William Lindsey 
"From all appearances, neither Donald Trump nor any adviser knows the purpose of his strikes against Iran."
~ Jennifer Rubin
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/trumps-war-underscores-his-massive
"It's pretty clear that Trump decided to go to war. I mean, we know he decided to go to war, but in trying to explain why, The administration is, you know, is giving exercises in pretzel logic. ...
Never have we launched a war for yet-to-be-decided reasons without preparation for civilians in the region."
~ Max Boot
To his credit, Boot has admitted that he was spectacularly wrong in beating the war drum during the Iraqi war.
https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/trump-started-another-middle-east
Trump Started Another Middle East War. What Could Go Wrong? | Washington Post Columnist Max Boot Joins The Strategy Session
America's reputation is plummeting in the world and we are less safe.
"You know who didn’t like all that talk on Monday of Israel pulling Donald Trump along for the bomb-Iran ride? Donald Trump. The president denied yesterday that Israel had 'forced his hand,' telling reporters that 'based on the way negotiation was going, I think [Iran] was going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen.'"
~ Andrew Egger, Benjamin Parker, and Jim Swift
"'If anything,' he said, 'I might’ve forced Israel’s hand.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth immediately chimed in: 'This is 100% correct.' This, of course, set the president and the secretary of defense 100 percent against the attack rationale laid out a day earlier by both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson…."
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied he said the U.S. had to strike Iran because Israel was about to attack, despite comments the previous day stating the U.S. acted preemptively because it knew Israel planned to strike Iran and expected Tehran would retaliate against American forces if the U.S. didn’t act first."
~ Aaron Parnas
#Trump #MarcoRubio #Iran #war
/5
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/news-senators-sound-the-alarm-as
NEWS: Senators Sound the Alarm as Trump Moves Closer to Boots on the Ground While CIA Arms Iran Opposition to Cause Uprising
Good evening everyone.
"Trump: 'Most of the people we had in mind [to succeed Khomeini] are dead [due to missile strikes]. We had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also. Pretty soon we're not gonna know anybody. I mean, Venezuela was so incredible because we did the attack and we kept govt totally intact.'"
~ Aaron Rupar
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mg6alhgje52a
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)
Trump: "Most of the people we had in mind are dead. We had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also. Pretty soon we're not gonna know anybody. I mean, Venezuela was so incredible because we did the attack and we kept govt totally in tact."
"Trump: 'I guess the worst case is we do this and then somebody takes over who is as bad as the previous person. That could happen.'"
~ Aaron Rupar
"JD [Vance] has become a lurker. The greatest sycophant and word-twister alive has decided that his best move is to just shut up. He can’t admit 'No dumb wars,' his foundational excuse for backing Trump—after once comparing Trump to Hitler—was a lie. Vance, the posting machine, has essentially stopped; the cheer captain gone silent and is just watching the game."
~ Jason Sattler
https://thecause.substack.com/p/the-iran-war-is-so-bad-even-jd-vance
"Here is a word neither Hegseth nor Trump like the sound of at all: prepare. To prepare is all about planning and waiting, and planning and waiting is boring. To do things that bore Donald Trump and Hegseth and their diplomacy poodle Marco Rubio is illegal. Trump hates only one thing more than being bored and that is losing."
~ Lucian K. Truscott
#Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #Iran #war
/9
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/how-to-plan-for-a-war-of-choice-you
"The Joint US-Israel attack on Iran has now expanded into a region-wide conflict involving 12 countries. For 40 years, the policy of the United States has been to prevent this very conflict. ...
This was a war of choice that I would certainly never have made."
~ Malcolm Nance
"Once upon a time US and Israeli air superiority might have contained Iran’s ability to harm its neighbors. But in an age in which even third-rate powers have the ability to launch missiles and drones, Iran has a huge stockpile of drones and also has ballistic missiles that are destructive, hard to intercept, and have a 1200 mile range."
~ Paul Krugman
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/reality-sets-in-on-trumps-new-war
"The US State Department and Department of Defense apparently failed to anticipate a regional war as Iran’s defensive strategy—a failure of contingency planning, wargaming, and imagination."
~ Robert B. Hubbell
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/a-good-night-for-democrats-as-the
"Qatar’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian missile struck the Al Udeid U.S. air base, the biggest military base in the Middle East. No one was injured, the ministry said on social media early Wednesday local time."
~ Alyssa Lukpat
"Satellite imagery shows an Iranian ballistic missile struck the AN/FPS-132 phased array radar at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. If the damage is as severe as the imagery suggests, Iran just destroyed a $1.1 billion piece of equipment that took years to build and cannot be replaced on any timeline relevant to this war."
~ Shanaka Anslem Perera quoted by Greg Dworkin
"It doesn’t appear that Donald Trump will be getting that Nobel Peace Prize anytime soon—at least not one he earned. The big story today is the growing global fallout as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran enters its fourth day."
~ Adam Parkhomenko
"4 days after the Iran War started, the State Dept announced it was evacuating embassy personnel from 14 different countries in the Middle East and advised all Americans in those countries to leave immediately. However, due to DOGE cuts, the State Dept budget to evacuate Americans was slashed and the US govt has no ability to help anyone get out."
~ Ron Filipkowski
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/today-in-politics-bulletin-320-3326
"Right now, amid Donald Trump’s war in Iran, the US government has left many Americans in the lurch across the Middle East."
~ Maria Kari
"Iran has retaliated against the U.S. and Israeli strikes by targeting bases, infrastructure and certain civilian structures throughout the region with missiles and drones. The half million or so U.S. citizens in the region are now desperate to escape, but the U.S. State Department is offering no assistance whatsoever."
~ Jay Kuo
"You have to understand: Just like any wartime president, Trump has also been preoccupied with the intense planning and logistics of his beautiful new ballroom. As he noted Monday, it was a real shame that American soldiers died in a reprisal attack, but also, how about those drapes?"
~ Marty Kelley
/s alert
https://www.wonkette.com/p/fifa-peace-president-would-evacuate
"NATO is now involved. It has shot down an Iranian missile heading into Turkish airspace. Turkey is a NATO member housing a major U.S. military base where the U.S. has nuclear weapons, including B-61 thermonuclear bombs. NATO’s Article 5 says an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all. ...
Trump and Netanyahu’s war is rapidly escalating into a global conflict."
~ Robert Reich
"The Pentagon has announced that more U.S. forces are deploying to the Middle East as the war with Iran escalates. Let’s call it what it is: Donald’s war with Iran."
~ Mary Trump
"The war continues to escalate. In one of the most significant developments so far, the U.S. Navy confirmed that an American submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian Navy frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka. More than 180 people were reportedly aboard the vessel, and dozens were killed.
It marks the first time since World War II that a U.S. submarine has sunk an enemy warship using a torpedo."
~ Ben Meiselas
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/wednesday-afternoon-updates-as-war?
Wednesday Afternoon Updates as War Escalates, Economic Strain Grows, and Democrats Surge at the Ballot Box — 3/4/26
Hi all, Ben here.
"The war in Iran is costing taxpayers more than $1 billion everyday."
~ Aaron Parnas
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/major-update-republicans-break-and
Major Update: Republicans Break and Subpoena Bondi in Epstein Investigation, Trump Tried to Prosecute Biden, War Costs Billions
We have a major update this afternoon.
"He’s not Netanyahu’s puppet, no siree, he is the deciderer! And he’s decided to keep on bombing and just see what happens, like a dieter opening the refrigerator door."
~ Marcie Jones
#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #war
/26
https://www.wonkette.com/p/day-five-of-operation-epstein-fury
"The objectives keep shifting. The dead stay dead."
~ Charles Kriel
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/operation-epic-fury-a-mass-of-shifting
"White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday it was necessary to bomb Iran because President Donald Trump had a 'feeling' the foreign nation would attack.
'The president had a feeling,' … Leavitt said."
~Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani
https://newrepublic.com/post/207384/white-house-karoline-leavitt-trump-bombed-iran-feeling
Shaman@wdlindsy didn't know the #OrangeFelon had feelings.