Pentagon preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, Washington Post reports

[Ralin]

On the other hand, by all accounts his diet is extremely unhealthy. Basically a heart attack waiting to happen.

Yeah, his weight is his biggest known health problem and the two main potential risks from that are, what, high blood pressure and diabetes? Both things that respond very well to medication. This is America. Doctors know a lot about keeping fat people alive.

That's not healthy but you can be unhealthy and alive for a long time.

[Solauren]

If Trump dies early, just 'he's in a comma' until Jan 30 or so.

That would require every single person who claims to be close to him to either not see his body, or go along with the ruse.

No inconvenient posts to social media or a signal chat with a reporter.

There are levels of death that life can be 'maintained' but the subject is legally brain dead.
I was thinking something like that.

[Ralin]

A coma would be pretty high on the list of reasons to replace him with the vice president anyway so there's no real point to the charade other than maybe delaying long enough that Vance can potentially get a full 2+ terms. Which is a lot of effort and risk for a relative longshot.

[Solauren]

A coma would be pretty high on the list of reasons to replace him with the vice president anyway so there's no real point to the charade other than maybe delaying long enough that Vance can potentially get a full 2+ terms. Which is a lot of effort and risk for a relative longshot.

Depends on the length of 'comma', chances of recovery, etc. You don't think they'd try to spin doctor things so elevate the chances of 'the puppet' getting a total of 10 years in office?

[Ralin]

A coma would be pretty high on the list of reasons to replace him with the vice president anyway so there's no real point to the charade other than maybe delaying long enough that Vance can potentially get a full 2+ terms. Which is a lot of effort and risk for a relative longshot.

Depends on the length of 'comma', chances of recovery, etc. You don't think they'd try to spin doctor things so elevate the chances of 'the puppet' getting a total of 10 years in office?

Only way I could see that actually happening is if we were within like a week or so of the break point. A maybe extra four years of President Vance at the expense of potentially hurting his chances of being elected at all? This would be damned hard, require them all to work together with no one fucking it up or ratting the others out, it's really damned scummy and impeachable, etc.

I mean shit Bush invoked the 25th amendment because he was getting outpatient surgery that day. Any length of coma is going to being all but automatic.

[LadyTevar]

Well... the press is full of rumors this weekend over why Trump's dropped out of sight. Read and judge for yourself.

WH Comments on Trump's hospitalization

WH Denies Trump in Hospital

WH denies rumors of Trump in Hospital

WH shuts down Speculation on Trump's Health

WH Claims Trump "working non-stop" despite low profile

Photos of Trump at Walter Reed Emerge!

[J]

I don't even know which bad movie we're living in right now. Praise be to Allah?

[Crazedwraith]

So in terms of Iran ground operations rather than Trump/Vance conspiracy theories. There have been some ground operations but only rescue operations for the downed pilots.

[Elfdart]

In the waning days of Nixon's regime, Defense Secretary James Schlessinger -fearing a coup or some other crazed ploy by an increasingly drunk and desperate Tricky Dick- told the Joint Chiefs that no orders from the White House were to be obeyed unless he personally signed off on them.

Does anyone think alcoholic Christofascist Pete Keg's Breath (thank you Kyle Kulinski) would do such a thing to save the Republic and Constitution?

[Solauren]

I don't even know which bad movie we're living in right now. Praise be to Allah?

In Trumps mind, it was probably sarcasm.
In my mine, he's practically begging Islamic hardliners to go Jihad over this.

So, I'd say... prequel to Judge Dredd?

[bobalot]

I think we may have underestimated Iran's meme capabilities.



What a time to be alive.

[J]

I think we may have underestimated Iran's meme capabilities.

What a time to be alive.

Have you seen their LEGO videos? There's a whole series of them on the internet now.

[Ralin]

I think we may have underestimated Iran's meme capabilities.

What a time to be alive.

Have you seen their LEGO videos? There's a whole series of them on the internet now.

To quote a YouTube comment "They know how to communicate with our Commander in Chief. Cartoons."

It's a joke except that's probably actually true.

Wonder if anyone was in the room when Hegseth saw the one mocking him?

[Solauren]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

[LadyTevar]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

Which Israel immediately broke.

[Solauren]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

Which Israel immediately broke.

The question is, will the US honor the ceasefire knowing Israel is the one that broke it?
Personally, I don't think Trump has the balls to do that.

[bilateralrope]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

A ceasefire that came with an agreement that Iran and Oman could charge tolls to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

If the ceasefire holds long enough to end this war. Israel doesn't seem to want that.

[Ralin]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

Which Israel immediately broke.

Guys, say it like it is. Trump is surrendering.

Will be really, really satisfying if Netanyahu is the latest ally Trump leaves holding the bag. They can't wage Perma War without US support. Let's hope he doesn't have any good Epstein material to hold over Trump.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I find it hilarious that after the cartoons, Trump calls for a 2 week ceasefire.

Which Israel immediately broke.

Guys, say it like it is. Trump is surrendering.

Will be really, really satisfying if Netanyahu is the latest ally Trump leaves holding the bag. They can't wage Perma War without US support. Let's hope he doesn't have any good Epstein material to hold over Trump.

Israel says it doesn't include Lebanon, Iran says it does. Some "He said, she said" going on there.

[Ralin]

Which Israel immediately broke.

Guys, say it like it is. Trump is surrendering.

Will be really, really satisfying if Netanyahu is the latest ally Trump leaves holding the bag. They can't wage Perma War without US support. Let's hope he doesn't have any good Epstein material to hold over Trump.

Israel says it doesn't include Lebanon, Iran says it does. Some "He said, she said" going on there.

An Israeli ceasefire means they keep shooting and the other side isn't allowed to shoot back, so does it really matter?

[Juubi Karakuchi]

Are we entirely sure that Israel actually broke the ceasefire?

From what I understand, the status of Lebanon was not clarified. Iran said Lebanon was included (no doubt to protect Hezbollah), while Trump and Netanyahu said it wasn't. If it wasn't clearly written down in the deal, then technically Israel hasn't broken it.

[bilateralrope]

We could look at how the Prime Minster of Pakistan announced the ceasefire:

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.
Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days!

11:50 AM · Apr 8, 2026

That time is in NZT, so would be 23:50 April 7 UTC.

I'm not sure exactly when Israel attacked Lebanon.

[Ralin]

Seems pretty clear that all sides have been playing telephone games and have different versions of what they think the deal is. But it makes sense to default to the version publicly announced by the country that apparently brokered it.

Also it strains credibility to think the Iranians would have agreed to a ceasefi that didn't include Lebanon.

[bilateralrope]

If not Shehbaz Sharif, who can we trust here ?

Trump, with his mental decline and daily briefings that are clips of successful strikes doesn't seem like he's in a position to know what the reality of the war is.

Netanyahu, who is looking at his corruption trial resuming now that the war has reached a ceasefire. Clear motive for him to want to continue the war.


Oh and here's an article about how Netanyahu talked Trump into the war:

‘Sounds good to me’: Trump ignored wary advisers as Israel’s Netanyahu talked him into war with Iran, report claims

Vice President JD Vance was the most vocally opposed to the United States going to war with Iran, according to the report

Rhian Lubin in New York
Wednesday 08 April 2026 18:00 BST

President Donald Trump was persuaded to unleash war on Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite deep skepticism from his inner circle, according to a new report about the high-stakes meetings that took place in the buildup to the conflict.

The New York Times also reported that despite polling his top advisers, he often only heard “what he wanted to hear,” and his team wound up serving as an echo chamber for his gut instincts.

Vice President JD Vance was the most vocal in his opposition to the United States going to war with Iran, while CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Trump that Netanyahu had “oversold” him on what could be achieved by the bombing campaign, according to The New York Times.

None of them, though, except Vance, went as far as to say to the president that war was a “terrible idea,” according to the report. The vice president is said to have played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. as Trump threatened to wipe Iranian civilization off the map.

On Feb. 11, the Israelis gave a secret presentation to Trump and his closest advisers in the Situation Room, where they persuaded him that initiating a war on one of the most hostile regions in the world was a good idea, according to the Times report, which is based on reporting from the upcoming book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman.

“Sounds good to me,” Trump reportedly told Netanyahu after the presentation, which the leader then took as a likely “green light” for the joint U.S.-Israeli operation that has since killed more than 3,500 people, including 1,600 civilians and 13 U.S. service members in the Middle East.

But at a follow-up meeting on Feb. 12 that consisted only of the Americans, U.S. intelligence officials broke down Netanyahu’s presentation into four parts; killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; destroying Iran’s capabilities to project power; a popular uprising inside the country, and regime change with a secular leader installed, according to the report.

While U.S. officials deemed that parts one and two were achievable, Ratcliffe said regime change as an objective was “farcical.”

“In other words, it’s bull****,” Rubio reportedly weighed in, while Vance “expressed strong skepticism” about the prospect.

Caine took it further and said the president had been “oversold” by the Israelis. “Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis,” Caine said, according to the Times. “They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.”

Over the following days, Caine reportedly shared with Trump “the alarming military assessment” that waging war with Iran would “drastically deplete” stockpiles of American weapons. In particular, he warned about supplies of missile interceptors, which had been strained after supporting Ukraine and Israel. Vance shared the same concern.

Caine also “flagged the enormous difficulty of securing the Strait of Hormuz and the risks of Iran blocking it,” and yet Trump “dismissed” the possibility. The president assumed that Iran would surrender before it got to that point, according to the report.

But Iran’s grip on the Strait has remained intact, with the regime blocking vessels that transport a fifth of the world’s oil, likely prompting Trump to post an expletive-laden Truth Social over the weekend.

While Caine gave Trump these warnings, “at no point during the deliberations did the chairman directly tell the president that war with Iran was a terrible idea,” the Times reports.

Two days before Trump gave the order to bomb Iran on February 28, he gathered the most senior members of his team and went around the room “one by one” to ask them for their personal opinions about going to war.

But by this point, Trump had “effectively made up his mind weeks earlier, several of his advisers said,” according to the newspaper.

Vance, who told Trump that going to war with Iran could unleash regional chaos and create mass casualties, also warned him that it risked splitting his base — and that it could be seen as “a betrayal” by many of his voters.

White House communications director Steven Cheung also spoke of the “likely public relations fallout” given Trump campaigned on being opposed to launching wars overseas, according to the report.

Ultimately, Cheung reportedly said that “whatever decision Trump made would be the right one.”

Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles reportedly told colleagues that “she worried” about the U.S. “being dragged into another war in the Middle East,” but opted to “sit back” in the high-stakes meeting. According to people close to her, she believed it was not her place to air those concerns to the president in front of others and instead encouraged military advisers to share their expertise with him.

White House counsel David Warrington, who represented Trump during the House select committee investigation into Jan. 6, was pressed by the president to share his personal view.

“He said that as a Marine veteran he had known an American service member killed by Iran years earlier,” the Times reports. “This issue remained deeply personal. He told the president that if Israel intended to proceed regardless, the United States should do so as well.”

The White House declined to comment when approached for comment by the newspaper.

[Solauren]

Wait, Vance told Trump something was a bad idea?
Wow, I just gained 1 point of respect for Vance.

Bringing the total to.... 2.

1 point for that
1 point because Vance appears to be human.