You people obviously don't understand the brilliant Trump strategy for troops withdrawal from Middle East.

Couple more of his Dick Move Supreme and not only Iraq but all of them will ask US troops to leave.
And voila, all soldiers are back home - mission accomplished.
I also have a perfect exit strategy from UK.
Let's drone Buckingham Palace, he-he.

True , there are ironies of history. One explanation for this act of STATE terrorism - the assassination of a popular Iranian general ( Hannibal must have been seen as " terrorist " to the ancient Romans after the battle of Cannae ) : In truth, the sun is setting on American Empire just as it did on the British Empire. Because of mass opposition to costly wars - costly in resources , costly in human sacrifices- the United States can longer send really large armies over seas. There will never again be a war like World War I , World War II or even Korea and Vietnam .
There are now limits on the ruling class controlled mainstream news media's success in brainwashing the common people of the USA with patriotic Wilsonian blather : " MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY ! " " Remember the Maine ! "
In the Iraq War it was whispered: " this is all about oil " . Now Trump says WE have all the oil we need right here in the United States . So it is all about IDEALISM then ? WE want the people of the Middle East to enjoy the blessings of " OUR democracy " just as WE do ? You would think that the Bernie Sanders campaign of 2016 , his socialist flavored " political revolution " drawing enthusiastic crowds, the Donald Trump campaign , his right wing, populist MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN road show, also attracting great crowds , had nothing to do with any crisis or " malaise " of " OUR democracy " . The ESTABLISHMENT was still respected and beloved ?
But , no it is not about irrepressible American idealism - with the usual bloody consequences. It is all about advanced military technology and economic might BULLYING the not quite FREE WORLD to accept American imperialist hegemony - without any occupying forces ( puppet armies and puppet governments will do ).
It also about the sinister USA- Zionist " Greater Israel " axis.
To what degree have belligerent Zionist Jews attached to Apartheid Israel become " The Enemy Within " here in the United States ? They DO control the mainstream news media in the United States. If you are a professional journalist try crossing the line on anti- Zionism ( always = to Anti- Semitism in our news media, cued by the venerable New York Times ).
How many American scholars with high status positions in Academia have been silenced or intimidated by the Zionist bullies ? How many anti-Zionist Jews have been black balled and censored ?
THINK ABOUT IT before " REMOVE " .

The general was only "popular" with Iranians who support their theocratic autocratic regime.

he was hated by rank and file Iranians who have been subjugated by the Red Guard that he was in charge of.

I agree with main idea of your post.
But I think that " Remember the Maine ! " still will work even after Afghanistan and Iraq.
And I agree that WW3 is very expensive but still very possible.

I grew up in Soviet Union, so I wasn't brainwashed with OUR democracy and it doesn't have any santimantal value for me.
As soon as I saw the true nature of capitalist "democracy" I ditched it without any regret.It looks like old good Soviet propaganda was right (again) about illusion of democracy in capitalist society.

Good dictatorship is much better than shitty democracy.
I dream about American Stalin.
THINK ABOUT IT before " REMOVE " , he-he.

So, as I stated, there will be no war over the killing of the war pig Iran general.

Is there ANY American general stationed anywhere in the Middle East with no blood on his hands , who the locals might not see as " American Imperialist Pig " ?
This " Arrogance of Power " here is a warning to all " lesser " countries to make a nuclear arsenal that rivals Zionist Apartheid Israel's.
Targeting individual " war pigs " can work both ways . The American ruling class is taking us down a barbaric path of endless stupid war.
The justification for OUR wars has not changed in 100 years . The same old Wilsonian blather !
In truth it is all about making the world safe for their plutocracy .

War Pigs are War Pigs.

This could be taken as a PACIFIST thought . But principled pacifists would not approve of anarchic assassination atrocities.
There are recognized, civilized RULES even for not so civilized war. Judging this or that soldier or general EVIL is a personal judgment . Even in banal American baseball games any player on the OTHER team is hissed as EVIL . Or a Yankee fan in Boston's Fenway Park .
The psychology of war has not changed much since Homer wrote " The Illiad " centuries ago. Worship of Mars - " the blood swollen god " endures .
More than 2200 years ago one Cato ended every speech in that august Roman Senate with these chilling words : " Carthage must be destroyed !" .
Cato remains the patron saint of hawks in the American Senate .

Hey, a war pig is a war pig.
The dead Iran general was a war pig.

"This attack was the "open" and "proportional" response for the U.S. assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani which Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had promised. It will certainly not be the only response but represents the opening shot of a long and much more silent campaign to kick the U.S. out of the Middle East." https://www.moonofalabama.o...

A culture that uses war as an indispensable modality for its survival will be granted the reward that endless war brings- suicide!

A culture founded upon lies designed to FOREVER deceive its own people will never be able to exists without them.

The "barbarians are not at the gate but inside of it."

Astonishing lack of detailed news about the Iranian strike - damage, casualties etc. Of significance however is that no Iranian missiles appear to have been intercepted, bearing out the widespread rumor that the Patriot system can be circumvented or has a poor success rate (0 - 10%, see https://web.archive.org/web...
Could it be that Iran has simply warned America that their bases are indeed vulnerable while avoiding escalation?

Nice.
People are dumb and always look at a wrong stats.
The only relevant stats is Patriot stock prices and it's always a hit.
I personally wait till MKB "Fakel"(makers of S400) go public, he-he.

A top U.S. intel source sent me this analysis in response to a detailed question:
“It is most unlikely Trump will escalate at this point, and this could provide him with the opportunity to leave the Middle East except for the Gulf States. Trump wants to get out. The fact that Israel would be hit next by Iran [as promised, among others, by the IRGC as well as Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah] will probably cause them to pull back, and not order Trump to bomb Iran itself.
“DEBKA-Mossad acknowledged that Iran’s offensive missiles cannot be defended against. Its secret is that it hugs the ground going underneath the radar screens.” [the source is referring to the Hoveizeh cruise missile, with a
range of 1,350 km, already tested by Tehran.]
“What is amazing is that Iraq has allowed US troops into their country at all after seeing over a million of their people murdered by the US if we include the 500,000 dead children [during the 1990s, as acknowledged by
Madeleine Albright]. The royals in the U. A. E. told me that this is because Iraq is more corrupt that Nigeria.
“The key question here is what happened to the Patriot Missile Defense for these bases who were on high alert assuming this is not similar to Trump’s missiles hitting empty buildings in Syria after the chemical false flag operation. I saw no report that any defense missile was working, which to me is very significant.”

https://consortiumnews.com/...

This is interesting. Hadn't heard this anywhere else.

Secret Service at Mar-a-Lago adds four checkpoints to examine vehicles for explosives and search guests for weapons after Iran put out $80m hit on the president

https://www.dailymail.co.uk...

Since Iran did that, it is now okay to kill the Ayatollahs.

Such a joke. Twelve missiles fired and not one injury or casualty. Iran obviously missed everything on purpose.

I'd love to know what deal our orange Fuhrer made with them to basically stand down.

It was all a sham. Their leadership probably wanted to get rid of a general who was getting way too popular so they provided JSOC with his itinerary with a wink and a nod. Then they blew up some Iraqi desert in retaliation.

Yup

On the talk Trump just gave-(Wed AM) he said we did not NEED their oil.
What does he mean by that? -
More U.S. Nuclear Power Plants?

And what is this talk going around about - A U.S.-Earthquake Weapon from Space-?

We do not need their oil as we are now an exporter of oil. Your earthquake weapon fake news just like bernie has a chance to win.

The world has lots of oil. American strategy is to restrict supply and let their Saudi allies corner the market, in exchange for a cut.

You may be on to something.

Where did you hear this 'talk'?

National TV Station. I don't remember which one.

Look up HAARP. Although what is in orbit now I couldn't say. You can look up a film from an activist in Alaska, years old, "Angels Don't Play This Haarp". I did note a large quake, ironically enough, right nearby an Iranian nuke energy facility about a week ago. And this weather warfare, geowarfare tech is not new. Kucinich tried to legislate against it in the nineties. And it is part of a UN treaty that the u.s. did not sign on to.

Clearly this is a facesaving move by a country whose military options are limited, though not nonexistent. Hopefully Trump and his minions will pull back from the brink. Unfortunately we're relying on the good sense of people who demonstrated no good sense to begin with.

If I were an American visiting Iran their own equivalent CIA might want to unmask this no name blogger as a pillar of Western Christian Civilization.
I would escape their own " Gulag " by blessing their own nuclear weapons agenda . ANY country threatened with " annihilation " by Donald Trump and his own gang of Zionist Jew thugs should not waste any time building a nuclear weapons arsenal that matches that of Zionist Apartheid Israel.
Mussolini like, Trump brags about OUR advanced military weapons and technology . The " lesser " nation states of the world get the message : Imperialist USA must not have superior advantage in nuclear World War III .
The American working class - mostly CHRISTIAN - has nothing in common with the interests of the American plutocracy or Israel's arrogant settler class - so much like Apartheid South Africa's white supremacist settler class.
As in 1917 Wilsonian patriotic blather : MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR THESE CREEPS ?

Sad but true. The message of Libya is clear, cooperate and disarm and be destroyed. The lesson of N. Korea is clear, get the Bomb and show you can deliver it and you won't be invaded.

The Christians you know are so atypical that you yourself simply must be a snarky New Atheist " friend of Israel " or nervous, neurotic Zionist Jew.
The neo-con Jews in the Democrat Party want to marginalize the AMERICAN MAJORITY - the millions of Christians not ashamed of being Christians in the United States.
The " progressive " future does not belong to Anti-Christ God Haters. Like the old Soviet Union tyrants they would make " OUR democracy " OFFICIALLY ATHEIST .

Interesting action by Iran - give Iraq heads up about bombing U.S. military bases in Iraq so Iraqis can warn U.S. so U.S. can move personnel out of harms way. Strike bases that house U.S. military to send message about vulnerability (no Iran missiles were intercepted by U.S. so, message clear) - strikes (as of the time of this writing) appear to have only done property damage (no casualties) so Iran retains the moral high ground from a global political perspective.
Post strike statements by Iran sends message to other nations in the region that if attacks from U.S. are made upon Iran from their territories, these nations will be targeted by Iran. And, if U.S. retaliates in any way, Hezbollah will attack Israel.

Regardless of U.S. response, this situation is far from resolved. Iran's (and it appears Iraq's as well) ultimate objective is to oust the U.S. from the Middle East altogether. For peace in the ME, this is necessary. Given that talks were are probably are still being had through back channels between Saudi and Iran via Iraq go-between, progress may be in the works to unite the major ME players (excluding Israel) against the U.S. - regional unity has the potential to do this especially since Russia and China are politically on Iran's side and have major investments and future plans tied to the ME at large.

Waiting now for U.S. response...

No. Warning shots to show that they can hit the bases. The chatter going on is that they missed more strategic places on the bases on purpose. The missiles fired are very accurate. Iran also has ground to air missiles, complements of Russia, the same missiles we did not want Turkey to purchase from Russia.

The slyest fox at the moment is Putin.

I wonder what would happen if those ballistic missiles were fired at a US aircraft carrier sitting in the Persian Gulf, or at Saudi palaces. I'm hoping cooler heads will prevail in the WH and Pentagon, but unfortunately we're relying on the same heads that got us to this point in the first place.

Every Iran port would be destroyed, the Iran air Force and air bases would be destroyed, all Iran radar installations would be destroyed, and any concentration of Iran military personnel would be destroyed.

All power generation facilities would probably be destroyed. Water systems would probably be destroyed. All bridges would probably be destroyed.

Oh, I don't doubt that the US would "win," much as England "won" the second world war. But the US would have to assemble a large force in the gulf to do it, and Iran could well do enough damage to that force that it would make the US empirial project instantly non-viable. It would also likely put an end to the Saudi regime.

Lol. The US doesn't have to invade Iran. What I stated could be easily done from air.

I am not for it, but to pretend there is nothing the US can do is incorrect.

Simple solution is for US and Exxon to get the hell out of the region. Likely, not so much.

Recall Saigon 1975 ? Now Baghdad 2020 ! This will NOT be another " American Century " !

I think the possibility for the U.S. to leave the region is looking a little more likely - the Iranian strategy seems rather sound. Of course the U.S. response (initial and then down the road) will determine how bloody this whole thing gets and to what extent the conflict may spread.

I doubt it. Persons and countries drunk on power will do things that only dig themselves deeper in doo doo. No, we will keep troops in Iraq, while withdrawing a few. If all a kicked out, then we will institute sanctions which will bring Iraq and Iran only closer together, and, much closer to Russia.

Great thinking, Donald T.

It would be a little more likely if we were dealing with rational thinking people in the US administration. There's quite a deficit of that at the moment.

Yup

Saagar Enjetti and Krystal Ball of "The Hill" on YouTube noted that generally the Pentagon presents the President with a set of three options in any particular instance: 1) A Weak Response; 2) A Rational Response; and 3) A Strong Response - with the second, the Rational, Response being the preferred choice. It seems our President went for the Strong Response in killing General Soleimani. Gee, who could have seen that coming?

Appreciate the Michael Hudson quote in the comment below. While not surprising, it is always better to have first hand information of the conspiratorial nature of the US--and this is NOT theory!

Additionally, it is critical to focus on the insane, if not illegal, designation of a nation's military as a terrorist organization. Doing this was a total false set up by the US to justify their assassination of a major thinker and military leader of a powerful nation. Everything that comes from the US must be read/heard in the context of this country's long term goals to control all the world's natural resources. Amazes me that Americans cannot/will not see the forest for the trees on this point. It is old; we have seen it in operation for well over 100 years. Actually this expansionist policy and control of resources is as old as this country itself. The very invasion of this land by Europeans was based on seeking wealth and power stealing land from Native peoples, killing them without any guilt, and the blatant kidnapping of millions of Africans and enslaving them for over 2 centuries to steal their labor, and abuse their bodies including for the 'cheap' reproduction of their labor force. How can any American applaud the inhumane and illegal behavior and policies of this country. The only problem people have with Trump is his style which is that of a street goon.Obama, himself, supported the growth of drone assassinations even when almost all of them missed their targets and killed innocent people. Obama, the peace candidate, was not peaceful in much of his policy, just lower key with a tinge of human concern. So much for the differences betw the GOP and Centrist Dems

What a farce. No Americans killed. The mullahs may as well ask for terms of surrender to Wall. St.

Economist Michael Hudson has the best explaination I've heard yet for the recent US Military agression.
https://thesaker.is/america... - The full article is worth the read.

"The logic behind the assassination this was a long-standing application of U.S. global policy, not just a personality quirk of Donald Trump’s impulsive action. His assassination of Iranian military leader Suleimani was indeed a unilateral act of war in violation of international law, but it was a logical step in a long-standing U.S. strategy. It was explicitly authorized by the Senate in the funding bill for the Pentagon that it passed last year.

The assassination was intended to escalate America’s presence in Iraq to keep control the region’s oil reserves, and to back Saudi Arabia’s Wahabi troops (Isis, Al Quaeda in Iraq, Al Nusra and other divisions of what are actually America’s foreign legion) to support U.S. control of Near Eastern oil as a buttress to the U.S. dollar. That remains the key to understanding this policy, and why it is in the process of escalating, not dying down.

I sat in on discussions of this policy as it was formulated nearly fifty years ago when I worked at the Hudson Institute and attended meetings at the White House, met with generals at various armed forces think tanks and with diplomats at the United Nations." - Michael Hudson

I hope no one was killed. Pretty smart move by Iran? Openly retaliate but with ballistic missiles giving US people an hour or so to dig in or evacuate. and of course showing that they can successfully target US assets that are surely under the cover or missile and air defenses. The little puppet oil fiefdoms will be taking note and likely will begin distancing themselves from the US.

There may be enough maniacal chest-beating chair-warmers in Washington and in roadside gin-joints to bring more war to Iran and the ME? Keep in mind that even if the US bombed the crap out of Iran with few losses all Iran has to do is still be standing when the bombs stop and they will have defeated us. And that won't be all they would do.

It's over for US militarism in the ME.. the only question is whether the chicken-hawks will try to burn things down before leaving.