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maxrandb

(17,423 posts)
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 08:12 AM Sunday

Let me explain the Iran shitshow in ways even MAGAts can understand

I served almost 30 years in the United States Navy. I am neither "wishing and hoping" for an Iranian "victory", nor am I denying the overwhelming superiority of America's military might. I witnessed it myself for over 28.5 years of service.

In this "tik-tok, Instagram fight reel, Playstation War, attention span of a flea" social media world, MAGAts must feel exactly like Hegseth, that the "real story"...NO...THE ONLY story worth telling is the "glorious military victory" story. Heck, we're already basking in the glorious victory in Venezuela, as if the people of Venezuela will have no say in their longterm future.

We'll be greeted as liberators, right?

I mean, I am sure they will be super cool as their resources are raped by an imperial clown king.

We've seen this before.

Germany swept through about a dozen European countries in a little over a year. If we had social media at the time, I am sure there would have been millions of 15-second Facebook "war-porn" clips of ships and buildings being blown up.

Rah-Rah...look at the "glorious Christian victors". I imagine Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos would have made a pilgrimage to Berlin, like the three Wise Men, to genuflect and kiss the ass of the "boy king".

It's as if you think 'MuriKKKa has a monopoly on national pride and self-determination.

Let me put it in terms even MAGAt chicken hawk dipshits might understand.

Suppose an overwhelming military force came for America. Suppose they bombed the shit out of us, killed our children, imposed their will. Hell, you might even say we'd "submit" just to make it stop.

Would you consider it "over", or would you do everything in your power to resist and fight back. Would generations of Americans give-up the fight, or would our children's, children's children still burn with hatred, revenge and the desire to be free?

Our military has the capability to go through country after country like crap through a goose, but like Alexander the Great learned; "all glory is fleeting".

It is the very epitome of patriotism to ask; "What's Next"?

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Let me explain the Iran shitshow in ways even MAGAts can understand (Original Post) maxrandb Sunday OP
Well, there are a lot of folks who would likely WELCOME someone taking out Trumps regime Callie1979 Sunday #1
The BLOWBACK will be FIERCE! PuraVidaDreamin Sunday #2
Because of our "attention span of a flea" your question of... llmart Sunday #3
The Strait of Hormuz is still controlled by Iran. paleotn Sunday #4
After ten years, Iraq accounted for a tidy $3 trillion we pissed into the sand . . hatrack Sunday #6
Remember Dune? He who has the power to destroy a thing, he controls it... Wounded Bear Sunday #8
A few Navy questions AverageOldGuy Sunday #5
Its NOT sustainable! maxrandb Sunday #9
Amen. And thank you for your service.. Joinfortmill Sunday #7
It's a culture war and every one loses. Puppyjive Sunday #10
How would a MAGA father feel if his little girl was among the 100+ children killed when their school was bombed? Martin Eden Sunday #11
MAGATs don't look at it that way. hadEnuf Sunday #17
Nailed it malaise Sunday #12
You can't win a war in a foreign country unless the people of that country are with you Greyhead Sunday #13
K & R jfz9580m Sunday #15
An excellent post -thank you maxrandb.nt jfz9580m Sunday #14
I like the crib from Patton Aviation Pro Sunday #16
Geology as warfare: Iran put its missiles where physics, not diplomacy, keeps them safe LetMyPeopleVote Friday #18
This is Iran's version of the US NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex (CMOC)! LetMyPeopleVote 3 hrs ago #19

Callie1979

(1,346 posts)
1. Well, there are a lot of folks who would likely WELCOME someone taking out Trumps regime
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 08:25 AM
Sunday

I'm sure there are millions of Iranians who feel the same way about their radical "leaders'
BUT there are millions who DONT want foreign interference too & those are the people who make bombs & snipe from the hills & homes.

llmart

(17,609 posts)
3. Because of our "attention span of a flea" your question of...
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:30 AM
Sunday

"Suppose an overwhelming military force came for America" isn't a thought process that a lot of our populace even ponders.

paleotn

(22,204 posts)
4. The Strait of Hormuz is still controlled by Iran.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:35 AM
Sunday

Arguably not directly but they're certainly calling the shots. Iranian missiles and drones are still striking Israel and oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf. We haven't won jack shit.

Could we reach some theoretical point of winning? Certainly, but that would require invading a tough nut to crack. And at what cost and is the nation willing to go there? Absolutely fucking not. Just on the US side, that would require a mobilization even bigger than Desert Storm. The cost would be off the chart. Donnie's recent $200 billion request isn't even a down payment. Iran, in response would burn the fucking Gulf to a cinder. The Iranian regime had nothing to lose so why the hell not.

This whole thing is madness. Just crazy shit.

hatrack

(64,861 posts)
6. After ten years, Iraq accounted for a tidy $3 trillion we pissed into the sand . .
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:43 AM
Sunday

Iraq has 46 million citizens, Iran has 92 million.

Iraq is about the size of California. Iran is about the size of Alaska.

Good fucking luck with Steven Miller's imperial ambitions.

Wounded Bear

(64,309 posts)
8. Remember Dune? He who has the power to destroy a thing, he controls it...
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:59 AM
Sunday

Iran has basically destroyed the ability to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. We're not going to control the land side of the strait in Iran with a couple of Marine Battalion Landing teams.

And besides, Iran has shoreline along the entire Persian Gulf, which is hardly a huge body of water. Virtually all of it is within range of rather short range missiles and drones. They are already attacking ships paused in the Gulf.

Depending on how one defines "winning," I don't think we can win this one.

AverageOldGuy

(3,807 posts)
5. A few Navy questions
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:42 AM
Sunday

One of the two carriers involved is the USS Gerald R. Ford.

As I understand things, the Ford is home-ported at Norfolk VA. For the past months -- almost a year -- the Ford has been at sea. She was deployed to support Trump's war on Venezuela, was pulled out of the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean or wherever, is now in the Red Sea. She was supposed to be back in Norfolk months ago for major repairs.

The ship has a crew of 5,000 -- right?

The ship has a new vacuum toilet flushing system and 500-650 of the ship's toilets are not working -- right?

And now a fire in the laundry area has left half the crew doing their laundry in the showers.

So -- speaking as a retired sailor, could you tell the rest of us: WTF????

EDIT TO ADD FACTS:

I checked this website that shows the location and activity of every carrier -- old, current, planned.
http://www.gonavy.jp/CVLocation.html

The Ford has been at sea since June 2025 -- that's almost one year without returning to port. Lots of happy sailors, wives, girl friends, children.

maxrandb

(17,423 posts)
9. Its NOT sustainable!
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:03 AM
Sunday

First, we heard from the "media" that they had a fire in their ship's laundry.

Then we find out that it took 60 hours to get the fire under control, and now, due to the damage to Berthing 600-700 Sailors are sleeping on tables and the floor! OH! And they are entering month 10 of what was to be a 6.month deployment.

I had not heard about the Head and CHT system, but THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE!

We put up with a lot of crazy shit in the Navy, but these Sailors are only human. I can imagine what the morale on board is like at this moment.

The Surface Warfare (SWO) community in the Navy has, notoriously, a "CAN DO" attitude and NOT always in a "good way".

My answer is that IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE to keep the ship at sea in these conditions.

Even in war-time, Sailors need to eat, sleep, bathe, have access to cleanliness and use the head.

These Sailors will continue to try to do what is asked of them with the conditions they have, but my best guess is that a great many of them are at a breaking point.

And don't get me started on how these extensions to deployment impact the entire maintenance schedule, not only for the Ford, but for EVERY SHIP in the maintenance pipeline.

We have the most advanced and lethal military force the world has ever seen, but it's NOT unbreakable.

If it turns out that the fire may have been intentional, as some rumors speculate, then "HOLY FUCK"!!! It's worse than we know.

Puppyjive

(985 posts)
10. It's a culture war and every one loses.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:10 AM
Sunday

You are spot on. The Middle East has adapted to modern technology. But don't forget, they are countries with deep ties to their pasts, their religions, and their way of life. They are desert dwellers. They will go back to the desert and give up all modern luxuries to fight for their way of life. When will our government get this? Trump is trying to make us more dependent on their oil rather than develop alternative energy. Donald Trump needs to be impeached now.

Martin Eden

(15,612 posts)
11. How would a MAGA father feel if his little girl was among the 100+ children killed when their school was bombed?
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:27 AM
Sunday

Then the person who launched the war lied and said your own country did it, and the head of their military vowed to ignore rules of engagement, keep pounding your country when it's down, and show no quarter.

Would you submit humbly, or vow revenge until your dying day?

How many brothers of the slain and other enraged young men would volunteer to join the clandestine service, intent to strike at their enemies any way they can, wherever they may be?

Instead of cheering on this deadly war as some kind of video game entertainment, how about trying to be a mature human being with a functioning brain capable of understanding there will be a price to pay far beyond paying more for gas -- a price that includes the personal horror and grief that you so easily dismiss when it happens to families halfway around the world.

What goes around really can come around, sooner or later.

hadEnuf

(3,611 posts)
17. MAGATs don't look at it that way.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:59 AM
Sunday

They have been carefully brainwashed by 30+ years of right-wing media and internet propaganda that their supposed enemies are not human. Democrats, liberals, progressives, brown people, black people, Arab people, Asian people ' the list goes on and on. MAGATs think they are the master race. They do not look forward to what their "enemies" might do to them in the future because they see them as animals or insects. That attitude of superiority been present in most conflicts and it often leads to the aggressors undoing.

Greyhead

(170 posts)
13. You can't win a war in a foreign country unless the people of that country are with you
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:38 AM
Sunday

I served in Vietnam in 67-68. I was in the Army and stationed 12 miles from the DMZ. We were involved in the Tet offensive and the A Shau valley as a Helicopter support group.
Both places the Vietnamese were firmly entrenched. We had air, ground and navel superiority. But they had the people behind them.

We did win the battle at time or at least we thought we did. Anyhow we all know how that ended.

How do you expect the people of a country that we are invading, bombing the shit out of their country, killing their friends, neighbors and relatives to be on our side?

AGAIN, YOU CAN’T WIN A WAR IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY IF THE PEOPLE OF THAT COUNTRY ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE!!!

jfz9580m

(17,182 posts)
15. K & R
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:49 AM
Sunday

There are people the world over who will assist every colonizing parasites (technofascist or regular) and attack people who defend their rights over get in bed with the most shameless and craven in “their” groups.
And it is no longer like Vietnam or the nazis.

Embedded in these pathetic technological worlds being built is a deeply fascistic hierarchy that favors prostitutes, parasites and creeps using force daily while paying lipservice to feudal ideals they tried to force. In my part of reality, left or right they are all corrupt creeps everywhere. But well..out there is democracy and human decency but communication is hard.

And it won’t wok.
Times change and a brighter resistance is thwarted as it would work.

Aviation Pro

(15,566 posts)
16. I like the crib from Patton
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:55 AM
Sunday

As a former tread head it was required viewing at least once a year.

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,716 posts)
18. Geology as warfare: Iran put its missiles where physics, not diplomacy, keeps them safe
Fri Mar 27, 2026, 05:22 PM
Friday

CNN satellite analysis and Alma Research findings show Iran’s underground tunnel cities, with internal rail systems that move missiles to blast-door exits, have survived the bombing campaign largely intact. The geology, analysts say, is the real defense.



https://www.thestatesman.com/world/iran-underground-missile-railway-tunnel-us-israel-strikes-operation-epic-fury-1503573121.html

Three weeks of intensive US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure have destroyed radar systems, collapsed tunnel entrances, and cratered ventilation shafts across dozens of sites. Iran keeps firing. The reason, according to satellite analysis by CNN and assessments by Israeli security research centre Alma Research, lies not above the ground but hundreds of metres beneath it; inside a network of underground missile cities connected by internal railways, carved into mountains that no bomb in the current American or Israeli arsenal can fully reach.

Iran’s underground missile programme is not a recent improvisation. Reports that emerged as far back as 2020 claimed an automated railway system running through cavernous tunnels, transporting ballistic missiles between assembly halls, storage vaults, and blast-door exits. What is becoming clearer now, as Operation Epic Fury enters its fourth week, is the scale of what was built and the limits of what air power alone can do against it.....

The central constraint is geological, and it has now been publicly stated by Iran itself. Former IRGC Aerospace Force commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that Iran built its missile bases across provinces and cities at a depth of 500 metres.

The most powerful weapon the United States has for destroying hardened underground targets is the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator – a 30,000-pound bomb built specifically for this purpose. It can penetrate “approximately 60 metres of reinforced concrete or roughly 40 metres of moderate rock. Granite is harder than moderate rock. Five hundred metres is more than twelve times the weapon’s maximum penetration depth. The gap between the bomb and the tunnel is not a margin of error.”....

“IRGC did not prepare for this war by building rockets. It prepared by building railways inside mountains. The rockets are replaceable. The railways are permanent. And the granite that protects them was formed before mammals existed. The strait is 21 miles wide. The mountain is 500 metres deep. And the railway inside it is still delivering missiles to the surface,” he added.


Iran has continued to fire ballistic missiles throughout Operation Epic Fury, including the attempted strike on the joint US-UK base at Diego Garcia. Trump has said the operation is running weeks ahead of schedule and that Iran’s military is finished. The satellite imagery and the institutional assessments tell a more complicated story: one in which the visible war, fought above ground, has made genuine progress, and the invisible war, fought half a kilometre underground, has barely begun.

There is a reason why only one-third of Iran's missiles have been destroyed. Iran has been preparing for these attacks for decades. Iran's missile facilities are beyond reach of bunker buster bombs and there is no practical way without a very large number of troops to take out these missies.

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,716 posts)
19. This is Iran's version of the US NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex (CMOC)!
Sun Mar 29, 2026, 06:11 PM
3 hrs ago


Update: B-52 stealth bombers have used bunker busters bombs to strike Iran’s main underground complex, but can’t penetrate’ Iran 1,444ft-deep missile storage and subway system!

This is Iran’s version of the US NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex (CMOC)! A massive underground military facility built inside a Mountain! Made of solid Granite, the mountain dead zone is higher than Empire State Building!

The US will have to send troops to secure or destroy the complex!!

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