United States and Israel are bombing Iran

[Pardel-Lux]

Underestimate the enemy at your peril.

[Babale]

@Pardel-Lux

Underestimate the enemy at your peril

Sage advice for Iran to have considered on October 6th, 2023.

[Pardel-Lux]

It is a mistake they do not have the monopoly to. Do you think you have already won?

[Babale]

@Pardel-Lux

Do you think you have already won?

Of course not. But we’re not the ones who chose to be at war.

[Frodo]

In general one has to try and be as accurate in one’s assessments as possible, neither underestimating nor overestimating anyone.

[Pardel-Lux]

@Babale

But we’re not the ones who chose to be at war.

I would not have phrased it that way, but as I will not change your mind on that, I drop it. Admiting that I am not sure who “we” are in your sentence.

@Frodo

In general one has to try and be as accurate in one’s assessments as possible, neither underestimating nor overestimating anyone.

But in war I would advise to err on the side of overestimating the enemy and not the other way around, just in case. Sin exagerar, of course.

[hajario]

Certainly you should over prepare

[Frodo]

@Pardel-Lux

I would not have phrased it that way, but as I will not change your mind on that, I drop it.

+1

@Pardel-Lux

But in war I would advise to err on the side of overestimating the enemy and not the other way around, just in case. Sin exagerar, of course.

I agree, but overestimating the enemy has it’s own pitfalls, as George Mcclellan discovered (or failed to) in the U.S. civil war.

[iiandyiiii]

@Babale

Of course not. But we’re not the ones who chose to be at war.

What a joke this is. This is the ultimate war of choice for the United States. We were not remotely in any danger from Iran.

[Velocity]

An American submarine has sunk an enemy ship with a torpedo for the first time since World War II.

U.S. Navy Submarine Torpedoes Iranian Frigate In Indian Ocean

[Aspenglow]

Moderating:

@Babale

Of course not. But we’re not the ones who chose to be at war.

@iiandyiiii

What a joke this is. This is the ultimate war of choice for the United States. We were not remotely in any danger from Iran.

This is not the thread to discuss the underlying reasons for what is being called a “war”. This thread is to discuss the actual bombings and actions that are occurring.

If you wish to discuss underlying reasons and/or consequences for the bombings (different threads, in my view), please start such threads.

[hajario]

The White House claimed that Spain is assisting the US in this effort. Spain replies, “Um, no we never said that”.

Spain's government denies cooperating with US operations in Mideast,...

[JRDelirious]

@OldOlds

@hajario

I don’t support any of this but if this war is justified then the sinking is fair game. Do you really think that it wasn’t going to take part at some point?

Agreed. This war is stupid, but it’s bog standard to go after the enemy’s military kit wherever you find it.

Yes, if active hostilities are on, combatant vessel is combatant vessel, and AIUI your alternative is to surrender to internment in a neutral port for the duration.

(Now I am wondering, absent a “legalistic” declaration of war, does that still apply and would the US even recognize that.)

[Dinsdale]

@OldOlds

I won’t claim to be an expert, but from my reading over the years, the Kurds have desperately wanted a homeland for decades, and all (or almost all) the established stated don’t want this. Mostly because nobody wants to give up territory to allow it to happen, I think.

Why don’t the western countries just get together and declare a Kurdish country legitimate, possibly based on some millennia-old claim and a belief in some make-believe being?

If this keeps up, we are going to have to cut taxes on the wealthy in order to pay for all of this!

[Babale]

This is very strange, if true:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/02/25/reza-pahlavi-iran-protests-voa/

Later that day, Tahvili received a phone call from the VOA producer who arranged her interview, complaining that she had violated Voice of America’s new policy barring mentions of Pahlavi’s name — which she said she didn’t know about.

“He called me in a very angry way and said, ‘Why did you mention his name?’” Tahvili, adjunct associate professor of AI industrial systems at Sweden’s Mälardalen University, said in an interview. “No one is allowed to mention Pahlavi’s name.” Because she had mentioned him, Tahvili said she was told her interview, which aired live, would not be reposted to social media and she would no longer be welcome on the network

Several VOA staffers working on the broadcasts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said that Javanmardi appeared to target Pahlavi. The staffers said he personally approves all guests before they appear on air and has instructed staff not to book anyone who sympathizes or promotes Pahlavi.

“He completely censors his name, his activity and everything,” one staffer said, noting that Javanmardi has refused to play audio of protesters in Iran shouting Pahlavi’s name. “All the people chanting in Iran — nothing. He censors everything.”

[Magiver]

@Chronos

And now, their own battle is against us, instead of being against the regime. How does this help us?

Then why are they celebrating US involvement around the world?

[steronz]

Why do Cubans in Miami love America while Cubans in Cuba don’t?

[Magiver]

Then why are there large scale protests in Iran by Iranians who have died in the many thousands?

[Eric1]

I found it touching to read the profiles today of the US combatants killed so far. I know they’d all enlisted and knew where they were training to work but it was sad anyway.