https://beta.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-has-dug-himself-into-a-hole-with-iran/2019/09/16/513021d0-d89b-11e9-bfb1-849887369476_story.html?noredirect=on

CONFLICTING REPORTS were circulating Monday about who launched the devastating attack on Saudi oil production facilities Saturday, and from where. Though Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed credit, Saudi Arabia and the United States said the assault did not come from Yemen; both blamed Iran, but without providing evidence. What is certain is that the strike represented a major escalation in the conflict in the Persian Gulf — and that President Trump, who triggered the crisis with his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, seems to have lost any ability to control it.

Iran has been engaged in aggression across the Middle East for years, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Syria. But Mr. Trump’s decision to walk away from the international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program and to apply crushing new sanctions has provoked Iran, inexcusably but predictably, to ratchet up that aggression. The U.S. attempt to block all Iranian oil exports, which has delivered a powerful blow to the Islamic republic’s economy, was itself a virtual act of war. Tehran first responded with attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf, and now comes the stunning air raid on Saudi oil facilities — which, wherever it came from, very likely had Iranian sponsorship or support.

Mr. Trump’s ability to respond effectively is severely limited compared to previous U.S. presidents. Few believe his pronouncements, so barring the presentation of overwhelming evidence, claims of Iranian responsibility will not persuade even close U.S. allies. European states that joined U.S. operations to secure the Persian Gulf in the past are very reluctant to do so now, because they fear Mr. Trump will drag them into a war. Even some of Iran’s foremost adversaries don’t want a conflict with Iran presided over by an erratic and unstable U.S. president, who already canceled one military strike at the last minute.

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The attack should not go unanswered, but the best response may not be a military one. Mr. Trump risks compounding his strategic problems if he acts hastily or recklessly. The United States must first work to definitively establish who was responsible for the operation and how it was carried out, and make that information public. Especially since it was Saudi and not U.S. assets that were struck, no retaliatory U.S. military action should be undertaken without consultation with Congress.

Mr. Trump likely would encounter bipartisan resistance there. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has himself done much to destabilize the

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>>118858
If you support group punishment you are a barbaric piece of shit. Pretty simple.

>>118859
No point in setting rules for yourself if the opponent doesn't play by them as well. You should deal the same punishment back, preferably even more vicious and cruel.

Fuckin' shackledraggers.

Leave it to australians to enact gun bans and censorship everywhere.

And now thanks to El Paso shooting 8chan has been down for a week, and will be down for three more weeks
I may ask, where is the SHTF/Prepping thread?

No one hates freedom more than Americans do.

If Americans don't defend free speech, religious freedom, gun rights, freedom from unconstitutional searches and seizures, the right to silence, and the freedom from torture and extrajudicial assassination, what part of the Bill of Rights do they support?

What country is this?

One wonders if Snowden regrets throwing away his life to warn ungrateful Americans about unconstitutional NSA wire-tapping.

>>118864
The 4th amendment protects against UNREASONABLE searches and seizures.
Which means reasonable searches and seizures are allowed without a warrant.
The courts have established several common reasonable searches. One example is search incident to arrest. When you get arrested, you are searched prior to incarceration in jail.
Most people don’t understand the law, and often, when I see YouTube videos with people complaining about an unlawful search, they are mistaken.
When a cop does make a bad search, the defense attorneys, and the judge will toss the evidence. That is the way it is supposed to work.

Does anyone get the feeling that anyone supporting the police state now is a paid NSA shill?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

  >>118743
I wonder where they got the idea?

Americans used to think hippies were lazy fruits for dropping out during the Vietnam War, but maybe the hippies had the right idea after all.

If you can't change a corrupt system, why be a part of it?

The US is a bankrupt warmongering police state, but nothing will change because Americans think everything is just fine.

Most people support the police state until they become a victim of it.

Americans are whistling down to the concentration camps.

>>118375
My wife throws a mega hissyfit at the slightest hint of criticism, or she used to before I sent her to a psychiatrist. Now she clenches her fists and grinds her teeth instead.

Okay but what did he say? I havnt found any article that states what he actually said.

Society is becoming unglued.

The USA is supposed to be a free country, but it is a police state. The US is no longer a democracy, Americans no have longer rights, and everything is illegal.

The government blatantly breaks the law and then laughs and expects Americans to obey the law and pay taxes.

How can Americans sleep at night now?

What would an American do if he was married, had a house, car, job, and $100,000? Would he throw everything away to fight for freedom or would he try to justify being unconstitutionally wiretapped, groped by the TSA, being tracked with license plate readers, stopping for checkpoints, and being stopped and frisked?

How much is liberty worth to you?

Maybe Americans might benefit from studying King Charles, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Vietnam War.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-charles-i-executed-for-treason

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Americans said that they hated freedom 100 years ago because the environment was dirty, there were murders, planes crashed, and medicine was dangerous, but the US is now a police state and the environment is still dirty, there are still murders, planes still crash, and medicine is still dangerous.

you should be thankful, they're doing this to protect you.

What do we need government for anyway?

If a private association like the MPAA can regulate movies, why can't the private market regulate other things?

When the TSA fingers your asshole and pulls your cock, is the real purpose to protect you or to make you feel like a degraded slave?

When people smoke now, people just call the police on them, but people in the past either took some personal responsobility and ignored smokers, moved away from smokers, or asked smokers to go somewhere else. The problem with a police state is everyone now is either or a slave or a criminal. Who pays the taxes to pay for tyranny?

If smoking is dangerous, can't nonprofits raise funds to pay for educational campaigns that warn of the dangers of smoking instead of outlawing smoking?

Can't people use the BBB to verify if a business is good or not instead of forcing companies to pay fees to get a government business license?

Can't private charities funded by volunteer donations provide homeless shelters and soup kitchens instead of being at forced at the point of a gun by the government to pay taxes that fund welfare?

Can't people use to protect themselves instead of relying on the Gestapo?

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>>118539

>What do we need government for anyway?
Really just as a common base for legal interactions. I do believe ours has way over stepped its bounds but at a base level I don't think a large group of people can successfully manage themselves without some form of government.

>If a private association like the MPAA can regulate movies, why can't the private market regulate other things?
The MPAA is a cancer on this world but I do understand what you are saying here.

>When the TSA fingers your asshole and pulls your cock, is the real purpose to protect you or to make you feel like a degraded slave?
Would it be weird if I got a boner while they were doing that? Ejaculated?

>When people smoke now, people just call the police on them, but people in the past either took some personal responsobility and ignored smokers, moved away from smokers, or asked smokers to go somewhere else. The problem with a police state is everyone now is either or a slave or a criminal. Who pays the taxes to pay for tyranny?
Not the best example there. 2nd hand smoke can be dangerous for people and there really isn't a good way for someone who gets sick (terminal or otherwise) from it to pursue legal action against the person who caused their illness as it could be years before symptoms present. I do think the regulation of 2nd hand smoke can be a legitimate function of government depending on how they go about it.
In your effort to call out tyranny you are being short sighted.

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Does anyone get the feeling that anyone supporting the police state now is a paid NSA shill?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks