Netanyahu is a flawed man and flawed leader but to call him evil is way over the top. As much as I hate giving him credit for anything, Pres Trump absolutely did the right thing. I wish it had been Pres Harris or Biden who could have taken credit for taking out Iran's nuclear program, but it was not to be. It absolutely is in our nationa…
Netanyahu is a flawed man and flawed leader but to call him evil is way over the top. As much as I hate giving him credit for anything, Pres Trump absolutely did the right thing. I wish it had been Pres Harris or Biden who could have taken credit for taking out Iran's nuclear program, but it was not to be. It absolutely is in our national security interest to ensure Iran does not get the bomb--that is conventional and a bipartisan U.S. foreign policy position, so I am confused by Tim's comment.
Eliot and Eric disagree with our trio and both agreed the U.S. should take out Fordo while Iran is in a weakened state. The JCPOA was hopelessly flawed and even if it had been adhered to, would have resulted in Iran eventually getting the bomb or certainly close enough to having one they could engage in nuclear blackmail against the U.S. and Israel like Putin is doing in Ukraine. Would that be good?
Lastly, as Ann Applebaum as written, there is an axis of authoritarians which includes North Korea, Russia, China and Iran. At least now we have struck a significant blow against one of the four. I hope we push Russia out of Ukraine as well (remains to be seen).
Israel is not sending troops to Iran for regime change and neither is the U.S. but they both want the Iranian regime to fear for their lives so they think twice about striking back in an escalatory manner.
Israel has not been murdering civilians in Gaza--sad to hear that said here. They have been pursuing Hamas which has been hiding in tunnels and Israel has done it's best to destroy the genocidal army on its border.
I'm largely ignorant about the Middle East, so am still learning and forming an opinion. But I just listened to a This American Life pod you might find interesting: "859: Chaos Graph," from 4/27. Act I is about the experiences of multiple American doctors who worked in Gaza.
So I listened to the piece and it’s definitely disturbing, though I guess shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve pretty much known the Israeli military units get to behave pretty much as they want and it’s up to their commanders to enforce or not enforce the rules. I was shocked about the direct gun shots to the head particularly in the small children.
If you are interested the Guardian has a sporadic diary written by a Gazan resident which ended in March of 2024, but it was also hauntingly bleak, but also full of life.
Call Me Back Podcasts with Dan Senor. There are a lot but I might suggest the one with Brett McGurk who was among the lead negotiatios in the Biden Admin trying to get the hostages out. McGurk puts the blame for no hostage deal squarely on the shoulders of Hamas and describes how the campus protest in the U.S. and pressure from the West (including the Biden Admin) only caused Hamas to dig in its heals further
Ask Haviv Anything. Far fewer and if you want to understand the perspective of Israelis, I cannot recommend these podcasts enough. Since there are not many, I would suggest at the first podcast
OK, first link: very informative about relatively recent history. At least I'm clear now that Iran is a very bad actor. (My minimal knowledge includes the fact that conflicts in this region go back to at least Biblical times.)
Second link: I watched Episode 4 and realized I don't have the time for this level of detail, or enough general understanding to be able to adequately understand and appreciate the info. (And for some reason, his voice is very unpleasant for me to listen to???)
Third link: listened to the whole thing, and parts of it twice; wow. To fully grasp it I think I'd need to sit w/ a map in front of me and then periodically stop the video and take notes. So, so much info; and such incredibly complicated dynamics. I'm so overwhelmed I can't even say what my main takeaways are. I feel a bit like I did the last time I sat down w/ a bunch of (elementary level) quantum physics books to try and gain a basic understanding - and didn't even come close.
Haven't yet had time to listen to the last one, but didn't want to wait any longer to reply to your comment. I'm going to keep it handy; and hopefully eventually will have a decent grasp of the situation.
Thank you! People are so passionate on every side of this issue. Sometime after 10/7, I heard Obama being interviewed about the ME. I don't recall the specific question that elicited this response, but Obama said the dynamics are incredibly complex. I do know that they literally go back thousands of years, and it's overwhelming to me.
Is it enough to stop with Iran? why don't the USA take out the other adversaries also? Netanyahu and IDF are killing civilians like crazy in Israel right now. There are a minimum of 100 Palestinians killed in the last 10 days while they were going for food bank to get food. Not every muslim is a Hamas terrorist.
Just like Iran is not very close to getting a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu has been saying the same thing since the last 10-12 years.
The actual axis of evil right now - in this moment - are Israel, USA and Russia. USA and Israel have unilaterally started a war against Iran on flimsy grounds. Russia did the same with Ukraine.
USA and Israel are in fascistic hands while Putin is treating Russia like his personal Empire. Just like Germany, Italy and Japan were in 1939.
His entire play is to sling mud on the opponent and bring out the big ‘antisemite’ card whenever the other person tries to respond and shouts through the roof so that all his minions can come and shout the same thing. His defence minister is so far right that had he not been a Jew, people would have mistaken him for a neo Nazi.
Netanyahu is a flawed man and flawed leader but to call him evil is way over the top. As much as I hate giving him credit for anything, Pres Trump absolutely did the right thing. I wish it had been Pres Harris or Biden who could have taken credit for taking out Iran's nuclear program, but it was not to be. It absolutely is in our national security interest to ensure Iran does not get the bomb--that is conventional and a bipartisan U.S. foreign policy position, so I am confused by Tim's comment.
Eliot and Eric disagree with our trio and both agreed the U.S. should take out Fordo while Iran is in a weakened state. The JCPOA was hopelessly flawed and even if it had been adhered to, would have resulted in Iran eventually getting the bomb or certainly close enough to having one they could engage in nuclear blackmail against the U.S. and Israel like Putin is doing in Ukraine. Would that be good?
Lastly, as Ann Applebaum as written, there is an axis of authoritarians which includes North Korea, Russia, China and Iran. At least now we have struck a significant blow against one of the four. I hope we push Russia out of Ukraine as well (remains to be seen).
Israel is not sending troops to Iran for regime change and neither is the U.S. but they both want the Iranian regime to fear for their lives so they think twice about striking back in an escalatory manner.
Israel has not been murdering civilians in Gaza--sad to hear that said here. They have been pursuing Hamas which has been hiding in tunnels and Israel has done it's best to destroy the genocidal army on its border.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/emergency-podcast-the-israel-iran
I'm largely ignorant about the Middle East, so am still learning and forming an opinion. But I just listened to a This American Life pod you might find interesting: "859: Chaos Graph," from 4/27. Act I is about the experiences of multiple American doctors who worked in Gaza.
Probably not easy listening, but thanks for the suggestion. I will have to look it up.
It's not, but it is just one small piece of the picture. I'd be curious what you think.
So I listened to the piece and it’s definitely disturbing, though I guess shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve pretty much known the Israeli military units get to behave pretty much as they want and it’s up to their commanders to enforce or not enforce the rules. I was shocked about the direct gun shots to the head particularly in the small children.
If you are interested the Guardian has a sporadic diary written by a Gazan resident which ended in March of 2024, but it was also hauntingly bleak, but also full of life.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/series/gaza-diary
Boy have you come to the right place.
Here ae some suggestions:
Call Me Back Podcasts with Dan Senor. There are a lot but I might suggest the one with Brett McGurk who was among the lead negotiatios in the Biden Admin trying to get the hostages out. McGurk puts the blame for no hostage deal squarely on the shoulders of Hamas and describes how the campus protest in the U.S. and pressure from the West (including the Biden Admin) only caused Hamas to dig in its heals further
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jGLlNQMRP4&list=PLiYCxMRIBxFp0V4ZazFmxsdWLCL8Lw-Sy&index=7&t=102s
Ask Haviv Anything. Far fewer and if you want to understand the perspective of Israelis, I cannot recommend these podcasts enough. Since there are not many, I would suggest at the first podcast
https://www.youtube.com/@AskHavivAnything
Couple more with Haviv on other folks podcasts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aFbNJALXBw&list=PL0QqDLM7Mfuv6Zkh9gNZstVepRQxr-Tzv&index=46&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pj9-YG_vXY&t=2656s
On last one on Gaza specifically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWeno1zEc0E&list=PL0QqDLM7Mfuv6Zkh9gNZstVepRQxr-Tzv&index=36
Would love to hear your thoughts after you listen to some of these.
OK, first link: very informative about relatively recent history. At least I'm clear now that Iran is a very bad actor. (My minimal knowledge includes the fact that conflicts in this region go back to at least Biblical times.)
Second link: I watched Episode 4 and realized I don't have the time for this level of detail, or enough general understanding to be able to adequately understand and appreciate the info. (And for some reason, his voice is very unpleasant for me to listen to???)
Third link: listened to the whole thing, and parts of it twice; wow. To fully grasp it I think I'd need to sit w/ a map in front of me and then periodically stop the video and take notes. So, so much info; and such incredibly complicated dynamics. I'm so overwhelmed I can't even say what my main takeaways are. I feel a bit like I did the last time I sat down w/ a bunch of (elementary level) quantum physics books to try and gain a basic understanding - and didn't even come close.
Haven't yet had time to listen to the last one, but didn't want to wait any longer to reply to your comment. I'm going to keep it handy; and hopefully eventually will have a decent grasp of the situation.
Thanks again.
Thank you! People are so passionate on every side of this issue. Sometime after 10/7, I heard Obama being interviewed about the ME. I don't recall the specific question that elicited this response, but Obama said the dynamics are incredibly complex. I do know that they literally go back thousands of years, and it's overwhelming to me.
STOP YOUR LIES!!
He is the biggest evil in the world.
Is it enough to stop with Iran? why don't the USA take out the other adversaries also? Netanyahu and IDF are killing civilians like crazy in Israel right now. There are a minimum of 100 Palestinians killed in the last 10 days while they were going for food bank to get food. Not every muslim is a Hamas terrorist.
Just like Iran is not very close to getting a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu has been saying the same thing since the last 10-12 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/16/gaza-food-centre-shooting-israel-ghf
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/19/dozens-more-people-killed-or-injured-seeking-desperately-needed-aid-in-gaza
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/israeli-forces-kill-injure-palestinians-food-trucks-gaza-officials
The actual axis of evil right now - in this moment - are Israel, USA and Russia. USA and Israel have unilaterally started a war against Iran on flimsy grounds. Russia did the same with Ukraine.
USA and Israel are in fascistic hands while Putin is treating Russia like his personal Empire. Just like Germany, Italy and Japan were in 1939.
YEAH! GET THOSE JEWS!!!
Netanyahu played the same WMD bluff game with Iraq in 2003.
https://www.c-span.org/clip/house-committee/user-clip-netanyahu-says-no-question-saddam-working-on-nuclear-weapons/4927483
His entire play is to sling mud on the opponent and bring out the big ‘antisemite’ card whenever the other person tries to respond and shouts through the roof so that all his minions can come and shout the same thing. His defence minister is so far right that had he not been a Jew, people would have mistaken him for a neo Nazi.