Let this moment sink in.

[RandySF]

A president just deliberately and transparently attempted to start a war for political gain.

[BigmanPigman]

1. Is anyone surprised? Hell NO!

[Volaris]

15. I'm not, an this needs to be resisted

Our dem candidates need to not only denounce this, but state publicly that the People of Iran are NOT our enemy, and that they support fully the Obama Nuclear Agreement.

Its trump and the GOP that need another Land War in Asia in order to keep themselves in power...

And their pResident from being impeached.

Oh wait...too late.

[rockfordfile]

42. Nope lots of folks saw it coming. Trump's desperate. A rat backed into a corner.

[Captain Zero]

2. No attempted to it, he has done it.

He has started a war for his own political gain.

[sheshe2]

3. With no congressional permission.

[Harker]

5. That might be gone forever. n/t

[sheshe2]

7. Yep.

Along with term limits.

[rickyhall]

4. Oh, boy, another useless war brought to you by the Repugs as usual.

[TygrBright]

6. It's a proud GOP tradition. n/t

[Initech]

8. Yup, it's gonna get ugly.

[vapor2]

9. Since he failed in getting dirt on Biden

this was clearly an option. HE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE ASAP.

[SCVDem]

10. This was an assassination!

Not legal!

[greytdemocrat]

11. I'm sorry

but that is incorrect.

You are letting your hate of Trump color
your judgement.

His action, although extreme, took out
a POS that will not be missed.

My 2 cents anyway.

[Demsrule86]

16. Iran is a sovereign country so you are wrong.

[Lexee]

20. But it was on Iraq soil.

I am looking for information, not an argument. I do not know enough about this situation. This man was in Iraq, not Iran. So that does make it a little different, than attack a country. I get that this was a very special man to Iran and the middle east and there will be repercussions.

[herding cats]

23. Khashoggi was murdered in Turkey. Are the Saudi's any less responsible?

Now imagine a nation like Iraq, who don't want us there and who we've devastated with war. We just flexed our might over them again and killed a person who was there with their permission. Then imagine a nation like Iran looking to exploit any foolish move we make in the region.

Put all that together with the importance of the man they just murdered. It begins to make sense why this is seen as a massive escalation of unrest, and potential war, against the US in the region.

[Lexee]

24. Thanks for that information. I didn't know that he was there with Iraq ok.

But you put it into perspective well. The poster I had responded to had a bit different wording. But I do agree with what you are stating. We will see what happens. Not much from Pelosi, just that they were not talked to.

[herding cats]

25. Thank you for your kind words.

Iraq isn't the US's perfect puppet. Many there have a ideological relationship with Iran. The US doesn't approve, of course. Yet the US is directly responsible for the destabilization of the region. It's extremely complicated.

It's truly a geopolitical mess and treading in it requires more tact than this administration seems to possess. I've worried since Trump's election how the region might be exploited by him and his minions. Needless to say I'm not feeling comfortable tonight.

[Lexee]

26. I hear you.

Can't really be comforted that the military will be able to contain, because I think it has been proven that they do not have the grasp they did have, with Trump as a President.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Iraqi PM says U.S. killing of Iranian commander will 'light the fuse' of war

“The assassination of an Iraqi military commander who holds an official position is considered aggression on Iraq ... and the liquidation of leading Iraqi figures or those from a brotherly country on Iraqi soil is a massive breach of sovereignty,” Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said.

Abdul Mahdi, whose government has the backing of Iran, said in a statement the U.S. air strike was “a dangerous escalation that will light the fuse of a destructive war in Iraq, the region, and the world.”

The prime minister resigned in November due to anti-government protests, but remains in office in a caretaker capacity. At least 450 people have been killed in the unrest, some which was driven by anger at Iranian influence in Iraq.

The prime minister said the U.S. strike violated terms of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, adding that U.S. troops were exclusively in Iraq to train Iraqi security forces and fight Islamic State within the framework of a global coalition.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-security-blast-primeminister/iraqi-pm-says-u-s-killing-of-iranian-commander-will-light-the-fuse-of-war-idUKKBN1Z20R7

It's not 'but' it was Iraq soil, it's 'and' it was on Iraq soil.

[dawg day]

35. Do you think the Iraqis were asked?

I don't know, but this being in Iraq doesn't mean there was no violation. And as for him being a POS, there are many of those out there, and Trump's in love with several of them. We really can't go around assassinating generals and expect "peeeesssse" as Trump calls it.

[herding cats]

18. True. But it's not our place, nor our right to have done this.

The potential repercussions out weigh any perceived benefit here. We're supposed to be a nation of laws, not just when it suits us, but always.

This was a deliberate action to try and provoke an avoidable war. This is what happens when we have zero diplomacy on a national level.

My 2 cents.

[RandySF]

19. Don't have to like a guy to call a political ploy for what it is.

[kurtcagle]

27. The distinction here is important

The closest analogy that I can give would be if Donald Rumsfeld, while Secretary of Defense, had been deliberately assassinated by an Iranian missile while in Iraq. Rumsfeld, it could be argued, caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, some Iranian. He could be labeled an American terrorist by the Iranians. Personally, I wouldn't have missed him. However, because Rumsfeld was a senior representative of the United States, his death would have been considered by international convention an attack upon the United States, and most of the global community would have come to the defense of the US (albeit reluctantly).

This is one reason that diplomats enjoy diplomatic immunity - they are considered to be representatives of their respective countries. What Trump did was a deliberate attack by the United States upon Iran. This was made even worse because Trump unilaterally abrogated a peace treaty that both the US and Iran had signed. There is no question that the US is the aggressor here.

What may very well happen because of this is that countries around the world will start treating the United States like a rogue state incapable of keeping its word. Its credit rating will continue to decline because countries will conclude that it is too likely to become aggressive. Its moral authority will also continue to erode. Trump's little stunt will all but guarantee that we will be in a recession by the end of this year, and this is even before we start considering the fact that as a country we are not ready for the kind of asymmetric warfare that is about to descend.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

32. K&R. Thanks for those clear, factual perspectives.

KY............

[RandiFan1290]

33. As usual

You are wrong

[rockfordfile]

41. Trump is desperate. this was clearly attempt to change the impeachment narrative.

[KPN]

12. Yup. And the media refuses to make that point,

even as just supposition or possibility. The closest they’ve come from what I’ve seen is: why now? Connect the dots media!

[czarjak]

13. Fodder...

Need fodder! Step right up.

[Skittles]

14. doing the exact same thing he claimed Obama would do

that pathetic fascist fuck is ALL about projection

[smirkymonkey]

46. Exactly!

The stupid fuck has never had an original thought in his life. Everything he does is a reaction to an insult or a feeling he has had. He is the most pathetic, idiotic human being to have ever walked the face of the earth. More than anything, I want karma to catch up with him a hundredfold.

[Grokenstein]

17. "He's gonna shake up the system, y'all!!"

"Burn it all down and start from scratch" may sound awesome to a cosplay 'radical' table-flipper* but when the missiles start flying and the bloody consequences of rainbow-chasing start popping up on the TV it starts to lose its cachet.

*posting that was particularly bad timing in light of, y'know, Australia.

[not fooled]

21. Oh, yeah

And all those maggots who support red don better be lined up at the enlistment offices tomorrow to go die for their idol.

If red don hadn't pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal--because Obama--we wouldn't be here.





Right on cue: red don needs distraction from impeachment and his crimes? Check. Needs to be a wartime prezident? Check. Needs to appeal to the PNAC crowd by starting a war with Iran? Check. Needs to prop up the MIC? Check. There's probably a few more evil motives I've left out.

I just hope 'Murican voters see through this desperate stunt and vote his ass out. But my hopes are not high.

[sarge43]

40. We have to destroy the village to save it.

That always works out well

[Doreen]

22. Actually, it surprises me a lot.

I thought he was going to try and start a war way before this. Not only for his political gain but there is more than likely a huge personal financial gain in there for him also.

Just saying.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

29. WTF!! TIME TO INVOKE THE 25TH AMENDMENT!!

[malaise]

30. His visit to Iraq was just days after his impeachment

Just saying

[dawg day]

36. Pence won't do it...

And the cabinet is full of acting secretaries... are they even eligible to vote on the 25th?

[murielm99]

47. I have wondered about their eligibility

on the 25th for the last year or so. I have never found a satisfactory answer.

[Jamastiene]

31. Happy to know there are still people here who can see this for what it really is.

I've been gone a while. So, this is good to see. While everyone else panics and we start hearing that we cannot criticize a president at war, it is good to know there are others of us who see it for what it really is. It is wag the dog.

[VOX]

34. How long before 45 starts in with the "I'm a war president" bullshit?

Three hours? Four hours? You know it’s coming.

[femmocrat]

37. It worked for bush.

It’s what they do to save their own scrawny necks.

[Stargleamer]

38. It was always his backup plan

see

Link to tweet

and this

Link to tweet

[McKim]

39. This is a Great Reason to Support IMPEACHMENT!!!

This extrajudicial assassination is a great reason to support IMPEACHMENT. He did not even have the courtesy of informing Democrats in congress!!! We can no longer risk leaving the presidency in the hands of this mentally ill reckless man!

[spanone]

43. K&R...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[bucolic_frolic]

44. A Pompeo said, there was an imminent threat.

Let's call it the impeachment of Donald J. Trump.

[Stuart G]

45. Well said...K and R nt

[kimbutgar]

48. It is so obvious he did it to get impeachment off the news

So now wait for the right wing narrative that the Democrats need to forget about passing the trial to the senate because you can’t go after a war president. It is so unpatriotic in right wing world. You know they will fall in line instead of feeling deceived by the grifter mf45 who said no wars.