading terrorist asshole, it sure as fuck justifies killing Iranian assholes actively starting shit inside a country we're trying to stabilize.

[blues]

If he wouldn't paint himself into a corner with his tweets concerning what he's going to do if Iran does such and such...he wouldn't look as much like a joke when he takes none of the action that his bluster promised.

I don't think any sane person wants war when it can be (reasonably) avoided...but the net effect of his spewing hot air is making us appear weak, and him a paper tiger.

(I learned a long time ago not to write checks with my mouth that my ass can't (or won't) cash.)

I don't mean to harp on this but it truly pains me. All I keep thinking about is how much it reminds me of this scene from Tombstone...and it pains me even more when I feel my friends like JRB are being improperly utilized and employed as a result. All of this could be averted by simply not declaring military policy decisions via tweet. What foreign leader is going to take his next set of threats seriously?

[Yung]

I'm curious as to whether any members of this forum had any high school or college aged relatives in their family who were genuinely concerned about being drafted.

[jrm]

Life is fucking weird and people are fucking weird, so for fuck's sake do your fellow Americans the courtesy of not digitally bucketing them all as 'Team A' or 'Team 1'.

Maybe take your own advice. It’s clear we aren’t getting anywhere others can take what they want from it.

[Zincwarrior]

I'm curious as to whether any members of this forum had any high school or college aged relatives in their family who were genuinely concerned about being drafted.

That buzz genuinely popped up in the daughter's group.

[HCountyGuy]

If you didn't see it you weren't looking in the right places. Search "droner in chief" or "Obama drone warrior" for a reminder of some 7 years of outrage and at least one lawsuit over drone strikes.










https://scholar.google.com/scholar_c...00006&as_vis=1

I fully acknowledge the criticism was there but the disproportionate outrage particularly from scum-sucking Congress-critters angry the Orange Man beat the Suicider General is what’s chapped my ass.

It is the targeting of a general of a country we are not actually at war with that is problematic

We may not be “at war” with them, but they’ve been at war with us for quite some time and have had a role in the death of enough of our troops we should have turned Tehran in to a damn crater as a warning shot.

As for Congressional condemnation of the whole drone strike, gee I wonder who the sack-less folks are who have allowed Iran to continue their shenanigans through attempting to placate them continually. Funny though, they’re the same sorts who would have no trouble ordering the National Guard to handle law enforcement refusing to enforce unconstitutional gun laws but god forbid we get aggressive with a nation that has made it clear they want us all dead.

I will say that in light of the rocket attack failing to kill anyone that Trump walking back on his threats and instead deciding to de-escalate like folks were bitching he needed to do (damned if you do, damned if you don’t) was probably smart. I imagine had there been an American casualty Iran would be little more than a chapter in the history books.

[Borderland]

I'm curious as to whether any members of this forum had any high school or college aged relatives in their family who were genuinely concerned about being drafted.

Probably some people here that were drafted or maybe I don't understand the question.