How US started war with Iran: Bibi and feckless cabinet (per New Tork Times)

[ionelv]

The New York Times tells us how Trump took US to war with Iran.
Tldr verson: Bibi and a cabinet full of yes men. The top comments to the article:

Scott T.
Nashville ·
10h ago
The level of misguided and impulsive policymaking described in this piece is nausea-inducing. All these people should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
Replies 7
Recommend 2.5K

J. B. commented 10 hours ago
J
J. B.
Aurora, CO ·
10h ago
Netanyahu has now duped two Presidents into supporting war in the Middle East to distract from his own political problems. Biden stood by and did nothing about Gaza, and now Trump is actively doing Netanyahu's dirty work. All of the Yes Men are equally to blame.
Replies 14
Recommend 1.9K

charles marlow commented 10 hours ago
C
charles marlow
New London, CT ·
10h ago
"His instincts." Most patients in mental institutions rely on their instincts. That's why they're there in the first place.
Replies 1
Recommend 1.7K

Fred commented 10 hours ago
F
Fred
LA ·
10h ago
How Trump took the US to war with Iran…..simple, Israel and Israeli focused interests in the US told him to do so.
Replies 7
Recommend 1.3K

NB commented 10 hours ago
N
NB
East & West ·
10h ago
This article gives Trump too much credit. Just follow the money. Thiel, Kushner, Musk and others with ties to Trump all stand to financially benefit from this war due to their heavy investments in defense companies, defense startup companies, or investment firms that invest in these industries.
Replies 5
Recommend 1.3K

Ed o commented 9 hours ago
E
Ed o
San Diego ·
9h ago
Why doesn't anyone admit that the current Iran crisis was caused by Trump getting rid of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in 2018? The agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), required Iran to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98% to 300 kg (660 lbs) and limit enrichment to 3.67%, civilian grade.
What did Trump accomplish by getting rid of the 2015 agreement?
Iran now has 440kg of 60% enrichment, near weapons grade . Iran continued to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and it strengthened the Iranian theocracy. It now has ballistic missiles.

Trump caused this problem. Now he is trying to fix it in the same way he broke it without a plan.
In my opinion, we are currently fighting to get back to where we were before Trump got rid of the 2015 accord. This is progress?
Replies 4
Recommend 1.3K

James commented 10 hours ago
J
James
Burns, TN ·
10h ago
As much as the article notes that Vance and others weren't fully onboard with the decision, NOBODY was against it enough to resign in protest. in 2027/7 when Vance and Rubio are vying for the GOP nomination, we will do well to remember this when they all try to say they were against it..... They all chose their careers and political lives instead of standing on principle.
Replies 4
Recommend 1.1K

Michael M commented 9 hours ago
M
Michael M
Colorado ·
9h ago
Call me a skeptic, but this in part seems like JD Vance (or sources close to him ) trying to create a narrative for 2028 to distance himself from this disastrous, ill conceived war.

Sorry JD, you enabled and continue to enable Trump. You own and will own all the consequences of this Administration.
Replies 4
Recommend 1K

Jimbo commented 10 hours ago
J
Jimbo
Los Angeles ·
10h ago
His deadline is 8pm Eastern. Watch the Futures markets bets at 7:45pm and we’ll know if he bombs or tacos.
Replies 4
Recommend 877

Mort Mech commented 10 hours ago
M
Mort Mech
USA ·
10h ago
Combination of ignorance and power is the most destructive force on earth and Trump is the epitome of that.
Replies 2
Recommend 839

Science Teacher commented 10 hours ago
S
Science Teacher
Illinois ·
10h ago
I'm aghast and infuriated at Trump being surrounded by a whole crowd of sycophants who abandoned their oaths to the Constitution and the public to go along with his "instincts" when they all knew better.
Replies 2
Recommend 811

DennisMcG commented 9 hours ago
D
DennisMcG
Boston ·
9h ago
I'd bet a decent amount it is Vance feeding a substantive amount of this information out, this whole thing reads like exculpatory evidence for him.
Replies 2
Recommend 745

Of note commented 10 hours ago
O
Of note
Washington ·
10h ago
I'm struck by how many of these people didn't voice an opinion, or did the "on the one hand, on the other" thing. They were in the room. The stakes were huge for this country and the world. It was their job to speak up.
Replies 1
Recommend 621

dave commented 9 hours ago
D
dave
nc ·
9h ago
I’m sure Trump’s time on the apprentice, Kushner’s “work” as a full time nepo baby, Witikoff’s real estate experience and Hegseth’s time as a weekend tv show host, not to mention his white christian supremacy leanings, were all extremely helpful in the decision making process. Notably absent is anyone with real experience and/or expertise in this area. God help us.
Recommend 617

Vagabond Rambler commented 9 hours ago
V
Vagabond Rambler
Australia ·
9h ago
In most other U.S. presidential administrations this ridiculous one-hour sales pitch would have been met with replies like "Are you insane?" or "Do NOT start a war with Iran!". The war-pitch opportunity would probably not have been granted at all. Certainly not in the situation room. But Israel knew an easy mark when they saw one. And Trump was that easy mark.
Replies 2
Recommend 576

hop sing commented 10 hours ago
H
hop sing
SF, california ·
10h ago
Trump's total need, that hole in his bucket that can never be filled, is driving the train. Nothing he does offers more than a moment's satisfaction, so the next thing has to be bigger and badder-- but it never works. He has no stopping point, the the craven Republican Party is ignoring the truth of the situation.

The end will be supremely ugly.
Replies 3
Recommend 557

Futbolistaviva commented 9 hours ago
F
Futbolistaviva
San Francisco, CA ·
9h ago
A very interesting piece and equally disturbing.

Well done by the NYT reporters!

So as most informed Americans already knew, Bibi was the driving force behind this war with Iran. To have Kushner and Witkoff, the Keystone Cops (lining their pockets) as envoys is laughable.

No one, not one cabinet member had the courage to object to a war or resign on principle in protest.

We've seen better cabinets at IKEA.
Replies 2
Recommend 455

Brian C. commented 9 hours ago
B
Brian C.
Minnesota ·
9h ago
Great reporting as always.

My one hope is our military recognizes an illegal order and doesn’t follow it.

Bombing civilian infrastructure and killing innocent people is an illegal order.
Replies 3
Recommend 400

CitizenCO commented 9 hours ago
C
CitizenCO
Denver, CO ·
9h ago
General Caine replied: “Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.” That is the proof this whole thing was a Netanyahu led justification for US carrying out his war and the US is just a tool of a foreign government.

But Caine also led him down the path of the mission feasibility and the rest of the went all in - they are all war criminals in my view.

The apologia of Vance and Wiles complicity reads like PR cleansing knowing the operation is criminal and the phrase saying "Vance built his career" on anti war made me spit my coffee out as the "career" of JD Vance is like 15 minutes in historical terms and is as vapid as that description.
Replies 1
Recommend 379

Yossarian commented 8 hours agoIn reply thread
Y
Yossarian
Canada ·
8h ago
scott T.
I have been an avid student of American politics, both domestic and foreign, and a moderately-read student of American military history for the last 60 years.
With the information conveyed in this NYT article, I can now say that I have never seen such incompetent, shallow minded and inexcusably reckless leadership ever before at the top of your country's political, military and intelligence commands, commands that have the benefit of the knowledge of the lessons learned from the mistakes made in the Vietnam and Iraq wars and have nevertheless ignored those lessons.

I simply cannot imagine your country being in worse hands than it is at this moment.
Replies 1
Recommend 370

Stacey CT commented 9 hours agoIn reply thread
S
Stacey CT
Madison, Connecticut ·
9h ago
scott T. “Misguided and impulsive” is a generous assessment, like someone who didn’t plan well enough for a trip to Disney World.

I’d call this “evil and criminal”, among other things.
Recommend 359

Kathy Hughes commented 10 hours ago
K
Kathy Hughes
Centerville, OH ·
9h ago
This is going to be disastrous for the United States, and for our citizens as well. Hegseth and Trump cannot expect divine intervention to make up for their impulsive decision to fight an unholy war without adequate planning, strategy, and preparation. Unfortunately, it is ordinary citizens who will be left with the costs this war will impose.
Replies 2
Recommend 334

Mr. SeaMonkey commented 10 hours ago
Mr. SeaMonkey
Mr. SeaMonkey
Indiana ·
10h ago
It seems to me that our memory regarding war is about 25 years long. War is horrible, complex, and always longer than anticipated. We finished up with WWII and about 25 years later went into Vietnam. The general after-the-fact consensus was that it was a bad move. About 25 years later we went into Afghanistan and Iraq. The general after-the-fact consensus was that it was a bad move. Now, about 25 years later, we go into Iran. We always think that it will be easier than it turns out to be. History has a lot to teach us. But I guess that we are not capable of remembering.
Replies 5
Recommend 256

Maggie Haberman commented 4 hours ago
Maggie Haberman
Maggie Haberman
Senior Political Correspondent ·
4h ago
Benjamin Netanyahu made his war pitch from inside the Situation Room — a setting rarely used for in-person foreign leader meetings. The audience was President Trump and his inner circle. It proved to be a fateful meeting, as my colleague Jonathan Swan and I show in new reporting.
Replies 2
Recommend 240

Albro commented 10 hours ago
A
Albro
Wellington, ON, Canada ·
10h ago
What worries the most is that Trump will want to prolong this war until November to allow him to claim the country is at war and cancel the November mid terms.
Replies 4
Recommend 234

Jack commented 9 hours ago
J
Jack
Nebraska ·
9h ago
Just incredible. Every one of the president's closest cabinet members and advisors deferring to him, the dumbest, most ignorant man in the room, on the horrific decision to start a major war. For objectives that were ill-defined and clearly unobtainable. They all knew it was a bad idea (except for Hegseth, because he is also an ignoramus) and did nothing to stop him. Genuinely what is wrong with these people?
Replies 2
Recommend 233

Arthur commented 9 hours ago
A
Arthur
Toronto, ON ·
9h ago
I wonder if JD Vance, who stood silently when asked who won the 2020 election, and professes to be a devout Catholic has any introspection about the series of Faustian bargains he has made in his pursuit of power.
Replies 5
Recommend 232

Heiko from Offenbach commented 9 hours agoIn reply thread
H
Heiko from Offenbach
Germany ·
9h ago
j. B.
Joe Biden didn’t start any war!
Replies 2
Recommend 231

CN commented 10 hours ago
C
CN
Portland Oregon ·
10h ago
Hereafter, America and values can't be put in the same sentence. That's how we will be looked upon for a long time and we will be remembered as such in history.
Recommend 216

The only thing that surprised me in this sickening agit-prop puff piece was how JD is already being fluffed as the prime candidate to take over the dumpster fire before Jan 2029. Thiel and his tech bros are celebrating already.