Frank Ricard
350 posts
You can't control a narrative when the whole world is paying attention. Wars force attention. The longer the world talks about Iran, the harder it becomes to ignore who armed them and why. The public is now becoming aware that the Chinese have backed, funded, and armed a regime that was ramping up ballistic missile production, stockpiling enough enriched uranium for ~10 nuclear bombs, murdered thousands of protesters two months ago, and will attack neighboring Gulf states to try and gain leverage. Every leader watching this is doing the same math as their constituents: dependence on Chinese-backed regimes and hostile chokepoints is a liability. That's the long-term impact here. Even if the Strait opens tomorrow, the lesson has been delivered in a way that no policy, trade summit, or diplomacy ever could.
Our pentagon correspondent @TBowmanNPR reports pilot is in stable condition with shrapnel wounds. F-35 made a “hard landing” and won’t be returning to service anytime soon.
This is so strange. The US and Israel already threw the whole book at Iran. Why would Iran now be shit scared of blows it has already absorbed? They landed their best punch. It failed. Why would Iran be afraid now? (As opposed to ex ante. This radical uncertainty is an imp reason why threats are more useful than action.) “This attitude may prove to be a dangerous misreading of President Trump’s determination, or of Israel’s capacity to inflict strategic blows on the Islamic Republic’s surviving leadership and military capabilities.”
Iran’s leaders are too dumb to realize they just reinforced the case for war against them.
BREAKING: Iran fired two ballistic missiles at US-UK base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to Wall Street Journal report.
BREAKING: Trump on Iran: "We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts [...] The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!"
BREAKING: Russia’s President Putin has offered to stop providing intel to Iran if US does the same for Ukraine.
Israel has been pummeled all night. Based on my counts of alerts and reports of landings from open sources the number increased tonight, though there are no reports of casualties. My Whatsapp groups are filled with people having breakdowns after not sleeping for two weeks. In Jerusalem 4 alerts were heard in a 90 minute span. Iran has been able to increase the number of launches daily. Everyone seems angry at the IDF and Netanyahu for lying about the destruction of Iranian capabilities.
