Let's talk about US aircraft losses and what it means.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about US aircraft losses and what it means.

Hegseth has said the US has complete uncontested control of Iranian airspace. He has said, “Iran has no air defenses. Iran has no air force. Today, as we speak, we fly over the top of Iran and Tehran, fighters and bombers all day, picking targets as they choose. As our intelligence gets better and better and more refined.”

Now the US has at least two aircraft downed and a third damaged by the non-existent air defenses. One F-15E and one A10 are confirmed to be downed. A Blackhawk has been damaged but reportedly made it out of Iran. There are reports that two Blackhawks in total took fire and that personnel on board were injured but are safe. Details are hard to confirm right now.

Let's be clear on something and it's something that perhaps all of those generals that Hegseth has pushed out could have informed him of if he didn't think he knew better. The US military is built to own the sky, but that doesn't mean that plans can be drawn up that ignore the reality of modern conflict. It's always contested. Always. Getting lax, buying into American exceptionalism and your own stupid sound bites gets people hurt. It doesn't matter how much you think you've degraded coordinated air defense when you're dealing with a country that has planned to fight you for decades.

Notice those missile systems are dug out and back up and running after they're hit. They purpose-built their military to fight the US. MANPADS exist. The gaping holes between the administration's fantasy vision of war and reality will become even more pronounced if ground forces are introduced.

Trump was asked if these events would alter negotiations. Trump said, "No, not at all. No, it's war. We're in war."

No, they're in war. He's making weird social media posts about celebrity plastic surgeons and firing the people who know how to run wars. As far as this affecting negotiations, that really depends on who gets to the missing crewmen first. Better go fire a bunch of people at State Department so they don't tell you things you don't want to hear about how it will impact negotiations if the Iranians capture them first.

Meanwhile, international media is reporting that the US asked for a 48 hour ceasefire that was rejected by Iran. At time of recording, there's still one crew member of the F-15 unaccounted for. The search and rescue operation was still ongoing. At roughly 5:00 pm, news broke that the House Armed Services Committee had been notified by the Pentagon that the status of the second F-15E Strike Eagle service member is not known.

Congress is getting the updates. They know what's happening. They know about the removal of leadership in the military. And let's be clear on something. If the US had removed a dozen of Iran's top generals, the administration would be framing it as a major win and a degradation of Iranian capability. Trump and Hegseth are doing that to the US without explanation as to why.

As this proceeds, Republicans in Congress who refuse to reel Trump in are just as responsible. This administration couldn't win its trade wars and Congress sat idlily by while they started a real one.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.