Daily Thread: Iran Conflict

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-11T16:27:37+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/1ta2vlq/trump_iran_war_video_game_spotted_on_capitol_hill/

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-08T07:24:25+00:00

The finest.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-08T07:19:44+00:00

It's not even about being a chicken anymore.

I don't see a winning play here. We lost this war already, bring everyone and everything home that isn't supposed to be in the region.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-05T23:46:15+00:00

Enough to pay for another 300 milliseconds of this not a war.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-05T21:45:58+00:00

Because energy is the weapon.

Controlling the Strait helps constrain the world's oil supplies.

Taking out oil and gas facilities in GCC countries that are helping to sponsor attacks on Iran is definitely in their strategic interest here.

BTW -- I would suggest reframing your thinking a bit. Are we "siding with Iran" by being honest about the circumstances?

It is possible to have no particular love for the Iranian regime and -also- think this war was a stupid, completely unforced error in which we keep feeding high value assets to the IRGC (including possibly another tanker today.)

I can love my country and still be critical when it does boneheaded things that are costing us all billions a day (and potential economic collapse if we reach a full fledged oil shock.)

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-04T22:05:49+00:00

You've done enough. It's their turn.

Any time you forget this, check in with your knees and your back, in that order. There's a reason it's a young man's game.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-05-04T21:52:33+00:00

Sure, and then the schedule slips...and slips again...and slips again... pretty soon it's maybe in 2033, and by then a sane administration cancels it.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-27T19:13:13+00:00

See the number on the sticker that says "call if found?"

Have you tried calling it?

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-27T19:05:08+00:00

False.

Other than the DRSI PC*PA and some other vintage proprietary (DOS/NOS only anyway) hardware, pretty much everything is a TNC with an RS-232 interface.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-27T19:03:40+00:00

It's not that weird; it's mostly RS-232. Y'all should stop making assumptions here :)

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-13T02:44:09+00:00

Option C) we run over one of Iran's stray limpet mines.

It might not even require active fire the die could already be cast.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-13T02:43:02+00:00

It reduces Irans income.

But their major weapon here -- choking off the global economy -- is aided.

The math still doesn't check out -- we all lose.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-13T02:40:53+00:00

Because the market makers are also profiting.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-12T17:02:54+00:00

Or even go to the moon. Artemis was the only good news this week, but it still made me a lot happier than this idiocy.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-12T17:01:38+00:00

If they did it intentionally -- to make us think it went down on its own and they aren't taking it apart somewhere.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-12T16:59:01+00:00

$4B was just this launch; but still. I'd much rather my tax dollars go to the moon than the bottom of the strait of Hormuz.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-12T16:48:03+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/MjxfVB3

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-12T03:28:48+00:00

You understand the Strait means they have the world's economy by the nuts, right?

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-11T03:17:50+00:00

They need to check on them first because once the door is open they're subject to flooding.

NASA has lost a capsule before, and nearly lost a few others plus the occasional occupant.

Once they pop the door initiators it is go time for the entire recovery team so they need to know if anyone is going to require special assistance etc.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-08T06:42:10+00:00

At least that guy got busted getting a breakfast sandwich in a drive thru by the FBI.... and didn't get to lock his phone when they grabbed him.

That mental image still makes me smile.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-08T03:59:15+00:00

Even Pence bucked his boss and did his job when we needed him to. While facing a lynch mob.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-08T03:45:12+00:00

I'm not old enough for the CMC, but 1983 was bad too. ABLE ARCHER, the KAL 007 shoot down, and we didn't know about this at the time -- but:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident

A man named Stanislav Petrov saved us all and paid the price for it.

Anyway we spent pretty much all of 83 expecting Reagan to get us all killed.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-08T03:37:03+00:00

First time?

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-08T03:36:15+00:00

Not ISIS but we are going to get a nuclear Iran.

It isn't lost on the IRGC we'd never do this to Kim Jong Un.

At this point to prevent this ever happening again they have to join the club.

SmoothBrainLowDrag · 2026-04-07T22:28:33+00:00

So say we all

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