"With new evidence emerging that the United States was responsible for the strike on a school in southern Iran than killed scores of children, President Trump baselessly blamed Iran for the attack."

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #WarriorEthos #PerformativeMasculinity #lies #disinformation #propaganda
/17

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.…

Inside the DHS Campaign Against US Citizens

INSIDE: Abrego Garcia ... Kari Lake ... Enrique Tarrio

^{David Kurtz (Morning Memo)}

"He’s even stated explicitly that this should be going how it did in Venezuela, where the next in command steps forward and agrees to an indefinite period of vassalhood under not so much the U.S. but Donald Trump himself. What remains of the Iranian state leadership does not seem interested in that."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #WarriorEthos #PerformativeMasculinity
/16

"Trump started this war as part of the international acting-out he’s been at for the last few months, a way of compensating for reverses at home. If we look at his statements and U.S. actions leading up to the beginning of the war, the impulse or the goal seems simply to be in charge, for Iran to do what Trump says."

~ Josh Marshall

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #WarriorEthos #PerformativeMasculinity
/15

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/i…

Iran: It’s Hard to Know How to Exit When You Don’t Know Why You’re There

In discussions of modern wars, Americans obsess about “exit strategies”. How do you avoid getting “bogged down?” How do you know when the mission is finished?

^{Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)}

"House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford on Fox: 'We have been at war with Iran since 1947.'

… The Republican talking point is to claim that Iran has been at war with us for 47 years, so Trump’s bombings are just a continuation of that and are being done in self defense. But Crawford got it a little confused trying to follow the script."

~ Ron Filipkowski

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #WarriorEthos #PerformativeMasculinity
/14

meidasplus.com/p/this-weekend-…

This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 323.

… Trump was widely criticized for wearing a campaign hat he’s selling on his website for $55 during the dignified transfer ceremony for the soldiers killed during his Iran War.

^{Ron Filipkowski (Meidas+)}

"In just over a week, Trump and top administration officials have given at least 17 different responses about why the war began. ...

Hegseth has described the war’s mission as 'very very clear' and 'laser-focused.' Rubio said the war had 'a very clear goal' and he didn’t understand why there was any 'confusion.' Leavitt said that Trump had laid out 'achievable objectives.'”

~ Judd Legum

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #WarriorEthos
/13

popular.info/p/9-days-in-the-m…

9 days in, the most basic question about the Iran war remains unanswered

^{Judd Legum (Popular Information)}

"The situation is scary. And what’s even scarier is that the 'warrior ethos' gang in the Trump administration seem to have been caught completely off-guard by the fallout from their adventure, even though the military and the intelligence community tried to warn them about the risks."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #PerformativeMasculinity #WarriorEthos
/12

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/dir…

Dire Strait

Oil wells that end badly?

^{Paul Krugman}