Political Thread in memory of David Reid. (R.I.P.)

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Some ceasefire is this.
One hundred strikes in ten minutes. Twelve hours after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, Israel launched the deadliest single bombing campaign in Lebanon's history.
The Lebanese are calling it Black Wednesday.
The death toll is now over 300. More than 1,150 people injured. Buildings came down on top of people during the lunch hour, while children were leaving school, while workers were at a coffee roastery on a street that had nothing to do with any military target.
Mourners at a funeral in the Beqaa Valley were bombed. Entire families pulled from rubble.
Pakistan's prime minister said the ceasefire explicitly covered Lebanon. Iran said the same. CBS News reported that Trump initially agreed Lebanon was included, then got on the phone with Benjamin Netanyahu, and his position changed.
Trump signed off on a ceasefire, Netanyahu called, and Lebanon got bombed anyway.
Israel has now destroyed seven bridges over the Litani River, severing southern Lebanon from the rest of the country. Over a million people have been displaced, one in five Lebanese residents.
The World Food Programme said this week what's happening is no longer just a displacement crisis. It is becoming a food security crisis. Eighty percent of markets in southern Lebanon have shut down.
A WFP convoy this week took fifteen hours to complete a journey that normally takes two. Hospitals are running low on insulin. Dialysis supplies. Surgical materials. Blood products. The WHO warned they may run out within days.
Since March 2nd, Israel has killed more than 1,530 people in Lebanon. At least 130 of them were children. Over 57 healthcare workers have been killed, in attacks on ambulances, on Civil Defense centers, on hospitals.
Human Rights Watch documented these attacks and found no evidence any of those facilities were being used for military purposes.
The ceasefire happened. Lebanon wasn't in it. Three hundred people died the same day the deal was announced.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

"The second coming of Trump has been accompanied by the creeping acknowledgement that he might either be mad or senile," "And as things fall apart in his mind, so anarchy is loosed upon the rest of the world."

"'Mad' and 'senile' may not be precise medical terms, but pick your own symptoms," Rusbridger wrote. "Even his most fervent supporters can no longer hide their disquiet at his impulsivity, malignant narcissism and erratic volatility. All but the wilfully blind recoil from the deranged stream of consciousness that spews from his social media accounts at all times of day and night."

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Actions have consequences:
BREAKING NEWS: UAE billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor unleashes a BLISTERING viral attack on Trump for starting another disastrous Middle East war: "Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with Iran?"
This is an absolute must-read...
"And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision?" he continued in his X post. "Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself!"
Middle East Eye describes Al Habtoor as "one of the UAE’s top businessmen." Clearly, he's terrified of this expanding war dragging the entire region into chaos.
"The peoples of this region have the right to ask as well: Was this your decision alone? Or did it come as a result of pressures from #Netanyahu and his government? " he asked.
The answer, of course, is that this conflict serves only Israel's interests. They have long wanted this war with Iran and Marco Rubio admitted that the Trump administration attacked because they thought Israel was going to attack and were afraid of retaliation against American forces.
"You have placed the countries of the #GulfCooperationCouncil and the Arab countries at the heart of a danger they did not choose," Al Habtoor continued. "Thank God, we are strong and capable of defending ourselves, and we have armies and defenses that protect our homelands, but the question remains: Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield?
"For before the ink has dried on the #BoardOfPeace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that endangers the entire region. So where did those initiatives go? And what is the fate of the commitments made in the name of peace?"
"Most of the funding proposed in those initiatives came from the countries of the region themselves, and from Arab Gulf countries that contributed billions of dollars on the basis of supporting stability and development. And these countries have the right to ask today: Where did this money go? And are we funding peace initiatives or funding a war that exposes us to danger?" he continued.
"More dangerous than that, your decision does not threaten only the peoples of the region, but also reaches the American people whom you promised peace and prosperity. And here they are today, finding themselves in a war funded from their money and taxes, with costs ranging, according to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), between 40-65 billion dollars for direct military operations, and could reach 210 billion dollars including economic impacts and indirect losses if it lasts four to five weeks, not to mention the sacrifice of Americans themselves in a war in which they have neither camel nor she-camel."
"You have even broken your promises not to get involved in wars and to focus only on America and put it at the top of your priorities, as you ordered foreign military interventions during your second term that included seven countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, and Venezuela, in addition to naval operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. You directed more than 658 foreign airstrikes in your first year in office, which equals the total strikes in Biden's entire term, for which you directed your arrows of criticism for involving the United States in foreign wars."
"Your Excellency the President, these numbers have severely reflected on your approval ratings among Americans, which have declined since your inauguration for the second term, by about 9% in just 400 days."
"These numbers say something clear: Even within #TheUnitedStates, there is growing concern about being dragged into a new war, and about exposing the lives of Americans, their economy, and their future to unnecessary risks."
"True leadership is not measured by war decisions, but by wisdom, respect for others, and pushing toward achieving peace. And if these initiatives were launched in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability," Al Habtoor concluded, tagging Donald Trump's X account.
The billionaire is clearly throwing everything that he can think of at this catastrophe in the hopes of convincing Trump to back off. But he's absolutely right on all of his points. Trump has now unilaterally plunged the Middle East into blood-soaked chaos, his approval rate is cratering, and the United States stands to gain nothing from this war. This will go down as possibly the worst decision ever made by an American president.

[sinkov]

You've been sucked in again mon ami, you're the most gullible sap I've ever known. Your 'Breaking News' was actually posted on March 5th over FIVE WEEKS ago and was pulled a couple of days after. FFS, why are you posting FIVE WEEKS OLD Lefty drivel ? Can we have some up to date Lefty drivel please ?

[The Bedlington Terrier]

You've been sucked in again mon ami, you're the most gullible sap I've ever known. Your 'Breaking News' was actually posted on March 5th over FIVE WEEKS ago and was pulled a couple of days after. FFS, why are you posting FIVE WEEKS OLD Lefty drivel ? Can we have some up to date Lefty drivel please ?

It's relevant mon ami, the despotic the Evil Orange Emperor of the New World Order and his Polish Jewish gimp Benny the Pole have finally awakened a new political conscience. Why does the Trump administration feel the need to bomb everywhere?

[sinkov]

It's relevant mon ami, the despotic the Evil Orange Emperor of the New World Order and his Polish Jewish gimp Benny the Pole have finally awakened a new political conscience. Why does the Trump administration feel the need to bomb everywhere?

Don't be so naive mon ami, have you never heard of Northrop, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing etc ? Someone has to feed the beast.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

OKAY then mon ami. BREAKING NEWS: Despite the White House administrations best efforts to influence another country's democratic process Peter Magyar's TISZA party have ousted FIDESZ.

The far right are on their way out, thank pfhuck for that.

[sinkov]

While the FAKE NEWS media outlets are saying Trump is considering limited strikes on Iran, a quick check on FlightRadar last night showed a constant stream of C17s heading across Europe towards the Gulf, almost too many to count.

Work it out for yourself.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

While the FAKE NEWS media outlets are saying Trump is considering limited strikes on Iran, a quick check on FlightRadar last night showed a constant stream of C17s heading across Europe towards the Gulf, almost too many to count.

Work it out for yourself.

The Yanks never learn mon ami. The lessons that should have been learned from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are forgotten.

It's beyond sad.

[sinkov]

The Yanks never learn mon ami. The lessons that should have been learned from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are forgotten.

It's beyond sad.

I think they've learnt quickly, there's not much left of Iran to bomb, despite their best Black Knight impressions, and the one card the poor buggers had left to play, closing Hormuz, they've simply taken it off them and played it themselves.

It couldn't have gone any better if you, me and CiB had been running the show.