The issue of US missile production shows how the pro-war side is fantasizing that weapons production is like it was during World War 2. At peak production around 1944, the US was producing 3000 to 5000 bombers per month, at facilities such as the Willow Run Bomber Plant. Ford switched from producing cars to producing bombers and US production capacity overwhelmed Germany and Japan. We don't live in that world anymore. Ford did not need rare earth minerals from China to make B-24 bombers. Living in the past does not facilitate regime change.
>>George W. Bush and Barack Obama sustained American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the sell-by date because 9/11 hovered in the national consciousness, and despite the predicates of those wars being based on entirely wrong assumptions, there was a genesis point, an origin story.<<
I hate how Obama gets lumped into responsibility for the Iraq War: a war he voted against as a senator, then inherited as president, then pulled us out of (thank God), despite all the criticism he received from the right for doing so.
trump is in a no win position with the public. Middle Boomers like me (1954) remember the lies and body bags of Viet Nam all too clearly and the Gen Xers and later remember the lies, body bags, and 9/11. The endless Middle Eastern wars. None of these memories engender support for this debacle. Additionally, anti-war no longer equates with anti-patriotism. That time has passed. Thankfully. Not. A. Dime. More.
What a mess the Trump regime has stirred us into. It's a hornet's nest of greed and destruction that isn't by all accounts going to end anytime soon. Thanks, Rick, excellent article.
Thank you for the article. Mr. Wilson. This war is hurting a lot of people. CNN has said there will be some oil reserves open. I don’t recall the barrels nor the amount. The soldiers that died was a sad occasion. No one seems to know who bomb the girls school. Please subscribe to Rick Wilson’s Against All Enemies.
This war was doomed from the start. It appears to have little if any thought or planning behind it. In reality it was a distraction from the many Trump failures and the Epstein files. It was a cover for Trump to gather his base around the Commander in Chief besieged in war wrapped in the flag for his so called patriots. Another scam. Another camera shot. Another made for TV image of playing President. Sacrificing lives, livelihood, families, futures, countries, money, resources, relationships, reputation and standing of a country in the world. It yet again exposes the stupidity and incompetency that plagues our country with trump and his insane band of fools. What dark times for our country and the world we have brought in voting this corrupt imbecile into office. We have installed the most ignorant one on the country to lead.
"Over time, those burdens generate the question every administration fears, and this particularly incoherent claque stares at it, gobsmacked, like a raccoon trying to disassemble a microwave."
Best sentence I've read in a while... You have a gift for words, Mr. Rick. What a mental picture....
Great article as usual. There is no reason for so many of the comments to keep on blaming Biden or Kamala or all the people that didn’t vote or even Garland for Trump 2.0.
Trump is a deranged lunatic and narcissist. He has no idea of what anyone’s reality is. He has surrounded himself with even sicker sycophants who don’t care about anything except themselves.
Blame all the long time Republicans in Congress who know very well what their job is. They chose to stop doing their jobs and took a knee. If this was a Democrat, none of what Trump has done to the Constitution and DOJ and SCOTUS would have been tolerated.
Thanks Rick. Defense departments have accountants and bursars so pretty soon; although corporals love to spend millions it won’t be too long till we are no longer in the black but in the red if not there yet. Never seen such an ill prepared, gutted command structure in the DOD who fail their duty to protect their own. Not something that zealot countries even after leadership is bombed out, revive the next mullah with loads of patriots who are ready to launch drones, suicide boats or drop mines into the Gulf waters. I am sick of watching main stream media. Senseless.
The Peace President. What a laugh. Never was, never could be. He just wanted an honorable organization to heap some undeserved praise on him. Obama Derangement Syndrome! So our 'Peace President' has sunk boats in the Americas without proof that ANY of them had drugs onboard. Killed crewmen who were of no threat after the boats went down. Kidnapped a leader of another country (not a nice guy, BTW) and then used military might against a third world barely existing military. Purpose? It's all about the spOILS of war. (get it?) Attacked another not nice country (the one we're fighting now) for what reason? They're developing 'new clear' weapons (sorry, George) Didn't Donny say we absolutely obliterated their program? No, wait, they're developing long range ICBMs. Yeah. Let's talk about that. The richest man in the world can't get his commercial rockets to fly straight a lot of the time, yet the Iranians are going to have 6,000 plus mile range ICBMs available. Yeah, sure. So where is Donny regarding another rogue state who has a nuclear development program, in fact, has actually tested weapons. And where is Donny regarding their ICBM development program, which has actually demonstrated longer ranged missiles? Not a word. BTW, we installed our one and only ABM system in Alaska to defend against missiles from that country; but their munchkin maniac 3rd generation dictator is just all right with Donny. Yet Donny now also eyes the large island off the coast of Florida. It's not, like 60 years ago, because our true enemy then, and still, Russia, has planted functional SRBMs and IRBMs in that country, because this time they haven't. But I wouldn't put it past Putin to bring in more than a few just to hurt Donny some more. What would we do with Cuba? Turn it back into the corrupt regime that existed in the 1950s, where American criminal enterprises had their way and the citizens were jailed indiscriminately. But we backed them. Secretary of Sissies Little Marco's family didn't flee from communism, but President Batista. Peace President my arse.
A billion dollars a day, until we run out of smart bombs and air defense missiles. When Israel cries that their 'Iron Dome' can't work because the suppliers of the missiles (in America) have a long lead time for them and for the US military's forces. Who'll pay for the rearming of Israel's missiles and bombs? We will. We already pay 20% of their annual defense budget. Of course 'they buy the weapons from America, with American dollars, so it's OK, the money's coming back!' Ahem.
Always remind Donny how he said that the Ukraine/Russian war would be over in no time. The Ukrainians have suffered much, but the Russians have been exposed for their weakness in tactics and manpower/leadership.
So just remember, Supreme Loafer of Spazmanistan, Azzahola Paedomieni, is directing this fiasco from the SCIF at Mar-A-Lago, while the paying guests hold cotillions, weddings, and bar mitzvas, down the hall. Not even Adolf was THAT ridiculous, and he was an extremely low bar for a 'brilliant' tactician. Can't wait for the Manhattan Azzahola to declare we'll rain MOABs down on the populace of Iran, not out of enmity but love because he's 'the Peace President'. smh
We don't have to look abroad to cite historical examples of how the strategy of outlasting a stronger military power was the means of ultimate victory. Our own revolution adopted this approach. After retreating from the early New York battles, fairly conventional in nature, George Washington, leaving behind convention, understood the underlying nature of the conflict, the strengths and weaknesses of both parties, and played the long game to great effect.
The latest from the New York Times is that the Pentagon has told Congress the war in Iran has cost us $11.3 billion so far. This is staggering. Who is supposed to pay this wartime debt? I don’t recall Congress voting on this war or giving this administration billions to fund this war. Our Tomahawk missile hit a school. A mistake? Perhaps if there was a real secretary of defense instead of a bimbo and top generals weren’t fired prior to this devastating war, those in charge may have understood the school was adjacent to a military base. Instead, the felon masquerading as president claimed it was the Iranians who bombed their own school killing upwards of approximately 176 children and schoolteachers. If this was a GRAVE ERROR, the thing to do would have been to ADMIT there was an error. Yes I know this is a murderous regime in Iran. Still, my humanity calls out for an apology for vaporizing all these children and teachers. Most of all, I hate this war because it has already cost young American lives. It has drawn in other countries in the Persian Gulf and the impact on vessels crossing the Straight of Hormuz. Did Trump have a fantasy of stealing Iran’s oil as he did in Venezuela? The Iranians aren’t fooling around. Our families will pay dearly for this war. Our safeguards to defend both domestic terrorist and outside terrorist attacks are gone. And for exactly what???
Aren't you waiting for Trump to tell us that the Chinese are paying for the war through the tariffs on their exports to America? You can take that to the BitCoin bank. smh.
Too bad the only people who will really benefit, the ultra rich and defense corporations, won't put in a dime for it. But our dimes will march to do so. We can't have any pennies for our thoughts, though, because Trump has discontinued them.
The issue of US missile production shows how the pro-war side is fantasizing that weapons production is like it was during World War 2. At peak production around 1944, the US was producing 3000 to 5000 bombers per month, at facilities such as the Willow Run Bomber Plant. Ford switched from producing cars to producing bombers and US production capacity overwhelmed Germany and Japan. We don't live in that world anymore. Ford did not need rare earth minerals from China to make B-24 bombers. Living in the past does not facilitate regime change.
>>George W. Bush and Barack Obama sustained American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the sell-by date because 9/11 hovered in the national consciousness, and despite the predicates of those wars being based on entirely wrong assumptions, there was a genesis point, an origin story.<<
I hate how Obama gets lumped into responsibility for the Iraq War: a war he voted against as a senator, then inherited as president, then pulled us out of (thank God), despite all the criticism he received from the right for doing so.
trump is in a no win position with the public. Middle Boomers like me (1954) remember the lies and body bags of Viet Nam all too clearly and the Gen Xers and later remember the lies, body bags, and 9/11. The endless Middle Eastern wars. None of these memories engender support for this debacle. Additionally, anti-war no longer equates with anti-patriotism. That time has passed. Thankfully. Not. A. Dime. More.
What a mess the Trump regime has stirred us into. It's a hornet's nest of greed and destruction that isn't by all accounts going to end anytime soon. Thanks, Rick, excellent article.
Thank you for the article. Mr. Wilson. This war is hurting a lot of people. CNN has said there will be some oil reserves open. I don’t recall the barrels nor the amount. The soldiers that died was a sad occasion. No one seems to know who bomb the girls school. Please subscribe to Rick Wilson’s Against All Enemies.
This war was doomed from the start. It appears to have little if any thought or planning behind it. In reality it was a distraction from the many Trump failures and the Epstein files. It was a cover for Trump to gather his base around the Commander in Chief besieged in war wrapped in the flag for his so called patriots. Another scam. Another camera shot. Another made for TV image of playing President. Sacrificing lives, livelihood, families, futures, countries, money, resources, relationships, reputation and standing of a country in the world. It yet again exposes the stupidity and incompetency that plagues our country with trump and his insane band of fools. What dark times for our country and the world we have brought in voting this corrupt imbecile into office. We have installed the most ignorant one on the country to lead.
"Over time, those burdens generate the question every administration fears, and this particularly incoherent claque stares at it, gobsmacked, like a raccoon trying to disassemble a microwave."
Best sentence I've read in a while... You have a gift for words, Mr. Rick. What a mental picture....
Great article as usual. There is no reason for so many of the comments to keep on blaming Biden or Kamala or all the people that didn’t vote or even Garland for Trump 2.0.
Trump is a deranged lunatic and narcissist. He has no idea of what anyone’s reality is. He has surrounded himself with even sicker sycophants who don’t care about anything except themselves.
Blame all the long time Republicans in Congress who know very well what their job is. They chose to stop doing their jobs and took a knee. If this was a Democrat, none of what Trump has done to the Constitution and DOJ and SCOTUS would have been tolerated.
Thanks Rick. Defense departments have accountants and bursars so pretty soon; although corporals love to spend millions it won’t be too long till we are no longer in the black but in the red if not there yet. Never seen such an ill prepared, gutted command structure in the DOD who fail their duty to protect their own. Not something that zealot countries even after leadership is bombed out, revive the next mullah with loads of patriots who are ready to launch drones, suicide boats or drop mines into the Gulf waters. I am sick of watching main stream media. Senseless.
Makes you want to ask, “Who’s idea was this?” Sadly we know the answer.
The Peace President. What a laugh. Never was, never could be. He just wanted an honorable organization to heap some undeserved praise on him. Obama Derangement Syndrome! So our 'Peace President' has sunk boats in the Americas without proof that ANY of them had drugs onboard. Killed crewmen who were of no threat after the boats went down. Kidnapped a leader of another country (not a nice guy, BTW) and then used military might against a third world barely existing military. Purpose? It's all about the spOILS of war. (get it?) Attacked another not nice country (the one we're fighting now) for what reason? They're developing 'new clear' weapons (sorry, George) Didn't Donny say we absolutely obliterated their program? No, wait, they're developing long range ICBMs. Yeah. Let's talk about that. The richest man in the world can't get his commercial rockets to fly straight a lot of the time, yet the Iranians are going to have 6,000 plus mile range ICBMs available. Yeah, sure. So where is Donny regarding another rogue state who has a nuclear development program, in fact, has actually tested weapons. And where is Donny regarding their ICBM development program, which has actually demonstrated longer ranged missiles? Not a word. BTW, we installed our one and only ABM system in Alaska to defend against missiles from that country; but their munchkin maniac 3rd generation dictator is just all right with Donny. Yet Donny now also eyes the large island off the coast of Florida. It's not, like 60 years ago, because our true enemy then, and still, Russia, has planted functional SRBMs and IRBMs in that country, because this time they haven't. But I wouldn't put it past Putin to bring in more than a few just to hurt Donny some more. What would we do with Cuba? Turn it back into the corrupt regime that existed in the 1950s, where American criminal enterprises had their way and the citizens were jailed indiscriminately. But we backed them. Secretary of Sissies Little Marco's family didn't flee from communism, but President Batista. Peace President my arse.
A billion dollars a day, until we run out of smart bombs and air defense missiles. When Israel cries that their 'Iron Dome' can't work because the suppliers of the missiles (in America) have a long lead time for them and for the US military's forces. Who'll pay for the rearming of Israel's missiles and bombs? We will. We already pay 20% of their annual defense budget. Of course 'they buy the weapons from America, with American dollars, so it's OK, the money's coming back!' Ahem.
Always remind Donny how he said that the Ukraine/Russian war would be over in no time. The Ukrainians have suffered much, but the Russians have been exposed for their weakness in tactics and manpower/leadership.
So just remember, Supreme Loafer of Spazmanistan, Azzahola Paedomieni, is directing this fiasco from the SCIF at Mar-A-Lago, while the paying guests hold cotillions, weddings, and bar mitzvas, down the hall. Not even Adolf was THAT ridiculous, and he was an extremely low bar for a 'brilliant' tactician. Can't wait for the Manhattan Azzahola to declare we'll rain MOABs down on the populace of Iran, not out of enmity but love because he's 'the Peace President'. smh
We don't have to look abroad to cite historical examples of how the strategy of outlasting a stronger military power was the means of ultimate victory. Our own revolution adopted this approach. After retreating from the early New York battles, fairly conventional in nature, George Washington, leaving behind convention, understood the underlying nature of the conflict, the strengths and weaknesses of both parties, and played the long game to great effect.
The latest from the New York Times is that the Pentagon has told Congress the war in Iran has cost us $11.3 billion so far. This is staggering. Who is supposed to pay this wartime debt? I don’t recall Congress voting on this war or giving this administration billions to fund this war. Our Tomahawk missile hit a school. A mistake? Perhaps if there was a real secretary of defense instead of a bimbo and top generals weren’t fired prior to this devastating war, those in charge may have understood the school was adjacent to a military base. Instead, the felon masquerading as president claimed it was the Iranians who bombed their own school killing upwards of approximately 176 children and schoolteachers. If this was a GRAVE ERROR, the thing to do would have been to ADMIT there was an error. Yes I know this is a murderous regime in Iran. Still, my humanity calls out for an apology for vaporizing all these children and teachers. Most of all, I hate this war because it has already cost young American lives. It has drawn in other countries in the Persian Gulf and the impact on vessels crossing the Straight of Hormuz. Did Trump have a fantasy of stealing Iran’s oil as he did in Venezuela? The Iranians aren’t fooling around. Our families will pay dearly for this war. Our safeguards to defend both domestic terrorist and outside terrorist attacks are gone. And for exactly what???
Aren't you waiting for Trump to tell us that the Chinese are paying for the war through the tariffs on their exports to America? You can take that to the BitCoin bank. smh.
Too bad the only people who will really benefit, the ultra rich and defense corporations, won't put in a dime for it. But our dimes will march to do so. We can't have any pennies for our thoughts, though, because Trump has discontinued them.
I can see Congress going all in to help him save face-- no matter what the cost is--leaving us all as sitting ducks.
the day Trump dies all the MAGA Vichy Quisling Collabos will be "I always opposed this"
Erika Kirk will be on AF1 to mop JD's tears.
Notice that D rushes to the embrace of the faithful in Kentucky cause he needed an adoration hit badly. He knows he effed up & is under pressure.