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Jabbar, US has many internal problems but it is still OK. US still has money and power to engage in adventures 6,000 miles from its shores. The world is not US toy. People in foreign countries can live and want to live without US invading and killing them. It is that simple. You and 330 million of your compatriots watch these Middle East events as if it is some movie, yes we killed this evil actor yesterday, we can kill them all. But this is real life of 200 million people who are not 6,000 miles from there , but 10 or 20 miles, who live there. Hundred thousand of their relatives were killed by US Army. I KNOW THESE WERE GOOD KILLINGS IN YOUR, AMERICAN EYES. Jabbar, try to think how it would be if you change places with Iraqi. Substitute Americans with Iraqi and vice versa. In 2003 Iraqi army invaded United States on some made cause. They killed President Bush Jr, hanged him at the TV show broadcasted live around the world. They killed about 1% of your nation, that is 3 million Americans,, and another 3% of Americans that is 12 million, mainly kids died out of hunger, diseases and other indirect effects of war. Every week 1,000 Americans die in bomb attacks or other terror. Please think about your extended family, and choose 2 males and 2 kids, maybe your niece or your son, think what it would be like if the males would be killed by Iraqi soldiers still occuppying United States and kids died cause of lack of medicines and hunger. Furthermore in 2015 when US was still under occupation of Iraq, some jihadist mercenaries invaded your country. And US Army was gone cause destroyed by Iraqi Army, but Iraqi Army is still in your country, just sitting in their bases and do not care about jihadists. So jihadists took over some major cities like Philadelphia where part of your family lived, they raped women, some men were beheaded, a lot of people died, the rest fled to Washington and New York. And Jihadi ISIS army was on outskirts of New York where you lived. And then appeared many US heroes who with great courage organized militias and protected Washington and New York from the fate of Philadelphia. Many died as martyrs while protecting their capital. The most popular of them was General GRANT. And you know 2 days ago Iraqi killed your General GRANT (=American Suleimani) because the day before some unarmed Americans were protesting at fortress in Washington that hosts Iraqi Embassy. Try to imagine these alternative reality, you would understand how Iraqi are feeling about United States. I would say: God help Iraqi survive American help.

If the Iranians were planning to attack the US, they certainly ARE planning to now. So in that sense nothing has changed- if anything it's gotten worse. Also, they said goodbye to what was left of the nuclear deal. So I see centrifuges spinning, soon. I wrote earlier, here, that Iranian hardliners were pushing for nukes ASAP. That's what I would do if I was in their position because America simply cannot be trusted to not attack them. Now that prediction's a guarantee. Get nukes or America will invade/bomb/not respect you. This is the lesson for Iran. Why is the US being mean to Iran and nice to North Korea? Because North Korea has nukes and Iran doesn't. Solieman may have deserved to die, but in no way does this make things safer. Saying "F U" to Iran may feel very cathartic, but in what way does it benefit security?

People will blame each and every catastrophe or change in recent weather patterns on climate change...whether there is any scientific evidence or not. If you can’t identify the cause, just blame it on climate change! It is then politically incorrect to argue with you.

Don't put all your energy "eggs" in one basket. Especially, when it's Russia you're depending on.

As I said, except for angering China, what is to prevent basing embassies in Taiwan? Yes, problems will arise, but theoretically there is no international law preventing it. By recognizing Taiwan you are not ignoring China, you are simply ignoring a mandate without foundation. So yes, this makes perfect sense to me.

The world court is nothing like what you are describing. It is a political organization created against the US for the purpose of containing it in a monopolar world. Sort of like King Jame's tutors who tried to put the fear of god into him because he was to be an absolute monarch restricted only by the laws of physics, so they translated the bible into a laundry list of sins and abominations. It may have had some real support by idealists that believe transnational organizations serve something other than purely mercenary and political causes, particularly among the administrator class and their counterparts in media. The US hunted down Saddam Hussein and he wasn't just a leader but the president of his country. Soleimani as an Iranian soldier of high rank responsible for an act of war on US sovereign soil so is most definitely a legitimate target. Iran opened itself up to any degree of retaliation with the invasion of the US embassy. Just as it did when it bombed the Saudi facilities. They declared war on Saudi and the US. They were clumsy and far too cocky in thinking that there is a degree of separation and their tracks are covered by plausible deniability. Perhaps for an administrative type like Remake it that means something. But not to anyone else. What Trump did is not unusual and has plenty of precedence. Your freaking out over it is baffling.

“Your idea that the US should take its bat and ball and play only in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq would be equivalent to them withdrawing their embassy from mainland China and placing itinstead in Taiwan. “ First, the Iraqi Parliament voting kick the US out for assassinating a known terrorist on their soil in non-binding and purely symbolic (look it up if in doubt). But let’s assume that they do kick us out of Iraq, but that the Kurds in Erbil, the capital of their autonomous region, ask us to maintain a presence, do you ignore the desires of the Kurds? Last month the anti-American crowd was berating Trump for throwing the Kurds under the bus...but now it is acceptable? Same for Taiwan, just because the mainland Chinese claim it as a ‘lost province’ does not make it so. Except for angering the mainland Chinese, what is to stop any nation from posting an embassy in Taiwan? The US finally honored a bill passed in the 50’s to move their Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. Again, the anti-US/anti-Israel crowd screamed that this was illegal (keep in mind the bill was passed in the 50’s). After the initial liberal media storm this issue has fallen by the wayside. The same thing would happen if the US opened embassies in Kurdistan or Taiwan.

Again: what's the endgame? Bush invaded Iraq because "allowing Hussein to continue existing" is not a good idea for Western interests. Etc. etc. We all saw how that turned out.

I don't disagree one bit. Even if the outcome was justified, I don't think the means were. I'm not going to defend it. I just think the rationale may be that simple, unfortunately. I'm not sure there's much of an endgame in mind here.

Also, didn't Trump run on the idea that "no I won't be stupid like George Bush and invade a Middle East country or start more wars there?" Didn't he go out and say on multiple ocassions that George Bush was a moron for his invasion and expenditures in Iraq?

Shift it to a friendlier basis, like Iraq? The country that just voted for the US to leave? Also, if we want to shift it to a friendlier basis, then why are we bombing them? If someone gets bombed, wouldn't that make them even more "unfriendly?"

Nonsense. What he really said was quite different: "As for the activity today with respect to Iraq, we've been in their country. We've been supporting Iraqi sovereignty. We've been continuing to take down the terrorist threat against the Iraqi people," Pompeo told "Fox News Sunday," That is a very long way from the idea that the US will keep its army inside Iraq no matter what.

No, I think the Jihadis from the Middle East have given the world the ‘best’ bombers. Just take a look at the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of poor, misguided souls given suicide vests, targets and a promise of martyrdom. Obviously the guys providing the vests do not seek to martyr themselves...odd.

Imagine what $6 Trillion spent on domestic U.S. priorities could accomplish. Rebuild infrastructure as in bridges, roads, schools, housing, etc. I am all for peace in the Mideast however Trump will never succeed while Xi Jinping , Putin , and Pelosi will disrupt any attempt Trump makes to better America or the World. Europe and Asia loves the fact U.S. spends trillions to police the world protecting their oil deliveries and any aggressions toward their countries. But ask them to chip in and they're mum. I say screw them. It's a shame . The world would be a much better place if the United States were "united". Trump accomplishments are what the U.S. Democrats fear. More so then ever before EVERYTHING is about the U.S. Presidential Election and Barr/Durham investigations. Trump would have a 100% complete Chinese Trade Agreement, North Korean Nuke Agreement, and possible Iranian Nuke Agreement if not for the hatred for Trump by Pelosi and Company. U.S. exit from Iraq would cause problems for many. Iraq would become a satellite of Iran. Probable civil war in Iraq. The Shiite majority of Iran/Iraq would then stir up trouble in SaudiArabia emboldening the 25% of the Saudi population that are Shiite minority in the east. Probably overthrow the House of Saud. Israel would be the next to go . . . if it hasn't already. CHINA , ASIA, EUROPE WILL BE PAYING $150 BARREL FOR OIL. WORLD WOULD GO INTO WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC RECESSION/DEPRESSION. U.S and RUSSIAN OIL COMPANIES WOULD MAKE RECORD PROFITS . Or. . . . maybe China, Europe and Russia would say enough of this crap and join Trump in leaning on Iran to cut the crap and join the civilized world. The Sunni vs Shiite fight has been going on since 632 AD. It's getting a little tiring. If Iran limits retaliation to some cyber attacks on U.S. Companies and Government agencies, as opposed to killing Americans, something good may come out of this. Anybody can criticize . At least Trump is trying. Somtimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

How is this surprising to anybody?? Posted hours ago in another thread!! It's no surprise Russia finally meshed its natural resources and its proximity to Europe. But it takes a naive European populace and government to think Russia is a long term solution to anything other than Russia's success. Russia will eventually have a massive hold on Europe's energy security. Russia will eventually do to Europe what it did to Ukraine. Does anyone not believe this is a likely outcome?? And this outcome is exactly what US diplomacy has been fighting against. The odds were very low that the energy resources of Russia and the European demand center could be kept apart. The economics are simply too favorable to stop.

I'm not suggesting that killing the Iranian ruling class will make Iran a friend, I'm simply stating that the existing ruling class is pretty incompatible with western values and interests. Conflicts between Iran (or Persia) and it's neighbors dates back about 2500 years. It's not likely to change in our lifetime.

The End Game is apparently a game of "Blame Trump no matter what he does". Full blown Trump Derangement Syndrome. See how that game works? Blame Trump no matter what he does. TDS.

My point is that it is a major disctraction. Europe and US should find some common ground and address China in a meaningfull way instead of this. My guess is that incident will dominate foreign policy in Europe and US atleast untill November.

I don't see any attacks by @Papillon I only see him defending his position and also himself when attacked ie his age, and being accused of having dementia etc. (those are personal attacks by the way). I have never seen "a sense of entitlement" in fact he is super respectful in his responses that I have seen and shows no arrogance. He replies with "sir" but you take this as being an old fashioned colonial way of speaking (ie British Empire stuff) when it is not meant in that way at all but only out of respect to his fellow posters who he debates with. Anyway I don't need to defend him as he is far more eloquent than I am. Keep drinking the Scotch, I now prefer the smokey/peaty ones such as Laphroaig, Talisker and Ardbeg, if you haven't tried them I recommend you do.

IMO this is THE LINE I personally will STFU if nothing major comes of this. As for me hating the Middle East most journey men and women on OP know my love and affiliation to the region. in the words of the bard DT “just saying like”

Has this guy been given the benefit of the doubt or is this ‘trial by media’ again?

If you can’t answer that for yourself, I don’t think I can assist you.

Well, there are tens of millions of veterans and practically everyone in the US knows at least one personally that was deployed in a real operation . There is little delusion as to what war looks like. That is if they are not "liberals" who would rather not see them.

Get away with it in what sense though? It seems to me that the most important thing for America at this point in time should be address China in a meaningfull way. Any American on this forum that takes the future of their country seriously should be horrified..

What Obama got was a 1.5% annual boost from monetary expansion by the Fed. What Trump got was a 1.4% annual shrinkage of reserves. During 2018, the Fed took out the entire cash hoard moved into the US from abroad with the new 10% repatriation tax. They effectively sterilized the corporate tax cut. It could not have had an economic effect since the Fed effectively undid it. I think Obama was an abysmal economic performer and Trump is much better, but for the trade war. Not because it isn't necessary, but because he did it crudely and didn't follow a well thought out plan. Though Trump demands from China appear absurd from outside the trade debate, they are necessary for any continued Chinese participation in the global economy. The alternative is to treat China like Russia, or even Iran. The demands of a free market system of its member states are: No subsidies, no free electricity, no subsidized credit, no infinite rollovers of unpaid interest for SOEs, no tech transfers, no tech theft, no forced domestic partnerships, independent courts to enforce all of this, (and put the CCP under law rather than above it). Finally, an open capital account, which in neo con terms means draining China's capital and bankrupting the SOEs and the SOE banks that fund them and having China suffer a Greece like recession or alternately have them monetize the debt as they did in 1994-5 and have a large inflationary spike and currency fall (25% and >30% in 1995) that would remove them from the oil market in part, and reset their economy. Alternately, they can stay as they are and gradually pass out of the international trading system and close up again. That said, Obama didn't try to stop fracking but didn't support much of anything economically useful but alt. energy. In which he had success in setting a course forwards with solar to hydrocarbon technology. The Industrial growth of Obama's time is made up entirely of the shale boom and the emergence of ecommerce deliveries made possible by the cheap oil that shale enabled. Trump is trying to get the downstream industries to develop. Chemicals petro and high energy ones, steel and aluminum, then plastics and 3D printed parts, then further downstream. Look at the Ohio valley. I don't think you are looking at actual economic performance in economic terms but have a Democratic political perspective - looking to prove a point rather than do an analysis. Same as your attitude to analyzing the Shale finance and economics, only looking to support the notion that oil prices would spike and stay high. It is very useful to me. Keep it up, but don't let it color your actual understanding of things. I suspect that drilling the Argentine shale is what is happening right now. As international rig counts have been increasing strongly for a year running while US rigs are down. Do you happen to know where all the international drilling activity is happening?

I won't lie, as someone who generally supports President Trump, I wasn't a fan of this move. I don't see much winning here and its unclear to me how this would be a more effective way of protecting U.S. interest than simply removing personnel from the region and letting Iraq secure it themselves with U.S. financial and logistical assistance. Now, we've burnt that bridge too. We'll just have to wait it out and see how things unfold.

Join the cause for Kurdish unification to create the great Kurdistan from All of Eastern Turkey down to EAstern Syria and Iraq and Western Iran, all the way down to just north of the Basra region. With their own oil in hand they would love to unify into a nation state, various Kurd factions have been at it since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Kurds are an ethnic group and identify themselves as such within their traditional territory and in their diaspora. You have it wrong. Go research it for yourself and forget the European media. They are no more likely to get it right than Al Jazeera or the Washington post of Fox news.

Just tell the greenies we will stop producing oil and gas and switch to coal like China is doing at home and elsewhere.

What if we just take it at face value. That is, assume the attack was in defense of U.S. interest from a perceived threat. Assume that the U.S. and POTUS specifically believe that Iran has been waging a proxy war, unchecked, for years. Assume that President Trump is under a tremendous amount of stress and just said "F*ok it. Enough is enough." ...bringing us here. I'm sure there is more too it, but that's what it seems like on its face to me.

To the 1.2 million who are on the terror watch list, keep your eye on the sky.

Firstly it is 01.30, it would be lovely if you could stick to facts now and then. I'm sure the whole forum would appreciate it. I was unaware I had to explain my sleeping habits and afternoon naps to your wise self. And yes the 'trolls' have come out, as the new definition of troll is someone who believes your posts to be drivel in general and shows them up in seconds with ease. Clearly he does yes. These figures prove that beyond a doubt. He has been in office for three years correct? Where have I been? This universe. You? Who knows? The U.S. has nearly 800 military bases around the world, and U.S. Central Command says between 60,000 and 70,000 U.S. troops are in the Middle East. Afghanistan: 14,000 U.S. troops are in the country, plus 8,000 NATO soldiers. Bahrain: More than 7,000 American troops, mostly Navy, maintain Persian Gulf security in Bahrain. Troops are stationed at Naval Support-Bahrain, Shaykh Isa Air Base and Khalifa Ibn Salman Port. Iraq: About 5,200 U.S. troops were in Iraq as of January, per the Defense Department. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said American troops are presently deployed in Iraq to help combat ISIS. The number is likely to change soon as the Iraqi military said U.S. troops are no longer allowed to stay in the country. Jordan: Approximately 2,795 U.S. troops support operations to defeat ISIS and promote regional stability. Kuwait: Over 13,000 American troops are stationed in Kuwait, including those at the U.S. Army Central's forward headquarters. The troops are stationed at Camp Buehring, Ali al-Salem Air Base, Camp Arifjan, Camp Patriot and Shaykh Ahmad al-Jabir Air Base. Oman: A few hundred U.S. soldiers are in Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz. The country has hosted U.S. operations since 1980 and has assisted the U.S. in combating ISIS. These statistics can be added to now presumably. If I do have dementia sir, it has not affected me knowing where the Middle East is, or my spelling. You may wish to cut down on the whisky and then your anger may subside while your geography improves. Presumably this should say 'tough' ? It would be lovely if you could check what you write now and again, so others have no need to decipher your nonsense. As you are an angry young man and it is not dementia, (as you seem to state often in your ageist 'comedy'), then the only other explanation would be ignorance? And yes, it is ''tough'' to get out, that's why the USA has been there for three decades I assume. Fortunately Mr Trump wants out of the Middle East, hence the above numbers. However his plans have no doubt been thwarted by an alcoholic. So much for someone who considers himself the most powerful man on the planet. I agree with this, however we all see the issue no doubt, and when Putin, Xi and Pelosi are affecting the Middle East so much then what can we do about it? It appears appealing to God is the only option as religion has done wonders for the region you are trying to get out of. Good day Jabbar. Enjoy your cigar and the 'endgame' thread, you may even learn something. By the way, it is Marcin, not 'Marcel', yet another error. He is the one currently with four trophies above - (surely all from trolls, i.e users with a different view).

Killing people to become friends is an novel concept, while you seem to overlook the strength of "religions" in the middle east.

Infrared spectroscopy is widely used, and has never been "largely forgotten." It's very useful for detecting the presence or absence of functional groups when monitoring a reactions' progress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_spectroscopy

GOOD RIDDENCE TO THE DEVIL HIMSELF . . . SULEIMANI Still won't bring peace to region. U.S. would be smart to get out of the Mideast and invest in their own country They don't need the oil

It's de rigueur to leave comedy to @DayTrader and sarc/ to @Papillon.

I think Volcker did not do what he claims and all believe he did. The insane Fed policy did not contain inflation because it was not coming from the US monetary source. The big inflators of the day were Japan, S. Korea, Spain, Italy and many smaller nations. They worked through the Eurodollar system to decrease their exchange rates and promote exports. The actual driver of inflation in the US was those Eurodollars funding massive oil drilling activity when oil production in the US peaked. Then Aramco was handed over to the Saudis so those reserves were lost to US control as well. That is what caused the US inflation. The high rates Volcker imposed were not a solution to the inflation. They delayed completion of oil projects in the US, Mexico, and even N. Sea etc. thus prolonging inflation. It was the coming online of the new oil fields that conquered inflation. What Volcker's high rates did accomplish was the destruction of small and medium businesses throughout the midwest that relied on bank lending and could not tap the bond market. Volcker created the rust belt. Volcker created the superdollar that destroyed exports and domestic production. Volcker created the dominance of foreign capital in funding US investment by starting a long term condition where the US had the highest rates of all major currencies for decades. Anyone could undercut the Fed and indeed the high rates attracted foreign capital constantly. You can't control rates from above, you can only control them from below. Thus since Volcer and till Yellen, US rates and monetary base were the least expansionary of any major economy and were no contributors to any economic boom but were an added drag on every bust. The Volcker inflation narrative is simply a mistake in analysis as it presumes the US is a closed system and the Eurodollar system at the center of global trade and finance does not exist. Just patently false and stupid. What Volcker and his successors managed to do was to prevent the US from competing with other importers of resources so that the foreign economies could obtain them at lower cost. Two generations of this going on crippled the middle and lower classes and stymied growth. The economics profession needs a clean out of Volcker Dogma and removal of any of his suggestions from any regulatory structure. He basically didn't understand any of what he was doing. This chart shows foreign capital funding as % of US GDP and compares to US domestic bank funding as % of GDP. It shows that the Fed was persistently TIGHT for all of the post 1979 era. You can clearly see the US funding switching from domestic banking to foreign sources during Volcker's term at the Fed. It continued ever after and grew grotesquely disproportional once Japan started ZIRP in 1995 and China lowered deposit rates to 0.35% in 2000. You can clearly see the funding of the US mortgage bubble coming in from abroad at 8 to 15% of GDP. Remember that these MBS were spread across Europe and even Japanese portfolios.

Your on-topic contributions here have been politically naive and typically insulting when you show only a rudimentary understand of a situation and get exposed for such. By all means venture an opinion, however, why not do what @Marcin does and place it after a situation has been analysed and options considered. Note the thread title: it's about what the US is doing in Iraqi and it turns out to be one of the most prescient started. Your idea that the US should take its bat and ball and play only in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq would be equivalent to them withdrawing their embassy from mainland China and placing it instead in Taiwan. To not appreciate the repercussions of your idea is symptomatic of many of the other responses in this thread and others at the forum which are unable to grasp the severity of not only what has just happened, but the consequences that can befall oil, some of which @James Gautreau has spelled out. This forum's geopolitical commentary is every bit as meaningful as anything ever put up at Oilpro as what happens after oil is out of the ground has greater repercussions on the larger audience.

Sure, but what's the endgame? And what costs are you willing to pay to get there? And by "you" I mean "you." Not "me." I don't intend to pay a thing for this. I want nothing to do with it.

Zhong Lu, US tight oil resource is between 60 and 90 Gb. How much crude oil does the US consume? About 6.2 Gb per year. Let's say the peak comes at about the half way point at 45 Gb (assumes 90 Gb of tight oil), the US has already produced about 16 Gb of tight oil, so about 30 Gb until we reach half of URR or about 5 years. Peak oil is not about "running out of oil" it is about maximum World output, which is likely to occur by 2024 to 2026. I agree the market is currently oversupplied, but by 2021 we will see oil prices rise and by 2025 Brent will likely be $90/b in 2018 US$, probably we will see Brent prices continue to rise to about $120/bo in 2018 US$ by 2027 and this might be enough to destroy enough demand so that the oil market stays in balance at 110 to 130/bo in 2018$ until demand starts to fall in 2040 or so as the World transitions to electric transport (both battery and possibly fuel cell).

@Papillon doesn’t attack you personally he doesn’t know you, he only knows what you post this also applies to myself , no one on this platform knows anyone, you may have a perception of how that person is but it’s not realistic to imply you know them or judge them personally based on a public forum, try not to wear your heart on your sleeve it’s not worth the negative Energy. Anyone who would stand up in front of this forum in a live situation and say they have demonstrated their true personality would be called out I can assure you. Respect any views and disagree this is the beauty of being semi anonymous, at least I use my real name and have paid the price for it.

Till the fall of the Ottoman empire they had no problem being themselves in their territory without a unifying government of their own. Once it was carved up into several states that were not their own, they did have a problem. So they did develop an independence movement. I don't understand why you don't explain yourself, have Marcin or Papi write it for you.

bernie or joe biden has joined us?? 🤔🤔😂 guess you think we should all lose our jobs too?

One more, Trump got full insane, he threatens Iraq with „big sanctions” and to bomb Iranian cultural sites. I feel sympathy for US people that they elected him President. Where is US soft power accumulated in 70 years, gone with every word coming out of big mouth of this insecure man.

OIL is all that matters

Marcin, you are being completely ridiculous. Knock off the hysteria.

Maybe ‘he’ has absolutely no idea what he meant...

Let's remember that, historically, all Iran's government of the day ever had to do was to give up its nuclear weapons program and the West (and specifically the USA) would be satisfied and leave Iran alone, to its own devices. The US really is not particularly interested in the internal politics or even the social structure of various other countries; they put up will all kinds of oppression and abuse of women in places like Burma, and all through Africa, and do nothing about it. What gets the US going is the thought that nuclear weapons are going t spread, and especially to unstable regimes with loony dictators or mullahs at the helm. It is only a matter of time before some mullah or ayatollah or Guard General decides to go launch one of those bombs. You know it is coming. So the US response is self-interested, sure, but also a direct reaction to the continued efforts of the ayatollahs to go build working nuke weapons and the delivery systems to go blast Israel off the map, if they cannot reach the USA mainland. And thus the US is faced with a classic existential dilemma: do we stop them now, by whatever means necessary, or do we do nothing al let it happen, and then try to deal with the nukes and rockets later on? And the US govt has made the decision to stop it now. If that means the assassination of various Iranian military or political leaders, then that is just seen as collateral damage. As long as the ayatollahs continue to try to build nuke bombs, you can expect the US to respond with a lot more than a hit on some radical general. You can expect a nuke strike on the facilities that manufacture those bombs. Now the Iranian mullahs perfectly understand this and, in concert with their chums inside North Korea, have built those facilities deep inside mountains;. That is not going to work. I predict the US will whack at those mountain tunnel openings with nuke warheads and turn them into molten glass and radioactive dust, specifically to entomb the hidden manufacturing sites. Don't kid yourself: the US government, and with the support I might add of the US people and probably the support albeit silent of the European people, are perfectly prepared to see that happen, and if one of the results is the mass death of say 500,000 Iranians, that will be considered an acceptable collateral damage. The mullahs are leading Iran into a disaster. Iran cannot survive a direct confrontation with US military might, and it is inexorably headed that way. The best bet for Iran is to overthrow the mullahs and establish a secular society, and I see that coming soon enough. The US could trigger that by simply announcing that, once the mullahs are overthrown, the US will issue 50,000 special student visas for Iranian students to come to the USA to study. With that incentive, the ayatollahs would be history within a week. And airdrop some guns and ammo in the countryside at random, just to spur things along. Nobody likes the ayatollahs and the mullahs. Including all the younger Iranians, now over half the population.

The whataboutism goes from USA to China to Christians to Muslims. I am not surprised sir. As I state again and again, anything but self analysis, which ironically is one of the tenants of Buddhism (the belief system that does not kill others, even animals, or have a demand to do so). I am not sure sir but it was most likely about death in some form.

Didn't say their actions weren't reprehensible but lets be fair Europeans over the centuries haven't exactly been slow in "conquering" lands when it suits them.

Marcin the system in the UK isn't broken its the power hungry politicians that is the problem