This isn't true. Internet is working just fine here in the UAE. This is a good local source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/?_refresh=true
Over the next few weeks, keep your eyes on the Middle East
- Thread starter HunterPKP
- Start date
And we thought gas prices were high now…
Yeah but according to Stars and Stripes they weren’t happy about it
If Iran lays significant numbers of mines then this is a complete and utter failure by CENTCOM
According to Reuters US intelligence suggests the regime is not in danger of collapse https://uk.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-us-intelligence-says-iran-230717678.html
Maybe only of interest to me.
“The cost is nearly nine hundred million dollars a day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated. ”
I share without commentary other than war is expensive.
Excerpt From
“Where Is the Iran War Headed?”
Robin Wright
The New Yorker (March 16, 2026)
apple.news
This material may be protected by copyright.
“The cost is nearly nine hundred million dollars a day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated. ”
I share without commentary other than war is expensive.
Excerpt From
“Where Is the Iran War Headed?”
Robin Wright
The New Yorker (March 16, 2026)
Where Is the Iran War Headed? — The New Yorker
President Trump has both called for Iranians to rise up and oust the ruthless theocracy and said that he’s fully prepared to deal with a new religious leader.
apple.news
This material may be protected by copyright.
The government has asked not to post pictures of drone stikes and such for defense purposes, but that's about it. Keep in mind though there are restrictions in general here that you otherwise wouldn't have in the US. But that's the price you pay for living here.
Good stuff, particularly the penultimate paragraph.Maybe only of interest to me.
“The cost is nearly nine hundred million dollars a day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated. ”
I share without commentary other than war is expensive.
Excerpt From
“Where Is the Iran War Headed?”
Robin Wright
The New Yorker (March 16, 2026)
Where Is the Iran War Headed? — The New Yorker
President Trump has both called for Iranians to rise up and oust the ruthless theocracy and said that he’s fully prepared to deal with a new religious leader.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“Iran, then, still has some leverage. Hadi Semati, a former professor of political science at the University of Tehran, who is now in Washington, said, “If Iran comes out of this crisis alive, it has essentially won, albeit with degraded military capability.” And the theocracy may survive. Suzanne Maloney, an expert on Iran at the Brookings Institution, cautioned, “We’re going to be left with some kind of bloodied, battered rump version of the Islamic Republic, led by officials who are now even more determined to try to cling to power, and who are going to be more confident of the fact that they’re able to stay, because they have withstood this terrible crisis.”
This is looking like the likely outcome to me. A Shi’a North Korea
Not great regarding Hormuz:
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Entirely predictable.
This is why all of our planning for years, decades even, is predicated on making sure Iran can't close the strait, especially with mines
Better be safe and stick to posting massive bewbs to TI for now (assuming those ME guys are ok with that)...
According to Axios, their sources tell them that Trump is "enthusiastic" about continuing to bomb Iran for 3-4 more weeks and the current plan is to bomb in the hopes that the people will rise up or some army units mutiny
The biggest takeaway from all of this for any tinpot dictator watching what the US has done to Venezuela and Iran and not North Korea is that the US under Trump will never negotiate in good faith and will only leave you alone if you have a nuke.
While I am in support of making sure Iran would never had a nuclear weapon, I am disappointed there was not a plan to protect the Straight of Hormuz. Iran attacking ships was totally predictable and should have been pre-emptive on day 1. Regardless what is being said, this is now far from being over. It appears the complexity of the entire situation in the Middle East was not fully appreciated. My prayers and thoughts are with our troops.
The IRGC effectively runs Iran now. Any internecine conflict within the corps is only going to happen, if at all, once the perceived threat to Iran is over. This whole sh*t show is lions led by donkeys.
Yeah according to the AP we spent more than $11.3B in the first 6 days of this war. Make it rain on them hoes.
The reports that Wilkoff and Kushner might have legitimately mistook the info being presented during their "negotiations" because neither one has any nuclear expertise is beyond concerning. Imagine being a country sending scientific delegation to a summit to find the son-in-law and a real estate guy sitting at the table to talk nuclear development in good faith.
Left or Right never take over threads.
Either the truth or obnoxious fabrication aholes do.
Plenty of the “left” have vacated threads because they are wrong. It just happens to be the “right” turn.
Here’s a concept. See the world as it is and all the left and right talking points can piss off and die.
North Korea but adjacent to one of the world’s most important trade choke points.
I would love to hear more about why you live there. Maybe another time.
Hmm…. Wonder if JPMorgan was in the Epstein files. Jes Staley and a lesser degree, Jamie Dimon can eff off.
Short story is I work at the Middle East's first nuclear plant. Lots of Americans here, including several from VC Summer where I once worked.
Not a fan of Krystal Ball(too much of a zealot) but Saagar, Ryan Grim and Emily do a solid job at Breaking Points and Dropsite.
I don't agree with this. Many a thread gets derailed because of people bloviating on politics and their opinions on both sides no matter the truth or facts.
I enjoy their show a lot. Saagar and I agree on most everything, except property taxes.
The whole nuclear weapon argument needs a massive overhaul. It’s a false narrative. Using a nuclear weapon in that region jeopardizes numerous nations.
Like anything else, it’s inevitable if someone wants something bad enough. Russians Israeli spies stole
secrets from US.If people are honest, it’s about OIL, period. Always has been. Israel has basically very little natural resources. It’s desperate for land, leverage, liquidity. And to Israel’s credit, they have infiltrated the US govt to a degree that it controls certain things. To say otherwise is ignorance. It’s a matter of how much.
Look no further than Clemson reporting since 2008. And IM NOT PICKING ON CLEMSON!!! JUST USING AN EXAMPLE WE ALL KNOW.
Look at the physical access of time and specific personnel. The propaganda and restrictions. Changes throughout the years. We are talking Clemson Football, something from 1900 that’s a GAME!!! We have a single leader, no changes and we do not have the same access nor fair assessment reporting for multitude of reasons. “Things are great, gonna win the championship this year.” Then, the following year….. “things are different this year than they were a year ago.”
The writing staff on this site gets praised over others for transparency …… FOR FVCKIN TALKING FOOTBALL
.So, for any of you bootlickin Dems and Pubs, you don’t think a foreign actor can control what we do? We can’t even get straight answers from Jervey Meadows.
Read what I said again. I said exactly your statement. I’m belittling the Left and Right in my first statement. Why? It’s because the TRUTH or OBNOXIOUS FABRICATIONS do, Left or Right is irrelevant. Each participates in TRUTH or LIES. They are both aholes to me because they don’t operate in good faith 100% of the time. They latch onto truth when it benefits them and lie when it doesn’t.
(Left or Right never take over threads.
Either the truth or obnoxious fabrication aholes do.)
If Iran possessed a Nuclear Weapon and used in on the US then I would be for and I think we would have alot of international support, retaliating against Iran with Nuclear Weapons. We could actually wipe them of the face of the globe. I believe that Iran is rational enough to see that as a consequence of their actions. They are proving to be very rational in their actions during this "war". Now if they had a nuke, they would basically be off limits to foreign interference just as N. Korea is. I believe that is their ultimate goal.The whole nuclear weapon argument needs a massive overhaul. It’s a false narrative. Using a nuclear weapon in that region jeopardizes numerous nations.
Like anything else, it’s inevitable if someone wants something bad enough. Russians Israeli spies stole
If people are honest, it’s about OIL, period. Always has been. Israel has basically very little natural resources. It’s desperate for land, leverage, liquidity. And to Israel’s credit, they have infiltrated the US govt to a degree that it controls certain things. To say otherwise is ignorance. It’s a matter of how much.
Look no further than Clemson reporting since 2008. And IM NOT PICKING ON CLEMSON!!! JUST USING AN EXAMPLE WE ALL KNOW.
Look at the physical access of time and specific personnel. The propaganda and restrictions. Changes throughout the years. We are talking Clemson Football, something from 1900 that’s a GAME!!! We have a single leader, no changes and we do not have the same access nor fair assessment reporting for multitude of reasons. “Things are great, gonna win the championship this year.” Then, the following year….. “things are different this year than they were a year ago.”
The writing staff on this site gets praised over others for transparency …… FOR FVCKIN TALKING FOOTBALL
So, for any of you bootlickin Dems and Pubs, you don’t think a foreign actor can control what we do? We can’t even get straight answers from Jervey Meadows.
the notion of using a nuclear weapon which anyone could do against the US successfully achieves what? For them?
The most dangerous people are 2 types:
1. Nothing to lose
2. Humanity isn’t their top goal
The OBSESSION of 3 religions centered around the Middle East is focused on point 2. Judaism Christianity Islam has different priorities than humanity. It’s either attacking the other or focused after death.
In order to keep number 2 at bay, you must grant them something to live for, point 1. You keep banging away at all these Muslim nations to increase their Nothing to Lose, number 2 gets focused upon real quick. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy or BLOWBACK.
I reflect fondly in my 1986-87 World History class. Mr Sherry said “we’d be at war within 5 years and one of you will be there. There’s too much oil and too much religious ideology.“
“Sir, the rest of the world seems reasonable, can we just build a fence and let them fight amongst themselves?”
“That’s a great concept but it won’t happen.”
(And sure enough, one of those in that graduating class enlisted in 1991.)
I hear what you are saying, but I still disagree. Your first statement is this:
"Left or Right never take over threads.
Either the truth or obnoxious fabrication aholes do."
I don't think that's true at all. You put it like its an either/or proposition - truth or fabrication. In my experience, the truth can be right in front of everyone's nose and you will still have people arguing the why and how it happened. That is the third option you are missing - opinions. Opinions are neither truth or fabrication. They are people's perspectives on the truth and what clogs up threads in my book.
I say all this in good-faith debate and is just my two cents. I do agree on the spirit of your take.
Very good but brutal reporting from the Financial Times with sourcing inside Iran/Tehran from regime opponents.
www.ft.com
https://archive.is/woaV9
Basically, the bombing campaign is demoralizing opponents of the regime.
“We weren’t supposed to be bombed,” Mandana said, her voice trembling after a massive explosion near her apartment by Vanak Square in central Tehran. “Our city, our country, this wasn’t supposed to happen. How is it that Venezuela . . . saw clean, bloodless regime change, but not here?”
"The scale of destruction and the apparent resilience of the Islamic regime, which appointed Khamenei’s son Mojtaba as the new supreme leader in an act of defiance, has prompted many Iranians to rethink hopes that foreign intervention might bring about its end."
"Instead many, even those who loathe the Islamic republic, appear to have recoiled at the destruction and comments including Donald Trump’s threat to target electricity production facilities if the regime escalated."
"One sociologist in Tehran, who is critical of the regime and the war, said there was anecdotal evidence of a growing “sense of nationalism emerging from the war” as happened during Israel’s 12-day conflict against Iran last year, when people rallied around the flag.
“The fear of Iran’s destruction is increasingly uniting people as they fear the consequences of such a large-scale conflict,” the sociologist said, asking not to be named."
"“If they wanted to assassinate the supreme leader, why are they waging full-scale war?” asked one woman. Before the war, she — like many anti-regime Iranians inside and outside the country — had welcomed military intervention."
"“If things stay like this, we’re in a worse place now than before the war,” said Mahboubeh, a translator. “A country destroyed; Khamenei replaced by another Khamenei, 30 years younger.”"
"The majority of Iranians who see the January killings as unforgivable are lost over how to push for change. This includes Sara, a teacher in her forties who once hoped for the regime’s overthrow but now admits she has changed her mind.
“I’ve come to terms with the bitter reality: the Islamic republic is resilient,” she said. “I never thought I’d say this, but if someone from within the regime becomes a real reformer, why not? In the end, we just want peace and welfare.”
Marjan, a housewife, could not hide her emotions when news of Khamenei’s death broke. She had believed it would usher in the regime’s collapse. “Now I wonder, even if the Islamic republic falls, what will we inherit: a land in ruins?”"
Iranians rethink the price of regime change
Destructive US and Israeli war and Islamic republic’s resilience have alarmed even those who supported foreign intervention
www.ft.com
https://archive.is/woaV9
Basically, the bombing campaign is demoralizing opponents of the regime.
“We weren’t supposed to be bombed,” Mandana said, her voice trembling after a massive explosion near her apartment by Vanak Square in central Tehran. “Our city, our country, this wasn’t supposed to happen. How is it that Venezuela . . . saw clean, bloodless regime change, but not here?”
"The scale of destruction and the apparent resilience of the Islamic regime, which appointed Khamenei’s son Mojtaba as the new supreme leader in an act of defiance, has prompted many Iranians to rethink hopes that foreign intervention might bring about its end."
"Instead many, even those who loathe the Islamic republic, appear to have recoiled at the destruction and comments including Donald Trump’s threat to target electricity production facilities if the regime escalated."
"One sociologist in Tehran, who is critical of the regime and the war, said there was anecdotal evidence of a growing “sense of nationalism emerging from the war” as happened during Israel’s 12-day conflict against Iran last year, when people rallied around the flag.
“The fear of Iran’s destruction is increasingly uniting people as they fear the consequences of such a large-scale conflict,” the sociologist said, asking not to be named."
"“If they wanted to assassinate the supreme leader, why are they waging full-scale war?” asked one woman. Before the war, she — like many anti-regime Iranians inside and outside the country — had welcomed military intervention."
"“If things stay like this, we’re in a worse place now than before the war,” said Mahboubeh, a translator. “A country destroyed; Khamenei replaced by another Khamenei, 30 years younger.”"
"The majority of Iranians who see the January killings as unforgivable are lost over how to push for change. This includes Sara, a teacher in her forties who once hoped for the regime’s overthrow but now admits she has changed her mind.
“I’ve come to terms with the bitter reality: the Islamic republic is resilient,” she said. “I never thought I’d say this, but if someone from within the regime becomes a real reformer, why not? In the end, we just want peace and welfare.”
Marjan, a housewife, could not hide her emotions when news of Khamenei’s death broke. She had believed it would usher in the regime’s collapse. “Now I wonder, even if the Islamic republic falls, what will we inherit: a land in ruins?”"
You are too kind.
I’m done with the convenience of OPINIONS drawn from fabrications.
Again, I’ll select from a common topic - Clemson Football.
It was a TRUTH that selecting talent from the transfer portal would improve where depth was CLEARLY an issue. It was literally happening across the country. Numerous programs benefited. We got worse by not participating.
There were plenty of people stating “THEIR OWN opinion” that Dabo was doing the best for the program. That’s a flat out lie. You take any of these people supporting that concept then and convert them into a long time Oregon, OSU, UGA, Ole Miss fan and immediately and “THEIR opinion” changes instantly. These people are full of
and don’t deserve to be respected. They’d rather go down with the ship than do right. The
phenomenon of THEIR TRUTH or MY TRUTH is killing society. There is the TRUTH and ITERATIVE TRUTH. You can have all the OPINIONS you want off of that.FABRICATIONS are stories derived from events either purely or ill conceived. You must hunt for the truth. There’s a faction of people that take events from 2000 years ago scribed 50-70 years later as FACT. That’s a dangerous place to be. You can be encouraged by those stories but claim them to be 100% factual while we can’t even agree on war activity in the Persian Gulf right now with the greatest media capability of all time?
You’re operating a nuclear facility. I’m a smart guy, I know nuclear energy. Give me a day and I’ll parse out an operations manual for you based on what I can find. My gut tells me you are laughing right now as you should.
I think we agree at the same place. I just have ZERO TOLERANCE for opinions based on fabrications and perceptions. Is it hard to get to the truth? Damn straight. That’s why you won’t entertain my nuclear manual and you shouldn’t.
People can have opinions based upon what they hear or read, but if they aren’t challenged, we are screwed.
Helium spot price up 50% so far, limited immediate impact to chip manufacturing but it may become critical if this drags out more than a couple of weeks
Studies done at the end of WWII found that the strategic bombing campaigns against the UK by Germany and against Germany and the US by the Allies were militarily effective only when factories and other facilities directly related to the ability to prosecute the war. It's also why the intention of Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Linebacker I and II was to explicitly target actual military targets and not the civilian population. The inability to effectively do so is what led to the development of precision guided munitions.
Curtis Lemay wrote after WWII with regards to the firebombing of Tokyo and other Japanese cities that "if we had lost the war, we'd have all been prosecuted as war criminals." Just look at what Russia has tried for the last four years in Ukraine with the deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure during winter to break the resolve of the Ukrainian people - it just leads to more determined resistance by the targeted population.
11 Billion in six days. Rather than blowing up bridges and schools, we could have built a few. I am over simplifying things. But I think it should give us pause. Gov. McMaster reported asked for a billion for SC roads and bridges. THe SC House cut that in half.
www.airforcetimes.com
Price tag for Epic Fury tops $11 billion in first six days, Pentagon tells Congress
The figure omitted a range of war-related expenses and is likely to rise.
www.airforcetimes.com
LOL. YOu must be young.
Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations - Office of the Historian
history.state.gov 3.0 shell
history.state.gov