Tag: Armed Conflict

A Peace In Our Time?

The conflict in Ukraine has been back and forth for years and they are no closer to finding a solution than they were on day one….no matter how many civilians die….now there is a proposal (probably going nowhere) to find a peaceful solution……

The war in Ukraine can be ended permanently on terms that protect Ukraine’s statehood, meet Russia’s security concerns, and lay the foundation for a durable European security order. As another round of negotiations gears up in Norway, I propose a settlement concluded as a single package, signed by Ukraine and Russia, adopted by a vote of the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter, and guaranteed jointly by the five permanent members of the Council together with other states that choose to join. The proposal rests on the principle of indivisible security set out in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris.

The package would have four core commitments.

The first is Ukraine’s permanent neutrality, adopted in a constitutional law on the model of Austria’s law of 1955, which would return Ukraine to the founding choice of its Declaration of State Sovereignty of 1990. Ukraine would join no military alliance and host no foreign bases or forces, whether of NATO, the European Union, their member states, or Russia. Neutrality would not mean disarmament, and Ukraine would retain armed forces for its own defense.

The second is that Ukraine would pursue its candidacy for membership in the European Union as a permanently neutral state, with a neutrality protocol in its accession treaty on the model of Ireland’s, and Russia would affirm that Ukraine’s membership in the EU is consistent with Russia’s security.

The third is an armistice line drawn along the line of contact on the date of signature. Each side would exercise de facto jurisdiction on its side of the line, neither would recognize the other’s territorial claims, and both would renounce force in any future adjustment. This formula is compatible with both countries’ constitutions, which bar or severely restrict the cession of territory.

The fourth is the end of NATO enlargement eastward. At signature the North Atlantic Council would declare that NATO will not admit Ukraine or other new members in Eastern Europe or the South Caucasus, withdrawing the Bucharest pledge of 2008.

The settlement would take effect as a permanent end of hostilities on signature, not as a temporary ceasefire, and its provisions would be implemented in stages under international verification. No element would be negotiated in isolation, and no party would be asked to make a concession in advance of signature.

https://original.antiwar.com/jeffrey_sachs/2026/10/21/a-framework-for-peace-in-ukraine/

Sounds good but what are the chances that both sides will gladly accept these conditions?

Right now I say there is no way this will fly.

What do you think?  A good proposal or nothing more than a fart in a hurricane?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Stop The Mad King!

This is a letter (reprinted in its entirety) to members of Congress concerning the war that Donny and his group of idiots started with Iran.

Dear Members of Congress,

In truly deranged remarks to world leaders at the UN, Donald Trump declared that “I have a big decision to make,” whether to negotiate a deal with Iran or instead to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and drive Iran “into hell with no chance of survival.”

He posed it as his personal choice. The fact that the American people are dead set against Trump’s war means nothing. And as for the voters, he added that he gives “absolutely no credence” to the coming midterm elections in deciding on his actions and on Iran’s fate.

Nothing binds this President. He is not bound by law, the Constitution, the UN Charter, or public opinion at home and abroad. When asked at the start of the year whether he has any limits on his power, he said “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

Trump opened his speech with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, hailing America’s freedom. The fact is that Trump’s authoritarianism far outdoes that of King George III, against whom the colonies rebelled. Among the founders’ indictments of Mad King George was that “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” Yet our own mad king has decided that the survival of a whole civilization is in his hands alone.

Trump is emboldened in his contempt for Congress because the Republican members of Congress have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, terrified of their own president, and forsaking their constituents for campaign lucre from AIPAC and the military-industrial complex.

The Constitution is unambiguous regarding Congress’s responsibility. Article I, Section 8 assigns Congress, not the President, the sole power to declare war. That is not a choice or an option. The Constitution doesn’t say that Congress can play dead and let the President declare war. The Framers made this choice deliberately, because they were explicitly rejecting the power of a king to take the nation to war.

In Federalist 69, Hamilton assured the public that the President’s war powers would be far less than the British monarch’s. Madison stated the principle plainly in a letter to Jefferson in 1798: “The constitution supposes, what the History of all Govts demonstrates, that the Ex. is the branch of power most interested in war, & most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war in the Legislature.”

The founders’ careful design has been overturned because of the unconstitutional subservience of the Republican members of Congress to Trump and to the military-industrial-digital complex. And yes, under Democratic presidents, most Democratic members of Congress also looked the other way when those presidents chose to go to war.

The war with Iran is Trump’s folly but Congress’s disgrace for not stopping it. It is a war without a purpose that has created mass suffering in Iran, tens of billions of dollars of direct outlays, and staggering damage to American military bases in eight countries of the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent world and American prices soaring for oil, gas, fertilizers, and more. And the world has duly noted that Iran can hold its own against US aggression, albeit at great sacrifice to the people of Iran and the region.

America’s much vaunted AI battlefield has been exposed in the most horrifying way. On the first day of the war, an American missile struck the girls’ elementary school there, killing more than 150 people, most of them girls aged seven to twelve, and the military’s own inquiry reportedly found that over-reliance on artificial intelligence contributed to the targeting. Trump blamed “Iran or somebody else,” and seven months later the administration has offered no findings, no apology and no compensation to the families.

The President’s threat to annihilate a member state of the United Nations, delivered from the General Assembly podium, disgraced Trump in front of the world. It also violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits even the threat of force against another state. Nearly all the world stands aghast.

I write to you because you cannot simply walk away from Trump’s recklessness, shaking your heads silently. You have a job to do, so do it. The craven Republican Party has to find even a minimal level of guts to tell Trump, “No, you do not have the power to destroy Iran. Any war with Iran depends on us, and we don’t support you and our constituents want this war to stop.” A clear majority of Americans oppose this war, and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing. A few Republicans have found that courage. Last week three more Republicans broke ranks to support ending the war. Their colleagues should follow.

Many of you receive campaign contributions from military contractors and technology companies deeply involved in the war. Many of you take money from AIPAC, which champions the war that Netanyahu did so much to help launch. This has to stop, as it is a dereliction of your constitutional duty and a violation of your oath.

Congress holds the power of the purse. The fiscal year ends on September 30, and every bill that funds the Pentagon is your opportunity to prohibit funds for unauthorized offensive operations against Iran.

The right course for the US is simple. Congress should cut off funding, and the US should stop further attacks and go home. We need no agreement with Iran or anyone else to stop the war that we started. By ending the war you will immediately restore some sanity and safety to the world energy markets, food supplies, and prices faced by Americans and others around the world.

How America has declined from the glorious moment when John F. Kennedy stood at the same podium at the UN on September 20, 1963, after having negotiated the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union. He told the assembled leaders that the treaty can be a lever, and Archimedes, in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: “Give me a place where I can stand – and I shall move the world.” My fellow inhabitants of this planet: Let us take our stand here in this Assembly of nations. And let us see if we, in our own time, can move the world to a just and lasting peace.

Members of Congress, to save our nation’s honor and our Constitution, you must do your duty to stop this war, and stop Trump’s brazen, destructive, and unconstitutional grab for power.

Respectfully,
Jeffrey D. Sachs
University Professor, Columbia University

There is not one part of that letter that is not spot on….but will those corrupt toads in Congress pay any attention to a cogent argument against this lame war?

I for one thinks it will fall onto blinded by cash members of Congress.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Decisions, Decisions

Our Dear Donny was thrown a curveball when the Houthis took a port city on the Strait of Hormuz and then another one with Pakistan pledges to protect the Saudis from Yemen….he must now try to make a rational decision (insert hysterical laughter here) on his next erroneous move.

President Trump says he’s nearing a make-or-break call on Iran: “I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them … or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” he told Axios Thursday. He framed it as a looming choice on whether to restart large-scale military operations to try to end what some US officials describe as a grinding stalemate. The timing is tied to a Tuesday sit-down in New York with leaders from six Gulf states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, a meeting that could help determine whether Washington leans back toward diplomacy or escalates the fight.

Trump, who has paused major attacks since August after Gulf allies warned of strikes on Saudi energy facilities, has instead tightened sanctions, sustained a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. Officials say the US force posture in the region can’t stay in limbo much longer, and that Trump must soon define an “endgame.” The White House is also sketching a post-war plan centered on containing Iran and broadening Arab-Israeli normalization, with Israel’s October elections and the US midterms looming over any decision on whether to ramp the war back up. Reuters describes the world leaders Trump will face at the UN next week as “deeply skeptical” of the US-Iran war. On Wednesday night, before his comments to Axios, Trump told reporters the war was “hopefully” nearing an end, CNBC reports.

“Near an end”?

How many times have we heard this idiot make exact prediction?

What will he do?

Will he go for Israeli style genocide or will he continue to find a way out of this quagmire that he created?

Who is whispering in his aging ear?

One bad decision and this will not end well for anyone involved.

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More Bad News For Donny

I am sure that our Clueless Leader will somehow try to spin the latest news out of the Middle East as some sort of win for his lunatic strategies….

Looks like Iran and its proxies now control the east side and the west of the Strait of Hormuz….not a promising picture.

Recently in Yemen the Houthis attacked and won a vital port on the Strait of Hormuz….now Iran and its clients are controlling a lot of the traffic that will supposedly travel through the Strait…

A conflict that once looked containable is now spilling across borders in ways that damaging to both President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, writes Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times. Iran’s allies, particularly Yemen’s Houthi militia, have opened a new front by seizing much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and striking Saudi energy infrastructure, including the kingdom’s key East-West pipeline. Those attacks threaten the backup routes meant to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of sharper disruptions to global oil supplies just as Western countries head into winter.

“The US-Iran war can be seen as a three-dimensional conflict,” writes Rachman. “The first dimension is the battlefield. The second is the economic conflict. The third is the battle of narratives. All three are linked and currently turning against the US.” Iran has shown it can withstand initial strikes, hit US partners, and choke energy routes, while its authoritarian system insulates leaders from public anger in a way Trump cannot match if gasoline prices climb. Meanwhile, Trump reportedly rebuffed MBS’ push for rapid strikes on the Houthis, a sign Washington grasps the limits of force against battle-hardened local actors.

A Washington Post analysis by Gerry Shih and Sammy Westfall similarly argues that the Houthis’ rapid takeover of the Bab al-Mandab Strait late last week might be Iran’s biggest victory of the conflict so far. Friday was “the first day that Iran really started winning the war,” one Yemeni official tells the newspaper. The sentiment is echoed by Dennis Citrinowicz of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv: “This is a major, almost unprecedented, strategic achievement for Iran and the Houthis.”

This will effect the Saudis mostly….and as of this writing their oil traffic is all but stopped.  What does this mean….probably very little for they have been bombing the crap out of Yemen for years and yet it has been ineffective.

I wonder if Israel will want a piece of this action?

Of course they will.

And since they will be given a fresh batch of American bombs it seems inevitable.

Just so you know….

The Trump administration is planning to move forward with a massive military aid package for Israel that will include 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, as the US continues to support Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and its wars and occupations in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.

The report said the sale, paid for with US taxpayer dollars, will include 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, each weighing 2,000 pounds. It will be funded by the State Department’s Foreign Military Finance program, under which the US provides foreign governments money to purchase US weapons.

(antiwar.com)

If our stockpiles are so low where will we get these ‘extra’ bombs?

Fresh supply of destruction on its way….Israel thumps its chest and pleases Donny’s bloodlust.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered “Israel’s services” to countries in the Arabian Peninsula and has expressed a willingness to participate in a “comprehensive war” against Ansar Allah, the Houthi movement in Yemen, Lebanese media have reported.

The report, by Al-Akhbar editor Ibrahim al-Amin, said that Netanyahu was pressing Israel’s security establishment and military to prepare for possible action against Iran and Hezbollah.

The proposed Israeli role was part of a “wider regional effort” to counter the Houthis and the threat to shipping through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, one of the world’s main maritime corridors, Israeli media said.

But there is a caveat…. Israel was unlikely to rush into an active military role because of concern that the Houthis could resume missile and drone attacks against Israel.

That thought will demand the US take a larger roll in Yemen….just what this country needs an expansion of our deadly interventions.

Anything missing?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Where’s The Respect?

To Donny it is not a big deal that we have lost so few soldiers in this war with Iran…..and as usual the admin is dissing those families of fallen soldiers.

Since the Iran war began more than six months ago, 18 US service members have been killed and 780 wounded.

“My husband lost his life because we’re in a war – and then I was told that because it’s not technically a war, we lose out on something,” Ms Klinner told the Associated Press. “It all comes down to principle.”

After she expressed her frustration in an online post that went viral, the US air force clarified that his final pay cheque included hazard pay and combat-related tax breaks.

US officials also acknowledged that they had initially provided inaccurate information, and that her husband’s last pay cheque had included – but incorrectly itemised – “combat pay”, which amounts to $225 a month, and was not conditioned on a formal war declaration.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/06/pentagon-refused-payout-soldiers-died-in-iran-war/

May I ask where is the American MSM on this issue?

Is this how we allow our Gold Star families to be treated?

Where the respect for those that died in this stupid war?

They can build a lame ass ballroom and his ego structure known as the Arch but they cannot find the cash to give grieving families their benefits?

To that I say fuck you and the golf cart you rode in on.

If this does not make you mad then you are not the American you pretend to be.

Enough said.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Donny Has A Plan (Again)

Donny always has a plan….sad part none are thought out and seldom have anything to do with solving a problem

Donny sent two useless puppets to Russia carrying a new ‘idea’ for a peaceful settlement of the conflict with Ukraine….

President Donald Trump did not keep the mission secret, announcing the trip on Friday and saying that Witkoff and Kushner were carrying what he described as a concrete proposal for ending the war in Ukraine.

“We have an idea for peace,” Trump told reporters on Friday from the White House. “I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,” he also said.

The news was then confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on X, in which he also claimed to have received details about the visit from the U.S. president’s team. The statement did not specify whether Zelenskyy had been informed of the details of Trump’s proposed plan or only of the visit.

“Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday. We are preparing for the visit,” Zelenskyy said. 

But is this glorious plan?

While speaking to reporters, the U.S. president also said on Friday that one of the primary obstacles to an agreement is the personal hostility between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy, arguing that the two “truly hate each other” and that their personal relationship was interfering with the negotiations.

(nationalsecurityjournal.org)

And that, as best as I can determine , is this Donny plan for solving the situation.

They need to make nice or both need to step aside and let calmer minds intervene.

Good plan Donny.

As per usual conflicting issues get in the way when Donny has a plan.

US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby has told the US’s European allies to prepare for a “protracted” war in Ukraine and to continue providing US-made weapons to Ukrainian forces.

Colby made the remarks in a virtual address to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of dozens of nations the Biden administration formed in 2022 to coordinate the flow of weapons into the Ukraine proxy war. The address came after President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow and Kyiv in an apparent effort to restart peace talks.

“As President Trump has stated, our goal is a lasting peace. We are supporting every effort in that direction. From the standpoint of the Department of War, however, we cannot predict when this tragic war will end,” Colby said.

“As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and defense-industrial capacity. We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead. And we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well,” he added.

Colby said the situation “makes it all the more important for Europe to sustain support for Ukraine while also accelerating its own rearmament and reindustrialization.”

(antiwar.com)

Seriously?

Best case scenario….there is NO plan whatsoever…..just a loud mouth and his bumbling underlings.

In other words….no peace between the two just more death and destruction.

Donny, the master of foreign policy strikes again.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Warning Unheeded

Does anyone remember why Israel is totally destroying Gaza?

If not then here is your refresher….07 October 2023 Hamas launched a bunch of missiles into Israel proper and killed many Israelis and this dastardly attack was the excuse the BiBi needed to justify his total destruction of Gaza to get those bad guys….a defensive move he would have the world believe.

But those Israelis may have died just to satisfy BiBi bloodlust.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed – known as MBZ – was particularly concerned. “He spoke with me about this often in the months leading up to the war,” recounts President Isaac Herzog, who maintains friendly relations with bin Zayed. “He constantly conveyed messages that the situation needed to be defused. He even sent a special envoy to Israel who met with the prime minister. The emir seemed to sense that the area was on the verge of explosion.”

Bin Zayed would also speak directly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These conversations followed a standard procedure: A representative from the Emirati embassy would come to the prime minister’s bureau, bringing a special phone device that ensured the confidentiality of the call.

But this time, the call initiated by bin Zayed was unusual. A week and a half before October 7, 2023 the Emirati ruler called Netanyahu from the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi and spoke with him for 45 minutes.
In that conversation, bin Zayed warned that Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major operation against Israel. Bin Zayed expressed concern that the event in question would not only lead to bloodshed but also destabilize the entire region and undermine the Abraham Accords.
…
Also present during the call was a close adviser to bin Zayed, a Palestinian who had emigrated years ago from Gaza to Abu Dhabi and maintained strong ties in the Strip. According to the adviser, the Emirati ruler impressed upon Netanyahu the need to prepare for the threat.
“The emir explained that, in his assessment, Sinwar was preparing for a major event,” the adviser says. “He told Netanyahu that Israel should be ready. Concurrently, he recommended trying to find an economic solution for the Strip and calming the West Bank to prevent escalation.”
Now ask yourself….what kind of low life son of a bitch would sacrifice that many of his countrymen to satisfy his bloodlust?
And why are the Israelis not up in arms at the carelessness of BiBi?
What a screaming prick this POS is and yet he still sits in the seat of power in Israel….does that mean that Israelis approve of this cold blooded bullshit?
Call me antisemitic if you like but I believe that anyone that approved of this is a worthless low life POS….is a coward and a blatant racist.
Thoughts?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”

Where Have All The Protesters Gone?

That title would make a great protest song.

We have had many years of constant war and yet there seems to be little pushback on this…..why is that?

As a veteran of the war in Vietnam I have a hard time believing that the American people could care less about the lost of life and the life long injuries that war inflicts upon those that participate.

A recent op-ed tackles this question….

A University of Pennsylvania professor is arguing that if Americans want a louder debate over the war in Iran, they should start by putting their own kids at risk of fighting it. In an essay at the Hill, historian Jonathan Zimmerman contends the near-absence of campus protest—despite more than 750 US casualties and tens of thousands of Iranian ones—has much to do with the end of the draft. Students, he writes, know there’s no chance they’ll be sent, unlike during Vietnam, when the possibility of conscription helped turn colleges into centers of antiwar activism.

By contrast, “I haven’t heard a peep of antiwar sentiment as students return this semester,” writes Zimmerman, who also makes an equity case for a reinstated draft. The Vietnam-era draft was riddled with deferments that favored the affluent and connected, he notes, citing Donald Trump, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton as examples. A genuine, across-the-board draft could fix that. After all, he writes, “In a democracy, the burden of national defense should be shared.”

Read the full essay, which includes a mention of the satirical “Draft Barron Trump” movement.

I agree with this view….any opposition would be good for healthy debate….

I have written a couple of times about this…

War–Invest Your Children

Not long ago the Congress was considering the re-introduction of the draft….it did not go very far…

Conscription Anyone?

On a personal note….I would hate to see the draft again but I also worried about the lack of opposition to our many wars over the years….we cannot blame one party over another for both are guilty of wasting American lives and accomplishing nothing.

There needs to be a real revival of the antiwar opposition protests.

Without them there is no debate and without any debate there will be more American lives ruined by constant wars that no one wants to know about.

If there is another way for these conflicts to come to the forefront then please let us know….I am open to most solutions but solutions must be a priority.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Weapons Stockpiles

We all have heard the stories that out weapons stockpiles are dangerously low thanks to the ill-conceived war with Iran…and as usual Donny and Pistol Pete deny the reports saying that all is well….basically….’nothing to see here’….

The Trump administration insists that U.S. weapons stockpiles are in no danger, directly disputing reports that critical missile inventories are dangerously depleted.
Official Stance
  • President Donald Trump stated on social media that the U.S. has “massive amounts” of munitions and is actively manufacturing and delivering more.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also pushed back against reports of dangerously low missile-interceptor stocks, maintaining that the military has ample resources to carry out operations.
Reports of Depletion
  • Independent and media assessments—including analyses cited by Reuters and CNN—suggest that the U.S. military has expended large shares of key long-range and air-defense missiles (such as ATACMS, PrSM, THAAD, and Patriot interceptors) during the conflict with Iran.
  • Defense analysts warn that rebuilding these specific advanced stockpiles to pre-war levels could take years due to industrial production constraints, raising readiness concerns for potential future conflicts.

But yet Pistol Pete has gone on a witch hunt for who leaked the story…..

In a move that one retired Navy lawyer called “unprecedented,” Pentagon investigators have wired about 50 members of the Joint Staff for polygraph exams in a sweeping hunt for leaks about the Iran war and depleted US weapons stockpiles, the New York Times reports. Officers and civilian staffers were questioned in August on whether they’d shared classified details with reporters, including information about shortages of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors, according to officials briefed on the effort. The Joint Staff includes up to 2,000 personnel; such broad testing at that senior level has not been seen in modern times, experts say. No one failed questions about whether they had leaked, per CBS News.

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to address the polygraphs directly, saying only that the department takes leaks of classified material “extremely seriously.” News outlets have reported internal worries over the Iran war and munitions levels. President Trump was furious that the information was leaked, per CBS, and has pushed his administration to find the source of the leaks. He’s also called news media coverage of the war and the decline in weapon supplies, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued, “treasonous.” The Joint Chiefs chair, Gen. Dan Caine, was not tested, a senior Pentagon official said.

On normal circumstances the admin would laugh the accusations off and deny especially if they were lies….but Donny has gone to the point of hunting down the leaker for massive punishment.

This leads me to believe that we are in serious trouble with our stockpiles.

This sort on a side note…..Donny calls the war with Iran ‘small potatoes’….

President Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is “small potatoes” as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a “war.” Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance’s comments made a day earlier, Trump said US strikes on Iran are now “intermittent” and “a lot of people don’t call it a war,” per the AP. The conflict has cost US taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 US service members dead. “I can understand what he’s saying,” said Trump of Vance. He added: “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”

Vance, during a White House press briefing on Thursday, rejected the use of the word “war” to describe the US fighting with Iran and steered clear of predicting that the six-month-old conflict would be over by November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress. “I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said after being asked about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 elections. “Right now, there is no active shooting.” Vance’s assert

In Friday’s exchange with reporters, Trump added that the US death toll in the Iran conflict is relatively lower than some other recent US wars. The US and Israel have only carried out air strikes in the war, which began Feb. 28, and haven’t deployed troops there. “In Venezuela, we lost nobody,” said Trump, referring to the January US military operation to seize former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and spirit him to New York City to face federal drug trafficking charges. “And this, we lost 18 people. And, in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people. And in other conflicts, we lost tens of thousands of people.” A total of 58,220 members of the US armed forces died during the Vietnam War, according to records from the National Archives.

I am sure that the family of the dead soldiers enjoy knowing that their deaths were no big deal.  (What a douche bag)

Not a war but a conflict, eh?

Let me help this mental deficient out…..

What is a Conflict?
  • Definition: A clash of interests, ideas, or forces between two or more parties. It can be verbal, economic, or physical.
  • Scale: Can range from a small local argument or a brief skirmish to a major international crisis.
  • Formality: Does not require a formal declaration or large military mobilization.
  • Resolution: Often resolved through talking, negotiations, or compromises without turning into major violence.
What is a War?
  • Definition: A specific type of armed conflict that is intense, widespread, and sustained over a long time.
  • Scale: Involves massive military forces, heavy destruction, and high casualties.
  • Formality: Often officially declared by governments or states, though modern wars can also involve well-organized rebel groups or political factions.
  • Relationship: War is a subset of conflict. Every war is a conflict, but not every conflict reaches the massive scale and destruction of a war.

I would say that Donny does not know his ass from a hole in ground….the man is an clueless idiot.

And that is the name of that tune….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More Gaza News

The semi-literate plan of Donny’s for the truce in Gaza, the Board of Peace, which is a con job at best….has issued a statement on Israel and its troops in Gaza….

The official in charge of President Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza criticized Israel on Wednesday for its attacks on the war-battered Palestinian territory and warned that the alternative to the US proposal is the next war, the AP reports. Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace high representative, insisted to the UN Security Council that Trump’s 20-point plan has not stalled and “has moved from the negotiating table to the engineering table.” The militant group Hamas has agreed to the proposal’s key provision to disarm and turn Gaza over to civilian rule, he said. But Israel’s ongoing strikes since last October’s ceasefire are still killing Palestinians—though much fewer—and Gazans can’t feel that the conflict is ending, he said.

“After three years of war and 20 years of military operations, I ask, will another strike on a munitions depot stop Hamas from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza?” Mladenov said. “It will not. It only delays the demilitarization that would happen” and obstructs the transfer to a civilian government. A recent US deal with Hamas to disarm was seen as a potential breakthrough to end the war, which was sparked by the militant group’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces won’t withdraw from their current lines in Gaza until Hamas has handed over all its weapons.

Mladenov said that at a meeting he took part in last week with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, “we went through his government’s concerns one by one and narrowed the areas that still require technical work.” Israel’s deputy UN ambassador, Noa Furman, reiterated to the Security Council his country’s commitment to Trump’s plan, but stressed that it can’t succeed while Hamas remains armed. He said Israel is working closely with the US to achieve Hamas’ disarmament.

The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said concerns about Trump’s plan are being addressed and Hamas’ disarmament will be judged on its actions. Mladenov warned of the distance between the roadmap and what’s happening on the ground, and said if war resumes, there won’t be a roadmap to return to or anything left on the ground to rebuild. “That would not be a setback,” he said. “it would be a point of no return for everyone.” Mladenov stressed the need for political will to overcome the differences and said there is a choice to be made: “A Gaza disarmed, rebuilt and reconnected to the world. Or a Gaza rearmed, divided and in rubble, with a radicalized generation raised inside it and the next war already on the horizon.”

Seriously?

How many knew this would be the outcome? (sarcasm)

This is what we get when we allow Israel to dictate our responses and what we get for let amateurs run the foreign policy.

Yep, it is that simple.

I fear the Gazans are in for a real extended war unless someone changes things and that will be a long time coming as long as Israel controls our politicians.

Yep it is that simple.

Back in the early years of the 20th century France and the UK set these events in motion and I hope they are happy and well compensated.

Just FYI….since the ‘truce’ there is been no decrease in deaths or injuries….

The ministry said that since the truce deal was signed in October 2025, the IDF has killed at least 1,318 Palestinians and wounded 4,375.

Despite the US and the so-called “Board of Peace” negotiating a disarmament deal with Hamas to advance the stalled peace deal, the US has also backed Israel’s continued strikes in Gaza, and Israel has rejected the US-backed proposal.

The Peace President my ass!

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”