At least two things to consider regarding targeting of 'cultural sites'...........exactly what is the definition of that term as used by The President.

He did not say 'Historical', so did he mean perhaps a Mosque built in 1980 to commemorate the 'Great Islamic Revolution'? Or a Theater or Stadium hosting a 'Death to America' rally? Of course the detractors are going to suggest he meant 4,000 year old 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon'.

The other consideration is where is the first place the 'Terrorists in Training' in Palestine and Syria hide their missile launchers and IED factories?
Schools, Libraries, Hospitals, Red Crescent facilities and Stadiums, Mosques and Theaters (or 'Baby Milk Factories', remember that claim from Gulf War I?).

Have the 'dancing puppets' learned NOTHING from three years of being played and trolled? OF COURSE he's going to say something outrageous, how it's interpreted he couldn't care less!

The world has quaked in fear of pissing off the 'Crazy Mullahs' in Iran for nearly 50 years.............what's so bad about the same fear being cultivated in Iranian leadership(and other bad actors), of pissing off that 'Crazy Trump'? Misdirection and Red Herrings are valid forms of intellectual warfare.

---

"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

How do we "deal", at this moment in history, with the murderous and evil pro terrorist government now controlling Iran?

Not "HOW," but "WHY!' Answer the why and the how becomes obvious. No answer for "why" and exactly the same answer for "how."

And now we have Trump threatening violence against cultural sites in Iran. Remember the Buddhas of Bamyan? They're the ones the Taliban blew up. Trump is sinking to their level.

Culture belongs to the planet, not solely to the tribe, race or religion that created it. And certainly 1,500 year old culture like the Buddhas doesn't belong to a 40 year old rebel tenant. The UN is right to declare violence against cultural artefacts as a war crime.

How do we "deal", at this moment in history, with the murderous and evil pro terrorist government now controlling Iran?

Well you guys deal with Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia and they're no different, but you guys have been turning a blind eye to what they're doing behind the scenes (and they're been doing plenty).

The only blunders made in the Middle East were those of the "line in the sand" gang. The US has only exasperated those blunders ever since.

Whatever the reason for the present crisis. Be it a thousand year old religious strife, the Balfour Declaration, the way the Ottoman empire was divided up by the French and British Government's, various American President's, or a combination of many reasons.

How do we "deal", at this moment in history, with the murderous and evil pro terrorist government now controlling Iran?

Ignore? Accede to their demands? Kiss their butts?

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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
--- George Santayana

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
--- Lord Acton

Sounds like street cred to a GOPer.

"The Daily Caller is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010.
Launched as a "conservative answer to The Huffington Post", The Daily Caller quadrupled its audience and became profitable by 2012, surpassing several rival websites by 2013.
The Daily Caller is a member of the White House press pool.

The Daily Caller has frequently published false stories. The website publishes articles that dispute the scientific consensus on climate change. The website has published articles by
white supremacists, such as Jason Kessler and Peter Brimelow. Scott Greer was The Daily Caller's deputy editor until 2018, when it was revealed that he published articles espousing
white nationalist, racist anti-black and antisemitic views under a pseudonym in white supremacist publications. "
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Hehe, nuff said about that.....

Well I hope that v2.0 and the U.S. are prepared to fight WWIII all by themselves this time.

Trump's America stands utterly alone.

In fact it just maybe the time for us allies to pull out of the Middle East immediately and let the U.S. clean up all the crap that they have created and are still creating.

My crystal ball keeps showing me replays of the helicopter evacuation of the Saigon embassy. I don't think this is going to end well.

Yes, sadly a lot of us are thinking just the same thing Richard.

Wiggo the crap that you are referring started with the Balfour agreement and the way the Ottoman empire was divided up.

I'm well aware when it started Betreger, but since the 1960's (and especially so since the 1973 oil crisis) U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has only stirred up the pot further from the slow simmer it was then to the boil it is now. :-(

Maybe Betreger, but...

Its eight-year war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988 has shown it to be capable of assembling vast reserves of would-be martyrs in the form of human wave attacks unlike anything terrorist groups have been able to mount.

...should serve as a clear warning.
Not worry, Trump is 6,000 miles away!

Well I hope that v2.0 and the U.S. are prepared to fight WWIII all by themselves this time.

Trump's America stands utterly alone.

In fact it just maybe the time for us allies to pull out of the Middle East immediately and let the U.S. clean up all the crap that they have created and are still creating.

My crystal ball keeps showing me replays of the helicopter evacuation of the Saigon embassy. I don't think this is going to end well.

Yes, sadly a lot of us are thinking just the same thing Richard.

Wiggo the crap that you are referring started with the Balfour agreement and the way the Ottoman empire was divided up.

---

Maybe it's time for the Trump administration to educate themselves about the Islamic eschatology,
before they go any further with this. They obviously have no idea about that, and the Islamic (yes, both Shia and Sunni) "wish",
for an end of the world scenario.

So very typical of America, to start something, without knowning anything about the region and culture in question.

This can only end in a disaster for America (unfortunately for the rest of the world too). Someone need to invoke the 25th amendment really soon.

The only blunders made in the Middle East were those of the "line in the sand" gang. The US has only exasperated those blunders ever since.

Very much so and v2.0 is making things very much worse by the day.

The only blunders made in the Middle East were those of the "line in the sand" gang. The US has only exasperated those blunders ever since.

For all the current furor over the death of Qasem Soleimani, it is Iran, not the U.S. and the Trump administration, that is in a dilemma. Given the death and destruction wrought by Soleimani, and his agendas to come, he will not be missed.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force that Soleimani commanded was a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, which gave its members the same status as al-Qaida, the Islamic State or any other terrorist group.

The current Iranian crisis is complex and dangerous. And by all means retaliation must be designed to prevent more Iranian violence and aggression rather than aimed at a grandiose agenda of regime change or national liberation. But so far the Iranians, not the U.S., are making all the blunders.

---

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
--- George Santayana

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
--- Lord Acton

Old men playing god yet again!

My crystal ball keeps showing me replays of the helicopter evacuation of the Saigon embassy. I don't think this is going to end well.

Mine shows him displacing Warren G. Harding, Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Millard Fillmore, John Tyler and Ulysses S. Grant moving their rankings up.

Well I hope that v2.0 and the U.S. are prepared to fight WWIII all by themselves this time.

Trump's America stands utterly alone.

In fact it just maybe the time for us allies to pull out of the Middle East immediately and let the U.S. clean up all the crap that they have created and are still creating.

My crystal ball keeps showing me replays of the helicopter evacuation of the Saigon embassy. I don't think this is going to end well.

Yes, sadly a lot of us are thinking just the same thing Richard.

Oh dear... Why does Trump use Twitter for this?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213919480574812160

These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!