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Donald Trump Presidency discussion Thread VII (threadbanned users listed in OP)

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  • Registered Users Posts: 14,034 ✭✭✭✭StringerBell


    Sure you know yourself, he doesn't have to justify. He just says whatever he wants one day, clapping seals clap, says total opposite next day, clapping seals clap again.

    "People say ‘go with the flow’ but do you know what goes with the flow? Dead fish."



  • Registered Users Posts: 719 ✭✭✭Gwen Cooper


    Donald will be giving a statement at 4pm.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,179 ✭✭✭✭fr336


    Always worries me when Donald doesn't tweet on time


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,138 ✭✭✭Stallingrad


    2 teleprompters at the ready, will he be coherent and stay on script with no questions? We will know within the first sentence.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,032 ✭✭✭✭everlast75


    fr336 wrote: »
    Always worries me when Donald doesn't tweet on time

    It just means that there are no war updates for Congress...


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  • Registered Users Posts: 14,359 ✭✭✭✭Professor Moriarty


    2 teleprompters at the ready, will he be coherent and stay on script with no questions? We will know within the first sentence.

    Meaningless. I wouldn't believe a word out of his mouth.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,665 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    And here comes the lies and deflection towards Obama


  • Registered Users Posts: 33,730 ✭✭✭✭RobertKK


    Trump always backs down. This is a pattern.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,242 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    Not the best speech I've ever heard. Could have done without the digressions, reference to the previous administration, and odd commentary about our weapon systems. Also, no mention about the airliner.

    On the other hand, no mention of any likelihood of a military response, so I think things are going to calm down a bit.


  • Registered Users Posts: 719 ✭✭✭Gwen Cooper


    RobertKK wrote: »
    Trump always backs down. This is a pattern.

    Were you hoping for a war?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,311 ✭✭✭✭kowloon


    Not the best speech I've ever heard. Could have done without the digressions, reference to the previous administration, and odd commentary about our weapon systems. Also, no mention about the airliner.

    On the other hand, no mention of any likelihood of a military response, so I think things are going to calm down a bit.

    Looks like you may have hit the nail on the head earlier. The impotent attack by Iran makes it easy to avoid retaliation.
    They'll want to have another go from a new angle.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,032 ✭✭✭✭everlast75


    Not the best speech I've ever heard

    What were you expecting exactly from Trump?

    He is one of the worst orators, if not the worst, of our time.

    Bumbling, incoherent, malicious, snide and boastful is his M.O.


  • Registered Users Posts: 33,730 ✭✭✭✭RobertKK


    Were you hoping for a war?

    If you knew my posting history, you would know I am a pacifist.


  • Registered Users Posts: 33,680 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    kowloon wrote: »
    Looks like you may have hit the nail on the head earlier. The impotent attack by Iran makes it easy to avoid retaliation.
    They'll want to have another go from a new angle.

    The americans have systems to take down these ballistic missiles. The Israeli's have them too.

    If anyone thinks that the Americans didnt just allow these missiles to land on the base in awknowledgement that they made a mistake.

    They let them land, they want the Iranians to be seen to have taken a response and now back to sanctions.


    Simmer the pot so to speak.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,665 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    listermint wrote: »
    The americans have systems to take down these ballistic missiles. The Israel's have them too.

    If anyone thinks that the Americans didnt just allow these missiles to land on the base in awknowledgement that they made a mistake.

    The let them land, they want the Iranians to be seen to have taken a response and now back to sanctions.


    Simmer the pot so to speak.


    Exactly everyone but the hardiest of warhawaks and obviously trumpesque imbeciles realises this has been a catastrophic mistake strategically and diplomatically


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,923 ✭✭✭✭BonnieSituation


    RobertKK wrote: »
    Trump always backs down. This is a pattern.

    Absolutely chickened out of it all. Thankfully.

    But he's the epitome of "all fart and no....".

    How many times now has he had his bluff called now?


  • Registered Users Posts: 16,498 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    listermint wrote: »
    The americans have systems to take down these ballistic missiles. The Israel's have them too.

    If anyone thinks that the Americans didnt just allow these missiles to land on the base in awknowledgement that they made a mistake.

    The let them land, they want the Iranians to be seen to have taken a response and now back to sanctions.


    Simmer the pot so to speak.

    From the number of images of relatively "intact" missile bodies at the impact sites it would be fairly safe to also assume that the Iranians either fired inert warheads or chose not to arm them.

    Coupled with the forewarning to Iraq, this allowed Iran to appear to respond in retatlation while preventing escalation.

    Very balance handling by the Iranians that reflects quite poorly on US.
    Extra Judicial assassination as a tool of statecraft?
    Barring Iranian UN attendance and the actual nonsense spouted regarding "imminence" with no evidence to support it.

    The escalation of targeting a military leader of a Sovereign nation in a kill mission without a declaration of war or a defacto state of war is astounding!

    It really changes the calculus on what is now acceptable as a means of political expedience.

    The rules based system that has governed Diplomacy is being eroded by the country that sees itself as its paragon.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,311 ✭✭✭✭kowloon


    banie01 wrote: »
    From the number of images of relatively "intact" missile bodies at the impact sites it would be fairly safe to also assume that the Iranians either fired inert warheads or chose not to arm them.

    Why retaliate at all if it makes you look incompetent?


  • Registered Users Posts: 16,498 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    kowloon wrote: »
    Why retaliate at all if it makes you look incompetent?

    Because the retaliation is purely symbolic, like throwing a shot wide in a duel.

    The point of the retaliation is to demonstrate that should the Iranians wish to strike hard and escalate that they have the means to do just that.

    Its not solely a matter of making a big bang, but showing that you can choose when to reach out and when to restrain oneself.

    The Iranians (IF the warheads were deliberately inert), have done just that.

    Whilst the Israeli's and portions of the US m.e allies may have a partial THAAD umbrella, plenty of areas are very vulnerable to Ballistic strike and Patriot isn't a certainty kill vehicle.

    The purpose would be to show the capability to strike anywhere in the M.E but to demonstrate that Saudi and Gulf states are particularly vulnerable.

    the Iranians couldhave launched SSMs against Gulf shipping traffic, but I'd much rather their calculus avoided outright conflict and forced escalation back on to the US.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,096 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    It is endlessly fascinating to see the faces Trump pulls as he talks when he is consciously lying (he unconsciously lies the whole time) or reorganising the truth to suit his ends and he puts on that pious 'empathy' voice, 'Be grateful, and bow down before me, I am the patient and wise elder statesman saving the world' stuff. Presumably he doesn't play poker?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭serfboard


    banie01 wrote: »
    Because the retaliation is purely symbolic, like throwing a shot wide in a duel.

    The point of the retaliation is to demonstrate that should the Iranians wish to strike hard and escalate that they have the means to do just that.
    Interesting analysis by the BBC here:
    BBC wrote:
    Given the significance of General Qasem Soleimani and the passions that his killing aroused, Iran's military strike against US bases in Iraq was a modest response.
    ...
    The question now is what happens next. Is this the end of Iran's retaliation? Only time will tell.

    Any dramatic Iranian response - the assassination of a high-ranking US officer for example - would take time and depend upon both detailed planning and opportunity.
    ...
    this episode of direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington was preceded by a long-running Iranian campaign over many years to hamper US activities in the region. Indeed it was rocket attacks from Iran's proxies - a local Shia militia - against US bases in Iraq that formed the prelude to this recent crisis. This then raises a whole series of questions.

    In killing ... Soleimani has the US now established any measure of deterrence? Will Tehran seek to constrain its allies in the region to avert further attacks against US bases or interests? And if not, will Iranian-inspired attacks resume in due course? What will President Trump do then?
    While it's obvious that the Iranians don't want to get into a direct shooting war with the Americans, you'd have to imagine that these missile attacks will not be their only response, and that their plotting for a longer-term and harsher revenge, probably using proxies, will start now.


  • Registered Users Posts: 39,466 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    Two rockets have landed in the green zone in Baghdad according to sky news which caused sirens to sound at the US embassy. No suggestion it was from Iran.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,359 ✭✭✭✭Professor Moriarty


    Itssoeasy wrote: »
    Two rockets have landed in the green zone in Baghdad according to sky news which caused sirens to sound at the US embassy. No suggestion it was from Iran.

    They have many proxy militias.


  • Registered Users Posts: 39,466 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    They have many proxy militias.

    Well one of them has decided to act then.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,552 ✭✭✭✭aloyisious


    That's the worrying thing for Iran, a freelancer going rogue on his/her own bat may do something that initiates an unstoppable ball rolling. I'd imagine that the ground forces and aircraft crews & maintenance people at the airfield were in bunkers during the missile strikes reducing the chance of casualties. One thing which followed on from the killing of Gen Soleimani was the crowd-crush at his funeral giving the authorities in Iran a chance to rein in the expressions of anger on the grounds of public safety. The mourners were allowed enough of a tension-relief valve to let off steam so things could cool down ever so slightly. There is a silver lining in each cloud.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,552 ✭✭✭✭aloyisious


    It seems the Senate briefing did not go down well in GOP ranks. Two of its senators went their own [probably predictable] way slamming it and expressing the view that congress had the power to decide on war, not the president, while Senator Graham decided to call them anti-constitutional and anti-American for expressing their opinions on the briefing and what President Trump had done. One of the senators responded that Graham doesn't know anything about the constitution, which I doubt, just that Graham is knowingly lying about the constraints the constitution allows Congress apply to presidential actions.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,032 ✭✭✭✭everlast75


    aloyisious wrote: »
    It seems the Senate briefing did not go down well in GOP ranks. Two of its senators went their own [probably predictable] way slamming it and expressing the view that congress had the power to decide on war, not the president, while Senator Graham decided to call them anti-constitutional and anti-American for expressing their opinions on the briefing and what President Trump had done. One of the senators responded that Graham doesn't know anything about the constitution, which I doubt, just that Graham is knowingly lying about the constraints the constitution allows Congress apply to presidential actions.

    The senators were told not to debate or question the decisions made on Iran. They were told that to do so help the Iranians and was unpatriotic.

    So basically, people are not allowed criticise Trump and the decisions made by him.

    People outside the administration are now getting a flavour of what it is like to directly work for Trump.

    It is the reason the only people left working for him are lackeys. They are not allowed stand up to him.

    Democrat or Republican, it is not healthy for a democracy to have a leader like that. It is disturbing.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,480 ✭✭✭ECO_Mental


    Just thinking, now that Bolton has had his Road to Damascus moment and has now decided to testify but the Senate probably wont call him to testify, why doesn't Congress subpoena him anyway and get him to testify to congress.....that'll call his bluff and he will be on the record and give an under oath testimony that the Senate cannot ignore really.

    6.1kWp south facing, South of Cork City



  • Registered Users Posts: 8,934 ✭✭✭20Cent


    Interviews in front of helicopters, the constant sniffing, slurring words, incoherent rants about toilets/washing machines etc, the rush to hospital.

    Is it time to face the elephant in the room seems very clear trump is using amphetamines like adderall. It's rumored he's been snorting it for years. Would explain a lot of his behaviour.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 17,665 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    20Cent wrote: »
    Interviews in front of helicopters, the constant sniffing, slurring words, incoherent rants about toilets/washing machines etc, the rush to hospital.

    Is it time to face the elephant in the room seems very clear trump is using amphetamines like adderall. It's rumored he's been snorting it for years. Would explain a lot of his behaviour.


    The adderall is looking more and more likely but my money is still also on advanced untreated syphalis slowly melting his brain. He's famously talked to Howard Stern about how lucky he was not to ever contract any STD's but as we all know Trump likes to project and lie about things that don't need to be lied about and if he says something is one way its very likely the other. Put simply he was too stupid to do anything about it which lead to his rapid mental deterioration, basically exactly what happened to Al Capone.


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