What the Buck?
“The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president.” That was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard trying to answer Jon Ossoff’s questions about how much of a threat the intel community thought Iran posed before the airstrikes started. Gabbard was trying not to publicly disagree with the statements made by her boss (which isn’t easy since so many of those statements contradict one another). But that doesn’t make her statement any less disturbing.
+ So, according to our Director of National Intelligence, the buck stops with Trump. Does he agree? Not exactly. Israel says US helped coordinate gasfield attack, despite Trump’s claim he knew nothing about it. (Either he’s not in charge, or he’s lying. Both are bad options in these serious times.)
+ Energy producing sites are being hit across the region and markets are rattled. Meanwhile, “when asked in the Oval Office about using ground troops in Iran, Mr. Trump said: ‘I’m not putting troops anywhere. If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.’ Trump also made a Pearl Harbor joke during a meeting with Japan’s prime minister. (No, I’m not joking.) Here’s more from the NYT.
+ Fear, defiance, and anger: Iranians describe life under bombardment. Right now, they’re stuck between bombing and a repressive and violent regime. Does America owe the Iranian people freedom from both when this is over? “When Trump thought protesters might triumph, he made them extravagant promises. After it became clear that they weren’t going to quickly overthrow the mullahs, he treated them as disposable allies.” Franklin Foer in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Is Betraying Iran’s Pro-Democracy Protesters.
+ Pete Hegseth during his latest press conference: “May almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. To the American people, please pray for them every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Well, someone just got himself removed from my Seder invitation list.)
