The war with Iran has been going on for a week. As I predicted, there’s no evidence of Iranians wanting a regime change and supporting the removal of the ayatollahs. Iranians are defending their regime because they like it. And why shouldn’t they?
In Cuba, for example, even among the leadership there is a deep fatigue with the hammer and sickle. People are ready to let it go. I don’t call for an invasion of Cuba, God forbid. I’m simply pointing out that not everything is like everything else. In Cuba, the entirety of the population has prostituted itself (in a very literal way) to Western tourists. In Iran, on the other hand, people are motivated by their religion not to. Their religion is not mine but I deeply respect the right of any nation to practice the religion it considers true within its borders.
Trump has an immediate off-ramp in Iran. He needs to declare victory and withdraw troops. Victory is a fluid concept in a war where you are not defending your own sovereignty and territorial integrity. Victory is whatever you say. We need to say it already and forget the word “Iran” for the entirety of the next century.
Clarissa's Blog 
The regime in Iran has just killed somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 protestors and you think that’s a sign of popularity?
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“just killed somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 protestors”
Good point, the opposition is fragmented nad demoralized and nothing shores up support even for an unpopular regime than a hostile invasion. Especially when the opening move is killing a bunch of children at school…..
On the other hand there’s not much evidence of regime support at street level…
Part of Iranian society is as modern as western Europe, another big part is as primitive as Afghanistan and the leadership is mostly made up of the former larping as the latter.
No matter what Iranian people think or want or whose idea it was…. the war was an incredibly stupid idea and it’s not going to end well for anyone.
I don’t think Trump is some evil dictator but he does seem to have a kind of brain rot that’s often found among dictators (or any head of state that’s been in office too long).
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What is it with Trump’s subservience to smug weasels like Putin and Bibi? I’m not buying into the stories that it’s about campaign donations. He’s not running for anything. He can piss at anybody who donated in the past because it’s in the past.
I’m really not getting it. There’s got to be a reason why he lets these two shit in his plate constantly and he just eats it up and says thank you. Nobody has come up even with a remotely plausible explanation. As far as I can see, nobody is trying to find it.
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“What is it with Trump’s subservience”
My guess (not being cursed with ESP) would be some kind of hero worship… or ego compensation. You noted his fragile ego and I agree, people with strong self images don’t need/want people fawning over them and they don’t like yes men…. they tend to like the give and take of verbal tussles and being challenged.
You don’t like casual use of the N word, but he strikes me (from a distance through media, so many caveats) as a vulnerable narcissist.
Have you seen Envidiosa? Very funny/sad Argentine comedy series about a woman who reminds me a lot of Trump…
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My friend. When in 2013 in Ukraine the authorities killed 100 protesters, millions of Ukrainians went out into the streets and refused to leave for months. In winter. In freezing temperatures. One hundred protesters. And the regime ended.
If you are right and the regime in Iran killed 30,000 protesters, what does it mean that the rest of the 93,000,000 population is so indifferent to those deaths? Don’t you see that what you are saying proves my point?
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Meanwhile in the UK, pro-Iranian protestors on horseback chasing people down and the police do….. nothing.
https://x.com/catherineBanksy/status/2030069844536672496
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This, and not the ayatollahs, is what we should be fighting. Ayatollahs are at home. They should do whatever. Just like we shouldn’t tolerate this in our home.
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“Just like we shouldn’t tolerate this in our home.”
Suicidal empathy, stubbornly ignoring the hard learned lessons in the Nordic countries, too many in the West still resist the idea that we must repatriate immigrants that oppose our belief systems.
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In SA, the importance of air power for military victory was recognized very early.
https://samilhistory.com/2017/08/18/centenary-of-the-smuts-report-the-instrument-which-gave-birth-to-the-royal-air-force/
The backlash against overwhelming military force against striking miners was key to the rise of apartheid and communism in SA.
https://samilhistory.com/tag/the-rand-revolt/
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