David Pyne 🇺🇸

💢📰 REPORT | New reporting from NYT reveals how Trump decided to go to war with Iran — after a closed-door Israeli pitch and despite deep internal divisions inside his own team. At a secret Feb. 11 Situation Room meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a four-part pitch for regime change, including a video montage of potential replacement leaders such as Reza Pahlavi. JD Vance was absent, stuck in Azerbaijan. Appearing alongside Mossad chief David Barnea and military officials, Netanyahu argued: Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in weeks. The regime would be too weak to close the Strait of Hormuz. Street protests — fomented with Mossad help — could trigger an uprising. Kurdish fighters from Iraq could open a ground front in the northwest. Trump’s response: “Sounds good to me.” Trump’s response: “Sounds good to me.” The next day, U.S. intelligence pushed back sharply. CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the regime-change scenario “farcical,” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio adding: “In other words, it’s bullshit.” Gen. Dan Caine told the president: “This is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed.” Trump dismissed regime change as “their problem” — but remained focused on targeting Iran’s leadership and military. By Feb. 26, in a final Situation Room meeting, opposition inside the room was clear but fractured. Vice President JD Vance warned the war could spiral and drain U.S. resources, but ultimately said: “You know I think this is a bad idea… but I’ll support you.” Rubio said regime change was unrealistic, but destroying Iran’s missile program was achievable. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the biggest proponent of war and backed immediate action. Military leadership outlined risks, including depleted munitions and the threat to Hormuz, but all stopped short of opposing the plan. Key officials responsible for managing the fallout, like the Treasury Secretary, and DNI Gabbard were notably absent. Trump went around the table asking advisors their view, then made the call: “I think we need to do it.” The strikes began two days later.

This is why the 1973 War Powers Resolution contained this very clear language. We can't just entrust any POTUS to start a major war of choice bases on his hunch about future threats. Under (1) and (2) the POTUS has to make a case to congress, and get the backing of the American people. POTUS just can't pop off and start a major war, UNLESS AMERICA HAS BEEN ATTACKED.

⭕️⚡️ The Guardian: Chaos hits the US Department of War. The Guardian reported that many military officials consider the performance of the US Secretary of War a threat. The Guardian, in a critical report on the state of the US Department of War, wrote that the Pentagon, after a wave of widespread dismissals and purges, has reached a stage of internal chaos, and that many military officials consider the performance of "Pete Hegseth", the Secretary of War in the Trump administration, a threat to the cohesion of the US military.

⚔️ Casus Belli Trump has ordered the US Navy to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and warned Iran to stand down, or else. Iran ordered ships anchored near the strait to move away from it. Iran will fire on US warships, and Trump will call it a casus belli.

President Trump unilaterally announced a “humanitarian” operation, “Project Freedom” whereby ships stuck in Persian Gulf will b allowed to exit thru the Strait, starting Monday morning. The U.S. will “guide their Ships safely out” of the Gulf. He did not say how. The only official word from Iran - right before Trump’s post - was a warning from the IRGC for all ships to avoid the exit of the Strait. It is unclear if the president is simply claiming civilian ships can exit the SOH on their own, implying he has secured authorization for their departure from Tehran, or if he means to provide a physical US naval escort for those ships. In any case, until or unless Iran officially signals their concurrence, there is every reason to believe those ships will be fired on by Iran if they try to leave without Tehran‘s permission. If President Trump implies he’s going to send US naval vessels to conduct said escort mission, then he’s going to place our ships in grave peril. In any case, unless Iran is in agreement with this, we could be setting ourselves up for a bad day in the SOH tomorrow.

Trump on US Navy Seizing Ships: It’s a very profitable business. We’re like pirates.

President Trump says the U.S. will be "taking over" Cuba "almost immediately." But he says, "we'll finish one first, I like to finish a job," meaning Iran. "On the way back, what we'll do, on the way back from Iran we'll have one our big maybe the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier the biggest in the world we'll have that come in, stop about a 100 yards off shore and they'll say thank you very much we give up."