Tag: war

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Hugh Jackman Will Wolverine Once Again + More News

Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (image: 20th Century Studios)
Some news items you might have missed: • Twitter: Hugh Jackman said 2016’s “Logan” would be his last appearance as Wolverine. Then last night, Ryan Reynolds posted this video clip – 37.5 million views at this writing. Continue reading “Hugh Jackman Will Wolverine Once Again + More News”

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Ukraine President: Intel Indicates Russia Will Attack Ukraine Feb. 16

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

NBC News is reporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced today that his government has been told that Wednesday, Feb. 16, will be “the day of attack” when Russia invades Ukraine. Continue reading “Ukraine President: Intel Indicates Russia Will Attack Ukraine Feb. 16”

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Senate Set To Pass Resolution Limiting Trump’s War Powers

Donald Trump

Politico is reporting the U.S. Senate appears ready to approve a bipartisan resolution that would “limit President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran weeks after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general.”

The War Powers resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), came to the floor Wednesday with a final expected vote Thursday.

While the measure is not likely to garner enough support to overturn a likely Trump veto, its expected passage in the Senate nevertheless illustrates a rare congressional effort to rein in the president’s executive authority.

In addition to all 47 Democrats, the measure so far has support from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

The Democratic senators running for president are expected to be in Washington for the vote on Thursday, ensuring that the 51-vote threshold for the War Powers resolution will be met.

Predictably, the Donald is not happy.

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Iran Reportedly Considering ’13 Scenarios For Revenge’

Iranian leaders attend funeral of Gen. Qassem Soleimani (screen capture)
The Independent reports that Iran is considering “13 scenarios for revenge” against the US for the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike last week, local media reported the country’s top security official as saying in comments later disavowed by senior officials.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said “the mission to avenge our slain brother will not be limited to a single operation,” according to the hardline Fars news agency.

“Up until now, 13 scenarios for revenge have been proposed,” he reportedly said. “Even if there is a consensus on the weakest scenario, executing it can turn into a historic nightmare for the Americans.”

Reuters adds that Shamkhani would not reveal any specific details of the plans, he said all US forces in the Middle East are being considered for strikes. “Those who crawl into shelters and close the doors hoping to escape our revenge are unaware that the Islamic Republic will open the door to hell.” BUT – the Supreme National Security Council later disavowed the comments saying  Shamkhani never gave the interview. The SNSC secretariat said: “A local paper yesterday committed a criminal act and attributed an interview to the SNSC’s secretary which had not taken place. Legal action is underway to understand how and and why the interview was produced and published.” The SNSC’s claims have not been proven.

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Quick Catch-Up On Trump/Iran Conflict

Donald Trump

Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate a top Iranian general, the fallout across the Middle East and beyond continued on Sunday. ICMYI: • Iran on Friday vowed “severe revenge” in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed Tehran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and dramatically sharpened tensions across the Middle East. • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.”

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Trump administration to immediately brief lawmakers on the U.S. airstrike and what the White House plans to do next. The strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress, the speaker said. Today, Trump tweeted his “official notification to Congress.” I kid you not.

• The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump. • In his first public address since the airstrike, Trump said the U.S. is “ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary” if Iran threatens American lives. “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” But it looks like the guy who wanted to pull U.S. military out of the middle east may have begun sometime far bigger than he dreamed. • On Saturday, the Trump administration warned members of Congress that Iran is expected to retaliate against the US “within weeks” for the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani even as they failed to convince some that the operation was merited due to an imminent threat against American lives. • As hostilities escalate, Trump has ramped up the pressure on Iran – threatening to hit 52 sites ‘very hard and very fast.’ He also boasted about the U.S. military’s ample resources.

• Iran’s government said Sunday that it was abandoning its “final limitations in the nuclear deal,” the international agreement intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The decision leaves no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the statement said, including on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion. • Lawmakers in Iraq heeded the demands of angry citizens and voted on Sunday to expel United States troops from the country, as hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Iran to pay their respects to the slain leader of the elite Quds Force, Maj. General Qassim Suleimani. • The eulogist at the funeral procession of prominent Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iran put an 80-million-dollar prize on US President Donald Trump’s head on live state TV. “We are 80 million Iranians, if each one of us puts aside one American dollar, we will have 80 million American dollars, and we will reward anyone who brings us [Trump]’s head with that amount,” he said, addressing a large crowd in Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad. • Having done his tweeting, Trump arrived at his golf course in West Palm Beach today.

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Trump Orders US Forces To Kill Head Of Iran Military

Donald Trump
From CBS News:

Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds military Force, was killed Thursday night in an airstrike in Baghdad. The U.S. Defense Department said late Thursday that the “decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel” was ordered by President Trump.

“This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans,” the Defense Department said. Mr. Trump tweeted a photo of an American flag late Thursday.

The missile attack comes hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. military will be ready if Iran and its allies plan new attacks, like the one this week at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The U.S. Defense Department blamed Soleimani and the Quds Force for the embassy attack, as well as the attack on December 27 that killed an American defense contractor. 

The Pentagon issued this statement:

At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.

He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.

Trump took to Twitter to share a pixelated image of the American flag:

NBC News reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling on the Trump administration to immediately brief lawmakers on the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq and what the White House plans to do next. “Tonight’s airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America — and the world — cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return,” Pelosi said in a statement late Thursday. Pelosi added that the strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress. Past tweets from Trump immediately went viral recalling the Donald’s claims that President Obama would begin a war with Iran in order to secure his re-election. All of this comes, of course, amid Trump being impeached over his dealing with the president of Ukraine regarding a phony investigation about his presumed political opponent in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

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Trump Twitter Rant: “We’d Be At War If Not For Me”

Angry he doesn't get enough 'credit' for his efforts, Donald Trump tweeted "If not for me, we would be at War with North Korea!"
Donald Trump

Clearly, Donald Trump never received any positive reinforcement during his childhood.

No one must have ever told him any thing was good enough because as an adult in a position of immense power now, he demands praise whenever the mood strikes him.

In the aftermath of a by The Washington Post on Sunday which quoted U.S. officials who now believe Kim Jong Un has no intention of denuclearization, Trump took to Twitter to claim the credit for the U.S. not being at war with North Korea.

“Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!”

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Bill Maher On The Differences Between Presidents Bush And Obama

May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and announced “Mission Accomplished.”

May 1, 2011 President Barack Obama ACTUALLY accomplished the mission of getting Osama bin Laden.

On Friday night’s Real Time, Bill Maher reminded us of the Cheney Bush administration’s failures while highlighting the successes of the Obama administration on the same issues.

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Congressman Louie Gohmert: It’s time to bomb Iran

In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Texas congressman Louie Gohmert demands that the United State bomb Iran.

From his speech:

“It is time to cut off every dime of American money going to anyone who has any kind of relationship with Hamas or those killing in the Middle East, and especially in Israel,” said Gohmert. “It is time to bomb Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Gohmert concluded.

“It is time for the United States, if we are not going to stop Iran’s nukes, then let Israel do it. A friend will not put another friend in this kind of jeopardy.”

Who’s ready to go to war again?

(via RawStory)