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How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran

wing2000

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"The black S.U.V. carrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 11. The Israeli leader, who had been pressing for months for the United States to agree to a major assault on Iran, was whisked inside with little ceremony, out of view of reporters, primed for one of the most high-stakes moments in his long career.

U.S. and Israeli officials gathered first in the Cabinet Room, adjacent to the Oval Office. Then Mr. Netanyahu headed downstairs for the main event: a highly classified presentation on Iran for President Trump and his team in the White House Situation Room, which was rarely used for in-person meetings with foreign leaders.

....

The presentation that Mr. Netanyahu would make over the next hour would be pivotal in setting the United States and Israel on the path toward a major armed conflict in the middle of one of the world’s most volatile regions. And it would lead to a series of discussions inside the White House over the following days and weeks, the details of which have not been previously reported, in which Mr. Trump weighed his options and the risks before giving the go-ahead to join Israel in attacking Iran."

The NYT article goes on to describe VP Vance's opposition to the plan...

 

wing2000

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"In the Situation Room on Feb. 11, Mr. Netanyahu made a hard sell, suggesting that Iran was ripe for regime change and expressing the belief that a joint U.S.-Israeli mission could finally bring an end to the Islamic Republic.

At one point, the Israelis played for Mr. Trump a brief video that included a montage of potential new leaders who could take over the country if the hard-line government fell. Among those featured was Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, now a Washington-based dissident who had tried to position himself as a secular leader who could shepherd Iran toward a post-theocratic government.

Mr. Netanyahu and his team outlined conditions they portrayed as pointing to near-certain victory: Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in a few weeks. The regime would be so weakened that it could not choke off the Strait of Hormuz, and the likelihood that Iran would land blows against U.S. interests in neighboring countries was assessed as minimal.

Besides, Mossad’s intelligence indicated that street protests inside Iran would begin again and — with the impetus of the Israeli spy agency helping to foment riots and rebellion — an intense bombing campaign could foster the conditions for the Iranian opposition to overthrow the regime. The Israelis also raised the prospect of Iranian Kurdish fighters crossing the border from Iraq to open a ground front in the northwest, further stretching the regime’s forces and accelerating its collapse.

Mr. Netanyahu delivered his presentation in a confident monotone. It seemed to land well with the most important person in the room, the American president."

.....and then the assessment by the CIA Director the following day:

"The results of the U.S. intelligence analysis were shared the following day, Feb. 12, in another meeting for only American officials in the Situation Room. Before Mr. Trump arrived, two senior intelligence officials briefed the president’s inner circle.

The U.S. officials assessed that the first two objectives were achievable with American intelligence and military power. They assessed that the third and fourth parts of Mr. Netanyahu’s pitch, which included the possibility of the Kurds mounting a ground invasion of Iran, were detached from reality.

When Mr. Trump joined the meeting, Mr. Ratcliffe briefed him on the assessment. The C.I.A. director used one word to describe the Israeli prime minister’s regime change scenarios: “farcical.”
 
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Matt5

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Marco Rubio explains why the war now. The video is short.

WORLD NEWS on X: "WATCH: In a jaw-dropping video that's exploding across social media, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives an explanation of why the United States needed to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran. It's barely two minutes long, and it's absolutely unmissable! https://t.co/yFpgLtZ4aS" / X
 
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essentialsaltes

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Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in a few weeks. The regime would be so weakened that it could not choke off the Strait of Hormuz, and the likelihood that Iran would land blows against U.S. interests in neighboring countries was assessed as minimal.
0 for 3.

Kudos to the failing NYT for pulling that together on that meeting.

Other relevant stories:

December 2025

48 hours before the first strikes
 
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Oompa Loompa

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"The black S.U.V. carrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 11. The Israeli leader, who had been pressing for months for the United States to agree to a major assault on Iran, was whisked inside with little ceremony, out of view of reporters, primed for one of the most high-stakes moments in his long career.

U.S. and Israeli officials gathered first in the Cabinet Room, adjacent to the Oval Office. Then Mr. Netanyahu headed downstairs for the main event: a highly classified presentation on Iran for President Trump and his team in the White House Situation Room, which was rarely used for in-person meetings with foreign leaders.

....

The presentation that Mr. Netanyahu would make over the next hour would be pivotal in setting the United States and Israel on the path toward a major armed conflict in the middle of one of the world’s most volatile regions. And it would lead to a series of discussions inside the White House over the following days and weeks, the details of which have not been previously reported, in which Mr. Trump weighed his options and the risks before giving the go-ahead to join Israel in attacking Iran."

The NYT article goes on to describe VP Vance's opposition to the plan...

I think this needs to be moved to the conspiracy theory section.
 
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wing2000

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...regarding the Israeli proposal:

“farcical”. John Ratcliffe, CIA Director

"in other words, b*****" Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor and Sec of State

“Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.” - Gen. Caine, JCS
 
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FireDragon76

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...regarding the Israeli proposal:

“farcical”. John Ratcliffe, CIA Director

"in other words, b*****" Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor and Sec of State

“Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.” - Gen. Caine, JCS

Israelis would be more than happy to get the US bloodied and less inclined to intervene in the Middle East. The perpetual war footing would be good for Likud and keep Netenyahu out of prison.
 
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Oompa Loompa

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Israelis would be more than happy to get the US bloodied and less inclined to intervene in the Middle East. The perpetual war footing would be good for Likud and keep Netenyahu out of prison.
Want to know who else wanted to blame the Jews for everyone's problems? Adolf Hitler. Just marinate on that.
 
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wing2000

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Want to know who else wanted to blame the Jews for everyone's problems? Adolf Hitler. Just marinate on that.

Please stop.
No one is "blaming the jews".
 
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Elongated

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Marco Rubio explains why the war now. The video is short.

WORLD NEWS on X: "WATCH: In a jaw-dropping video that's exploding across social media, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives an explanation of why the United States needed to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran. It's barely two minutes long, and it's absolutely unmissable! https://t.co/yFpgLtZ4aS" / X
Horse hockey. The only urgency was to please Bibi.
 
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Rescued One

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If a leader or President accepts the God given challenge to save lives and right wrongs, the enemies of righteousness will always complain. Some leaders oppress their own people.
 
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Rescued One

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Israelis would be more than happy to get the US bloodied and less inclined to intervene in the Middle East. The perpetual war footing would be good for Likud and keep Netenyahu out of prison.
And you know what Israelis want because....?
 
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Elongated

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If a leader or President accepts the God given challenge to save lives and right wrongs, the enemies of righteousness will always complain. Some leaders oppress their own people.
Ours (US)certainly seems to do so.
 
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Elongated

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Rescued One

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“To Subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills”
——- Sun Tzu
Fighting against Satan has always been necessary. The enemies are using weapons of war. I'm extremely grateful for American military!
 
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7thKeeper

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Fighting against Satan has always been necessary. The enemies are using weapons of war. I'm extremely grateful for American military!
Well, you aren't fighting Satan and what do you think the US is using? Nerf guns?
 
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