SearchRecent comments
Democracy LinksMember's Off-site Blogs |
as US bases in the region get hit, pete explains....
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s invocation of a holy Christian war in Iran and his comparison to the Crusades is astounding but typical (“How Trump and his minister of war ignored the lessons of history”, March 21). President Donald Trump and his acolytes are frequently citing Christian values, but their actions and policies are commonly, distinctly unChristian. Perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of this is that Hegseth doesn’t seem to know the Crusades ultimately failed. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle Pete Hegseth should have taken a lesson from the Iran oil crisis of 1979. Undeterred, he is seeking an extra $200 billion from Congress as “it takes money to kill bad guys” – nearly the same amount as total foreign aid given by all countries in 2024. This figure was slashed by about 20 per cent in 2025 after massive cuts by the US, Britain and other countries, affecting millions of poor and disadvantaged people. As a self-styled Christian, one would think the secretary of war might have learned the lessons in the Bible – to love your enemies and to help the poor and the needy. Clay O’Brien, Mosman Both Trump and Hegseth seem to be operating from a position of complete and undisputed ignorance as to the complexity of the war they have initiated, together with Israel. Neither person has a background appropriate for the role he is holding. The first has incurred a string of bankruptcies, is a convicted felon and lies with impunity. Hegseth was a TV newsreader for seven years (2017 to 2024) before being appointed “Secretary of War” and he is spending $2 billion of US taxpayers’ funds every day on the war. This is not a skill set honed by reading the TV news bulletin. Neither man has presented an overarching strategy or exit timeframe, which is exacerbating financial market uncertainty. Further attacks by Israel on oil fields have increased market anxiety rapidly and also opened up the path for others to follow suit. Perhaps Congress might start to think de-escalation via diplomacy would be a good strategy. Otherwise, the oil price will continue its unrelenting upwards trajectory. Helen Cameron, Wollstonecraft
==========
Pennington, from Glendale, Ky., died on Sunday from injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on a Saudi Arabian military base seven days earlier. He is the seventh U.S. service member to die in the conflict with Iran since it began on Feb. 28, along with Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Capt. Cody Khork of Lakeland, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. Declan Coady of Des Moines, Iowa; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert Marzan of Sacramento, Calif. Earlier Monday, Trump called the war “a little excursion” during a House Republican retreat at his golf resort in Doral, Florida. “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil,” the president said. “And I think you’ll see it’s [going to] be a short-term excursion.” https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5776187-kaine-slams-trump-iran-war/
========================
YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.
Gus Leonisky POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.
|
User login |
tough terms....
Trying to define Donald Trump’s position with respect to Iran is akin to watching a weather vane in a hurricane… i.e., it is spinning wildly in all directions. Consider the following statments that President Trump:
— Friday: “We can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. “
— Later on Friday: The U.S. is “considering winding down” the war with Iran.
— Earlier on Saturday: Axios reports Trump is planning “possible peace talks with Iran.”
— Now: “If Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours the US will obliterate their various POWER PLANTS.”
Axios reported on Saturday that the Trump team is scrambling to try to resurrect direct negotiations:
President Trump said Friday that he was considering “winding down” the war, though U.S. officials said the expectation was there would still be two to three additional weeks of fighting. In the meantime, Trump’s advisers want to start laying groundwork for diplomacy.
Behind the scenes: Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are involved in the discussions around potential diplomacy, sources say.
Any deal to end the war would need to include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, address Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and also establish a long-term agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles and support for proxies in the region.
There has been no direct contact between the U.S. and Iran in recent days, though Egypt, Qatar and the U.K. have all passed messages between the two, a U.S. official and two additional sources with knowledge said. Egypt and Qatar have informed the U.S. and Israel that Iran is interested in negotiating, but with very tough terms.
Trump still labors under the mistaken belief that he has leverage over Iran and that Iran is eager to end the war. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Following Israel and US attacks yesterday on Iran’s nuclear processing facilities, Iran hit back hard in Dimona, which is the headquarters of Israel’s nuclear program. Notice in the following videos the failure of Israel’s air defense system to destroy an Iranian missile:
SEE VIDEOS....
Iran retains a firm grip on the Strait of Hormuz and continues to launch waves of missiles — at least three waves per day — at targets in the Persian Gulf and Israel.
Trump’s war of choice in Iran has derailed the planned summit with China, according to Politico. Contacts to prepare for the meeting were already underway, but they have now been completely suspended, with no new dates set.
Netanyahu is not helping matters. During a press conference on military action against Iran, Netanyahu said: “Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan. Because if you are strong enough, ruthless enough, powerful enough, then evil will win over good.” EADaily
His remarks sparked a wave of criticism on social media, particularly from Christians angered by the comparison between Jesus — whom they regard as God incarnate and the “Prince of Peace” — and Genghis Khan, founder of the 13th-century Mongol Empire whose armies ravaged Asia from China to the Mediterranean. CP24
Netanyahu quickly pushed back on the backlash. He said he was citing the great American historian Will Durant, and that “a morally superior civilisation may still fall to a ruthless enemy if it does not have the power to defend itself. No offence was meant.” South China Morning Post
Critics were not satisfied. Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac from Bethlehem said on X that the statement was “offensive on multiple levels” — that it “not only compares Jesus to Genghis Khan, but also suggests that the way of Jesus is naive, while a ruthless, ‘might makes right’ approach is what ultimately allows good to overcome evil.” CP24 He added that “Netanyahu, and his Christian Zionist supporters, are making a mockery of the ethics of Jesus.”
The Jerusalem Archbishop also weighed in, saying that Netanyahu’s “inflammatory words reflect narcissism, arrogance, and a sense of domination,” and that his provocative statements “demand responses from churches around the world.”
For the non-Christians who are reading this, it is important to remember what Jesus said about dealing with people like Netanyahu and Genghis Kahn… Jesus taught “turn the other cheek” in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5:38-39. He said:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”
The stupidity of Netanyahu is illustrated in the following image:
READ FROM TOP.
YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.
Gus Leonisky
POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.
RABID PEACEFUL ATHEIST