US threaten Iran with pre-emptive strike

afaiui we've been doing it for years

obviously tho no matter what the trump admin says or if he really was planning something he wasn't killed merely because he was planning an operation against americans during this particular meeting. that's just another "reason" trump admin is using to make the case for killing him.

The idea that David Sanger, or anyone really, thinks he or she knows why Trump decided to do this—and, moreover, knows it’s because of some conception of the national interest—is laughable. https://t.co/WfwRd0dONt pic.twitter.com/FVsQ8FIqv4

— Isaac Chotiner (@IChotiner) January 3, 2020

American Contractor: A Film By Clint Eastwood

"the calculus was straightforward"

not a sentence anyone should ever write about the thought processes of donald j trump

i think trump did it to show that he can do it. the iranian answer won't be nice, that's for sure. chances for a new war in the region are 50:50, i'd guess.

Mordy the US has been openly assassinating military chiefs in the middle east as part of the GWOT but hasn't it always been non-state actors until now?

Yep.

Here's the thing, the IRGC is an institution, and Suleimani wasn't an extremist within it. The US would have been routed out of Iraq in 2005-6 if it wasn't for Iranians moderating Iraq Shia militia.

I don't think the assassination of Suleimani will lead to immediate escalation. But the IRGC will kill some US leaders of comparable rank in Afghanistan or visiting Saudi Arabia etc. in the next year. That's the way Persian foreign policy has worked for millennia, acting via proxy, often covertly, exploiting factionalism in neighbors. The Iranian leadership already knows they've won, their main regional adversary is now a puppet, the US isn't viewed as a reliable ally in the region, the House of Saud is known by all as a paper tiger. They can afford to wait this tempest out.

the House of Saud is known by all as a paper tiger

the Yemen conflict has hardly been a demonstration of their inability to inflict deaths and casualties on their chosen enemies, but it has demonstrated their inability to decisively assist their Yemeni allies to victory.

"The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well," [Pompeo] said. "This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the United States is trying to do to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation.”

a "normal nation" like the usa? because...

Warren's reaction to this is the first thing that's made me reconsider my support for her over Sanders.

Love being called Brits btw.

Just imagining a British Defence Minister referring to the USA as 'the Yanks'.

looking forward to freedom fries part 2

English muffins to be renamed MAGA Muffins

What reaction from Warren is it people are talking about? She's been pretty empathetic on no more middle east wars on twitter?

lol Tom how are those things comparable

where does "Yank" appear anywhere in the name of the united states? "Brit" may not be prefereable (I don't use it) but why do you consider it a perjorative?

pejorative

Jerries for Germans then?

not to mention the J-words and P-words. It is fair to say there are millions in the UK who don't identify (nor ever fucking want to) as British.

I don't think it's especially pejorative, context though.

(xp) Yeah, I'd say, in the UK, 'Brits' is associated with Irish Republicanism.

Gotcha—that's not the understanding here. it's not common but I think ppl sometimes use it for lack of a plural ending in -s consistent with e.g. swedes, germans

calz if I may then what is the appropriate term to identify a UK resident

The British.

... in the context of Mike Pompeo's statement.

I like Les Tosseurs de l'ouest

UK is a relatively new name (it didn't enter common usage till after WW2 i think), so Britain I suppose it is. But there are people in family who would react like you have spat in their face if you called them a Brit!

in my family.. I meant

I'm Britlish and think 'Brits' was the least objectionable part of Pompeo's statement but y'all do y'all (as we always say round these here parts).

anyway seems like before very long you'll all be liberated from these clumsy catch-alls

I'm Britlish and think 'Brits' was the least objectionable part of Pompeo's statement

Get away.

I think it was when Not so Great Britain was running out of Empire when UK became more commonly used was what I meant to say. Fuck it anyway, we're all going to die!

oh for the day when I can insist on Coastal American

not to mention the J-words and P-words.

Wait, "Brit" is a slur anywhere near par with these??

oh no, I just meant the abbreviation of country names is dodgy territory to get into.

I can well imagine Trump or Pompeo using the J-word btw.

no doubt as citizens of the Peripheral United States we'll one day be known as Pussies

actually I think they already call us that

I have no idea what the j or p word refer to

Citizens of Japan and Pakistan respectively.

I can recall Bush doing the ethnic slur p-word once.

Not that a British Prime Minister would ever do such a thing.

I think Bush did use the latter once, unaware of its connotations. Americans often seem unfamiliar with it, although it certainly at least used to be common in Canada.2xp!

Pretty sure the same is true of British people and the J-word.

Tbh, I thought of "Brit" as sort of like "Canuck" - weirdly informal for an official statement by a Cabinet member but not actually pejorative or insulting.

xp Oh, I heard both of them a lot as a kid. Lucky us.

Didn't know there was some Irish Republicanism connotation.

I only found out in recent years about the J-Word being a slur. But you could probably count on your hand the population of the Japanese diaspora of northern England.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/media/images/79426000/jpg/_79426070_martinbbc.jpg

I always find it jarring coming from the mouths of US politicians, though plenty of them have flirted with Irish Republicanism in order to win some Irish American votes.

... back in the day that is, during the Troubles.

oh ok on the slurs

tried searching for a Churchill rant about "the frogs" but couldn't find a speech (as opposed to private conversation)