"War, huh, good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" - Trump Thread #157

[Spandauer]

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) Friend only to The Undertaker
(Edwin Starr 1970, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong)

Unless, of course, your name ends in Trump, when it ain't nothing but an opportunity to grift, deflect and destroy.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5496818-beware-the-ides-of-march-trump-thread-156

US navy to escort tankers through Hormuz

Can't say that would fill me with confidence.

logicisall
"Iran's leaders are hiding like rats underground."

Unlike Trump, who

Oh yes, right. Hid like a rat underground when there was a protest outside the White House.

(They weren't actually dropping bombs on him.)

apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-george-floyd-politics-a2326518da6b25b4509bef1ec85f5d7f

In fairness when there is a risk of bombing, it makes sense to be underground. UK people did this during the Blitz, Ukrainian people and leaders have bomb shelters underground, Hamas have tunnels, Israelis also shelter underground and you can be sure their leadership will have underground bunkers, Iranians are sheltering underground in subways etc and the leaders are in bunkers, Dubai holiday makers have been spending the nights in underground carparks. The Whitehouse will have bunkers/safe rooms and so will every residence of any world leader.
I am not saying all those groups are morally equal, rather that there isn't any link between morality and sheltering underground when being bombed.
Noone is going to think "oh they're bombing my city. Better head up to the penthouse suite". That doesn't mean I think Iran's leaders are good people, but "aha they are hiding underground" is a bit of a silly gotcha.

UK people did this during the Blitz,

Eventually. The powers that be originally stopped people sheltering in tube stations.

Yet another tiny tarnishing of the WW2 mythology.

"Iran allows two Indian-flagged tankers to sail through Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports."

So it's all about asking nice it seems.

So it's Iran that are in charge then (?).

What my DM would have described as "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

'We don't need Ukraine's help' — Trump rebuffs Zelensky's drone defense offer.
"No, we don't need (Ukraine's) help in drone defense," Trump said in the interview. "We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually."
https://kyivindependent.com/trump-ukraine-drone-defenses/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/03/13/europe-negotiating-with-iran-for-oil-access-through-strait-as-us-still-blocked-report-says/

Mandy Rice Davies applies.

It's not cutting of his nose.
I think there's a common misconception that what is good for a country is good for it's leaders and vice versa. They are often described interchangeably e.g "America says/Trump says" "Russia says/Putin said". Hence the belief that it's irrational for Russia to continue it's war in Ukraine because it's so damaging to the country. It might be but it's arguably the main thing keeping Putin in power so he isn't actually going to want peace.
Likewise, Trump clearly doesn't sympathise much with Ukraine and a on a personal level would probably prefer not to need to negotiate with them. And Trump doesn't need to worry, on a personal level, about the threat posed by drones. Or for that matter the economic consequences of the war.

I suppose Trump could sink the Indian tankers ?

Wait a moment. Might be best not to post that in case Trump reads mumsnet ...

Seen in my travels

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-hegseth.html

Asked how soon the Strait of Hormuz would be open to traffic, Hegseth said Friday, “The only thing prohibiting transit in the straits right now is Iran shooting at shipping.”

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/france-italy-europe/2026/03/13/id/1249414

I mean, technically he's not that wrong...but he does make it sound like Iran are using pea shooters, or a musket.

Nope. That site ain't allowed where I am.

But this snip from CNN is :

"“I let them speak their mind. And they do, and we have some differences, but they never end up being much. I convince them all to let’s do it my way,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade when asked about the dynamics behind closed doors."

A more accurate take would be "they convince me that I'm getting my way".

To be fair, he does a pretty good drone.

Some people in some ME countries believe that their bombing was actually done by Israel to bring them into conflict with Iran. Not beyond the bounds of belief. I would do it if I were Israel and it benefitted me.
#Winningis all

India has given refuge to one of the Iranian ships and is taking care of its crew!

I had the mental image of Trump being spit roasted by Putin and Netanyahu.

I need to go and bleach my brain.

During Gulf war #1, I can recall Israel being urged to stay out in order to ensure the fragile coalition could proceed. Which is why the US provided them with Patriot missiles (that then failed after 4 days ....)

I definitely get the impression from the news I see that Trump has no control over Netanyahu at all.

Also, as I have posted before, I think the whole Lebanon thing is because Patriot ammo is at critical levels . PRC state media was reporting today about US THAAD systems being pulled out of South Korea.

PRC state media was reporting today about US THAAD systems being pulled out of South Korea.

That was reported in SK some days ago.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/defense/20260311/thaad-redeployment-sparks-fears-of-high-altitude-defense-gap-in-south-korea

North Korea be like 💃😉🍾🎉