US Strikes on Iran (Operation Epic Fury)

[Paleophyte]

The only build-up we're seeing so far has been Air Force. There's been no significant deployment of ground troops to the Gulf. There's no indication that he's even considering a ground war.

[Thumpalumpacus]

That depends on whose numbers you take, and how long this campaign runs.

The Iranian Red Crescent is currently reporting 555 dead in Iran, plus another 52 in Lebanon, 11 in Israel, and 6 US troops. And yes, those numbers will go up the longer this goes on. Add to that the refugee crisis that this is likely to create and nothing good happens.

Does anybody know what Trump's trying to accomplish by bombing them more? Aside from getting his popularity out of the shitter?

Edited to fix quote tags

I've heard numbers ranging up to six thousand for the IRI's put-down of the protests in January, which if true means we're at about 10% of that total.

***************

‘South Park’ Writer Sets Up Site Calling for Barron to Go to War

Three U.S. service members were killed and five others seriously wounded on Sunday as Operation “Epic Fury,” the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran that launched Saturday, moved into its second day.

The latest bombing campaign on a foreign country by the self-styled “Peace President” has seen Trump blasted for his seeming indifference towards U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the process.

It has also prompted a wave of Americans to ask a pointed question—if this is such a noble war, why isn’t the president’s youngest son joining in?

Into that gap stepped Toby Morton, a comedian and former writer on South Park who, Variety notes, runs roughly 50 political parody sites, and has previously snagged domains including those of the Trump-Kennedy Center, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Moms for Liberty.

His latest creation—DraftBarronTrump.com—went up as U.S. fatalities began to be announced.

The site opens with mock-heroic Trumpian pomp: “America is strong because its leaders are strong. President Trump proves that every day. Naturally, his son Barron is more than ready to defend the country his father so boldly commands. Service is honor. Strength is inherited.”

It finishes with the flourish: “Dog Bless Barron.”

At the same time, the hashtag #SendBarron trended across the United States as news broke about the first American casualties of the Iran conflict.

Thousands of social media users were demanding that the first son—who lives at the White House while attending New York University’s Washington, D.C. campus—be called up to serve alongside the soldiers his father sent into battle.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/south-park...-iran-war/


Donald probably wouldn't mind sending the little brat to a war, but Melania would.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

If there was any lingering doubt that EVERYTHING is transactional to Trump, he's said that he 'got a great deal' for the dead service members (so far) in OEF.

And I'd bet my lucky jockstrap he hasn't contacted the families.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus

A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Pres. Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,” according to a complaint by a non-commissioned officer.

From Saturday morning through Monday night, more than 110 similar complaints about commanders in every branch of the military had been logged by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).

The complaints came from more than 40 different units spread across at least 30 military installations, the MRFF told me Monday night.

The NCO wrote to the MRFF that their commander “urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has enshrined evangelical Christianity at the uppermost levels of the U.S. military, airing monthly prayer meetings throughout the Pentagon. Last year, the Pentagon confirmed to me that Hegseth attends a weekly White House Bible study. It’s led by a preacher who says God commands America to support Israel.

These calls have one damn thing in freaking common; our MRFF clients [service members who seek MRFF aid] report the unrestricted euphoria of their commanders and command chains as to how this new “biblically-sanctioned” war is clearly the undeniable sign of the expeditious approach of the fundamentalist Christian “End Times" as vividly described in the New Testament Book of Revelation.

Many of their commanders are especially delighted with how graphic this battle will be zeroing in on how bloody all of this must become in order to fulfill and be in 100% accordance with fundamentalist Christian end of the world eschatology.

Weinstein added that the MRFF receives similar complaints about Christian eschatology — end-of-the-world theology — “whenever this shit blows up with Israel in the Middle East.”

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, for instance, the MRFF reported a complaint about an Air Force commander who said at a briefing that, “[T]he war between Israel and Hamas has all been foretold by the Book of Revelation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and no-one can do anything about that.”

After 9/11, Pres. George W. Bush referred to the American “crusade” against terrorism, evoking the ancient clashes between Christian crusaders and Muslims. Bush’s language was seen as potentially inspiring Muslims to take up arms against the U.S., if it proclaimed itself a Christian army waging war on Islam.

While Christian nationalism has simmered in the military for decades, Hegseth has ended even the pretense of official intolerance for it. Trump, too, has cast himself as a champion of Christian exceptionalism, embedding it within divisions of the executive branch.

As I revealed last year, Hegseth sponsors the weekly White House Bible study that preaches support for Israel.

Some Christians claim biblical prophecy requires Israel to exist for Jesus to return. But Hegseth’s Bible study leader, preacher Ralph Drollinger, teaches that the reason to support Israel is that God still blesses Israel’s allies and curses Israel’s enemies, even though Israel killed Jesus.

https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us...war-is-for