NC Renegades

From Sonar21

According to the Pentagon, the US attacks Iran with bunker busters and announces complete success. Netanyahu is jubilant. We analyze interests, facts and talk about consequences – for the whole world.

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From Vox Day

That’s the word right from the short, fat Trump’s mouth:

President Donald Trump addressed the nation on Saturday night after announcing strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites via Truth Social. Speaking from the Oval Office accompanied by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the President said, “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.” He also reached out to Israeli leadership, saying, “I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team. Like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.”

Meanwhile:

– +Iranian state radio: the Fordow nuclear facility sustained no significant damage in the US strike.
– IDF officials: there is a slim possibility the Fordow facility was not destroyed.
– Iran’s Center for the National Nuclear Safety System: confirmed the attack, but said that emergency inspections at the affected facilities have found no signs of radioactive contamination or leaks.
– The International Atomic Energy Agency: no increase in radiation levels has been reported at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
– Remember, the one thing the media never, ever, reports is the real story and the actual truth. – And everything about Clown World is fake and gay.

The one thing that we can be sure of is that if a) nukes are real and b) the Iranian capacity for building them remains sufficiently intact, the Iranians are going to acquire some nukes in short order. I’d be shocked if they didn’t already acquire some from North Korea or Pakistan.

From Sonar21

Given that history, I suggest everyone pour themselves a big scotch or vodka and relax. Initial reports almost always are grossly exaggerated. Here is one possibility: Trump may be doing another Houthi spin… you know, declare that Iran has capitulated and then pull US forces out of harm’s way. Iran has been extremely patient to a lengthy list of US provocations. I believe they were counseled by Russia and China to let the US strike the first blow, then Iran could retaliate and would have the full backing of both countries. It is highly unlikely that the US has delivered a crippling blow to Iran. If anything, the US has now provided the hardliners more ammunition for Iran to do the very thing that Trump claims he is trying to prevent… build a nuke.

UPDATE–Upon further reflection, and given initial reports from the sites attacked by the US, I think Iran will not attack US bases in the region because the damage is minimal and they would prefer to keep the focus on Israel. If they don’t attack US bases — and I suspect that is the counsel Russia and China are providing — Iran can continue to decimate Israel and not provide the US with a pretext to expand the war.

From Zerohedge

A United States Army colonel has been removed from his position on the Pentagon staff supporting the Joint Chiefs after his Israel-critical social media posts were publicized by Jewish News Syndicate (JNS). Until this week, Army Col Nathan McCormack led the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Levant and Egypt branch. That team is part of the Joint Staff J5, which proposes strategies, plans, and policy recommendations to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Within hours of Tuesday’s JNS report, McCormack was yanked from his post, with a Pentagon official telling JNS:

Here are the publishedcomments that led to McCormack’s removal: 

• May 2025: “Netanyahu and his judeosupremacist cronies are determined to prolong the conflict for their own goals: either to remain in power or to annex the land.”
• June 2024: “The more Israel’s death cult escalates toward Hezbollah, the more we will see show-of-force attacks like this and 13 April.” 
• June 2024: “The U.S. has not been an honest broker. We have overwhelmingly enabled Israel’s bad behavior.”
• May 2024: Amid talk of pushing Gaza residents into other countries, McCormack wrote, “[Israel] wants to expel them and cleanse ‘Eretz Israel’ of ethnic Palestinians.” 
• April 2024: “I’ve lately been considering whether we might be Israel’s proxy and not realized it yet. Our worst ‘ally.’ We get literally nothing out of the ‘partnership’ other than the enmity of millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.” 
• Oct 2023: “I agree that Israel has an absolute right to respond militarily, and that civilians may legally be caught in the crossfire, but you are ignoring the requirement of proportionality. Israel’s responses always (always—not hyperbole) disproportionately target Palestinian civilians.” 

Speak the truth and suffer for it.