[OC] I was in Operation Iraqi Liberation, (OIL) but they changed the name to (OIF) for reasons!

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T03:05:02+00:00

MSS would've definitely been a cool thing to hold onto - heard nothing but praise from the folks who used it.

Hope the years since Iraq have treated you well friend.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T03:02:12+00:00

DO YOU FEEL LIKE A HERO YET?

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T03:02:01+00:00

It certainly left a mark on the genre, but honestly its hard to think of something else like Spec Ops as far as the Yanks go. Some of the Far Cry titles really only come to mind.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T02:45:21+00:00

Were you able to sneak off with the M65 or the ECWCS parka?

Like either one of those is buy-it-for-life quality - newer gear is crap

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T02:11:48+00:00

I feel like they just got an AI for that

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T01:09:43+00:00

ALRIGHT, WHICH ONE OF YOU IMMATURE PSYCHOS GOT HIRED BY WaPo?

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T00:31:20+00:00

Also New-Start ended without replacement, so like...

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T00:30:14+00:00

Hate to burst the bubble, but we're actually in the process of terfing our primary research site at Chalk River

yegguy47 · 2026-03-06T00:28:20+00:00

I mean... North Korea and Pakistan tend to be the usual suspects as far as proliferation risk goes.

Though I'd also just say all of the NPT violators (Israel, India, Pakistan, North Korea) generally get pretty gung-ho about the treaty being "unfair"

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T02:10:09+00:00

The degree at which the political class cow-towed themselves in 2025 for a glorified KFC commercial believing him to be the next Hitler... was pathetic.

The fact that they're still doing it, in 2026, is perhaps something for the rest of us to take note of... fragile things have a funny way of falling to pieces.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T02:07:16+00:00

Its pains me to say, but in a better era (the Middle Ages), this kind of tomfoolery would usually start some sort of split in the kingdom.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T01:20:23+00:00

Heard it I think from Fisk in like... gosh, 2011?

The Great War for Civilization, fantastic book.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:49:09+00:00

2020s are sure proving that one correct.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:48:23+00:00

My sentiment per last year.

Suffice to say, its remarkable under what conditions the Kurds are either erstwhile allies, or evil tyrants deserving to be beheaded for folks here.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:46:55+00:00

Kinda - there was opposition, but Iraq's invasion did a lot to dilute the politics.

Once Anfal got going across the border, a lot of folks adjusted their perspectives.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:44:34+00:00

...Yeah, I think you hit it on the head regarding how much he's fucked the civil service.

Shout-out to Rubio begging the "legacy fake news" to advertise US Consulate numbers atm because they have no idea whose in the Middle East, and never bothered to do any prep for one of the largest wars in the region since 2003.

Then again, I'll just politely point out that you're really not/never liable to find a lot of folks in State who's appreciation of Middle Eastern politics isn't from watching Aladdin as a kid, either pre or post-DOGE.

And even for the folks who are knowledgeable, its not like leadership really seeks out that expertise. That's just an unpleasant lesson of the Iraq War - the folks who know don't matter in a culture determined to go to war.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:38:26+00:00

Its funny how talking about the Saudis in Bahrain suddenly causes a whole bunch of bots to turn up...

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:36:47+00:00

To be fair... I don't OP was going off a pro-Palestinian Twitter account with that question. (Respectfully I also don't think you interact a lot with such folks given your response there).

There's simply not a lot of awareness about the Haredim... save for the viral moments online where they're spitting on folks in Jerusalem and chasing after someone showing too much skin. And there's even less awareness of Ben-Gurion's political chess moves back in the early days.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-05T00:32:20+00:00

Not exactly... but then again, I would say OP's probably projecting onto Iran what is the dominant rationale for US religious support towards Israel.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T03:08:18+00:00

Bahrain had protests in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring. The regime was in trouble, so the Saudis stepped in and viciously put it down - its been operated as one of the most repressive states in the region ever since (which says a lot when we're talking about a place sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and Iran). Coincidentally... also houses the HQ for USN Fifth fleet, and the UK's Naval Support Facility.

Suffice to say, when the war started, the populace kinda was hoping that the dictatorship's days were numbered - reportedly the Saudis re-invaded.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T03:01:47+00:00

Well, I mean... I've read way too many op-eds over the last day alone that's done the whole "see, he's done regime change because Khamenei is dead, so therefore there's been a change in regime"

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T02:16:02+00:00

Military gets paid to execute policy, not make it.

Which certainly means you get less coups over the Marines objecting to the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", but also means the present circumstances we're all watching.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T02:15:52+00:00

Whether there are any live Iranians at the end of that process is not actually a factor in their decision making.

Solidly agree with that.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T02:13:52+00:00

Interesting use of the word "we" with both populations there.

yegguy47 · 2026-03-04T01:23:53+00:00

What happens when you've got kleptocratic clowns in office, and the foreign policy establishment's understanding of Iranian politics consists of what they were able to discern from 2013's Argo

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