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Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono told reporters Wednesday that he has not seen any intelligence indicating Iran was behind the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities over the weekend, contradicting Saudi and Trump administration...

The classic, sardonic, sarcastic old adage is What a way to run a railroad! And never has it been more apropos than it is today. Because, every time Trump and his Klown Kar Kabal pull lame shit like this, they once again graphically display why Amtrak is at deaths door. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham is a bird of ruffled plumage today. Nevermind that the thought of Lindsey Graham with an avian appearance most strongly resembles Albus Dumbledore’s phoenix Ffolkes, immediately before it burst into flames. The chickenshit hawk, who clug desperately to John McCain’s heroism and honor like a Titanic survivor isn’t a happy camper Graham is tres upset because he thinks that The Mango Messiah is wimping out on Iran. “I’m very disappointed with this response, because the sanctions don’t go anywhere near far enough. It is clear that Iran doesn’t fear a wider conflict in the region, and this will only embolden them. They have come to the conclusion that none of the countries in the region, nor the United States have the stomach for a ground war.” Well, no shit Sherlock! How can you possibly be surprised that Iran has come to this inescapable conclusion? And I’ll let you in on a little secret Howdy Doody, it didn’t take the vrightest savants in the Iranian intelligence, diplomatic, and military communities to come up with this quantum leap in logic deduction. Because your own Glorious Bleater has been fucking broadcasting this fact for the last 4 1/2 years! Trump ran against the insanity of the Iraq war, right from the get go. He swore that his first act as President would be to get all of our troops quickly and permanently removed from our various foreign entanglements. His entire “America First” platform is predicated on the refusal of the United States to get involved in any more “stupid wars,” and to immediately resign its position as “the world’s policeman.” And if this wasn’t proof enough, Trump decided to put a cherry on top of the non interventionist sundae. Look loser, it’s one thing to call in a drone strike in “proportionate response” to an Iranian act of aggression. But it’s another rhig entirely to publicly announce that you had second thoughts about possible civilian casualties, and called the goddamn thing off 10 minutes before launch time. What a way to come off looking like a fearful, spineless jellyfish, you moron! So, please Lindsey, spare e the cheap theatrics. We both know that you haven’t had a useful thought since                   , shit, I can’t even remember the last time you had a useful thought, unless you count spraining your neck looking the other way while the Commander in Cheat diddled the score card at Mar-A-Lago. And so, for the second time in one day, Senator Lindsey Graham? Stand up and take a bow, fool! We hope you enjoyed your meal, and the next time you’re in, try the humble pie, it’s out of this world. Oh, and here’s an after dinner mint with your check. To know the future, look to the past. before the insanity of the 2020 election, relive the insanity of the 2016 GOP primary campaign, and the general election, to see how we got to where we are. Copies of  President Evil, and the sequel, President Evil II, A […]

Hey, we’re lost. But at least we’re making good time.   Yogi Berra Right now, the whole situation in the Middle East is starting to look like a full blown, no holds barred, don’t-tell-mama mess.Not only is Iran enriching uranium again, in direct violation of the JCPOA, but by all appearances, albeit it appearances with a pyramid block sized grain of salt hanging from its neck, Iran just took a sucker punch at some Saudi Arabian oil refineries. And our current President, as well as his national security, intelligence, and diplomatic advisers should be piling out of a shoe box sized Volkswagon in the middle of the center ring. There are as many various scenarios for the action as there are “experts” and pundits to espouse them. Iran did it to strengthen their negotiating hand for easing oil sanctions. Iran did it out of furious desperation over the crippling inflation from the restored US sanctions. Iran did it to test a weak US President whom they have come to suspect has a spine made out of silly putty. Who knows? And at this point, when we are on the brink of a regional conflict that could cause not only global panic, but a global recession due to an oil shortage, who cares? But all of these scenarios, as well as every other one I have heard, all lay the blame solely and entirely at the feet of Iran. And regardless of their reasons, if Iran is “going rogue,” this is an incredibly risky move for them. The lack of international US leadership aside, if Iran causes a serious oil disruption with a conflict, European and Asian countries will have no choice but to rally together to protect their oil lifelines. And this would inevitably lead to the destruction of the current Iranian regime, regardless of what comes afterwards. The Iranians may be many things, but they’re not bone stupid, that’s Trump’s job on the world stage. If they’re willing to take a risk like this, I find it impossible to believe that there isn’t a “silent partner” in there somewhere. Whenever I come across a situation that seems to lack sense and cohesion, I like to look at it through the eyes of an investigator. And whenever any qualified, competent investigator is presented with a possibly criminal act, the first two words that come to his or her mind are who benefits There are actually very few senseless crimes in this world. The reasoning and motive may not always be readily apparent, nor may they actually make much sense to a sane person when they are uncovered, but there almost always is a motive present. And when I look at the current situation in the Middle East, and I remove Iran from the equation, or at least minimize them, and I ask myself that question “Who benefits?”, only one possible suspect comes immediately to mind. And that prime suspect is Vladimir Putin. NOw, hear me out, because it makes perfect sense when you look at in the light of only facts that we already have before us. Putin has been in bed with Tehran for years now, sliding them arms, and giving the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and their proxy militias free reign and support in helping to prop up Assad in Syria. That continued support would create […]

Donald Trump did another one of his “Sir” stories Monday at the White House. As you know, when Trump tells an anecdote wherein advisers appear as obsequious mice and beg for the Great Negotiator’s wisdom and guidance, calling him “Sir’ it is a lie of the first magnitude. The star of Trump’s story yesterday was none other than James Mattis, and if you believe this interchange took place between them, wherein Mattis assured Trump that the United States military was out of stores for it’s ordnance, I have some triangular buildings in Egypt I could sell you. Raw Story: “I’m not blaming anybody.. But that is what he told me. Because we were in a position where with a certain country, I won’t say which one, we may have had conflict. And he said to me, sir, if you could delay it because we’re very low on ammunition. And I said, you know what, general? I never want to hear that again from another general.” “No president should ever, ever hear that statement, we’re low on ammunition. And we now have more ammunition, more missiles, more rockets, more tanks. We have more of in everything than we’ve had before,” he added, before pausing to praise the F-16 fighter jet. Trump concluded: “So we are very high on ammunition now. That is a story I’ve never told before. Breaking news. But we were very low. I could even say it stronger. I don’t want to say no ammunition but that gets a lot closer.” That’s a believable conversation isn’t it? I mean, didn’t FDR and George Patton have the same interchange all the time? Trump’s idiocy may appeal to his cult, who are conditioned to believe Fox News over the CIA, but in the real world, breaths are held and the mood is somber, watching what this idiot does, and worrying, justifiably, about what he might do next. Rick Wilson, Daily Beast: Having butted up against every American presidential administration since Carter, Iran is not inexperienced in the kind of political and intelligence warfare even a competent and determined American president would need to face in a competition like this. As our long, long engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan has proven, asymmetric warfare is tough on modern-era great powers. Iran is deeply skilled at the art, and in using terror, third-party actors and transitory alliances to offset the power deployed against it by the West. The JCPOA Iran nuclear deal had its flaws, but one thing it did accomplish was to push back the risks of kinetic conflict in the Gulf. The U.S. withdrawal from the agreement and the subsequent “maximum pressure” campaign was a perverse incentive of the highest order: Iran sees the withdrawal as a chance to exercise its power for disruptive, asymmetric warfare in the region. If the withdrawal didn’t give the Iranians a reason, it at least gave them an excuse. Like so many degenerate gamblers before him, Trump decided he could bluff his way past the canny and determined adversary. The world economy will pay a brutal price if the Greatest Negotiator In History™ bumbles into a shooting war in the Gulf. The costs to American influence and power are incalculable. The human cost could be nightmarish. Given his failure in every other international contest to date, expect […]

When intelligence sources indicate that last week’s attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities “originated” in Iran, there’s a good reason to believe they’re correct—from a certain point of view. The Houthi militia in Yemen,...

On Monday evening, NBC News reported that sources inside U.S. intelligence agencies believe that the attack on Saudi oil processing facilities “originated in” Iran. This does not necessarily mean that the drones or missiles...

Because we all love a dystopian novel with a premise that's terrifying but not so far fetched it's unbelievable.  Oh, wait. Narrator: This is how it began.... https://t.co/3BqF5bESMH — David Corn (@DavidCornDC) September 16, 2019 Radio Free...

We no longer have to worry that the Trump administration is hiding the ball or manipulating facts. From NBC news: A congressional source says Democrats familiar with the details do not dispute that the attack was carried out by Iran — an important signal of bipartisan agreement amid great uncertainty about claims made by the Trump administration. “This attack had a level of sophistication we have not seen before,” the congressional source said. “You will not see Democrats pushing back on the idea that Iran was behind it.” Three U.S. officials said there was extremely compelling evidence showing the origination point of the strikes, and one official with direct knowledge described that evidence as imagery. It is sad that I need Democrats to affirm anything coming out of the White House. But, I do. So, now we know we haven’t been played, on this attack, at least. Why Iran would invite a war it cannot possibly win – both a superpower and Saudi Arabia attacking them – makes no sense to me at all. The only thing that I can come up with is that Iran believes that Trump doesn’t have the strength, or the option, to actually do it. It is possible that they believe Putin will make it known that he will not tolerate a U.S. backed war on Iran. That, is something to consider, it’s the only thing in which the Iranians have the upper hand. Alongside Russia’s hold on Trump, Iran might think that without the U.S., Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be willing to engage full war. Iran might figure that Saudi will fire off a retribution attack, but not commit itself to something they aren’t willing to absorb. That’s about all I come up with. It is a dangerous gamble on Iran’s part, because they have to know that the Kingdom has near as big a grip on Trump as Russia. Trump is in a spot, no question. He may be bluffing with his “locked and loaded” comment, in “waiting for Saudi Arabia’s direction” on it. And, by the way, stating that he is awaiting the Saudi Arabians thoughts on the matter, Trump might be hedging a bit with respect to Russia, and the American people. He is that desperate. It may be subconscious. I am certainly not advocating that Trump should have “the stones” to pull the trigger. I just think that’s the bet. I firmly believe that we have no role in another war in the Middle East, especially protecting Saudi Arabia. But, it appears that most of the people around Trump believe we should engage, again. This is close to “worst case scenario,” whereby Trump takes the country to war. It is even worse when it’s the year prior to the election, where he may be “desperate.” It doesn’t look like Trump thinks he needs to go to Congress for authorization. Sad. **** Peace? Jason jmiciak@yahoo. Twitter @MiciakZoom

Donald Trump is taking marching orders from Saudi Arabia, said progressive members of Congress and foreign policy analysts, after the president tweeted Sunday that the U.S. military is prepared and waiting for the kingdom...

The Trump administration may be gearing up to attack Iran, as a “response” to the recent attacks on Saudi oil refineries. And they seem to be lying to justify it. Three paragraphs from the New...