Iraq War

$40 Trillion National Debt A Crisis For America, And Mostly Occurring Under Republican Presidents!

Ronald 33 Comments

America is faced with a crisis, as the national debt just passed $40 Trillion, and no end in sight, as Donald Trump adds massively to the national debt with his extremely large tax cuts, and the costs of the Iran War.

This presents a crisis for the funding of Social Security and Medicare, which will be unable, as things stand now, to pay out to recipients the entire amount they are due on a monthly basis by the mid 2030s, and on health care costs.

The national debt reached $1 Trillion under Ronald Reagan by his second year in office, 1982.

And when one looks at all Presidents since then, it is clear that the national debt has magnified primarily under Republican Presidents since Reagan, who tripled the national debt to $3 Trillion, as well as George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

George W. Bush started with a $5.7 Trillion national debt, and left eight years later, with $10.6 Trillion, so a doubling of the national debt.

Donald Trump started with about $20 Trillion national debt, and left after four years with $28 Trillion national debt. And in his second term, the national debt has grown from $36 Trillion up to, presently, $40 Trillion national debt.

So $20 Trillion, half the total national debt at present, but with about $3 Trillion being added annually by estimate for the next two and a half years of Trump, are due to Republican policies, including more massive tax cuts for the wealthy under Bush and Trump, and involvement in foreign wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iran.

This is not excusing Democratic Presidents since Reagan, but the worst economic downturn, the Great Recession, since the Great Depression, explains Barack Obama adding $9.3 Trillion to the national debt in two terms; and Joe Biden, with the COVID 19 Pandemic, adding $8.5 Trillion to the national debt in his one term of office.

Bill Clinton added only $1.5 Trillion to the national debt in his two terms, and actually had balanced budgets in his second term, in league with a Republican Congress, while Republican George H. W. Bush in his one term added $1.3 Trillion to the national debt.

By comparison, Democrat Jimmy Carter in his one term only added $300 Billion to the National Debt.

PEPFAR, George W. Bush’s Major Achievement, Decimated By Donald Trump Cuts In Aid And Support Of USAID (US Agency For International Development)!

Ronald 73 Comments

President George W. Bush had many negatives while in office, including Hurricane Katrina, the drawn out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the onset of the Great Recession.

But one major accomplishment was the establishment of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief), begun by executive order in 2003, and had provided cumulative funding of $120 Billion by 2024, for HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and research in those 21 years. This was the largest commitment of any nation in history focused on a single disease, and by late 2025, had saved more than 26 million lives, and prevented 7.8 million infants from acquiring HIV at birth.

But in a dastardly act, Donald Trump’s administration has phased out funding for PEPFAR, causing unnecessary deaths, and demonstrating lack of concern for people most affected, particularly in Africa, most of them poverty stricken.

USAID (US Agency For International Development) has been decimated, the work of people like Russell Vought and Stephen Miller, who have no concern about saving lives, while being extremely outspoken against abortion. They lack ethics, morals, and basic common decency.

So called White Christian Nationalists also have no concern, as their racism and nativism reigns supreme, a terrible tragedy for the long range legacy of George W. Bush, who had decent intentions and concerns now being thrown by the wayside!

Iran War Escalation Moving America Toward Another Long Term Commitment, With Massive Loss Of American Lives And Treasure!

Ronald 30 Comments

Donald Trump started a war with Iran, prodded on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 28, claiming it would be brief, and would lead to “Regime Change” in Iran.

After four and a half months, the Iran War is being escalated, and moving America toward massive loss of American lives, (now 17), and major growth in the national debt, and no “Regime Change”, and instead, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which was not blocked by Iran before the war.

Hyperinflation seems inevitable, and the cost of living is already a nightmare for tens of millions of Americans, regarding gasoline, food, housing, health care, and many other economic essentials.

We have a government that is intending a likely land invasion, reminding us of the horrors of the long Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s; the twenty year Afghanistan War; and the long, drawn out Iraq War.

We have a President who is unhinged and has no idea what he is doing, as his attention is mostly paid to his own aggrandizement, enrichment, and glorification.

Donald Trump Public Opinion Rating In Wartime Collapsing

Ronald 199 Comments

Donald Trump’s Iran War is causing a collapse in his popularity, which already was under water.

His lack of strategy, and his reckless incitement for war, when Iran was not a direct threat anytime soon on America, is an indication of how dangerous a wartime leader he is.

Trump is attacking NATO nations for refusal to engage in a war that was not essential, and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz is causing a massive oil and gasoline crisis, with motorists now paying one dollar more per gallon, compared to three weeks ago, when the war began.

The overall cost of living is skyrocketing, and that is bad news for Republicans in the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2026, the reason why Donald Trump is trying to interfere with the right to vote, and trying to destroy the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to fix the elections for Republicans.

Traditionally, the midterm elections always see a decline in the number of seats controlled by the President’s party, and a real landslide for Democrats looks likely, assuming Trump cannot succeed in his mission to limit the right to vote, through the proposed SAVE America Act.

The history of Presidents seeing popularity drop during wartime is stark:

Harry Truman had reached a high of 69 percent in 1949, but during the Korean War in 1952, his rating dropped to 22 percent, minus 47 points.

Lyndon B. Johnson had reached a high of 78 percent in 1963, after he succeeded the assassinated John F. Kennedy, but during the Vietnam War, his rating in 1968 dropped to 35 percent, minus 43 points.

Jimmy Carter had reached a high of 58 percent in January 1980, but in the next five months of the Iranian hostage crisis, his rating dropped to 27 percent, minus 31 points.

George W. Bush had reached a high of 90 percent after September 11, 2001, but in the midst of the Iraqi Civil War intervention in 2007, his rating dropped to 29 percent, minus 61 points.

And Joe Biden had reached a high of 56 percent in June 2021, but after the Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021, his rating dropped to 43 percent, minus 13 points.

Trump has reached a low of 36 percent at this time, and is likely to go lower.

Lowest Public Opinion Support Of Iran War Of Any War After One Week Of Conflict!

Ronald 24 Comments

Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran has led to the lowest public opinion rating of support for any war since World War II.

Statistics show the following, according to a NY Times survey:

World War II 1941–97 percent
Afghanistan War 2001–92 percent
Persian Gulf War 1991–82 percent
Panama Intervention 1989–80 percent
Iraq War 2003–76 percent
Korean War 1950–75 percent
Vietnam War Escalation 1965-60 percent
Kosovo Intervention 1999–58 percent
Grenada Intervention 1983–53 percent
Libya Intervention 2011–47 percent
Iran War 2026–41 percent

With no plan, no clearcut understanding why diplomacy was abandoned by Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio, America is now in a crisis of rising oil and gasoline prices, and lack of support from usual allies in wartime.

And Iran is now blockading the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of all oil worldwide is transported, a major crisis!

Emergence Of Anti Iran War MAGA Republicans Could Affect Midterm Elections Of 2026, And Presidential Election Of 2028!

Ronald 73 Comments

Now that the United States is in Week Two of the Iran War, and with the son of the late Ayatollah being annointed his successor, it seems clear that America is on the road to a long, massive, expensive, disastrous intervention in the Middle East, without any certainty of success, similar to the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

And opposition is starting to emerge, from many so called MAGA Republicans, against the military intervention, some of it openly, and some of it behind the scenes.

Openly critical individuals this early include:

Tucker Carlson
Steve Bannon
Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Congresswoman from Georgia
Thomas Massie, Congressman from Kentucky
Rand Paul, Senator from Kentucky

Behind the scenes, based on past views about military intervention, and support of “isolationism” expressed, would include the following:

Vice President JD Vance
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

The latter two are being very quiet at this point, but their past record of viewpoints clashes with what Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and apparently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio are promoting.

So there could be a battle brewing for the future of the Republican Party, based on what happens in the midterms, and as the Republican Party starts to look at its future direction.

It is hard to imagine Vance openly breaking with his party and his “boss”, the President of the United States, but it is perceived by many that had Vice President Kamala Harris expressed more differences with her “boss”, Joe Biden, possibly, the result in the Presidential Election of 2024 might have been different.

If Vance was to “break” with Trump, he still would be Vice President, but it would encourage Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, and others to challenge him for the Presidential nomination in 2028.

Of course, IF Vance became President by succession, and therefore, would be a sitting President, it would be much more difficult for a rebellion by MAGA Republicans to succeed against him.

Most certainly, the future of the Republican Party with the upcoming Presidential Election of 2028, is very much a fluid situation, and very difficult to project what will occur down the road!

Trump-Netanyahu “War Of Choice” Escalates To Widespread Middle East Conflict With Iran Attacking Neighboring Nations!

Ronald 19 Comments

The decision of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to choose to provoke a war with Iran is leading to a widespread Middle East escalation affecting all of the neighboring nations of the area, including

Kuwait
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
Oman
Lebanon
Iraq
Jordan

This war came about without an “imminent threat” of Iran having enough potential for a nuclear weapon, and with negotiations going on between Iran’s Foreign Minister and Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

This clearly was a war promoted by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has wanted this war for decades, but until now with Donald Trump, could not bring it about under earlier Presidents.

Barack Obama brought about a nuclear agreement in 2015, signed onto by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, and yet Trump destroyed the agreement in his first term, with Joe Biden reviving it in his term, but with Israel knowing how to stroke the ego of Trump, and accomplish what Netanyahu has wanted for a very long time.

So Netanyahu effectively manipulated Donald Trump, and now we have a Middle East War that is creating chaos and anarchy, and is causing economic instability, with higher oil prices on the way, and no certainty of how the US will resolve the war, including whether combat ground troops will engage, putting America in a major morass as Iraq and Afghanistan were for the previous two decades.

Major Political Split Emerging Regarding US-Israel War On Iran

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The decision of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to wage war on Iran is causing a major political split.

The fact that Trump and his Cabinet did not consult with Congress up front and ask for backing through the War Powers Act of 1973;

that Trump has lied about the so called “imminent” threat Iran presented to American national security;

that Trump and his Cabinet chose not to be interviewed by news media this weekend after the first day of military action;

that Trump has totally reversed his former stand against getting involved in military interventions as a critic of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars in the past;

that anger is rising among the general public, as early polls show only 25 percent of those polled support the intervention;

that Trump seemed not to have much empathy about the loss of life of military personnel, when he personally avoided military service by claiming “bone spurs”;

all this and more is creating a major political crisis that is unlikely to go away anytime soon, and the prospect of greatly increased oil prices as a result of the widening Middle East War, with other nations in the area being drawn into it, adds to the complicated crisis.

Already, within his party, Trump has angered Kentucky Senator Rand Paul; Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie; former Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who was a MAGA supporter, and also, commentator Tucker Carlson, and this is just the beginning, in less than 48 hours after the war has begun.

At the same time, while most Democrats are opposed to the war, some are supportive, causing a split in that political party as well, including

Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania
Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida
Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York
Congressman Greg Landsman of Ohio
Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas

The fact that some Democrats are supportive of the war means when and if a War Powers Resolution comes up for a vote, it could undermine the ability to gain a majority of support for such action.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made clear on Monday morning, the third day of the war, that there would be no holding back on the war effort, creating a likely constitutional crisis as Donald Trump and company pursue their goals in league with Israel, despite the fact that diplomacy was in process, and had not been given a full chance to work.

So the image of Donald Trump, “The Dove”, which caused many MAGA Republicans in the voting population to support him in 2024, is in tatters.

A major political division is likely to grow wider as the war continues, without any assurance of avoiding disarray in an area of the world notable for instability.

That only complicates the issue of what will happen politically in the Midterm Elections of 2026 and the Presidential Election of 2028.

And the announcement by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom that the British government is not in support of the war, and believe in a negotiated settlement, is a stunning blow to the mission pursued by Trump and Netanyahu. It is highly unusual, that our closest ally in Europe would come out openly in the House of Commons and criticize and refuse support of the war effort.

Donald Trump has made clear in his press conference that there is the possibility of ground troops being sent into combat in the Middle East if that is seen as necessary.

So it seems potentially possible that America could be engaging in what will become a major long term conflict, similar to what occurred in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, further dividing and complicating American politics in the near term and long term!

Dire Threat Of War With Iran, As Donald Trump Displays Again His Reckless Side!

Ronald 8 Comments

Donald Trump ran for the Presidency in 2016 as a critic of the Iraq War and Afghanistan War under George W. Bush, and dragging on beyond Bush’s time in office.

Trump was clearly sounding like an isolationist, but now he is displaying an imperialist, aggressive foreign policy, totally opposite of what he professed ten years ago.

Trump has enjoyed showing his ability to bomb countries; invade and overthrow the leader of Venezuela; and side with dictators around the world.

Now, he is flirting dangerously with inciting war with Iran, even though his own military leadership is reported to be highly doubtful that such a military invasion would work out any better than it was with Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a person who evaded the draft based on “Bone Spurs”, he is acting a lot like Vladimir Putin of Russia.

And there seems to be no desire to have Congress play a role in such a military adventure, and therefore, to ignore the War Powers Act of 1973, which admittedly, has not been able to control Presidents when they decide to intervene overseas.

It will be interesting to see what Donald Trump says, or does not say, about Iran tonight in the State of the Union Address.

However, it seems clear that America is about to embark on a very reckless mission, not realizing that the size of the area and population of Iran, four times larger than Iraq, is a danger zone, and could escalate into a massive Middle East War with Arab nations drawn into it, as well as Israel.

America could end up involved in a morass that will last years, and while Iran is a problem with the potential for nuclear military development, it is seen by many as a “fool’s errand” to engage in what could be a long, drawn out war, with heavy casualties and major effects on the national debt over many years.

25 Years Since Bush V Gore: What Might Have Been!

Ronald 69 Comments

It has been exactly a quarter century since the US Supreme Court in Bush V Gore awarded the Presidency to George W. Bush over Al Gore, declaring Bush the winner of the popular vote in the state of Florida, governed by his brother, Jeb Bush, by the grand total of 537 votes out of 6 million votes cast in the Sunshine State, but with Gore winning the national popular vote by about 540,000 votes.

Bush won the Electoral College by 271-266, the second closest electoral vote in American history, after the Presidential Election of 1876, where Rutherford B. Hayes won the Electoral College 185-184, despite losing the popular vote by about 250,000 votes to Samuel Tilden.

Imagine the differences that would have occurred if Al Gore had been President, and most observers would think America would have been better off.

The major issue that arises is whether the September 11 Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would have occurred.

Also, how would a President Gore have reacted if such an attack had still taken place, meaning how would we have dealt with the issue of Afghanistan, and what turned out to be a 20 year war?

Also, there would have been an Iraq War which dragged on for years, alongside the Afghanistan War, since the decision to go to war in 2003 was based on false premises?

This is all speculation, a potential novel, as who is in office determines the future in so many ways that one cannot calculate ahead of time, or even for sure, in retrospect!