10 Rockets hit US Air Base in Iraq

[James Regan + 1,776]

CNN Breaking News

US base attacked in Iraq 🇮🇶

Al Assad Air Base attacked and reports of more locations being hit.

Is this the start?

Edited January 7, 2020 by James Regan
Alexa turn off lights in Theran

[James Regan + 1,776]

This had an instant impact on WTI , so any questions about war and if it drives up the price of oil are answered.

[Papillon + 485]

Sir this is fake news I fear as Mr Trump stated again and again about needless wars and bringing the troops home.   /sarc

[Zhong Lu + 845]

Shorted the S&P late afternoon with SPXS @ 13.14.  That was a good idea. Not covering the other half of the oil short until now. Not such a great idea.  

S&P's due for a correction anyways, and this rocket strikes clearly is helping that along.  

EDIT: I thought Trump campaigned on NOT starting wars in the Middle East and for getting out of there.  Didn't he tell everyone that Bush was a freaking idiot for invading that area? 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Zhong Lu

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

James I'll talk to you here and we'll see if the vermin want to infest here or not.

Now that we've got more info I'm of the opinion this attack was a face saving move by Iran's leadership. They could have used their militias on the ground in Iraq but that would have A) exposed those same militias to destruction and B) would not have created the gravitas they needed to show their citizens that they were doing something. 

If Iraq has even moderately viable anti aircraft or "iron dome" patriot batteries, it's extremely unlikely those missiles could get through. 

[Zhong Lu + 845]

The attacks are only the beginning.  Khameini has in effect just declared a religious war to drive the infidel Americans out of the Middle East.  

Edited January 8, 2020 by Zhong Lu

[James Regan + 1,776]

21 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

James I'll talk to you here and we'll see if the vermin want to infest here or not.

Now that we've got more info I'm of the opinion this attack was a face saving move by Iran's leadership. They could have used their militias on the ground in Iraq but that would have A) exposed those same militias to destruction and B) would not have created the gravitas they needed to show their citizens that they were doing something. 

If Iraq has even moderately viable anti aircraft or "iron dome" patriot batteries, it's extremely unlikely those missiles could get through. 

Ward I agree this was a rent a crowd strike, oh the might of Iran. Let’s see if the crowds now protest over how shitty a shit the revolutionary guard is.

Attack probably came from Iraq.

If I was wanting revenge for Solemanis death I would be wanting American blood not Iraqi or some cows in a field.

Do you think they risked sending ballistic missiles from Iran with low tech missiles, to just miss on purpose is as hard to hit on target.

Face saving is the phrase and threatening Dubai etc is worthy of a little warning shot in country.

The US will look weak if they do not react, to not react is powerful in morality but will be considered a weakness in Iran and the circle continue.

 

[James Regan + 1,776]

3 hours ago, Papillon said:

Sir this is fake news I fear as Mr Trump stated again and again about needless wars and bringing the troops home.   /sarc

And what would you do sir, you seem to be an intelligent person, make a statement and get off the fence, say what you mean your very ambiguous. Respectfully 

[Papillon + 485]

I'd like to think I would stick to my promises sir. However even if I did not I would hopefully be blindly followed anyway so it is of little consequence how I would proceed. Is that non - commital enough for you?   Unfortunately I am not a military strategist like so many here appear to be and fear it is above my pay grade of previous years. I'm sure many here can answer you in a rational unbiased manner though as this site appears famous for it. 

[James Regan + 1,776]

4 minutes ago, Papillon said:

I'd like to think I would stick to my promises sir. However even if I did not I would hopefully be blindly followed anyway so it is of little consequence how I would proceed. Is that non - commital enough for you?   Unfortunately I am not a military strategist like so many here appear to be and fear it is above my pay grade of previous years. I'm sure many here can answer you in a rational unbiased manner though as this site appears famous for it. 

Your a politician aren’t you? Or at least village committee deciding where to put the next park bench.... sir /sarc

[Papillon + 485]

1 minute ago, James Regan said:

Your a politician aren’t you? Or at least village committee deciding where to put the next park bench.... sir /sarc

Correct sir, we have a multitude of benches ready and waiting, though we are deciding whether to put them to the left or right side of the park. Perhaps I could take a poll here of left or right, or do you think the poll would be pointless and the result rather obvious? 

[James Regan + 1,776]

9 minutes ago, Papillon said:

Correct sir, we have a multitude of benches ready and waiting, though we are deciding whether to put them to the left or right side of the park. Perhaps I could take a poll here of left or right, or do you think the poll would be pointless and the result rather obvious? 

Go with your gut and put casters on them, this will suit your positioning, you will always be right or left lol 😂 

[James Regan + 1,776]

Oh well looks like one of the Iranian missiles hit a Ukrainian Jet liner, Iran was quick to add it crashed due to technical difficulties, no shit a ballistic missile stuck in the turbine will cause significant technical problems.

Iran certainly making news and friends tonight.

The Iran shit show coming to a town near you.....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukrainian-passenger-plane-with-180-crashes-in-iran/2020/01/07/7e214eb4-31cc-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

1 hour ago, James Regan said:

Ward I agree this was a rent a crowd strike, oh the might of Iran. Let’s see if the crowds now protest over how shitty a shit the revolutionary guard is.

Attack probably came from Iraq.

If I was wanting revenge for Solemanis death I would be wanting American blood not Iraqi or some cows in a field.

Do you think they risked sending ballistic missiles from Iran with low tech missiles, to just miss on purpose is as hard to hit on target.

Face saving is the phrase and threatening Dubai etc is worthy of a little warning shot in country.

The US will look weak if they do not react, to not react is powerful in morality but will be considered a weakness in Iran and the circle continue.

Everyone seems to agree the missiles were fired from Iran. Yes I stick with my previous assessment, they accomplished their goals with this attack that drew no (American) blood. In fact it might have drawn no blood at all. Showed them having "resolve" without pushing us into a corner where our response would be asymmetric. 

While everyone is talking about the Iranian crowds mourning Soleimani they're neglecting to document the other crowds celebrating his death. He's directly responsible for tens of thousands of Iraqi dead among other countries. 

By firing from their own country into a sovereign nation they've now violated Iraqi airspace and essentially declared war with Iraq. They need to be exceptionally careful. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump does nothing, and I wouldn't be surprised if he bombs their battery locations. 

[James Regan + 1,776]

54 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

Everyone seems to agree the missiles were fired from Iran. Yes I stick with my previous assessment, they accomplished their goals with this attack that drew no (American) blood. In fact it might have drawn no blood at all. Showed them having "resolve" without pushing us into a corner where our response would be asymmetric. 

While everyone is talking about the Iranian crowds mourning Soleimani they're neglecting to document the other crowds celebrating his death. He's directly responsible for tens of thousands of Iraqi dead among other countries. 

By firing from their own country into a sovereign nation they've now violated Iraqi airspace and essentially declared war with Iraq. They need to be exceptionally careful. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump does nothing, and I wouldn't be surprised if he bombs their battery locations. 

He must do something, he will put on more sanctions!

 Charge Iran for every MOAB dropped on Iran.

Wheres John Bolton and Stevie Bannon when you need them?

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by James Regan

[James Regan + 1,776]

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

8 hours ago, Papillon said:

I'd like to think I would stick to my promises sir. However even if I did not I would hopefully be blindly followed anyway so it is of little consequence how I would proceed. Is that non - commital enough for you?   Unfortunately I am not a military strategist like so many here appear to be and fear it is above my pay grade of previous years. I'm sure many here can answer you in a rational unbiased manner though as this site appears famous for it. 

Well, did he make those promises before or after the attack on the US Embassy in Iraq? Are you saying that Trump must keep each and every promise made years ago and not be flexible enough to adapt to the continually changing political situation globally?

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

3 hours ago, James Regan said:

How do you ‘accidentally’ injure an Iranian missile? Do you run into it by accident?

[PE Scott + 563]

For what its worth, I was in the navy. If we had intelligence on some bad actors whereabouts who had recently engaged or killed U.S. personnel.....we put warheads on foreheads. That's how the military works.  Never did we seek a proportional response. Our reply was almost always disproportionate by a large margin to send a clear message. Granted, they were clear military targets during wartime, but that was my interpretation of my command and their strategy. 

[Zhong Lu + 845]

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/794517031/satellite-photos-reveal-extent-of-damage-at-al-assad-air-base

Missiles hit their target spot on.  Key quote: 

The photos, taken by the commercial company Planet and shared with NPR via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.

At least five structures were damaged in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. "Some of the locations struck look like the missiles hit dead center," says David Schmerler an analyst with the Middlebury Institute.

Schmerler says it is unclear whether targets on the base were chosen to avoid loss of life. "The buildings we're tallying now seem to be used for storing aircraft," he says. "There are other structures at the airbase that would be exclusively for people so maybe they intended to strike sites with equipment over people "

Edited January 8, 2020 by Zhong Lu

[Zhong Lu + 845]

In the meantime:

Centrifuges be spinning.  

Edited January 8, 2020 by Zhong Lu

[James Regan + 1,776]

4 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said:

How do you ‘accidentally’ injure an Iranian missile? Do you run into it by accident?

What is the probability of a plane crashing?

According to The Economist, the probability of your plane going down is around one in 5.4 million. Other reports place the odds closer to one in 11 million. To put this into perspective, you are far more likely to be struck by lightning or attacked by a shark than you are to die in a plane crash.

No data available on a comercial jet liner being shot down as it’s millions to one.

But crashing while launching missiles in same air space during a comercial flight is pretty bad odds for the plane.

Conincidental ????

Edited January 8, 2020 by James Regan

[James Regan + 1,776]

Trump asks for NATO to get more involved, pity this Lady wasn’t about as Theran would be in deep shit.

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

6 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said:

How do you ‘accidentally’ injure an Iranian missile? Do you run into it by accident?

I'll go out on a limb and say you don't want to run into it on purpose

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

3 hours ago, James Regan said:

What is the probability of a plane crashing?

According to The Economist, the probability of your plane going down is around one in 5.4 million. Other reports place the odds closer to one in 11 million. To put this into perspective, you are far more likely to be struck by lightning or attacked by a shark than you are to die in a plane crash.

No data available on a comercial jet liner being shot down as it’s millions to one.

But crashing while launching missiles in same air space during a comercial flight is pretty bad odds for the plane.

Conincidental ????

Well it was a Boeing. They aren't having much luck lately, with anything.