Attack on Iran

On this day:
1633
The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.
1848
Beginning of the June Days Uprising in Paris, France.
1898
Spanish–American War: United States Marines land in Cuba.
1941
Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
1944
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.
1945
World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island.

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About 300,000 people in Israel are American citizens.

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Gunfire broke out at a Juneteenth celebration Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing one person and wounding seven others, according to police and the organizers of the event.


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Attack on Iran

The Americans delivered an astonishing, precise, obliterating attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran. Some notes on the attack:

The attack was done with remarkable efficiency and secrecy for such a complex project. The planes entered, bombed, and left Iran without being detected. A mammoth undetected military strike, complete with fake "ghost" radar readings. That, as a modern possibility, must be a frightening realization for the world.

Where does the U.S., or any country, get the authority to determine the internal workings of another state? We are reasonably afraid of the implication of a maniacal, homicidal theocracy that has threatened its neighbors and the U.S. and periodically killed our citizens. They are, without question, a malignant threat to the U.S. and the world. The world will rejoice at the effort, albeit probably silently. But where does the justification for such a huge military action come from?

The government boasts of the fact that no shots were fired. There is a bizarre element here. Certainly, it is notable that the attack was carried out without extraordinary risk to American soldiers. However, there is the implication that this attack would be less warlike if fewer people were killed. Certainly, this seems an attack on material is less invasive and less serious than an attack involving people. But it does look like war.

Trump has made this a defensive act to protect a friend; a limited act with limited aims. Like an older brother, he asks only that his smaller brother not be hurt or killed. Iran and their agents are more clearly defined as the vicious maniacs they are. Being America's friend might become desirable again. His requests for a compromise here seem sincere. Interestingly, his stance on his peculiar tariff policies supports this sincerity.

Limited warfare is not new and can be very strange. The War of the Flowers and Mourning Wars seem to have been taken with the agreement of the victims. Even if the victims were not of the same culture.

Pakistan has suggested that Trump get the Nobel Prize for his actions in the Pakistan-India conflict. Will this strike decrease or raise the value of this claim?

Gabbard's comments on Iran's nuclear willingness and readiness in the Senate will haunt this event. She is an attractive, commanding presence, but, like Hollywood, may not be terribly bright.

Trump is decisive, which makes him particularly jarring as president. Iran has attacked American personnel and interests for forty-five years. Obama became a "red line" punch line. Biden was addled and incoherent. Indulgence has been the watchword, as if the Democrats were the parents of bad kids. But these kids are heavily armed.

If this raid was as successful as it looks, the political geometry of the Middle East has radically changed. It has become safer and more optimistic. The U.S might be seen again as a positive internal force.

How is that conference between Iran and the European governments going? Has any conference been sillier, a cease-fire discussion between non-combattants?

The Death to America crowd might be taken a little less seriously now. It will be interesting to see if the Gaza supporters pivot to support Iran. There will be cries against the attack by lukewarm friends and internal enemies on campus and in Progressive boardrooms. 

They will fret that suicidal Iranian agents--particularly those allowed by the Biden Regency non-administration--will become active and harm us. That might be true. But if it happens,  it will not be because of this attack; it will be despite it. The cause of such attacks will be mental derangement, a disregard for the wellbeing of man, the ineptness of the American system which declares it demands war leadership from a group of people who cannot balance a budget or deal with our debt, Obama's fear of consequence which prefers form over substance, and the republic-threatening Biden Regency which, with the Obama frontrunners, preferred bribery to policy.

The Democrats in Congress have a decision to make. AOC has already moved her dislike for Trump to the astonishingly un-Democrat position of limited governmental power, saying the president has no power to launch warlike actions without Congressional approval. But no one believes in the validity of the War Powers Act. Not even Obama, who attacked around the globe and ruined Libya. This will be interesting to watch, as most of these people essentially oppose America's success and integrity. 

I wonder if the Israelis would be willing to subcontract their intelligence.

The inactivity of the Iranian proxies has been stunning.

A commentator has said that Iran is in the driver's seat now. How is that, exactly? Like a suicide bomber has control over his future? The Pirates, behind by ten runs, decide who's going to pinch-hit?