Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Trump's Reason(s) For Cancelling The Iranian Air Strike Yesterday ...

That is right I do like how he is approaching this, for if you lot go then so will mine and all of the iranian bastards that have ever drawn breath are not worth a single one of mine.

A brutal dictator with his boot constantly on their throats is the best option until another nitwit like Jimmy Carter comes along and lets him hang out to dry.

Maybe out source it to the Mossad. At one time they were pretty good about taking out Iranian nuclear scientists. However, governmental leaders and Republican Guards key officers may be a bit much even for them. (A BIG FAT Official Iranian Wedding + a Hellfire or two as a wedding present to the key official / general might get their attention.)

That seems like the current course, starving them out doesn't cost much. We don't need another war if there are other options. Trump knows once we start killing Iranians it's going to lead to escalation on both sides and a deal gets hard to make, and more expensive over time. Simple cost vs gain calculation.

It’s pretty funny. Trump completely changed the tone and now it is a contest to see which country is most magnanimous. Trump says that he called back a strike that would have killed 150. Iran not to be outdone, says “Well, we could have shot down a P-8 if we had wanted.”

So, in one day we go from what looked like surefire war, to both countries trying to show the efforts they are taking to avoid war.

Out source it my arse, let the jews pay for their own killing.

Thank you for that. I agree.

Americans WILL die if Trump strikes back. He is playing the hand wisely.

Trump also said something to the effect that he thinks there are loose canons running wild behind the scenes in Iran. Holding back on responding to the provocations of those loose cannons gives more level-headed elements of the government more opportunity to root them out, whereas striking them just strengthens the militants' position and turns the population against us.

As I said a couple of days ago: I have long suspected that there is a major power struggle going on behind the scenes in Iran, between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the mainstream government.

For all their threat and bluster, I think the mainstream government does not want a war and is just playing to the masses, but I think the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wants to stir things up to gain ascendancy over the mainstream military and government.

“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

I think Trump is handling this the right way, listen to all your advisers...........then make your decisions. I'm glad drones are replacing pilots. If they had a US pilot we would have to act.

For all his tendency for hyperbole and exaggeration, Trump did exactly the right thing this time. And said the right thing, which is perhaps even more remarkable.

Don't worry, Donny is planning the Mullah's last suppository.

And you can bet that Trump has read that book.

In one of his books written well before he had even announced his candidacy he mentions two books for potential leaders - Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". He strongly endorses the latter over the former as the most useful for a businessman and by extension a leader.

Basically the condensed version is "if you are not cheating then you are not trying".

Let's hope Bolton the Neocon goes. He's in the same mold as Cheney and is a handmaiden of the military-industrial swamp.

Iran was trying to goad Trump into military action that would kill civilians. That would serve their purpose and give the European "allies" reason to move more toward Iran and distance their anti-Trump leaders further from a meaningful NATO.

I didn't think Trump was a big reader. As much as he blusters about anything, I'd be surprised if he actually read those books. Those are popular books though, he probably has heard of them.

John Bolton is another of Trumps poor picks, the sooner he goes the better for all of us. He and Trump have reportedly already had instances where they disagree.

That loose cannons statement by Trump was fricking brilliant. Seriously, think about it. It gives Trump tremendous leeway from here on out. In the future, Trump can ignore pretty much any provocation by writing it off as loose cannons. And if he does that, it makes the regime in Iran look weak and as if they can’t control their own people. And if they want to look strong, they then have to essentially say, “No, it wasn’t loose cannons. We are in full control and we really are that crazy and ready for war.” Or, clamp down on things and back down on things a bit.

At least some reports are that the main Iranian Gov't did not authorize the shoot down, and is pissed at the regional commander who did it. Which I suspect our people knew almost right away, and Trump knew it not long after.

So the public statements by Trump may well be manipulating the media to make Iran look worse. We may or may not really have had planes in the air when he called off the strike. I would think it would be a salvo of Tomahawks versus manned aircraft.

All in all, I think he's handling the situation correctly.

Trump would have never picked John Bolton, Elliot Abrams, or Mike Pompeo.

,...but somebody did.