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"Trump might want to quit, but the Iranians are setting things up so he will have to ask for their permission.
When TACO isn't allowed to TACO, you have a forever war.:
~ John Stoehr
"To lubricate global supply, Washington has waived sanctions on India buying Russian oil. A sustained barrage of Iranian missiles targeting US allies in the Gulf depletes stocks of defensive systems that Ukraine also needs. …
Making Trump feel great is the undoing of American greatness. In arrogating power to himself, the president undermines the foundations of his country’s strength in the world and damages its allies."
"A tacit deal has come into view. Forget freedom. Iranians can still be repressed as long as shipping through the strait of Hormuz is unmolested.
The biggest non-combatant beneficiary from Operation Epic Fury has been Vladimir Putin. His country’s ailing economy gets revenue relief from higher energy prices."
"Waging war with no fixed purpose means victory can be declared at any point. Donald Trump’s motives for launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran were incoherent at the start. They are no clearer now that he has declared it 'very complete, pretty much'. …
Flashing red lights on the financial dashboard were surely the prompt for Trump’s pledge to bring his military adventure to a swift conclusion."
~ Rafael Behr
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Trump’s ego-trip war has collided with economic reality but he can’t undo the damage
The US president’s doctrine of lawless military adventures harms American interests and boosts Vladimir Putin, says Guardian columnist Rafael BehrRafael Behr (The Guardian)
"A majority of likely American voters believe that Donald Trump launched the war on Iran at least in part to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that had engulfed his presidency, according to a new survey.
The survey found that a solid 52-40 majority of voters agreed with the statement, with the other 8% saying they were unsure as to his motivations."
~ Ryan Grim
zeteo.com/p/new-poll-most-amer…
NEW POLL: Most Americans Believe Trump Launched Iran War to Cover Up Epstein Scandal
An exclusive Drop Site/Zeteo/Data For Progress survey also finds likely American voters are split on whether Trump is more responsive to the American people or to Israel.Ryan Grim (Zeteo)
"Meanwhile, the American military is now telling the New York Times that, far from collapsing, the Iranian regime is adapting to the Israeli–American onslaught and finding our weaknesses."
#Trump #Hegseth #JaredKushner #SteveWitkoff #Netanyahu #Iran #war
/23
"Iran has so far achieved its two most important strategic objectives. The regime has passed its first continuity test, transferring power from one supreme leader to the next. And it has closed the strait, setting in motion a cascade of economic consequences which will sap America’s political will to continue fighting."
#Trump #Hegseth #JaredKushner #SteveWitkoff #Netanyahu #Iran #war
/22
"It should not surprise you that the same team which invited a reporter into a Signal chat about war plans a few months ago have been blindsided by the Iranian regime’s resilience.
After less than two weeks, regime change is off the table and even the Israeli military understands that the Islamic Republic isn’t going away anytime soon."
~ Jonathan V. Last
#Trump #Hegseth #JaredKushner #SteveWitkoff #Netanyahu #Iran #war
/21
thebulwark.com/p/dire-straits-…
Dire Straits: The Iran War Is Run by Idiots
Also: Americans don't care about process. So they will get corruption.Jonathan V. Last (The Bulwark)
"Trump went to war with Iran because Jared Kushner is a fool. Donald Trump’s top two negotiators have no clue what they’re doing."
~ Edith Olmsted
#Trump #JaredKushner #SteveWitkoff #Iran #war
/20
"We are now getting reporting that Witkoff and Kushner told the President on the day before Trump launched his war that Iran was not serious about negotiating over their nuclear program, and it was time to launch the war."
~ Simon Rosenberg
#Trump #JaredKushner #SteveWitkoff #Iran #war
/19
hopiumchronicles.com/p/inflati…
Inflation Is Still Running Way Too Hot, Idiots And Fools Are Running Our Country, Thune Stuffs Trump On Save
A campaign to force Witkoff and Kushner from government must be waged now......Simon Rosenberg (Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg)
"Plus, for a variety of reasons, the US is less exposed to this crisis than much of the rest of the world, so measuring it in terms of the impact on November’s midterms in the US won’t really measure its full effect.
The longer this crisis goes on, the longer it’ll take to recover from it."
"Various kinds of petroleum products, like jet fuel and diesel, are being affected more quickly than others, and both of those create immediate downstream problems in the transportation industry. Then there are the other impacts of Iran lobbing cheap drones at its Arab neighbors, on flights connecting through airports still being targeted, on tourism, on data centers."
"In an 1100-word piece weighing the energy shock Trump’s illegal war on Iran has caused in terms of White House worries (and so implicitly, politics), Politico grants anonymity to someone describing what is happening to the oil market as 'little gyrations.' …
There are far more products that are being choked off in Hormuz: fertilizer (and food products coming into the Gulf), aluminum, helium, sulphur."
~ Marcy Wheeler
#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas
/15
emptywheel.net/2026/03/11/blip…
Blips and Gyrations: The Market Thinking of Trump's Incompetent Advisors - emptywheel
The damage that Trump's flailing and his advisors' ignorance are doing to the rest of the world will forever change how US power is viewed.emptywheel
"Megyn Kelly on Graham: 'This guy is a homicidal maniac with a bloodlust that is insatiable. He should not be allowed 20 feet of the President’s orbit.'"
~ Ron Filipkowski
#Trump #LindseyGraham #Iran #war #Islam #HolyWar #jihad #ChristianNationalism
/14
meidasplus.com/p/today-in-poli…
Today in Politics, Bulletin 325. 3/10/26
… Pete Hegseth gave a press conference this morning where he continued to call almost exclusively on luminaries from right-wing outlets like Gateway Pundit and OAN.Ron Filipkowski (Meidas+)
"Look how the Great Satan is slaughtering our children &laughing about it.
Hegseth’s videos will be useful to Iran as the IRGC exploits nationalistic and religious sentiments among terrorists. Iran will use Hegseth’s hubris against us, and the danger will not be limited to war zones. As we learned on 9-11, jihadist groups are the main perpetrators of suicide attacks worldwide, & Hegseth is goading them into action."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #Islam #HolyWar #jihad #ChristianNationalism
/13
"These Muslim forces believe 'jihad,' or armed struggle, is the highest form of religious devotion, one that offers a guaranteed path to salvation and atonement, which the IRGC reinforces through steady indoctrination. The IRGC will likely use Hegseth’s rhetoric and video game posts as recruitment tools:"
~ Sabrina Haake
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #Islam #HolyWar #jihad #ChristianNationalism
/12
sabrinahaake.substack.com/p/he…
Hegseth's immaturity will be useful to Iran
A base near Erbil, Iraq, on February 12, 2026.Sabrina Haake (The Haake Take)
“Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor — it was, quite honestly, a disaster — is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states,” Trump boasted minutes into his nearly-two-hour address, framing his party’s message heading into the midterms.=
Two weeks later, his war with Iran threatens to undermine that pitch."
~ Hannah Knowles
"The conflict has sent the price of gasoline surging, and it reached $3.48 a gallon on Monday, nearly a 17 percent increase since the war began on Feb. 28. World leaders are preparing for far-reaching repercussions, and in private some Republicans lawmakers are growing resigned to the harsh political realities that confront the party in power when prices rise sharply."
~ Tyler Pager
"Oil went up dramatically over the weekend. I believe it briefly got up to over $110 a barrel and then it fell yesterday when Trump made these statements that the war is pretty much over we’re gonna be wrapping it up, and in anticipation of G7 nations releasing oil reserves. Now today it’s continuing that and it’s fallen significantly below $80, so investors think that Trump is going full taco here…."
~ Josh Marshall
talkingpointsmemo.com/the-back…
Unpacking Trump’s Rhetorical Flip-Flops on Iran
Yesterday, I wrote that President Trump was moonwalking out of his war in Iran. Then later that afternoon and last night he made a series of highly bellicose…Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)
"Oil commodities have fallen and the stock market has risen, as Wall Street believes that Trump’s Iran 'excursion' is short lived. But the problem is, Trump's word means nothing."
~ Emily Singer
dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/10…
What Wall Street is getting wrong about Trump’s oil crisis
Wall Street has had its head in the sand through the entirety of President Donald Trump's second term, whistling past the graveyard as Trump's tariffs throttled the job market ...Daily Kos
"Public opinion will quickly whiplash Trump. The first $100 tank of gas will be a shock. The second may be a financial crisis for many Americans. And the third will have Americans demanding that Trump stop the war now—something easier said than done, and something that Trump failed to consider when he gave the order to start the war."
~ Robert B. Hubbell
"So far, polls have found that most Americans oppose the Iran attacks. Support ranges from 27 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll to 50 percent in a Fox News poll. The wide variation suggests that public opinion is still taking shape as more Americans learn details of the attacks and the aftermath."
~ Lily Boyce and Ruth Igielnik
"Trump’s war against Iran is uniquely unpopular among US military actions of the past century."
~ Charles Walldorf
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/tru…
Trump’s War Against Iran Is Uniquely Unpopular Among US Military Actions of the Past Century
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. It’s clear that regime change is…Charles Walldorf (TPM - Talking Points Memo)
"Trump started a war just because he thought he could — without asking Congress for authorization or building any public consent.
It’s one of the most irresponsible decisions made by a U.S. president in modern history."
~ Dan Pfeiffer
messageboxnews.com/p/no-democr…
No Democrat Should Give Trump a Blank Check for His Illegal War
The case for opposing funding for Trump's War in IranDan Pfeiffer (The Message Box)
"Everything I was taught, everything I came to believe has more or less been turned upside down. Politicalization of intelligence, the notion that there is no national interest today. It's now been conflated and completely subordinated to Donald Trump's personal whims, fancies, his financial interests, the amount of self-dealing. He's deployed his son-in-law and his best friend."
~ Aaron David Miller
#Trump #Iran #war #JaredKushner
/2
contrariannews.org/p/why-donal…
Why Donald Trump Went to War
'Everything I was taught, everything I came to believe, has more or less been turned upside down'The Contrarian
"Screw negotiations. Screw soft power like USAID and VOA. Screw partnering with allies. What matters most to them is making the biggest booms. ...
If you can’t answer 'What is my ultimate goal?' and estimate the cost of achieving it, then all the big booms are useless if not counterproductive."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #PerformativeMasculinity #violence #arrogance #hubris
/39
"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)