The US currently has 6 B-2 bombers at Diego Garcia ( Indian Ocean ).
Lots of C-17 airlifts from South Korea last week , reportedly carrying Air Defense Systems to the Middle East.
USS Harry Truman in Middle East had its deployment extended.
USS Carl Vinson currently in the Indian Ocean, moving to the Middle East from the Pacific.
USS Nimitz departed San Diego middle of last month heading West.
Multiple Middle East countries announce ban on US use of their territory/airspace to attack Iran ( to avoid retaliatory strikes ).
B-2 is capable of carrying the GBU-57 ( 30 000 lbs ) penetrating bomb, specifically designed to take out underground facilities, but two of them will restrict the bomber's range significantly from approx. 10 000 km.

Report: Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait ban US warplanes for strikes
Report: Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait ban US warplanes for strikes
USS Carl Vinson Sails Through Malacca Strait, Chinese Carrier Operating in the South China Sea After Taiwan Intimidation Drills - USNI News

All this was recently  reported by user RJMAZ on a military aircraft forum.
Should we assume the US is tired of fighting Iran through proxies ( Houthi attacks cost billions and had little effect ), and will take the fight to Iran directly in the coming days ?

So much for D Trump not starting any wars ...

Thanks.

I'll watch this space with interest.

1 hour ago, MigL said:

Should we assume the US is tired of fighting Iran through proxies ( Houthi attacks cost billions and had little effect ), and will take the fight to Iran directly in the coming days ?

Yes. I’ve been having exactly the same thought for about 2 weeks now, but without all the logistical backup data you shared here. I think it’s inevitable especially with what’s happening in Israel and Bibi meeting Trump in DC on Monday 

27 minutes ago, iNow said:

Yes. I’ve been having exactly the same thought for about 2 weeks now, but without all the logistical backup data you shared here. I think it’s inevitable especially with what’s happening in Israel and Bibi meeting Trump in DC on Monday 

Not only that; it's part of the would be dictators road map to autocratic control. 

He's about the employ the; cause a war and use it to label internal dissenters as seditious and unpatriotic and make the conversation about how people are only criticising the leader due to wanting to stop the war, strategy. Also, wartime powers. 

MigL is obviously on the Signal chat.

War has always been a good way to distract people from an economic recession caused by your bad trade decisions, courts rising up against your policies of oppression, and rising unrest among the ass-kissers of your own party.
I'm just not sure if the fire is better than the frying pan.

19 minutes ago, swansont said:

MigL is obviously on the Signal chat.

yeah ! 
Me and P Hegseth are tight.
😄😄

55 minutes ago, MSC said:

cause a war and use it to label internal dissenters as seditious and unpatriotic and

… and disappear them into Venezuelan prisons, too. 

Well, a war would definitely stimulate one of the biggest parts of the US manufacturing base i.e. building instruments of war. And we won't even have to export them for the manufacturers to make a profit.

24 minutes ago, npts2020 said:

Well, a war would definitely stimulate one of the biggest parts of the US manufacturing base i.e. building instruments of war. And we won't even have to export them for the manufacturers to make a profit.

About 45% of all American imports are used as intermediate inputs to the production of American goods. The American military complex manufacturing base for building the "instruments of war" is substantially dependent on very large imports of steel, mineral ores and many other raw materials  from abroad - which are all in the process of being hit by the new import tariffs announced by Trump - which will amount to a consumer tax hike 3 times larger than the one imposed in 1942 to pay for WW2 (by some estimates).

2 hours ago, iNow said:

… and disappear them into Venezuelan prisons, too. 

Don't remind me, if I go dark here for over two weeks anytime over the next 3+ years it's because I'm in a detention center at best, El Salvador at worst! 

I've literally had some Americans tell me not to worry because I'm one of the "white one's" and I just don't think they get it at all. Deportation quota's have put everyone under increased scrutiny and I've been taken to secondary inspection at the border, under Biden, so I don't exactly have high confidence that the colour of my skin would save me, they held a British tourist for 3 weeks in a detention center within the first 50 days of this presidency and we can't forget the ol TSAs 4 arabs and a blonde method for avoiding the accusation of racism.

Amongst us white immigrants in the USA we have a saying "We are only white until we open our mouths".

Sorry for the OT, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of all of this. 

I think MigL is right though. I think before 2025 is done the USA will be having another war. Not gonna start a poll on it though, I've been wrong before. Here's hoping for natural causes or an act of God! 

7 hours ago, MSC said:

Not only that; it's part of the would be dictators road map to autocratic control. 

He's about the employ the; cause a war and use it to label internal dissenters as seditious and unpatriotic and make the conversation about how people are only criticising the leader due to wanting to stop the war, strategy. Also, wartime powers. 

I did wonder what that Houthi raid was all about. It seemed to come out of the blue, with no particular provocation.  Softening up the proxies first, perhaps? 

49 minutes ago, MSC said:

I think MigL is right though. I think before 2025 is done the USA will be having another war.

Not convinced.

Trump is a bully by nature and bullies like threats rather than action as the ation can only happen once, whereas threats can go on forever.

Moving military hardware into position is initially a threat, it does not mean it will be used.

Unlike Putin, who want to annex a target, China has used such threat to good (for them) effect for a while now in their sphere of influence.

If he wants to attack Iran  in a full blooded war does he have to get the OK from Putin first?

Does that require  a   "full" ceasefire in Ukraine  if the weapons supply from Iran has to be interrupted?

9 hours ago, MSC said:

terrified

This is also one of the objectives. People who are afraid are people who are easier to control 

15 hours ago, MigL said:

and will take the fight to Iran directly in the coming days ?

The only impediment I can see is that T's puppet master Russia has a strong economic and military alliance with Iran.  So is possible T's bestest tovarich says nyet.  (but maybe T abetting the overrun of Ukraine is enough to counterbalance?)

10 hours ago, MSC said:

Amongst us white immigrants in the USA we have a saying "We are only white until we open our mouths".

Sorry for the OT, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of all of this. 

So far, the raw malice of the TP administration has been hampered by its gross incompetence.  My hope is that this, combined with the TP tendency to drop a campaign pledge when it proves difficult, means he will see some other political squirrel to chase besides immigrants.  He'll ship off a few loads of purported Central American gangsters, declare victory, and on to some other distraction.  

14 minutes ago, iNow said:

This is also one of the objectives. People who are afraid are people who are easier to control 

It's being separated from my daughter that really does it for me. I know the mods and admins here have my back as far as illegal demands for my data from any government entity would go and this is really the only place online now I'm actively being anti-trump. But I've deleted my social media presence, this place is the only place left I feel free to speak my mind. We are still OT but honestly not sure I want to open a thread specifically addressing this issue.

I fear myself as much as what could happen, will my principles allow me to keep my mouth shut to protect myself and my daughter no matter how bad things get? I honestly don't know, all I know is I resent being controlled with fear and I'm no stranger to speaking out against authority. I don't know where my line in the sand is yet and there are short term and long-term things to consider. At what point does resisting and protecting my family become the same thing? Are we at that point already? These are the questions keeping me awake at night. There are long term threats to my daughter's education, life, liberty and autonomy to consider too. 

Would you mind if we have a private dialogue about this from time to time? I know we don't agree on everything but this is definitely one area where I believe you understand more than most Americans. Honestly if more of you followed your example, the country wouldn't be in this mess. 

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. No fun. I really can’t offer anything other than empathy and encouragement, though 

This is only one of the many things The Donald and his administration are extreme hypocrites about. For his entire life he has used "due process" to wait out the courts on judgments but they aren't willing to give others that same right...

11 hours ago, TheVat said:

So far, the raw malice of the TP administration has been hampered by its gross incompetence.  My hope is that this, combined with the TP tendency to drop a campaign pledge when it proves difficult, means he will see some other political squirrel to chase besides immigrants.  He'll ship off a few loads of purported Central American gangsters, declare victory, and on to some other distraction.  

I'm not so sure; firstly relying on the mistakes of your enemies to get ahead, is a surefire sign that you're losing and have no good plan. The incompetence of the current administration doesn't matter much when the resistance against it has thus far also been incompetent. The rhetoric failure by the democrats to win over enough voters, cannot be ignored. 

I also don't believe deportation as a tool to silence and cause terror amongst the population will stop being a factor. The incompetence actually adds to it, because it can be more indiscriminate. Wait until an actual legal citizen is mistakenly deported and this administration refuses to bring them back. 

Again we are thinking of competency in the wrong way here; what matters is skillset. This administration seems to have some degree of skill in twisting the narratives of their mistakes, to their own advantage and the mistakes themselves cause harm. 

I asked a question in a different thread; What's worse, evil in charge or stupid in charge? Now I'm wondering if that question even matters when the answer might be that both are currently in charge. 

 

Pres. Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday that his administration is going to have "direct talks" with Iran on Saturday.

Read more: https://abcnews.link/1ruSEJR

1 hour ago, iNow said:

Pres. Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday that his administration is going to have "direct talks" with Iran on Saturday.

Read more: https://abcnews.link/1ruSEJR

Will be interesting to see when he can find the time to do that, between golfing, tweeting, and negotiating tariffs with some 200 countries...

From the cipher brief newsletter:

U.S. HITS IRANIAN ‘SHADOW FLEET’ WITH MORE SANCTIONS — The U.S. imposed another round of sanctions against Iran, targeting the country’s “shadow fleet” of tankers that transport Iranian oil. The latest measures target Jugwinder Singh Brar, a UAE-based Indian national who the Treasury Department said owns shipping companies with nearly 30 vessels, many of which are in the shadow fleet. "Brar’s vessels engage in high-risk ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Iranian petroleum in waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE, and the Gulf of Oman," Treasury said in a statement. The department added it will continue to target other shippers and brokers who facilitate illicit Iranian oil transfers. 
 
The sanctions on Tehran come just two days before the U.S.-Iran talks that are set to take place in Oman on Saturday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the negotiations will be direct (which Iranian officials have said is not true.) "We hope that'll lead to peace. We've been very clear that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think that's what led to this meeting," Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting. 

Same source, newer view:

[Trumps Middle East Envoy Steve] Witkoff said in a post on X. “It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do.” It’s not clear whether the U.S. envoy was shutting down the possibility that Iran can keep a civilian nuclear program.
 
Experts said while the red line for the U.S. is an Iranian nuclear bomb, the red line for Tehran is the complete end of its nuclear energy program.
 
Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, told The Cipher Brief that it is “unrealistic” to pursue the dismantling of Iran’s whole nuclear program. “Those who advocate [for that] are really advocating war with Iran,” Nasr said, “except they're setting up a diplomatic straw man that would basically fail, and then you would say, Okay, let's go to war.”

<…>

“There are folks who are writing commentary after commentary saying Iran is on the defensive, therefore you should ask for the Libya model, meaning Iran gives up its entire nuclear program,” Vatanka said. “Yes, they're weak. But if you're asking for outright capitulation for them to come out in public with the white flag and say, we're sorry, we've been wrong for the last half a century, that's not going to happen. That's how you end up in a war situation.”