Malcom Nance just flagged this:
According to Nance (a former Intelligence officer who knows what he’s talking about), when B2s carry out an operation, it’s almost always a single B2 that takes off from Missouri and then returns to base. The deployment of multiple B2s plus three C-17 cargo planes and ten aerial refueling tankers to Diego Garcia is highly unusual. This isn’t trivial – not by a long shot.
The aerial deployment coordinates with US naval operations in the area over the last few days. These are major operations and Trump isn’t doing this for fun; all-out war in the Middle East may well be at hand. Also see this.
Iran has confirmed it will retaliate if attacked.
Note that we consider declaring war as the most likely outcome of Trump’s battle with the courts. In his own mind (and in the mind of his supporters), declaring war would give Trump the justification he feels he needs to ignore judicial rulings and seize total control as a “wartime president,” giving him the absolute dictatorial power he craves.
We speculated that Panama would be the most likely first target, but recent events indicate that Trump might actually have Iran in his sights. The US bombings in Yemen may well be the spark that sets it off. We won’t speculate here as to how a war with Iran might turn out, but a nuclear exchange is not outside the realm of possibility.
If Trump actually does attack Iran, there will be plenty of speculation and analysis; war coverage will be just about the only thing you see on TV. Coverage of anything else – like judicial losses or protests against Trump policies – will become strictly back-burner… and that is no accident.
