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Items tagged with: War
"Trump and Hegseth seem to be in love with what they think of as their Big Boy Toys. Supreme excellence in their minds seems to be blowing things up better than anyone else can blow things up. We can blow up more things than anyone else. We can blow things into smaller pieces than anyone else can. We can blow up things from a greater distance than anyone else can."
~ Peterr
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #PerformativeMasculinity #violence #arrogance #hubris
/38
emptywheel.net/2026/03/12/grea…
Great Tactics Mean Nothing if You Have No Strategy - emptywheel
Take it from Clausewitz or Sun Tzu or even Jesus of Nazareth: strategy matters. Too bad for all of us that Trump and Hegseth don't get this.Peterr (emptywheel)
(continued from /36)
"Do you support internment camps for undocumented immigrants where they should be rounded up until they can be deported? Even when we put that language into a question, we've got a majority of Republicans [and white evangelicals] now saying, yeah, I'm down with that."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #ICE #immigrants #EthnicCleansing #ConcentrationCamps
/37
"And this is the America that we're living in, that we literally are having internment camps. And we've polled on this. And what we're finding is that, again, it's a majority of Republicans and a super majority of white evangelical Christians who actually, even when we say to them, internment camps," (continued in /37)
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #ICE #immigrants #EthnicCleansing #ConcentrationCamps
/36
Then Robbie adds:
"The big, beautiful bill, let's just make sure everybody remembers, has got money already in it for like $50,000 plus beds at internment camps that they're already trying to open all over the country, probably one coming to an abandoned warehouse near you."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #ICE #immigrants #EthnicCleansing #ConcentrationCamps
/35
Robbie replies:
"Well, you know, I do tend to use those words all together, right? White Christian nationalism, because that really is the only way to understand what it is in our context, right? Now, there is religious nationalism in other parts of the world, but in America—our issue is white Christian nationalism."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism
/34
" Within Democratic circles, mainstream circles, corporate media circles, they are averse to using the word white Christian nationalism because, number one, they don't want to piss off Christians. And number two, they don't want to piss off white. I say, no, no, no. The data says that this is a white Christian nationalist problem."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism
/33
The two leading religion reporters at New York Times refuse even to use the term "Christian nationalism." Lots of establishment Democrats want to ignore the religious and racial roots of Trump's support and to suppress this discussion.
Wajahat says:
"Robbie, you know that you and I get backlash. So like, no, no, don't say Christian nationalism, say religious nationalism."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism
/32
PRRI president Robert P. Jones talks with Wajahat Ali about how we are all "now reaping the consequences of the unwillingness of our senators to recognize the dangers of Hegseth’s Christian nationalism."
Wajahat starts by pointing out how the powers that be want to shut up discussion of white Christian nationalism.
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #HolyWar #WhiteChristianNationalism
/31
redeemingdemocracy.net/p/hegse…
Hegseth the Crusader: The Trump Administration's Holy War
A recording from Robert P. Jones and THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali's live videoRobert P. Jones (Redeeming Democracy by Robert P. Jones)
"By bombing Iran, America has 'recovered its position as leader of the free world' while Israel 'has rediscovered its biblical warrior identity and has become the regional superpower in the Middle East.'
In support of this new order, messianic Orthodox and secular nationalist Israeli ideologies meet with Christian nationalist views. ...
There is one party that will benefit from the war: Russia."
#Trump #Hegseth #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war #HolyWar #ChristianNationalism #zionism #Putin
/30
"In the fantasy of the far right, the United States and Israel are making history and saving civilization. British commentator Melanie Phillips sees the war as 'the likely birth of a new world order pivoted around that alliance between America and Israel.'”
~ Ruth Ben-Ghiat
#Trump #Hegseth #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war #HolyWar #ChristianNationalism #zionism
/29
lucid.substack.com/p/who-benef…
Who Benefits from the U.S.-Israel War on Iran?
The war will eventually backfire on Trump and Netanyahu, while Putin profitsRuth Ben-Ghiat (Lucid)
"In an interview with the Catholic Standard this week, McElroy said: 'The criterion of just cause is not met because our country was not responding to an existing or imminent and objectively verifiable attack by Iran.'”
#Trump #Iran #war #morality #CardinalMcElroy
/28
"Cardinal Robert W McElroy, the archbishop of Washington DC, has said that the US-Israeli war with Iran is 'not morally legitimate', going further than the pope has done in his more moderate appeals for an end to the war."
~ Anna Betts
#Trump #Iran #war #morality #CardinalMcElroy
/27
theguardian.com/us-news/2026/m…
Washington cardinal says US war on Iran ‘not morally legitimate’
Robert McElroy goes further than pope has done and says conflict fails ‘criterion of right intention’Anna Betts (The Guardian)
"Yesterday, after Reuters reporter Phil Stewart reported that as many as 150 U.S. troops had been wounded so far in the Iran conflict, the Pentagon publicly revised its estimate of fewer than a dozen U.S. service members wounded upward to about 140. The wounds include brain trauma, shrapnel wounds, and burns. Seven service members have died."
~ Heather Cox Richardson
#Trump #Iran #war #death #casualties #destruction
/17
heathercoxrichardson.substack.…
March 11, 2026
In a brief call with Barak Ravid of Axios today, President Donald J.Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)
"In his first public remarks as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called for national unity and said that all US bases in the region should close or face attacks.
The strait of Hormuz will remain closed in order to pressure Iran’s enemies, Khamenei said."
~ The Guardian
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #oil #gas #StraitOfHormuz #Khamenei
/16
"Military analysts say reopening the Strait of Hormuz could require a ground operation to seize Iran’s coastline along the strategic waterway, a move that would significantly escalate the conflict and could lead to higher casualties for U.S. and allied forces, according to the Wall Street Journal."
~ Aaron Parnas
"It feels to me, however, that much of the media is preoccupied with how many things the US blows up on any given day and is less focused on the intricate, interconnected, downstream effects of the war. Trump proudly boasted on Wednesday that the US is self-sufficient in oil production. That’s great, but if Taiwan can’t make chips to run our computers, TVs, cars, and precision-guided missiles, having a lot of oil may be irrelevant."
"The media continues to focus on the disruption to oil supplies, but a bigger crisis may be looming in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. For technical reasons, it is difficult to stockpile LNG. For example, Taiwan is heavily dependent on LNG to produce semiconductors; LNG accounts for about 50% of Taiwan’s energy generation. Taiwan has a 100-day oil reserve but only an 11-day LNG supply."
~ Robrt Hubbell
"And yet – you guessed it – Donald Trump is going to keep doing it anyway, even in the face of mounting casualties on all sides of the conflict, the world economy on the brink, and gas and fertilizer prices surging, and increasingly disastrous poll numbers at home for this president."
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/12
"In recent days, two Trump advisers and two other sources briefed on the situation tell me, US officials have delivered another dire warning to our batshit crazy president: They’ve informed Trump and his lieutenants that, based on American intel, the Iranian regime at this time isn’t breaking, isn’t ready to fold on the war or stop retaliating," (continued in /11)
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/10
"In the run-up to launching this regional bloodbath, Trump’s advisers 'fully briefed and prepped' him on how Iran’s government would likely respond by acting to explode oil prices – and damage the markets and our economy – if he went ahead with the war. Trump privately downplayed those warnings. Then he did it anyway."
~ Asawin Suebsaeng
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/9
zeteo.com/p/us-intel-trump-ira…
First Draft – 💥 US Intel to Trump: Iran Isn’t Breaking
The president claims we’ve already ‘won’ in Iran, as his officials tell him we most definitely haven’t; Ohioans protest Trump; and a former ICE lawyer (!) wants to replace Rep. Ilhan Omar in Congress.Asawin Suebsaeng (Zeteo)
"I suspect that Trump may realize deep down that his exercise in epic fury is nuts."
~ William Kristol
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/8
thebulwark.com/p/sing-goddess-…
Sing, Goddess, of the Fury of Trump!
The wartime president is focused on footwear.William Kristol (The Bulwark)
"He governs the country by a kind of manic coaxing which is at war with short-term memory and thrives on the ability to keep as many people fixated on the super dramatic crisis of the moment without remembering that it was preceded by an endless litany of other crises with similar branding."
~ Josh Marshall
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/7
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/b…
Borderline Personality Trump and the Uses of Press Myopia
Every president wants favorable press coverage. Most feel a surprising level of grievance when they don’t get it. Donald Trump is singular in using the powers…Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)
"Observers have spent two weeks trying to discern the 'aims' of Trump’s war on Iran, and therefore what might constitute a victory or defeat. His every bizarre utterance about his war 'plans' — including wildly conflicting declarations that Iran has surrendered and the war must be expanded to defeat the regime — immediately move markets."
~ David R. Lurie
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/5
publicnotice.co/p/trump-excurs…
Trump’s military excursion, into an abyss
The evident fact is that the president is nuts.David R. Lurie (Public Notice)
"If the road to Tehran required the sons and daughters of the billionaire & political class to march beside everyone else’s kids, would we still be there?"
~ Thom Hartmann
#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/4
hartmannreport.com/p/what-if-e…
What If Every Billionaire's and Senator’s Kid Could Be Sent to Fight in Iran?
If the road to Tehran required the sons and daughters of the billionaire & political class to march beside everyone else’s kids, would we still be there?Thom Hartmann (The Hartmann Report)
"In a puzzling social media post on Thursday, Trump wrote, 'The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” Who is the “we?” Yes, he and his billionaire buddies are making out like bandits, but most of the world will suffer mightily.
Here we are, nearly two weeks in, and what Americans know about this war comes down to this:"
#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #economy #prices #affordability
/29
"While the White House doesn’t seem to have a coherent plan to fight this war, or how to end it, Iran does: inflict economic, political, and military pain until Trump utters 'uncle.' They are doing a good job of it so far.
The Americans and Israelis continue to bomb Iran with no articulated endgame."
~ Dan Rather
"Trump posted on Truth Social today that Americans shouldn’t be concerned about high gas prices: 'The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.'
… The multi-national oil companies operating in the US make a lot of money. The average American gets screwed. Which pretty much sums up Trump and the Republican Party’s approach to the economy."
~ Ron Filipkowski
#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas
/27
meidasplus.com/p/today-in-poli…
Today in Politics, Bulletin 326. 3/12/26
… Trump posted on Truth Social today that Americans shouldn’t be concerned about high gas prices: “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.”Ron Filipkowski (Meidas+)
"Did he threaten an investigation? Did he ask how much responsibility Russia is ready to bear? Did he tell Putin there would be future consequences? Did Trump, you know, stand up to the man who’s helping kill his own people?
Another commander-in-chief would have. With Trump, however, there’s a sense he’s not responsible. When troops die, he seems unmoved by their sacrifice."
#Trump #Putin #Iran #Russia #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz
/25
"Around a quarter of the world’s oil passes through the strait. Iran’s new leader vowed to keep it shut. Oil prices are soaring.
With prices soaring, the Russians have taken in $7 billion in oil revenues in the last week and stand to take in more. …
When Trump talked to Putin on Monday, did he ask if intelligence or drones given by Russia to Iran led directly to any of those seven deaths [of US soldiers]?"
#Trump #Putin #Iran #Russia #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz
/24
"In addition to helping the Iranians kill American military personnel (seven have died and 140 have been injured since the start of the war, per the AP), the Russians are helping the Iranians choke off the global supply of oil at the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranians attacked three tankers Wednesday. They attacked three more today. They attacked a port in Oman. They forced ports in Iraq to close."
#Trump #Putin #Iran #Russia #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz
/23
"The Russians are now helping the Iranians in their war for survival against the United States, first by providing 'targeting information,' according to the Post, and second by providing 'specific advice on drone tactics,' according to CNN."
~ John Stoehr
#Trump #Putin #Iran #Russia #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz
/22
editorialboard.com/while-putin…
While Putin helps Iran kill Americans, Trump shrugs
The material outcome of their chumminess is no longer theoretical.John Stoehr (Editorial Board)
"While most combat operations have been undertaken by the US military, at considerable risk to US service members and costs borne by American taxpayers, the war was born, planned, and insisted upon by Israel, and its long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
"One prominent rationale for the Israeli-American attack on Iran is to bomb the country into friendliness to the US and Israel. ...
The real goals of Trump’s war cannot be found in his strategic vision, which is overshadowed, if it even exists, by a pinwheeling embrace of postures that serve his vanity and his short-term political interests."
~ Eli Clifton and Ian S. Lustick
#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/19
thenation.com/article/world/tr…
How the Israeli Tail Wags the American Dog | The Nation
The US attack on Iran may be less about American security than about the priorities of Israel’s government.Ricky D'Ambrose (The Nation)
"The President of the United States has engaged our country in a war for no discernible reason except distraction – and apparently because being at war can be cool and fun. Just like video games. ...
It’s all a game. It’s all a game. It’s all a game.
Until Game Over."
~ Keith Owens
wearespeaking.net/p/war-games-are-not-a-game
"Why has this relationship endured with such extraordinary durability for so long?
To answer that question requires looking beyond the ceremonial language of democracy and shared values that usually defines the alliance. It requires examining the historical forces that made the partnership possible—and the political structures that continue to sustain it."