Any bets? CAN it be done? WILL it be done?

@carpediem As I recall, it was the US push to oust the Shah of Iran that put Ayatollah Khomeini in the driver's seat in Iran. At least in part. Likewise, the US part in the overthrow of Diem in Vietnam and the sidelining of Prince Sihanouk in Cambodia may well have been what tipped those countries in the opposite directions than intended. On Iraq and Afghanistan, it obviously wasn't enough to just topple dictators and warlords.

On trusting the news, I just imaging that on every issue facing the American people, the left and their enabling people in the misinformation industry will line up 51 experts to attest that Trump is wrong :)

I likewise trust Trump, the adult in the room. He seems to be going in the most practical direction, starting with his attention to Saudi Arabia and the tightening of our bond there. If the government of Iran is toppled it becomes unpredictable without a caretaker government able to immediately step in.

@Heartlander you are correct. The Shah was basically stabbed in the back by President Carter. That’s what led to where we are today. I might also add that’s exactly what destroyed his disastrous presidency.

@carpediem

Reminds me of the worse words to come out of a president's mouth are:

"we're not going to (fill in a word) to nation build."

Like OHHHH NOOOOO!!!! who then will be there to rebuild the mess we leave behind???

Can you imaging Japan or Germany without remaining after the war to rebuild? An old work friend, a WW2 vet, claims to have served as the Munich postmaster for a year after the surrender. The authority to put the pieces back together is the whole purpose of a war. I remember watching the US assault on Iraq, and as the US tanks were rolling into Bagdad, the order was given to take down the US Flags from the tanks. I remember thinking "Oh shit, did the US just surrender?"

@carpediem Straight to the point I wanted to address!

@Nimbus *Sigh*. That I do. I KNOW he is out of patience, and wants a permanent end to the Iranian nuclear threat. All that is left to learn is HOW he will do it, and whether or not the USA will become the aggressor in a new war.

@4meAndyou It's quite amazing how the decision of just one man can affect the whole world in one way or another.
It's a heavy burden to carry.

@Heartlander I tend to disagree. Israel does not possess bunker busters. If they don't have them, the Uranian enrichment sites can NOT be destroyed. Therefore, IMO, Israel can not destroy the uranium enrichment sites. Iran has already enriched to 62%...90% is needed for a nuclear bomb.

IF Trump acts...then yes, Iranian terrorist cells here in the US will act. Goes without saying.

@4meAndyou A tangled mess. Iran probably feels the need to draw in the US so they can further activate the US left, get approval from Russia, and inspire anti-US sentiment elsewhere in the ME.

Israel has outsmarted their enemies since their creation, and have done so pretty much alone. So bunker bomb or not, the likelihood that they will again.

The need for Trump to keep the US hands back probably has more to do with keeping a good or workable relationship with other ME countries.

Russia's grab at Ukraine probably helps sentiment for Israel by some ME countries.

Overall difficult to call, but in general, I think Iran and others will use it to draw in the US, which the US will attempt to resist while keeping options open.

What affection the ME has for the US and the West was for years based on fear of Russia, but since the breakup of the Soviet Union and Russia's retreat from Afghanistan, a lot of that fear has probably eased. Does that also mean that the ME's affection for the West has likewise eased off? Maybe so, but has fear of Russia may have been replaced by fear of radical Islam. Who knows?

I remember once being spit on in Adana, Turkey. Unbeknown to me then was that the US had just issued an advisory about avoiding public exposure there because the US had done something to offend Muslims. A day or two earlier I'd have likely been greeted with a smile.

@Heartlander Good analysis!

@pentagrammom

@Gibbon ironic? not that final frontier mainframe but please continue exposing the system

@pentagrammom

@TheOneyouwerewarnedabout That'll get half the job done...there are two enrichment sites.

@LTKISS

There's that old saying that goes like this:

"America can always be counted on to do the right thing ...

... but only after trying every other possibility."

@Heartlander ... the above not really a criticism but to acknowledge the complexity of human events, and that we really don't always understand enough about things until we try to fix the problem, those failures hopefully inspire us to come up with better solutions until we find the right solution.

Like the drain pipe leak below the kitchen sink. A small leak that I thought I could easily fix with shrink-wrap tape. It worked for a while, but apparently the hot water discharge from the dish washer unshrank the shrink part of shrink wrap. Though not a complete failure; it leaks less than it leaked earlier, but a leak is a leak and I have to try something else.

@Heartlander yes that is the correct quote I was thinking about.

@pentagrammom did you go to kamalas word salad symposium?

[@GuidanceCounselor no i was too busy solving every mystery fabricated, yourself symposter? wordplay? no problem no intellect in that system

@peterlee or the system will be held to the choice clause it's broken, the one in the code that's required