The Pentagon announced on Sunday night that it launched another round of airstrikes in eastern Syria, targeting facilities “used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups,” referring to the Shia militias that operate in the region.
The strikes mark the third known round of US airstrikes in eastern Syria since US troops in the region have come under a spate of attacks due to President Biden’s full-throated support of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. The Pentagon said Saturday that US bases have been targeted 48 times since October 17, leaving 56 American troops injured.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the airstrikes launched on Sunday specifically targeted “a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin,” which are both located in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province.
The last round of US airstrikes in eastern Syria took place on November 8, and before that was October 27. One purpose of the strikes was to “deter” further attacks, but US officials have acknowledged that strategy has failed, as the Shia militias are not backing down.
An umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq has taken credit for many of the attacks on US troops, and leaders of some of the Shia militias have vowed they won’t stop until there’s a durable ceasefire in Gaza.
The US airstrikes on alleged IRGC sites also risk a major escalation with Iran if any Iranian personnel are killed. Iran has denied it is involved in the attacks on US forces in the region. The US says Tehran bears ultimate responsibility since it supports many of the Shia militias, but the Pentagon has previously acknowledged it has no evidence Iran is directing the operations.
@RonPaul
Debt literally takes down empires.
The U.S. government was never meant to be a militarized empire, since freedom and empire are mutually exclusive. But alas, those fateful decisions were made well before we were born.
In typical empire fashion, the U.S. government has overextended itself militarily around the world, engaging in endless wars. Those wars come at a severe cost to us, as our standard of living precipitously deteriorates.
Debts cannot be endless. Ultimately, the interest payments will overwhelm. The U.S. government is now paying $1 TRILLION per year in interest alone.
Americans will have to rethink the role of government …either by choice, or by unavoidable necessity.
British Empire was a capitalist empire. It functioned in the interests of big business. It is only natural that US empire is functioning in the same logic. Why it should be different?
Because humanity has advanced philosophically and has hazy ideas about various ongoing experiments in evolution of real democracy able to focus distributed intelligence, We the people are now able to visualize putting people first. When an as yet unknown critical mass of people can see a better way to a more perfect union that is far more healthy and fun, the change will be instantaneous.
I think instantaneous change can be only for the worse. Humanity has advanced only technologically. The possibility of self-destruction increased drastically and still increasing. That is a real progress.
It won’t happen unless a critical mass sees the same vision and likes it… Highly unlikely. My conclusion is major problems cannot be solved with AI and without focus of human specie experience and intelligence. Thus, extinction looms.
A mob can’t rule the state, doesn’t matter how big the mob is. It needs an organization. Unorganized mob can only destroy. It can’t create a new state. As we can observe, when the state is weak or collapsed, it is immediately replaced by organized criminal groups. The oligarchy itself is a criminal group. One can’t solve the problem by replacing one big criminal group by a lot of smaller criminal groups. In the end, after fighting with each other, they will create a new oligarchy system.
The solution is in creation of an organization based upon Christian values or, if you like, socialist values. The only problem with the socialism is that the socialist parties without Christian orientation can be eventually converted into national-socialism or, in other words, into Nazism.
Your defeatist attitude leads to extinction… Of course mobs can’t govern. People have been attempting christian values for thousands of years… very old hat now that we know biology started with the big bang. Christians lived back when people wondered what the heck was going on in the night sky.
“Your defeatist attitude” – I am rather optimistic about the future. China/Russia alliance, supported by increasing BRICS, will eventually dominate the world. What China/Russia alliance is offering to the world is good for the overwhelming majority of the humankind. The western capitalist political system is getting in a great crisis. The degenerated western elites are trying to solve their problems through wars but a big war with Russia is suicidal for them, they know about that and that gives us hope that they will never dare to start it. So, eventually, the world will come to a new geopolitical stability.
I agree and hope over indulged and obese Nirth Americans still hold on to the American dream and create a new country with a new capitol more in the geographic center. It is possible that South Americans will develop real democracy based on living well in balance with Earth before anyone else when anti democratic US corporate hegemony is desperately holding on only inside US borders,
I am sensitive to your description of mob rule and mainly study mechanisms for focusing the experience of a population through some as yet undefined government structure. Presidents Xi and Putin seem to think that way along with other talented and practicalleaders in those countries.
Actually the “interests” of those running the U.S. “government” have nothing to do with “big business.” Put simply, they do what they do because they’re evil. They’re a cult of devil-worshiping, demon-possessed, theistic Satanists who’ve launched a spiritual war against all humanity, their objective being to proselytize the whole world for their “god” Satan.
IOW they seek to accomplish the goal set forth in Isaiah 14:13,14; their strategy being to rise to the top of the world (and to stay there) not by their own merits but by bringing everything and everyone else down, and anyone that can’t be deceived, corrupted and manipulated into self -destruction (like what Satan did to Eve) must be destroyed by other methods. Once they can wipe out all examples of relative goodness on earth, evil can call itself “good” since there is nothing better to compare it to. So for the Satanists, evil is both the means and the end.
When the state is subordinated to big business, it is the rule of Mammon or the rule of anti-Christ. Or else we can call it Satanism because the rule of Mammon is the rule of Satan. It is the pure evil because they use everything what is evil for undermining their geopolitical opponents which are all independent states. Ukrainian neo-Nazi state was created by them for undermining Russia. They call Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime a democracy. So, in their logic, by cultivating and supporting Nazism in Europe, they are promoting and defending the democracy.
The “state” (whatever that exactly is) isn’t “subordinated” to big business. Big business, per se, actually has nothing to do with it. The “state” is subordinated to the first beast of Rev 13; i.e. Satan’s agent in the physical realm. Satanism is “devil worship” and what is that? It means knowingly and willingly “giving *worth* to evil” as a calculated means of rising to the top of the world (Luke 4:5-7). The second beast of Rev 13 apparently refers to the end-times office of the U.S. president (and by extension, whichever man holds the office) into which political power has been illegitimately consolidated (thanks to the longstanding efforts of the first beast). And the U.S. “government” – having lost all moral and constitutional legitimacy – has become what John of Patmos referred to as an “image of the beast” as it now exists solely to do the Satanic dirty work of the beast. Note that the prophet Daniel apparently saw the same end times scenario unfolding but he described it a little differently. Daniel’s “little horn” (Daniel 7:8) is apparently symbolic of the illegitimate end-times U.S. “government” – which no longer functions as three co-equal branches with separation of powers resulting in checks and balances – the eyes and mouth of which refer to those of the man holding the office of president, who’s the front man for the beast.
The first beast was Nero. The second was the Roman imperial cult itself. Revelation was written nearly 2,000 years ago and referred to things that had already happened.
That’s just nonsense. In Rev 13, John of Patmos gives us some identifying features of the two beasts. Anyone who makes a claim for example that the beast from the sea (i.e. the first beast) is a particular entity – and who wants to be taken seriously – has to explain how that entity is consistent with the given identifying features. It is obvious from the text that the first beast is not a “man” but a collective.
I would never expect to be taken seriously on a matter of biblical interpretation, 99% of which, coming from anyone, is trying to be the one shouting most loudly that what they want to believe is true because they want to believe it.
That’s because you apparently don’t know enough about the subject matter to proffer a cogent argument supporting your barely asserted claims – and you assume it’s the same with everyone else. It’s not who shouts the loudest that matters, it’s who can best explain how their claims are congruent with the relevant text (and fundamental Biblical principles) that wins the argument.
Not agreeing with your fantasies about what the Bible means, what its “fundamental principles” are, or whether they’re relevant is not precisely the same thing as not knowing enough about the subject matter. It’s just a matter of not agreeing with your fantasies.
Unlike you, I can back up everything I say about Biblical prophecy e.g., my interpretation of Rev 13, with a cogent argument based on observation and reasoning. I may be wrong, but at least I have an argument. Unlike the case of you and your completely unfounded bare assertions, I can explain the meaning of each and every descriptive feature given by the prophet John of Patmos whereas you obviously haven’t the slightest clue what it means. Thus your claim that the first beast of Rev 13 is “Nero,” for example, has no more validity than a claim that the first beast is the man in the moon. Your baseless fantasizing reflects poorly on you, not on me.
Yes, I’m sure that you can back up everything you believe with further statements of what you believe. I’m not here to argue scripture. I was just offering the preterist interpretation, which I find more convincing than your thorazine-deficient word salads.
LOL! Well look who’s talkin’ about a “thorazine-deficient word salad” – the person who claims that Nero had seven heads. Unlike you I can back up my position with an argument based on observation and reasoning, and you can’t. All you can do is regurgitate some preterist nonsense that you yourself obviously don’t understand. If you ever had an original thought in your mind it would probably kill you.
I didn’t claim that Nero had seven heads. Even in your … analysis … the author of Revelation used metaphor extensively. The seven heads of the First Beast, in preterist eschatology, refer to seven kings, of which Nero is the sixth, the one who “is” at the time of the Revelation (the first four were Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius (aka Caligula), and Claudius). The seventh (the one who “is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” — Revelation 17:10) is Galba.
The very first verse of the Revelation states that it is “to shew unto [Christ’s] servants things which must shortly come to pass,” not things that were going to happen 2,000 years later.
“I didn’t claim that Nero had seven heads.”
Yes you (impliedly) did. You said “[t]he first beast was Nero.” And according to John of Patmos, this beast had “seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
But now you’re saying something different:
“The seven heads of the First Beast, in preterist eschatology, refer to seven kings, of which Nero is the sixth, the one who “is” at the time of the Revelation (the first four were Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius (aka Caligula), and Claudius). The seventh (the one who “is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” — Revelation 17:10) is Galba.”
Questionable preterist doctrine notwithstanding, since Nero cannot be both the beast itself and one of the heads of the beast, you’re now contradicting your earlier statement.
The Book of Revelation is confusing and I don’t claim to have all the answers. I’m not sure which “kings” Rev 17:10 is referring to, but it seems quite clear that the seven heads of the first beast are not “kings.” They are described as “mountains” but to understand what is meant by this requires “wisdom” (Rev 17:9). IOW it’s likely not going to be something facially obvious from the text.
In order to take a meaningful guess at it, I believe you have to identify the “woman” who sits on the beast (Rev 17:3), and this is one area where preterism fails.
We’re told that the beast from the sea was given Satan’s “power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev 13:2) but what is Satan’s “power”? It is apparently exemplified in what he did to Eve (Genesis 3:13). He basically deceived, corrupted and manipulated her into taking action against God (and therefore against her own best interests).
He didn’t physically force her to eat the forbidden fruit, he made her do it herself. He talked her into it. He’s not only a liar but “the father of it” (John 8:44). But a liar can only victimize people he can communicate with and this is the key to understanding the beast’s “mouth as the mouth of a lion” (Rev 13:2). Satan attacked Eve with his mouth. The beast received Satan’s “power” (to deceive corrupt and manipulate people) apparently because the beast worships Satan, i.e. gives worth to evil (Luke 4:6,7).
So the beast is apparently Satan’s agent in the physical realm and if it aspires to rise to the top of the world primarily by deceiving, corrupting and manipulating people, it needs to get their attention. Thus the beast is described as having a “mouth as the mouth of a lion” because a lion roars and everyone hears it; it drowns out everything else.
The beast’s mouth is apparently a reference to the beast’s monopolistic control over modern mass communications. The end times had to wait for the 20th century development of the technology of radio, TV, motion pictures, and the modern book, newspaper and magazine publishing industries.
This sets the time frame from which to consider the other identifying features of the beast, which I believe I understand and which shed light on the meaning of the seven heads, but I won’t go any further here right now.
Since your first three paragraphs indicate a severe reading comprehension deficit which I’m not qualified to help you overcome, I’ll bow out of the conversation over your fantasized superior biblical prophecy divination skills as well. Have a nice day.
“Since your first three paragraphs indicate a severe reading comprehension deficit which I’m not qualified to help you overcome…”
You’re supposed to be looking at your monitor, not your mirror, as you type your silly contrarian rhetoric.
As anyone following this “discussion” can see, you said: “[t]he first beast was Nero.” This statement of yours is incorrect in at least two different senses. It is wrong in the sense that the first beast has seven heads, but Nero was a man, and men do not have seven heads (neither literally nor figuratively speaking in this case); and it’s wrong in the sense that it contradicts what you said in a subsequent comment, i.e. Nero cannot be both the beast itself and one of the heads of the beast. It is likely also wrong in the fundamental sense that the beast’s seven heads are neither men nor are they anything that could be considered “kings.”
Why not just be honest about it and admit that you misspoke and move on?
“I’ll bow out of the conversation over your fantasized superior biblical prophecy divination skills as well.”
I gave you an example of the type of Bible-based observation and reasoning (i.e. “wisdom” not “fantasy”) required to make some sense out of Rev 13, particularly regarding the identities of two beasts. A similar approach reveals the apparent meaning of the other descriptive features given by John. I’m sorry that it all went over your head.
This discussion has become utterly pointless.
“Have a nice day.”
Same to you.
State is always subordinated. In China, for example, the state is subordinated to Chinese communist party. It was the same in USSR. In Tsarist Russia, the state was subordinated to the monarch. In British Empire, the state was subordinated also to the monarch and to the top aristocracy which owned the most of the land. However, the interests of the big business in UK were represented in Parliament. Up to the middle of 19th century, the lower house of UK Parliament was representing exclusively the big business of UK. British Empire was created by UK big business. For example, the private army of East India Company which conquered and kept under control India, and not only India, was more numerous than the royal British army. In USA, most of the national wealth belongs to the capitalists or, in other words, to the big business. They own the mass media, main political parties and everything what is necessary for ruling the country. Of course, the ordinary voters are playing a certain role but they can’t influence much the government’s decisions. The only real opposition in a capitalist political system can be the socialist party which denies the right of the big business to influence the political decisions of the government and struggling for achieving this goal. At the moment, the socialist minded people are marginalized in US.
“State is always subordinated…blah…blah…blah”
You’re just throwing ambiguous and apparently meaningless terms around.
The increasingly dangerous kinetic wars happening in the world today are a manifestation of a fundamental *spiritual conflict*; the painfully obvious reality of which you implicitly deny.
Basically what you’re doing is trying to “explain” a conflict between good and evil – which can only be properly understood from a Biblical/spiritual perspective – in terms of worldly concepts, i.e. capitalism, socialism, big business, the state, etc. and it won’t work. You’re just waving your hands and wasting time and bandwidth.
The only debts that are legitimate are those that benefit citizens directly. The “General Welfare” of citizens. Speaker Johnson has flat out said that he plans to end Social Security and Medicare. In his mind, the military budget is off limits.
“Speaker Johnson has flat out said that he plans to end Social Security and Medicare”
Got a link?
Johnson plans on “revamping social security”
doesn’t say ending it.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/politics/mike-johnson-social-security-medicare/index.html
“Revamping” Social Security is the path to its demise. Mr. Johnson alleges taxes would have to be raised to “save” the program. Nope, and Nope. Raise the cap, or eliminate it.
Raising the cap is raising taxes.
All Ponzi schemes eventually collapse. The question is whether there’s a soft landing or a really hard one.
The only possible collapse is hyperinflation destroying the US economy. The Fed will print any amount of money that is required to cover debt. There is no limit to how much the Fed can print, its an electronic entry.
Debt destroyed Imperial Spain, it destroyed Louis XVI’s French overseas efforts in the late 1700’s and helped bring on the French Revolution, and it totally wrecked the British Empire by the end of WW2 (after much damage done that way by WW1).
The Dutch Empire was destroyed by its financial failure, and so was the Republic of Venice and its commercial empire.
The shorter list would be those that did not die of debt or gross financial mismanagement dissolving their very core.
Anyone here believes the story of 5 US “Special Operations” troops killed while “training on refueling a helicopter” in the Eastern Mediterranean? …What’s that? I’m the only idiot? …Delete, delete, delete! Thomas, my “delete” button is not working!
Actually, I do believe it, and here’s why:
The helicopter was an MH-60 Jayhawk. That helicopter is only used (officially, at least) by one branch of the US Armed Forces, the Coast Guard.
One thing that tends to get US troops killed is the obsession with “joint operations.” Each of the armed forces has its own equipment and its own methods. Then something happens and the muckety-mucks from all the branches want a piece of it, and shit does wrong when the different equipment and methods come together, especially before the kinks get worked out.
Operation Eagle Claw (the attempt to rescue the embassy hostages in Iran) might have gone wrong/failed in any case, but the ground element commander, US Army Colonel Charlie Beckwith, specifically blamed the insistence on it being a “joint operation” for it turning into a clusterfuck.
Those Coast Guard people were probably trying to learn how to do some kind of in-air refueling from unfamiliar aircraft or using unfamiliar methods, and something went wrong.
“Trying to learn how to do some kind of in-air refueling”? Give me a break. If you mean air to air refueling that still does not explain why, “5 US “Special Operations” troops were involved”!
Just another cover up for Biden Blunders!
All that “special operations troops” means is that they were assigned to work through the (note the first word) Joint Special Operations Command.
I was just a plain vanilla Marine Corps grunt, but I was a “special operator” when attached to JSOC’s JTF-6.
All I was doing was conducting regular infantry “training” patrols, in the US, as part of the “war on drugs.” The idea was that we’d do our “training” in areas associated with e.g. pot cultivation, meth production, or cross-border trafficking, and if we “happened to see” something relevant, we’d call in the law enforcement agency we had liasion with.
Got a Joint Meritorious Unit Citation out of one of those operations. On another, I got pretty banged up and could have been killed as a guinea pig when ropemasters from the Army were trying to figure out how to rappel us out of a helicopter the Army doesn’t use (CH-53) and I was the guinea pig who walked out on the ramp and nearly got dragged off the edge before they got me clipped in.
Not all “special operations” troops are SEAL or Delta Force commandos. Everyone attached to JSOC operations, down to the admin clerks, gets the “special operator” designation. Other than the rappeling and one small boat operation that I led and got a meritorious mast for, there was nothing particularly “specops” about what I was doing.
This incident explains how to cover up the US ops team that took casualties in GAZA.
Maybe so. Although if the dead turn out to just be Coast Guard aviation crew, unlikely.
You will want to read The Three-Body Problem, Thomas. The exact same same scenario causes Earth’s combined space forces to bunch up for destroying Solarian invaders. The result is predictable and how it happens is wild.
Sounds interesting!
The other disturbing concept is the sub-story of dark-forest hunters who stumble on other humans or space travelers and must kill them before they escape and disclose their location to possible rivals who may have or be evolving to superior strength. It’s convoluted and may explain Ötzi the Iceman as well as the tendency toward endless war. I think chimpanzes do the same thing.
It was the ground element Charley Beckwith that went wrong/failed in the desert that day and probably for the best. If they made it into Tehran they would have only got the hostages and themselves all killed.
Yes, it looks like it almost certainly would have failed in any event.
But the ground element was hardly responsible for Bluebeard 6’s cracked rotor blade, or for the dust storm damage to Bluebeard 5, or for Bluebeard 2’s malfunctioning hydraulics, or for Bluebeard 3’s pilot error.
can they do in-air refueling with helicopters ?
never mind, i just saw the story re tanker plane refueling accident
You and me must be connected somehow. My thoughts exactly 🧐
i am your shadow. “Only the Shadow knows!” LOL
Love it! I thought I was too stupid to have a shadow on my own. Love you, man!
And Russia says the US bears ultimate responsibility for the Nato war on Russia using Ukrainians for cannon fodder.
Once again the US attacking a country they should not legally be in provoking and pushing endless war. FJB
How hypocrites can you get…?!
Just how many nefarious leaders and countries have we supported?
Is the US at war with Syria? Or was this just freelance slaughter?
Both.
out of one side of his mouth uncle sam claims to be in Syria in order to “fight ISIS terrorists”, and out of the other side of his mouth he literally admitted to stealing Syria’s oil. in reality the ISIS terrorists were fostered by uncle sam in order to oust prez Assad, which has been one of uncle sam’s goals since Assad replaced his prez father Assad sr. in 2000. and uncle sam makes no bones about taking some of Syria’s oil as soon as it is pumped from the Syrian soil. i believe that a US military base (Fort Oil) is located very near a major Syrian oil field in the eastern Syria.
Let me get this straight…. USA having troops in Syria = AOK, Russia having troops in Ukraine = Hitler?
Israel having troops in Gaza and the West Bank = Zionist h*ll.
It’s a good time to blame it all on… Russia. If they didn’t interfere, we would have Al Qaeda in charge in Syria and we would not have to bomb our friends who are on “our side in Syria.”. The Russians are so stupid.
The Pentagon said Saturday that US bases have been targeted 48 times since October 17, leaving 56 American troops injured.
Is it just me or does anyone one else find this to be almost unbelievable? 48 times and nary a death?
Apparently, the serious attacks come with warnings … but one of these days …
The IDF is not making any progress against Hamas in Gaza. That was never the goal, Collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and genocide was always the goal.
The ethnic cleansing, genocide and collective punishment of Gaza is not a humanitarian crises, its a crisis of humanity.
We can also clearly see that Israeli military action in Lebanon is purposely exacerbating tensions along the border, which Israel intends to lead to a regional war, in Netanyahu’s opinion hopefully a World War.
Where is the Human Rights Commission, Where is the UN? The Horror is beyond words and beyond imagination.
World War can easily degenerate into nuclear war. One good nuclear warhead is enough to obliterate Israel. Hardly Netanyahu is wishing for such an outcome.
Netanyahu is obviously a demon-possessed Satanist. To try to put it into worldly terms, he’s “criminally insane” and such people are known to commit murder-suicide. “He” may not “wish for” such an outcome as nuclear war but “he” may see nuclear war as a more favorable outcome than a humiliating military and/or political defeat on the world stage.