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ImmenselyMental said:
I found the following Middle East thread, but has not been open for replies since the Iran-Israel war in June 2025:

News from the Middle East

Revealed: hundreds of migrant workers dying of heat stress in Qatar each year As construction boom hits its peak ahead of Fifa World Cup, Guardian analysis shows workers toiling in potentially fatal temperatures Annie Kelly and Niamh McIntyre and Pete Pattisson in Doha Wed 2 Oct 2019 06.00...
urbantoronto.ca urbantoronto.ca

Also Iranian state media appears to have just confirmed Khamenei was killed in an airstrike.
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I guess folks over there didn't know how to behave...sorry if that was a bit of a dead end. Moderators have their stress limits too.

...that said, the rest of what I posted still stands. (And thanks for looking that up! /bows)
 
kEiThZ said:
As per reporting the US has stuck to military targets and it's the Israelis going after the regime. And that only has me more concerned. Will Trump simply declare victory and move on once their target list is exhausted, irrespective of the state of affairs in the country?
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According to reporting from insider sources (so take it with the grain of salt) the US has planned an escalating series of strikes with off-ramps along the way. Each round will be over a one to two-day period with pauses to reset and assess battle damage. And there is also a huge gamble on mass riots and grassroots anti-government actions, as is evidenced by Trump's appeal to the people of Iran to take matters into their own hands.

Suffice to say, I also share your scepticism US will see this through to an acceptable end and not just call it quits after creating a power vacuum. I am hopeful that today's Iranian strikes against civilian targets in pretty much every country across the Arabian peninsula will move the needle towards a collective action against Iran from the regional players.
 
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Full Metal Junkie said:
Here are some geolocated videos from earlier today of mass celebrations in the streets of Iranian cities. Ask yourself: when was the last time people cheered en masse that the US and Israel are bombing their country? Maybe this will help to recalibrate the opinions of some of the people in this thread (doubtful as it is).
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While I can't speak for others here, I am not sure why you are expecting opinions to change when this act of war was factually illegal...

...I mean sure, I could walk up to nastiest most abusive individual in this city and at Yonge and Bloor put a bullet in them in the middle broad daylight in an example. And maybe folks gathered around to see this would break out into celebration. I would still get my arse hauled off, prosecuted and convicted for murder where I would have to serve life. And rightfully so.

So this ain't a popularity contest, chief. This is about doing the right thing within the framework of the rule of law, international or otherwise. And Trump and Bibi utterly failed to do that (to put that mildly)...with likely awful consequences that will last for the ages, despite all of the "cheering".

As for me personally, sorry...but no thank you. My opinion on the matter remains entirely unchanged.

...I also got a horrible feeling that none of this is even remotely over yet. /bleah
 
Full Metal Junkie said:
Here are some geolocated videos from earlier today of mass celebrations in the streets of Iranian cities. Ask yourself: when was the last time people cheered en masse that the US and Israel are bombing their country? Maybe this will help to recalibrate the opinions of some of the people in this thread (doubtful as it is).

https://twitter.com/x/status/2027891775365607797

https://twitter.com/x/status/2027903905594593533

https://twitter.com/x/status/2027912300405899346
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What was most shocking of all to my Western progressive sensibilities was the sight of young Muslim women dancing in the streets, with their hair uncovered, and NOT being escorted by their fathers or brothers. The shame!
 
UtakataNoAnnex said:
This is about doing the right thing within the framework of the rule of law, international or otherwise.
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This is exactly what Carney talked about. International law twisted to fit wherever narrative we want.

Where were all of you when Russia was bombing children's hospitals? Russia has used over 57 000 Shaheds against Ukraine. People became numb to that and scroll past. A few hit influencer central in Dubai and we're worried about international law now?

If we want to talk about international law let's go back to an international legal concept that Canada used to loudly champion: Responsibility to Protect (R2P). It was a doctrine that said we oppose mass slaughter of civilians for any reason and will support armed intervention where necessary. Amazing, how that bit of international law is now long forgotten......

 
lenaitch said:
I am kinda curious about an Administration that professes to only care about a US-led 'fortress America' and being a 'presidency of peace' getting tangled up in this.
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Dude dropped more ordinance in his first term than Obama in two. And yet people thought he would be the peace candidate? I'll never understand that. This is why I rag on leftists who were savaging Harris. Even up to yesterday apparently, looking at protests outside her book launch.

I think he's much more pragmatic and opportunistic than his predecessors. It's that simple. Combine that with the impulse control of a Kindergartener. Any other President would see the regime kill thousands in their int briefing wince and put out strongly worded statements. This guy will think there's opportunity. He wants to be consequential. And thinks this is his shot.

There was even a whole joke about Trump in military circles. When we brief we always give several Courses of Action as options. And there's a temptation to pad the brief with throwaways. When Trump killed Soleimani the joke was that "he picked the throwaway COA" cause he didn't know any different.

I also think Venezuela has massively emboldened him. Two injuries and no fatalities on the US side has convinced him that the US military is actually the low risk option. They nearly had a Black Hawk Down incident in Venezuela. The Chinook pilot was passing out after getting hit. If that happened, I suspect we would not have seen this campaign.
 
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The Ayatollah was in his mid 80s, so I assume the clerics had a successor process well underway. I expect the new Ayatollah to be announced this week. And the message is clear to all nations, that the only way to deter US attacks is to possess nuclear weapons. Without their nuclear deterrent, North Korea, China, Pakistan, etc. would have all been attacked or threatened by the US by now.
 
Admiral Beez said:
The Ayatollah was in his 80s, so I assume the clerics had a successor process well underway. I expect the new Ayatollah to be announced this week. And the message is clear to all nations, that the only way to deter US attacks is to possess nuclear weapons.
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Yeah. But the opening strike took out several top leaders. And given that Israel knew the time, the location and the attendance list, you gotta wonder how paranoid the regime is on the inside right now.

They are rumoured to have succession plans four levels deep. It's why I'm skeptical of regime change. But if there's ever going to a shot for the Iranian people this is probably it.
 
kEiThZ said:
Always figured it's some kind of power play.
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I thought so when it was Romney begging to be in Trump's cabinet or RFK having to choke down fast food as an act of submission. Ritual humiliation. But like, pro athletes?
 
kEiThZ said:
If we want to talk about international law let's go back to an international legal concept that Canada used to loudly champion: Responsibility to Protect (R2P). It was a doctrine that said we oppose mass slaughter of civilians for any reason and will support armed intervention where necessary. Amazing, how that bit of international law is now long forgotten......
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I feel like the era since 2001 has shown that the second order effects are complex and sometimes unpredictable and often make the situation worse. Not to say that we should never intervene, but when we do, we should expect it to be a lot harder and costlier to secure the peace after the fact. If that is beyond our capabilities and resolve, then we're better off not intervening than leaving the job half done.
 
Now that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, expect to see much more security around United States of America Supreme Leader Donald Trump.
 
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