Reflection Connection

The next steps in the U.S. military campaign against Iran will commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy JASSM-ER cruise missiles, drawing them from stockpiles devoted to other regions — including the Indo-Pacific. ebx.sh/QYbx1E

Ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George says U.S. soldiers deserve "courageous leaders of character" in outgoing email cbsn.ws/4slCNIN

You said Hồ Chí Minh "chose war." Let me reconstruct the timeline so we're working from actual events rather than impressions. 1858: France begins military conquest of Vietnam. 1887: France formally establishes French Indochina. 1945: Hồ Chí Minh declares Vietnamese independence after Japanese occupation ends. 1945: France announces its intention to recolonize Vietnam. 1946: Hồ Chí Minh negotiates in Paris. Signs preliminary agreements. 1946: France shells Haiphong. Kills six thousand civilians. Occupies Hanoi. 1954: Vietnam defeats France at Điện Biên Phủ. Geneva Accords mandate national elections. 1956: United States prevents the elections because Hồ Chí Minh would win 80 percent. 1965: United States begins massive military escalation. 1975: Vietnam wins. At which moment in that sequence did Hồ Chí Minh "choose war" in the sense that implies a peaceful alternative was available and he rejected it? The French chose war in 1946 when they shelled Haiphong. The Americans chose war in 1956 when they cancelled the election. The Americans chose war again in 1964 with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The attack that justified it was fabricated. They knew. They escalated anyway. Hồ Chí Minh responded to wars that were brought to his country. For over a century, from 1858 to the end of the American war in 1975, Vietnam was a country being fought over by foreign powers. The question is not why Hồ Chí Minh chose war. The question is why you describe as a choice something that was, for the Vietnamese people, simply the condition of existence under colonialism.

Iran forces 1,500 US sailors out of key Bahrain base with sustained missile, drone strikes: Report ift.tt/QBjJRv1

Iran vows full airspace control, unveiling advanced air defense systems soon. “Hostile aircraft unsafe” as IRGC downs US jet & more. english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/…

First the US claimed it could easily overthrow Iran's government by assassinating top leaders. That failed. Then the US bombed Iran's main military sites. That failed. So now the US empire wants to destroy all of Iran's civilian infrastructure. This is state terrorism.

The US military is set to deploy nearly the country's entire stockpile of stealthy JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Surface Missile-Extended Range) cruise missiles. To meet this demand, the military is drawing these high-value assets from inventories previously dedicated to other global regions. According to Bloomberg, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter, the order to relocate these $1.5 million weapons from Pacific stockpiles was issued in late March. Additionally, missiles currently held at domestic US facilities and other global locations will be transferred to US Central Command bases or Fairford in the United Kingdom. This massive redeployment will leave the US with only about 425 functional JASSM-ERs available for the rest of the world, out of an original prewar inventory of 2,300. The JASSM-ER is a critical strategic tool, capable of flying over 600 miles to strike targets from a distance that keeps US aircraft safe from enemy air defenses. When factored in with the standard JASSM, which has a shorter range of approximately 250 miles, roughly two-thirds of the total US JASSM inventory has now been committed to the war with Iran. This decision follows a perilous 24-hour window where Iranian defenses struck several US assets, including the confirmed downing of an F-15E Strike Eagle and 2 A-10 Warthogs. A massive search-and-rescue operation is currently underway for a US pilot who has been missing for over a day following the F-15E crash.

.@GabeRMurphy on the $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request: "Throwing more money at the Pentagon is not a national security strategy." responsiblestatecraft.org/15-trillion-de…

Tehran says it rejects US President Trump’s “helpless and nervous” ultimatum as he warns that “all hell” will rain down on Iran if it does not reach a peace deal within 48 hours. 🔴 Follow our LIVE coverage: aje.news/jgys6v

The military budget Trump proposed today is $1.5 trillion. Adjusted for inflation, that's $260 billion higher than the largest military budget on record. It's not WWII-level military spending; it's parody-level.

BREAKING: Israel is preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities but is awaiting a green light from the US and any such attacks would likely come within the next week, reports Reuters, citing an Israeli military official.

The IAEA has been informed by Iran that a projectile struck close to the premises of the Bushehr NPP this morning, the fourth such incident in recent weeks. Iran also informed the IAEA that one of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments. No increase in radiation levels was reported. IAEA DG @rafaelmgrossi expresses deep concern about the reported incident and says NPP sites or nearby areas must never be attacked, noting that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment. Reiterating call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident, DG Grossi again stresses the paramount importance of adhering to the 7 pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict.

BREAKING: A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has warned the US and Israel that any further escalation in the war will be met with a severe, region-wide backlash. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/zufqh7

Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that Iran had warned regional countries about the consequences of continued attacks on its nuclear facilities, adding that Tehran sent 12 messages to the International Atomic Energy Agency cautioning against what it described as the agency’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities. He stated that, at a minimum, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi should call for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors under the current circumstances, stressing that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inaction is considered complicity with criminals. Kamalvandi also said that US-Israeli aggression targeted the Bushehr nuclear power plant four times, noting that the attacks caused no losses, damage, or radioactive leaks. He added that no contamination or increase in radiation levels had been recorded outside the Natanz and Ardakan facilities. He further argued that the attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites clearly violate international principles and rules, including resolutions of the UN Security Council, the IAEA Board of Governors, and the agency’s General Conference. Kamalvandi also criticized Grossi, accusing him of using unprofessional and non-neutral language that he said reflects a bias toward US and Israeli policies. #Iran #NuclearPlants #Bushehr #WarOnIran #UnitedStates #AlMayadeen

Slovakia urges EU to Lift sanctions on Russian energy —— The European Union should lift sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports, take measures to resume flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline, and bring the war in Ukraine to an end in order to address the energy crisis caused by the war in West Asia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday. In a statement following a call with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico said the EU should reopen dialogue with Russia and create conditions that allow member states to secure missing gas and oil supplies from all available sources, including Russia.

The President starts a war with Iran. Now, his family looks to profit from it. The corruption is enough to make you sick.

BREAKING: Russia harshly condemns the US-Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant earlier today and calls for such attacks on nuclear facilities to end immediately, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/ef5c84

This major redeployment will leave the US with only around 425 operational JASSM-ER missiles available for other regions, down from a prewar inventory of approximately 2,300. english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/…

BREAKING: FM Abbas Araghchi has written a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres, condemning US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and warning that such attacks "expose the entire region to a serious risk of radioactive contamination." 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/wu6cyd

A drone maker backed by President Donald Trump's two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the U.S. military led by their father. to.pbs.org/4taiYWh