For those of you who didn't live through the invasion of Iraq, here is what is about to happen

[CousinIT]

UNROLLED TWITTER THREAD: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1213110049872023552.html

ORIGINAL TWITTER THREAD:

Link to tweet

For those of you who didn’t live through the invasion of Iraq, here is what is about to happen:

1. There will be a MASSIVE propaganda push (by Republicans) to frame this act of war as a moral necessity and to act like anyone who opposes it is working for “the enemy.”
2. The propaganda push will include enormous appeals to American militarism disguised as patriotism: flag pins, flyovers, reverent cries to “support the troops,” as if the greatest support you can offer the troops isn’t to keep them from dying for no good reason.
3. Over time, this vague appeal to patriotism and militarism will start to have a specific aim, an invasion, bombings, the takeover of oil fields, the support of proxy wars. These aims will magically align with the financial interests of multi-national corporations.
4. The people in harm's way -- innocent civilians in Iran, mostly -- will be framed and/or dehumanized as "the enemy." This will include everything from racial slurs to endless talking points about their "blood thirst" their "hatred of freedom and Americans." It's utter bullshit.
5. When the bombs start to drop, all of the reporting will be about the small number of US troop casualties.

For example, most Americans know roughly 4,000 US troops died in Iraq.

What most Americans don't know is over 200,000 Iraqi CIVILIANS were killed.
6. This horror too, this murder of children, of families, the bombing of weddings & birthdays, this destruction of entire regions, will be swept up under the guise of American militarism (disguised as patriotism), of "supporting our troops," who are "fighting for our freedom."
7. In the end, and there will be an end -- this isn't the beginning of World War III, this is asymmetrical slaughter -- the vast number of dead will be people who don't even know why the war was waged, they will be mostly young, innocent and brown-skinned. That is the ugly truth.
8. And even the US troops -- most of whom signed up out of a genuine desire to protect their country -- they will be abandoned too as the people who waged the war, who made such big promises of "support for the troops" will CUT veterans medical care, forget the dead and move on.
9. And the only people who will have benefitted will be those massive multi-national corporations -- oil and weapons manufacturers mostly -- who rushed in to profit off the death of all those innocent brown-skinned children lying in the rubble.
10. A couple more things:

The media (especially cable news) LOVES a war. They love the spectacle, the drama. It means big profits. It means eyeballs on screens. It makes stars of their anchors.

They will ask the wrong questions, they will follow militaristic talking points.
11. Cable news will try to EMPOWER the warmongers, by accepting rumors of impending harm to Americans as real news, by making stars of the "brutal enemies" handed to them by the Republican propaganda machine. You can practically see them salivate over the possibility for profit.
12. What will get lost in all this bickering and drama and tragedy and spectacle is the fact that all of this was AVOIDABLE.

That Trump inherited a reigned-in Iran, that he set in motion an escalation to war because he thought it would benefit HIM.

[Clash City Rocker]

1. And even though we can see this coming, there's probably nothing we can do to stop it

[DemocracyMouse]

87. There is plenty to f'n stop it. History has always been pushed

... by public sentiment. Get out there and tell everyone you can what the score is.

As for scores, I heard today that 20,000 US citizens have died in the Middle East since we went after fictional weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

This Trump gambit, intended to distract from the impeachment and artificially render a draft dodger into a hero, is way more obvious to most Americans than the WMD gambit of the Bush Republicans.

Long live the Democrats and democracy. (May the Democrats stop supporting grotesque war funding like they did again last year.)

[certainot]

110. protest the 87 universities that support 260 limbaugh stations

and their whole bullshit machine will fall apart

WHAT IS REPUBLICON RADIO WORTH?
If the GOP would pay $1000 for a 1 hour infomercial:
x 15 hours/day = $15,000/station/day
x 5 days = $75,000/station/week

ALABAMA 8 $600,000 Auburn 3, Alabama 2, Southern Alabama 2, Troy 1
ARIZONA 1 $75,000 Arizona St. 1
ARKANSAS 3 $225,000 Arkansas 3
CALIFORNIA 5 $375,000 San Jose State 2, USC 2, Fresno St. 1
COLORADO 3 $225,000 Air Force 2, Colorado State 1
CONNECTICUT 1 $75,000 Connecticut 1
FLORIDA 20 $1,500,000 Florida 10, Florida St. 4 Miami 2, South Florida 2, Central Florida 2
GEORGIA 14 $1,050,000 Georgia 7, Georgia Tech 5, Georgia Southern 2
IDAHO 7 $525,000 Boise St. 4, Idaho 3
ILLINOIS 7 $525,000 Illinois 7
INDIANA 11 $825,000 Notre Dame 6, Purdue 4, Indiana 1
IOWA 5 $375,000 Iowa 4, Iowa St. 1
KANSAS 4 $300,000 Kansas St. 2, Kansas 1, Wichita St. 1
KENTUCKY 3 $225,000 Louisville 2, Kentucky 1
LOUSIANA 3 $225,000 LSU 2, La.-Monroe 1
MARYLAND 2 $150,000 Maryland 2
MASSACHUSETTS 1 $75,000 Boston College 1
MICHIGAN 19 $1,425,000 Michigan St. 11, Michigan 7, Western Michigan 1
MINNESOTA 4 $300,000 Minnesota 4
MISSISSIPPI 6 $450,000 Mississippi St. 3, Mississippi 2, Southern Miss 1
MISSOURI 6 $450,000 Missouri 6
NEBRASKA 6 $450,000 Nebraska 6
NEVADA 1 $75,000 Nevada 1
NEW JERSEY 2 $150,000 Rutgers 1, Seton Hall 1
NEW MEXICO 3 $225,000 New Mexico 2, New Mexico St. 1
NEW YORK 7 $525,000 Syracuse 6, Army 1
NORTH CAROLINA 16 $1,200,000 North Carolina 8, North Carolina State 3, Duke 3, East Carolina 2
OHIO 10 $750,000 Ohio St. 6, Toledo 1, Dayton 1, Bowling Green 1, Xavier 1
OKLAHOMA 5 $375,000 Oklahoma St. 3, Oklahoma 1, Oral Roberts 1
OREGON 12 $900,000 Oregon St. 7, Oregon 5
PENNSYLVANIA 14 $1,050,000 Penn St. 11, Pittsburgh 2, Temple 1
SOUTH CAROLINA 4 $300,000 South Carolina 2, Clemson 2
TENNESSEE 7 $525,000 Tennessee 4, Memphis 3
TEXAS 16 $1,200,000 Texas A&M 9, Texas Tech 4, Texas 1, Texas Christian 1, Baylor 1
UTAH 1 $75,000 Utah St. 1
VIRGINIA 6 $450,000 Virginia Tech 5, Virginia 1
WASHINGTON 6 $450,000 Washington 5, Washington St. 1
WEST VIRGINIA 2 $150,000 West Virginia 1, Marshall 1
WISCONSIN 3 $225,000 Wisconsin 3

WHAT IS REPUBLICON RADIO WORTH?
If the GOP would pay $1000 for a 1 hour infomercial:

x 15 hours/day = $15,000/station/day
x 5 days = $75,000/station/week
x 52 weeks =$3.9MIL/station/year
x 1200 stations = $18MIL/DAY
x 5 days/week = $90MIL/WEEK
x 52 weeks = $4.68BIL/YEAR
FREE
paid for by national and local advertisers

[FakeNoose]

117. Democrats should boycott Limbaugh's advertisers and sponsors

It has worked before in getting people off the air (Fox News) and it could send Limbaugh into retirement where he belongs.

[certainot]

124. artificial intelligence means boycotts are much easier and any significant such activism will

force the ad industry to apply market forces to political talk radio - and there will be a lot less RW stations

In recent years artificial intelligence makes it easier, faster, and cheaper to digitize, transcribe, and monitor talk radio by an order of magnitude. Advertisers can be listed and associated directly with content with little time and listening required. The small boycott effort that shook the radio advertising industry after Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke in 2012 (StopRush, FlushRush, etc) can be amplified significantly on local as well as national scale.

When the radio advertising industry catches up to this reality it will have to act preemptively to protect its clients from being associated with the hate and lies and global warming denial that dominates political content on those radio stations. It wants those tens of millions of listeners that those stations reach and will finally have to apply actual ‘market forces’ to political talk radio. As more of that content is digitized and studied the ad industry will have to give clients more control of where their ads are placed, rather than lose them to less toxic advertising mediums.

Unless they are located in very red areas, radio stations that used to be very predictable, valuable/FREE, and often dominant contributors of locally and nationally controlled Republican political messaging will have few options, depending on owner partisanship vs business interest. Options faced by station management/ownership include: 

----Increasing partisan subsidizing. What used to be free for the GOP will begin to cost. That will expose them as propaganda outlets to the important and often large casual and less partisan audience tuning in for traffic, news, weather, etc.

----Attempting to balance/democratize programming by including talkers from the other side of the political spectrum. Repeated lying will no longer go unchallenged. The whole purpose of creating and protecting a near-total monopoly was to maintain and reinforce the certitude that is so critical for selling lies and alternate reality, especially to authoritarians motivated by fear and uncertainty avoidance. Monopoly messaging also served to discourage listeners who might call local hosts to disagree.

----Switching to other programming altogether.

None of those options are good for Trump Republicans, but may appeal to Republicans wanting to reduce corruption and extremism in the GOP, as well as Putin’s influence in US politics.

[Eyeball_Kid]

2. Yep. n/t

[malaise]

3. This should have 500recs

one more

[Bettie]

50. It's Sunday morning...

give it some time!

Also, added one more.

[Skittles]

91. thanks....I just woke up!

yes INDEED

[Bettie]

93. Only at 220ish

so far.

But it should have all the recs!

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Who is going to play the role of Colin Powell?

What GWBII had in his favor is that people were willing to sacrifice their last shred of credibility with the public.

But Trump has no one that has any credibility.

And, who will play the role of the yellow cake?

[CentralMass]

38. Pompeous Arshole was on MTP selling it.

[42bambi]

5. Yep, this will be the same, just a different decade. We will

be sitting in our comfy, warm and safe TV chairs, watching the horror and feeling helpless - again! Many will protest, but as was the case in the Iraq war - the protests were meaningless to the Bush warmongering administration. Fear and disgust will overtake us - again. We had eight years of a kind and normal man who shared his sense of peace and empathy with us. Now, Trump has upended all the goodness and hard work that Obama had thoughtfully and patiently worked so long to achieve. Now it's all gone - I fear for our country, our troops, our freedom.

[Evolve Dammit]

101. Amen.

[Hoyt]

6. Don't think even trump would invade Iran. Air strikes, drones, blockades, sanctions, etc.,

are more likely, if we and Iran keep escalating things.

We should take advantage of Iraq's Parliament's vote and pack up and leave the region and oil.

[woundedkarma]

59. don't you believe it...

Trump will order a plan for taking the oil.

After the pentagon explains over and over that it can't be done and it will mean lots of casualties, they'll finally give him a plan that requires troops on the ground.

And trump will order them to execute that plan.

And then no matter whether we get rid of trump or not, we will be stuck with another war that looks a lot like the iraq war.

[Hoyt]

68. Won't happen, although I understand the mistrust of the Racist-in-Chief.

[Baked Potato]

7. Yep! Disaster Capitalism.... an American specialty.

Echoing you, the Media loves this shit. And they love Trump.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Put magnetic ribbons on your SUV

[erronis]

71. I was just thinking of all those ribbons when I read the headline. What a stupid display of ignoranc

that was back then.

Support Our Troops!
Except we bring them back dead, maimed, or suffering from PTSD.

[RVN VET71]

85. My all time favorite ribbon magnet said

"I support the Chinese guy who made this I Support Our Troops magnet".

[calimary]

120. I remember arguing with another mom, an avowed GOPer

about bush-cheney’s Iraq war. When the war started and I was about to head over to a big local protest, she practically begged me to put the flag out at our house “to support our trooooooooooops!” I snapped back (Fucking TIRED of arguing with her - like arguing with the fucking pavement in front of the fucking building) “the way we support our troops is NOT to send them off to be maimed and killed in a war that we’re being LIED INTO, and SHOULDN’T be fighting, against a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11!”

I never did get through to her. Except for once, by proxy. I think.

One of our arguments involved dick cheney’s alleged “service to his country”. I said he never served. That he was a chickenhawk of the first order and had hidden behind several deferments to stay out of Vietnam. I’d been keeping track of the news as an activist (and retired reporter/still ongoing news junkie). She’d heard the rantings of her limbaugh-loving brother-in-law.

We argued and argued. She held firm, no matter what I said and what sources I cited. It actually took a third mom (from her own same country-club-related social circles) stepping forward to say “no Jenny (not her real name), calimary’s right. cheney never served.” My debate opponent suddenly choked. That OTHER mom had more credibility than some dumb peacenik mom who didn’t hang with the country club set. And when that OTHER mom butted in to back the peacenik, she had no comeback. Just a very startled wide-eyes look suddenly washing over her face. She needed a moment to catch her breath, then nervously stammered “um - I’m getting wrong information here. I’m getting wrong information.” And I said yes, you are - who told you cheney served? Cuz he NEVER DID. Look it up.” The third mom nodded along with me. And my opponent stammered again - “my brother-in-law. I’m getting wrong information...”

And I reaffirmed “yes. You ARE getting wrong information. I wouldn’t lie to you.” She was visibly shaken by this. As I recall, that was the last time we engaged socially. Her kid eventually dropped out of the smarter-school activity we were all part of, and soon enough, our kids went on to higher levels of achievement there, while her kid probably pursued or was enrolled in something different. Maybe mom decided she didn’t like our crowd anymore and thought we were a bad influence.

Fine with me! I got tired of defending the truth again and again and again, to a closed-minded, unmovable, cemented-in limbaugh “believer”who never was willing to open her eyes to reality even just a little.

And I don’t know whatever happened to that family. Probably just kept on circulating in their comfortable, closed-minded, well-insulated republi-CON world. Some people simply can’t be reached. Some are so baked in that they’re unreachable. They just reject it flat-out if it doesn’t conform to their worldview.

One of the hardest things to do for many of us is to admit you were wrong. To realize, recognize, and accept it. Even when it’s the cold-light-of-day TRUTH. A lot of people can’t do that. Pride, maybe. Or face-saving. Or maybe the misguided view that if you just keep on believing something really really strongly, it’ll somehow magically become the truth. A lot of people can’t and/or don’t want to have to admit they were wrong, that their “strongly-held” beliefs or opinionators they trusted were wrong.

And even more people just simply don’t want to.

[erronis]

121. Wow! Thanks so much for that personal account. Too bad you/we have to battle with the stoopids

and the ones who won't/can't believe that what they've bought into is false.

We're seeing that ratcheted up much further now, I think.

[soldierant]

107. I remember this from some years ago.

Some things don't change.

(And it's still well done and very funny too.)

[keithbvadu2]

9. Moscow Mitch is already on the job.

Moscow Mitch is already on the job.

Mitch McConnell says members of Congress, who were not briefed on the Iran attack, should not criticize or comment on how things were executed until they receive a briefing from Trump, whenever that is supposed to happen.

Link to tweet

?ref_src=

[Scarsdale]

23. Was Moscow Mitch briefed before this?

Did Eric tRump call him, to let him know, I wonder. Seems the family was told, but not lawmakers. I see Dickless Cheney has surfaced AGAIN. Must smell wartime profits in the air. Bolton finally got the job done, eh?

[rickyhall]

46. A propaganda briefing, all lies.

Don't forget WMDs, missiles and drones reaching the US
And mushroom clouds...

[Docreed2003]

72. So Trump thinks he can isolate all Dems in Congress??

And Mitch is cool with that? Unfuckingbelievable the gall of these bastards

[UniteFightBack]

10. Except this isn't the Iraq war and it's now 2020 not 2003. 9/11 had just happened they were able

to sell this then. It's not going to work this time. The American people do not want conflict with Iran....they don't.

Dump just make his re-election that much harder.

[CousinIT]

13. I hope you're right.

[malaise]

90. I think the media and more importantly Dems aren't going to

let this be another lead up to the Iraq madness

[Cosmocat]

14. There is truth to this

agree that they bullied the country into Iraq when it was still dazed from 9-11.

But, since then on EVERY level they have been governing with no regard to public mandates.

We have has absolutely no firearm control regulation despite fairly significant support to do so.

They have relentlessly attacked health care with no mandate to do so.

They passed yet another boondoggle tax bill with on public support.

With gerrymandering, the electoral college and the country being stupid as shit to allow itself to prioritize stupid ass shit like transgenders (not saying THEY are stupid, just the whole bathroom idiocy), mexicans, etc. over actual REAL issue that effect us all, they have separated electoral impact on policy making.

I guess what I am saying, they don't give a shit what people outside of their zombie base think. They will gin their chumps up because LIBERALS and forge ahead with 40% support ...

[Farmer-Rick]

24. Look around you, who is getting rich off this?

They are the ones who orchestrated it.

[ChiTownDenny]

32. +1

Yup. The American people want out of the Middle East.
(Also reeks of "wag the dog".)

[pangaia]

37. The American people, to too great a degree, are too stupid and lazy.

[UniteFightBack]

54. This is true...but even the casual observers (I believe) ain't gonna have this. nt

[pangaia]

58. Ummm... let's agree to disagree and HOPE you are right....

[UniteFightBack]

61. Yes lets see some polling about support for this purposeful Iran conflict. nt

[pangaia]

64. No PLEASE !Enpught polls...

Oh, I thought you meant heree at DU.

[Cosmocat]

73. Stupid as $hit

and getting worse every day.

Harder and harder to see how we pull out of it.

Our 35-40% gets it.

The 35-40% of Rs gleefully revel in being stupid.

The "middle" 20-30% are stuck on "they are both the same."

Frankly, the other 55-70% should have gotten it a LONG damn time ago, but if they don't get it now, it is pretty much a lost cause.

[Dream Girl]

62. I believe you are right. 911 was part of the build up and pivotal to support of the war

People were freaked out and sold a bill of goods about nukes and imminent attack. Not the same as all.

[bdamomma]

115. plus it smells

like Putin had a hand on this, he's not saying much now about it is he? watching the US deteriorate into nothing.

Protests will happen. No one wants war with Iran.

Even the Iranians called tRump a terrorist wearing a suit. Yes, they got that right.

This is nothing but a costly distraction to kill and murder people to get this bastard re-elected again. It won't happen. I pray it won't happen.

[UniteFightBack]

123. Even Russia is not happy with the dotard...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2020/01/03/russia-says-iran-generals-killing-illegal/#20eee8c5ba63

[kskiska]

11. I recall Laura Bush pushing the airdrops of school supplies and candy

for Afghan schoolchildren. Also, President Bush asked school kids to send dollar bills to the WH for an Afghan school fund, but that plan went awry when white powder began to turn up in envelopes.

[PSPS]

12. Don't be silly

I don't mean you, necessarily, but this "Mikel Jollett" guy, whoever he is, is likely too young to remember. The Iraq invasion was 17 years ago.

Iraq's army was a joke
Iraq had no air force
Iraq had no Navy
Iraq had no WMD
Iraq had no means of repelling an invading force

Iran, on the other hand, has a modern well-trained army, air force and Navy. It also acts as a russian proxy here, so any confrontation would essentially be a war with russia. In other words, it isn't going to happen.

The way the media is wetting itself over such a prospect is really ridiculous and, even more remarkable, the way everyone is jumping on the "war is coming" bandwagon almost seems like everyone is really hoping there is a war.

[CousinIT]

17. Could be.

Do you believe Putin wanted Trump to do this, or advised him to do it? They just met a few days ago, I understand.

Or, is Trump just being dumbass, thoughtless, zero-planning, consequences-be-damned Trump?

[Farmer-Rick]

26. Putin gets higher prices for his oil because of this

He gets Iran and Shi'a coming to him for protection from the crazy US orange mass.

He gets something that kind of looks like a war to keep his puppet in power in the US.

He gets to stop on US democracy.

[pangaia]

41. That i believe.. especially--- "He gets to stop on US democracy."

As far as a "WAR," I don;t know.....

[Farmer-Rick]

47. Yeah, I hope not

[Cosmocat]

21. Eh ...

Your point relative to Iran vs Iraq is very accurate, not just its army but it has MUCH more support/proxies outside of its borders, a serious cyber operation, etc.

But, make no mistake, 45 won't hesitate to open up a massive air campaign against them, and Israel will GLADLY jump in on it.

The Putin thing ... the relationship this POS has with him is not linear. The fact is, if Putty was worried about this he would not have let him go as far as he has to this point.

[yardwork]

30. Read the whole twitter thread.

I agree with you that framing this now as a war is incorrect. But everything else in the twitter thread is correct.

[lunatica]

36. I think your opinion is valid

Though your obvious superior ability to see what will happen while inferring that everyone else is just gullible does rub against the grain a bit.

[woundedkarma]

65. yah but trump is in charge

Trump and moscow mitch.

What putin wants, putin gets.

And I've little doubt that putin wants the u.s. in a serious war with iran.

I imagine Russia will act in the same way they did in Syria. Openly opposing the U.S without actively fighting us. They will support Iran in whatever ways they see fit so long as it's Iranians who die in the fighting they will claim innocence. I wonder if they'll send "mercenaries" like they did in the Ukraine?

I don't want a war. I don't want people to die. I think this is where its headed though.

[Hoyt]

69. Exactly. We only invade those who really don't have means to fight back, like Iraq.

[PSPS]

75. Tell that to the survivors of Normandy

I understand the point you're making but it isn't really the issue here as I haven't heard anyone throw out the possibility of "invading Iran." That would simply be impossible to do without a worldwide coalition of allied countries and that's not happening. It would be just trump versus ... well, the world.

[Hoyt]

80. I've seen a bunch of posts about returning to the Draft, etc. I agree, no one is invading Iran, yet

some folks seem to have that reaction.

We don't need a Draft to fight a drone, missile, cyber war. And, I'm not convinced that will even happen now.

Fact is, we haven't fought a war of necessity since WWII.

[McKim]

15. Grateful for this Post

I am grateful for this post and I well remember the lead up to the war including mainstream media’s “Countdown Iraq” chant that played endlessly and just itching for the night of “Shock and Awe” the most obscene fireworks we saw that night as we cried in our beds at this household.

I would add one more justification that might be used. When all else fails the Neocon Warmongers drag out the excuse that they are invading to liberate those oppressed women in the Middle East.
You know when they start doing it for women, they are really desperate!

[lunatica]

42. Don't forget the earlier Bush I and the newborns in incubators being thrown

into the street in Kuwait. It turned out the witness was a young girl who belonged to one of those insanely rich families that would benefit by owning Saddam’s oil fields. The story of the incubator atrocities never got followed up for some reason.

[Evolve Dammit]

100. I had forgotten that. We are soo stupid.

[Richard D]

16. Plus

A strong possibility of a false-flag attack against the US.

[CousinIT]

18. !!!

[patphil]

19. If we do go to war with Iran, it will be the 3rd middle eastern war the Republicans have started.

Twice in Iraq, and perhaps now Iran.
Papa Bush started the first Iraqi war.
Baby Bush started the second.
Baby Trump may start the first Iranian war.

[lunatica]

43. Don't forget Afghanistan. That was a separate war.

[patphil]

89. Ok, make that 4 Republican wars.

[paleotn]

20. Nigerian yellow cake! Aluminum tubes!! AAAAAAAH!!!!!

And no one paid for this trillion dollar balderdash.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/31/who-lied-to-whom

[Alliepoo]

22. Absolutely the truth. Sickening.

[jayschool2013]

25. Speaking of profit

Those invested in the MIC will make huge profits, none of which will trickle down.

[llmart]

27. Even as far back as the first Iraq fiasco...

wherein Wolf Blitzer was absolutely orgasmic reporting on the bombs flying.

People sat around in their comfy living rooms watching it on TV as if it were an event to talk about and not about people being killed.

Also, there will be no media photos of caskets coming home with dead US soldiers.

[3Hotdogs]

95. Whatch'a got against the "Scud Stud?"

[llmart]

97. LOL

Can't stand him, and I'll never forget how I felt when I saw stupid people around me just giddy with the "show".

[NewJeffCT]

28. What I remember is that various polls

had 20-30% of Americans opposed to the Iraq War, but the media only gave about 5% of the airtime to talking heads that were opposed to the war.

[yardwork]

29. Either Americans wake up to the lies and propaganda or we're lost.

[Uncle Joe]

31. Excellent post!

Thanks for the thread CousinIT.

[pangaia]

33. " These aims will magically align with the financial interests of multi-national corporations."

YUP. That;s it in a nutshell.. and Russian empire building....


Thanks for the review.

Maybe now I won't have to see the movie.

[lunatica]

44. It's just a rerun anyway

[pangaia]

57. LOLOL!! WINNER !

"IRAQ/IRAN PART 3- REPUBLICANS STRIKE AGAIN !!!"

[malthaussen]

34. SSDD. n/t

[Traildogbob]

35. Already full force

Pompeo on every AM show, with orange mushroom spores all over his pie hole. Our last big threat was that of a mushroom cloud. Now the biggest threat to humanity is a mushroom Dick, and the scrotum is Fox Noise. Gonna need many more guns, NRA. Some will rake in cash like Cheney, many others will have soil raked over their gravesides. Feeling great again?

[cry baby]

39. The Chinese magnetic car sticker factories better gear up for

the “patriotic Americans” to buy at the 7-11 so that they can let everyone know that they “support the troops”.

We that oppose this war as we opposed the last one will be called traitors...and it will be a lot worse this time.

[meadowlander]

40. Bush greenlit extrajudicial detention and torture. What do you think Trump will do?

[lunatica]

49. He'll have the best black sites. People will say he's the best military

tactician ever!

[Vinca]

45. I don't think the media will pimp this the way they did Iraq. It will be covered, but I doubt it

will be the cheerleading as before.

[gordianot]

48. Trump desperation just who did not see this coming?

[AllaN01Bear]

51. weve had 3 prez distract and distract and distract when ever they got caught doing something bad.

gee , how deep will our debt go now? here goes another one .

[cos dem]

52. To this, I would add...

The first part of the conflict will be very photogenic and cause feel-good opinions in the cable news masses. Aerial bombing and rapid invasions provide the US population with a "can-do" feeling, and support will increase. Only over time, as the ineffectiveness of these measures becomes clear, and the fact that achieving actual stability in a region (especially a region where you are the root-cause of much of the instability to start with) is much, much harder than showing off military might, does it start to wear on people.

The only hope is that there's enough residual wariness over the long, drawn-out efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan that people won't get suckered in. But, the ability of cable news to package "the show" is unprecedented.

[DFW]

53. If there is one ray of hope, it is this:

Republicans are essentially cowards. They do not like to start fights with nations they know will shoot back.

Reagan attacked the Caribbean island of Grenada. That was about as risky as attacking Nantucket.

Bush I attacked Panama

Bush II attacked Iraq, but only because he believed Rumsfeld, who promised a cakewalk, and predicted "maybe six days, maybe six weeks, certainly not six months." Oops. Miscalculation combined with wishful thinking, not a change in strategy.

Iran won't "win" an invasion per se, but neither would we. We would find exactly zero allies beyond some Israeli moral support. There would be more Americans coming home in body bags before election day than there were during the whole Iraq adventure. Plus--there is a huge segment of Iranians, mostly young generation Iranians, that despise the mullahs, their regime, and their restrictions on social life. About the only thing that could silence a vibrant opposition would be a common enemy from outside.

What Nazi Luftwaffe boss Hermann Göring remarked about how Hitler got Germany to support war is no less valid now than it was then, and it applies equally to us and Iran:

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”

All we have to do is attack Iran, and we provide the mullahs with their pretext to silence all opposition. Republicans have been telling us since McCarthy about how we are being attacked by "kommanists."

Iran is armed to the teeth with a well-trained, well-equipped, motivated military, just like North Korea. We can bomb them into the Stone Age, but there will still be enough of them left to put a few dozen thousand of our people in body bags by November. And THEIR soldiers are not religious like Joel Osteen's congregations that believes Jesus will make them rich someday. Their soldiers really DO believe that dying in battle will send them to the garden of Allah to cavort with their 72 virgins.

[Mr.Bill]

83. I remember Hunter S. Thompson saying

Grenada could have been taken by the journalists covering the story if they were armed with baseball bats.

[3Hotdogs]

96. Maybe you wanna make fun of Ronnie, but note this: Granada didn't turn commie.

[Mr.Bill]

98. I also like Dennis Miller's description of that conflict.

Back when he did Weekend Update on SNL, before he lost his mind and went to work for Fox News.

He said "Grenada - where we used a Carrier Task Force to knock over a fruit stand."

[DFW]

122. Sounds accurate.

Republicans like to bring nuclear weapons to a fistfight.

[woundedkarma]

55. I disagree with #7

This is not the same thing all over again.

Don't pretend that this is anything less than exactly what Putin wants.

From there, draw the lines to Putin's interests and you're likely to understand the exact reason this is happening. More than likely Putin couches it as distraction from impeachment and trump says OK! But Putin's money comes from oil.

We're pretty much in a war with Iran now. We will spend resources. Gain nothing. And cook even more hatred for our country. And yes, it will be because of the greed of our corporations, who might make some money but it will never be what they think they'll make.

If you read/listen to Maddow's book, it's clear Putin hates at least some of the gas & oil industry and what better than to use their greed to reduce the stature even further of the U.S? All the while Russia gains more power, allies and Putin gains money.

So, I think this will look just like the attack and destruction of Iraq and the motivations will LOOK just like it as well. But the true reason it's all happening will go back to Putin.

[dewsgirl]

56. Absolutely horrifying, especially considering we can't trust

a single faction of our government and they have zero credibility.

[malaise]

63. He informed some foreign leaders and some ReTHUGs but did not

inform Congress - time to lock him up for good

[dewsgirl]

66. Oh, how I wish.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

60. Launch hostilities then brand those opposing as traitors who are "not supporting our troops" nt

[Perseus]

67. Great summary, but lets not forget the cable news will hire "Military Experts" to explain startegies

and the sort...yes, the circus is abut to begin.

But...Iran is not Iraq, let us not forget that the threat of WMDs was a lie, Iraq had zero WMDs as Clinton and the UN had disarmed Iraq prior to the Bush/Chaney invasion of that country.

Iran is not Iraq, there will be consequences that people do not expect, Iran has been preparing for this for many years. And as this administration has moved part of the country back to the old west, shootings will occur in the homeland by white supremacist terrorists.

[Ohiogal]

70. We are going to be getting

“support our troops”pushed at us ad nauseum. Magats will be telling us if you don’t support this action you are not being patriotic. Wear your flag pin! Support our President! etc. etc.

I always like to ask them why can’t we support our troops by keeping them alive?

[Cosmocat]

74. Been saying that since the push for the Iraq War

just hits ears and falls of them ...

[Loge23]

76. Don't discount economic collaspe

The moron in the WH is trumpeting the $2T he just set on fire to support his tin-pot General impersonation.
That's more than half of the projected tax revenues for 2020 ($3.643T, according to the OMB).

Clearly this absurd plundering of our Treasury will have be added to the growing deficit, which will result in higher interest costs, particularly if interest rates start to rise with the decreased money supply.

It's a given that republicans ALWAYS crash the economy - they've been doing it for decades. This time, the republicans are led by a witless idiot who's entire life has been a financial shell game - surrounded by the dumbest economic advisers perhaps in the country's history. What can go wrong?

[ancianita]

77. Like most corporate wars, this will be a war of pretext. Not of choice. Not of Americans' choice.

[raging moderate]

78. -Remember, RW talking heads said we would be welcomed by most Iraqis.

They said we would be welcomed as liberators in both Iraq and Afghanistan, "with open arms," said one. Another woman predicted, "They are cooking" to welcome us with big parties. And remember the false stories about Saddam Hussein's men going into hospitals and throwing newborns out of incubators? Not that he was any kind of a sweetheart. But we were being reassured that we were on a mission of mercy. I will never forget some clips I later saw of the invading US army playing menacing music on loudspeakers, interspersed with broadcasts of (I was told) "Iraqi men have no balls" sung in Iraqi. And then came the bombings which destroyed their houses and apartment buildings, their plumbing systems and electrical grids, etc.

[ancianita]

84. Exactly.

[Hard Truth]

79. and most Democrats will quietly allow it to happen

I hope history won't repeat itself, but it probably will. Although some Democrats will actively oppose this new war, most of the Democrat elected officials in Washington will quietly allow it to happen by not taking swift and decisive action to stop it. Instead they will protest feebly and do nothing but try to limit the scope of our military operations so that they appear to be doing "something." This is almost certain if and when Iran attacks us in response to the killing of their hero general. I hope they prove me wrong.

[Gothmog]

81. I lived through the last war and I hate seeing the similarities

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We are in the process of repeating a major mistake

[Nay]

86. The sad fact is: Lots of us learned from history but are in no position to stop the repeat

of it, mainly because those in power know damn well they are repeating it, and they're doing it for power and money.

[geretogo]

82. Right on !!!!!!!!

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

88. AND THERES MORE! Historically fascists have taken advantage of crises, whether real or manufactured

to seize power and shut down a society in drastic and unthinkable ways.

Consider what's happened in recent years: trial balloons have been floated to see if the US population would tolerate things like children in cages and ever more outrageous infringements on democratic processes. Congressional and judicial checks and balances have eroded. A lot of the institutional memory in Washington dc that might have in the past put the brakes on extreme and wreckless actions has been replaced by trump cultists. The RW propaganda machine is ever more entrenched and soviet style dissemination of disinformation is in full force. .

So yeah, theres a lot of similarities to the war mongering and dog-wagging of the past.

But theres a lot that is new and specific to the year 2020. Lets not lose sight of that. Its not going to be a walk in the park.

Starting with.... where do we get our info if we wake up one day and our regular news sources are shut down? Lets think about that. Not saying the sky is falling, just its more likely to fall now than in 2003 so whats the contingency plan?

[Newest Reality]

103. Thank you!

I think this is a big difference this time and it is about the underlying motivations for the current actions Trump has taken.

For a tin pot dictator like Trump, this is largely about increasing his ability to seize more power, if possible. If that is what the Republicans want, (as per your points) then his attempts at doing so will be supported and aided in order for that to be the result.

While the word Fascist has many implications, we may be seeing the American Fascism Brand(tm) going into full force and I think there are several factors that indicate this to be so, which I have mentioned in the past.

In that case, it is not a rinse and repeat affair and may be far more ominous and dangerous politically, considering who is in office.

[The Wizard]

92. This time

There's no shadow of 9-11.

[BarbD]

94. Now is the time to stand our ground and fight back with everything we have.

I refuse to allow this to happen. My grandchildren deserve a world at peace.

[chia]

99. I read this first on twitter, glad to see it here

[Catherine Vincent]

102. It's already happening

The Trump minions and bots are working overtime on social media as we speak.

[Wolf Frankula]

104. We'll get the 'Supporters of Iranian Democracy Gabbling'

Most of will be fringies with no support in Iran, or expatriates who haven't been there in decades.

Wolf

[58Sunliner]

105. K&R. I remember it well. Sociopaths. War criminals.

[Pepsidog]

106. As W would say "fool me once shame on ....." Aah fuck it. Post of the year, so far.

[burrowowl]

108. As they say deja vu

[Beartracks]

109. KnR. This is indeed the playbook. n/t

[MasonDreams]

111. Great job CousinIT !!

[Sadie5]

112. The Iraq war was a long time in the planning

Around the year 1999 recruiters started calling my daughter almost daily to sign her up before she graduated from high school. I remember telling them that she wasn't interested but they still called back. There was something mentioned almost daily in the news about Iraq etc. I knew something was going on but didn't know what. Some years earlier the Military was going through a thinning process so I had no idea puppet Bush and his gang would start a war. The signs are there if we watch for them. But this bunch of clowns are so stupid who would think they had enough brains to plan another Iraqi conflict.

[Danascot]

113. A Journalist's take on the early days of the Iraq war

This is how it went for six weeks: stumbling around in the dark in Iraq. Nobody spoke the language. Nobody knew what we were doing. Everybody was just making things up as they went, looking around for something to do and then usually failing when they tried to do it. It was a gigantic clusterfuck

https://www.salon.com/2020/01/04/stumbling-toward-apocalypse-trump-launches-re-election-campaign-with-an-assassination/

[Javaman]

114. 13. rinse and repeat

List of wars involving the United States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

[NoMoreRepugs]

116. Damn fine post CousinIt.

[NewJeffCT]

118. The difference between Iraq 2002/2003 and Iran now

is that Team Bush started promoting the invasion of Iraq over a period of monhts before actually moving the troops there for the invasion.

Trump is starting the war now and is going to try to sell it after the fact.

[AtheistCrusader]

119. The error bars on how many Iraqi Civilians died is somewhere between 150k and 1.1million.

It's a testament to the destructive nature of the invasion, that really, no one knows. And no one ever will.