Benny Johnson on X - "MAHER: “Statement from the admin: ‘The president had the constitutional authority to direct use of military force because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest”
SCHIFF: “Vague”
MAHER: “That was Obama on Libya”"
AUTHORITY TO USE MILITARY FORCE IN LIBYA - "the President had the constitutional authority to direct the use of force in Libya because he could
reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest"
Someone claimed "that's not what he said at all" then when I linked the source of the Obama administration saying this, didn't concede his mistake (and when someone else asked if he was real, claimed he wasn't "reflexively anti-liberal". Apparently if you're not "reflexively anti-liberal", you refuse to believe direct quotes from primary sources when they contradict the narrative
President Obama's Libya Intervention Hits 60-Day Legal Limit - ABC News - "The legal license President Obama used to justify U.S. military intervention in Libya expires today, and there's little sign the White House is working quickly to get it renewed."
That same person claimed that Obama followed the rules and went to Congress to get authorisation
Opinion | Obama's Illegal War in Libya - The New York Times - "IT has now been over three months since the first NATO bombs fell on Libya, yet President Obama has failed to request Congressional approval for military action, as required by the War Powers Act of 1973. The legal machinations Mr. Obama has used to justify war without Congressional consent set a troubling precedent that could allow future administrations to wage war at their convenience — free of legislative checks and balances. When Mr. Obama first announced American military involvement in Libya, he notified Congress within 48 hours, as prescribed by the War Powers Act. This initiated a 60-day period, during which he was required to obtain approval from Congress; if he failed to do so, the act gave him at most 30 days to halt all “hostilities.” Last Sunday was the 90th day of bombing in Libya, but Mr. Obama — armed with dubious legal opinions — is refusing to stop America’s military engagement there. His White House counsel, Robert F. Bauer, has declared that, despite the War Powers Act, the president can continue the Libya campaign indefinitely without legislative support. This conclusion lacks a solid legal foundation. And by adopting it, the White House has shattered the traditional legal process the executive branch has developed to sustain the rule of law over the past 75 years... If the precedent Mr. Obama has created is allowed to stand, future presidents who do not like what the Justice Department is telling them could simply cite the example of Mr. Obama’s war in Libya and instruct the White House counsel to organize a supportive “coalition of the willing” made up of the administration’s top lawyers. Even if just one or two agreed, this would be enough to push ahead and claim that the law was on the president’s side."
The same person claimed ABC News was wrong because "American combat operations largely ended on April 4th, well within the 60 day window" and that "mostly providing humanitarian aid and non-lethal assistance to the NATO effort" didn't need "specific Congressional approval". I guess Bruce Ackerman, a professor of law and political science at Yale, needs to go back to school. His response was to dismiss the people criticising Obama as "reflexively anti-liberal"
Defiant L’s on X - "Bill Maher: “We bombed Iran, and it’s going on now. If you expected me to say I hate it, I don’t. Sorry.” “You cannot name one horrible thing that has happened in the Middle East in the last 50 years and not connect it to this fascist theocracy.”"
Shahab on X - "I see so many Pakistanis defending these mad tactics by Iran. This is nothing short of state-level terrorist acts. God forbid IRGC pulls this off against Pakistan tomorrow (high chance given Iran has gone mad) then many of these ppl I see defending these acts will instantaneously see this as a problem. No US or Israeli soldiers are dying in these mindless attacks."
Tea Is Fantastic on X - "Why would Iran attack Pakistan when passing has no US bases?Iran is yet to attack a country without US base"
I keep seeing this cope from US haters. The next cope is going to be that Cyprus, Syria, Oman and Azerbaijan were attacked by Israel as part of false flag operations to get more countries to attack Iran
David Bernstein on X - "From what I've seen on X, a lot of people who think themselves to be well-informed have no idea that Iran sent assassins to kill Trump in 2024, and that the plot was uncovered during the Biden administration. They think that it's a Trump delusion. (The conviction today was for one of two separate plots, see next tweet)."
To left wingers, the violence of the "oppressed" is not the same as the violence of the "oppressors". So basically the West never gets to defend itself from those who seek to destroy it. Left wing ideology is a sure route to civilisational suicide
William Hall on X - "Have you noticed the anti-ICE protests stopped, and Iran protests started? The entire Left is a lie."
Elica Le Bon الیکا ل بن on X - "So let me get this straight. Iranians who lived Iran have gotten it all wrong. Venezuelans who lived Venezuela have gotten it all wrong. Cubans who lived Cuba have gotten it all wrong. But you—who have never left the four corners of your own sublime comfort—are the bearers of truth?"
Meme - Rob Henderson @robkhenderson: ""They." I'm old enough to remember when American politicians thought of themselves as Americans."
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamd... @NYCMayor: "Today's military strikes on lran - carried out by the United States and Israel - mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace."
If you suggest that immigrants don't think of themselves as American, you're racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic
Meme - Wilfred Reilly: "Traitor. Enough of this. The right can be crude, corrupt, even a bit racist. THE LEFT LET IN EIGHT MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS DURING ONE PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AND MADE UP LIES ABOUT HOW THEY WERE ALMOST ALL THE NEXT THING TO REFUGEES!!! THEY CALL AMERICA "THEY!!!" DO YOU SEE?!! DO YOU SEE?! So, anyhow, I'm a bit tired of people like this questioning my moral kana fides. "Don't you care about the country-men I love?" Dunno. Where would those be based? Gaza? Somalia?"
Rashida Tlaib @RashidaTlaib: "Both the U.S. and genocidal Israel doesn't care about the laws. This is who they are."
Meme - planefag: ""An era of historic peace." Time and again, I come back to the question of what leads an alleged intellectual to characterize forty-seven years of regional proxy war and global terrorism as "peace." Is it pure evil, self-serving lying, or legitimate psychosis? *Gazan rockets being met by Israeli interceptors*"
Oona Hathaway @oonahathaway: "Today's attack on Iran is an attack on the postwar legal order. Yet again, Trump has taken an action that threatens to end an era of historic peace and return us to a world in which might makes right. The cost will be paid in human lives."
Meme - "*upside down red triangle* Moment an Iranian missile hit the headquarters of the US Navy's 5th Fleet at Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Bahrain"
Jessica Costescu @JessicaCostescu: "The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at the University of Chicago is celebrating Iranian missiles hitting a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. They included an upside-down triangle🔻—a symbol Hamas uses to denote targets CC @FBIDirectorKash @EDSecMcMahon @HarmeetKDhillon"
NizNellie3 @NizNellie3: "This was the banner the SJP had on campus last year. *'Free Palestine. Bring *upside down red triangle* the Intifada Home' (O in Home replaced with star)*"
Meme - Alex @_alex_joshua: "Russia blew up a theatre full of sheltering children THAT LITERALLY WROTE "CHILDREN" ON THE STREET IN FRONT OF IT less than a month after invading Ukraine. The fuck are you talking about?"
Alon Mizrahu @alon_mizrahi: "Russia never hit a school full of children in over 3 years of war in Ukraine. Israel and the US do it on the first day"
Meme - Prof Ben saul - UN SR Human Rights & Countert.... @profbens...: "Disappointing that Ukraine, a victim of Russian aggression who expects international support, now endorses aggression against Iran"
Readers added context: "Islamic Republic of Iran provided armaments and support to the russian invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022, iranian-made drones are used to bombard civilians daily. Alabuga factory in Tatarstanis for domestic drone-building has been set up as russo-iranian joint venture."
Meme - Melissa Chen @MsMelChen: "Beyond parody"
Women's March: "Today, the US and Israel bombed a girl's elementary school in Iran. At least 85 girls are dead. They were between 7 and 12 years old. They were in class when the bombs hit. Backpacks and schoolbooks in the rubble. Call it what it is: war. Trump bypassed Congress, violated the Constitution, and dragged us into a conflict we didn't choose and will pay for with lives and money that should be going to families, schools, and healthcare. This is what "freedom" imposed by bombs looks like. It is not the place of the U.S. to decide the future of Iran or any soverign nation. Only its people can do that. This is a feminist issue. Women and children bear the brunt of every war that men in power start. First displaced. First bombed. Last evacuated. We are in deep solidarity with the everyday people of Iran. We grieve with everyone suffering. We oppose this war."
"No war on Iran. Feminists -vs- Fascists *Iran flag*"
Melissa Chen @MsMelChen: "Mostly amazed that the same people who are afraid of the US becoming the Handmaid's Tale got upset when the architect of the real one was eliminated"
Meme - Max K @MaxE2review: "You're 'proudly anti-war'? Funny, iirc you instantly took to social media to laud it as a 'fight back' when Iranian-backed jihadist death squads broke a ceasefire to invade a sovereign state, slaughter every infidel they could find, then vowed to do it again repeatedly. Fraud"
"Councillor who hailed 'end of white settler colonialism' on October 7 elected Green deputy leader Mothin Ali supported the right of 'indigenous people to fight back' in the wake of the attack and dedicated his local election victory to 'the people of Gaza'"
Mothin Ali - My Family Gar ...: "White supremacist european settler colonialism must end! #طوفان_الأقصى Palestine #freedom#" 07/10/2023
Mothin Ali @MothinAli: "I'm proudly anti-war. And to be anti-war that means looking to explore all possible diplomatic solutions. The US and Israel took a unilateral decision in the midst of negotiations to kill the Iranian leader, and opted for war. This is deplorable."
When left wingers claim to be anti-war, they mean they are against wars where the West wins
Meme - Nima Alidoust: "Ahmadinejad was a member of Iran's Expediency Council. The aftermath of his disputed election led to imprisonment and killing of many young Iranians. The problem with this genre of journalists is that they have a selective and surface level knowledge of Iran and its politics. They impress the reader by showing off this basic knowledge and this gives them an aura of legitimacy for whatever insights they subsequently propagate. But the half truths they share don't include e.g, the accounts of prisoners in Kahrizak during Ahmadinejad's time. Ahmadinejad is (maybe was) an integrated element of this regime who got into power fights with the other murderous members of it in the last few years. Casting him as a civilian is absurd."
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan: "Trump murdered Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, who - whatever you think of him - was a civilian, not in the military, and so it was murder, plain and simple. As illegal and as murderous as Iran bombing and killing, say, George W Bush at his home in Dallas."
Phil Stewart: "Trump tells @JacquiHeinrich that 48 Iranian leaders were killed yesterday"
Meme - Jon Levine @LevineJonathan: "ACTUALLY - Americans shouldn't have to live in fear of "predictable blowback terrorism" from Muslims in response to foreign policy decisions they are upset with @mehdirhasan"
Mehdi Hasan: "God help us all if we're about to see a repeat of the post Iraq 2003 era. Illegally invade a MidEast country, energize extremists, then get predictable blowback terrorism in the US. Americans Killed at home & abroad to serve the agendas of GOP presidents & Likud prime ministers."
New York Post: "Austin bar mass shooter possibly motivated by Iran attacks, Quran found in car as FBI eyes terrorism after 2 killed, 14 injured"
Noam Blum @neontaster: "Weird how no one expected predictable blowback terrorism from Hispanic people over Maduro."
Melissa Chen: "Also no blowback in the form of terrorism against Americans from the Japanese. Or the Vietnamese. Wonder why. Perhaps they didn't have a culture of grievance stoked by cynical religious leaders, political figures and activists."
Meme Wilfred Reilly @wil_da_beast630: "These protesters were armed attackers of your own nation's embassy. From ghetto criminals to illegal alien rapists to Hamas warriors to rioting world mobs, you people will just automatically defend every natural enemy you have, eh? What's that brain parasite people get from cats?"
CODEPINK @codepink: "US Marines shot and killed at least 12 people in Karachi, Pakistan. More than 30 are injured. Where is the international outrage over these US soldiers slaughtering Pakistani protestors?"
Readers added context: "News reports indicate the injured and dead protesters Code Pinkis referring to were fired upon after attempting to storm the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. No military action appears to have occurred until the protesters attempted to overrun the consulate"
Left wingers hate the West and it's clear they don't believe the West has any right of self defence at all.
Yossi BenYakar on X - "x.com/YossiBenYakar/status/2013267404445389215/video/1 Flashback, August 2015. Barack Obama after the Iran nuclear deal: “Iran will gain access to $56B. Our best analysts expect it to improve the economy and benefit the Iranian people.” That money fueled Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, and Iran’s campaign to destroy Israel. Not schools. Not hospitals. Terror. This is what “strategic optimism” bought the world. Good thing Trump was elected."
Noah Pollak on X - "The below is a fantastically well-done example of what has become a sub-genre of Democratic Party foreign policy discourse. For the past 15 years the Obama-Biden team has been working to empower Iran and its terrorist proxies and isolate Israel. Anytime someone points this out -- especially anytime an Israeli does, because they are supposed to take the abuse in dignified silence -- they run to social media or op-ed pages and stroke their chins concernedly and say, "By golly, we are so deeply troubled by these puzzling statements. They will only weaken the US-Israel alliance that we care so much about. Why are they forcing us to weaken the alliance we only want to strengthen?" Vomit."
Open Source Intel on X - "On January 12, 2016, while Barack Obama was president, Iran’s IRGC seized a U.S. Navy boat. Iran released footage showing American sailors humiliated, some kneeling and others in tears before Iranian forces. Five days later, on January 17, Obama sent $400 million in pallets of cash to Iran, followed by another $1.3 billion through additional transactions."
Eli Steele on X - "In a previous job, I had to cover this story. What amazed me was how the Obama administration built up the Islamic regime and the Revolutionary Guard to be this vaunted, indestructible force. They acted as if a nuclear Iran was inevitable. But the thing was that those in the Obama administration weren’t realists. They were enablers of a terrorist, liberationist regime that in reality was a paper tiger on the verge of becoming a nuclear armed tiger."
Meme - Bonchie @bonchieredstate: "You may be the most ridiculous person to ever exist in this site. This is you two month ago."
Bill Kristol: "The Trump administrations should be helping the brave people of Iran overthrow a cruel and terror- sponsoring dictatorship, rather than threatening our democracy ally Denmark. But that would require having an administration that supports American interests and principles."
Bill Kristol @BillKristol: "Maybe Rubio should stop inventing "imminent threats" to justify the war his administration started and get to work doing his department's job of helping Americans in the war zone they created."
Open Source Intel on X - "Iranian opposition channels report that over the past 24 hours, the IRGC and Basij have been turning schools, mosques, and hospitals into their bases. They are abandoning their own headquarters due to widespread strikes on Basij camps and police stations, and relocating to civilian sites, using the same tactics as Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups. By doing so, the IRGC and Basij endanger civilians and effectively turn them into human shields. @h3976a"
Meme - The Moderate Case: "Hey scholars and humanitarians, do you take any issue with IRGC leaders positioning themselves in civilian areas to make themselves effectively immune from military strikes? I've long been told the "human shield" argument is foolish and that this tactic is never actually used. So in that case, what's this?"
Iran @wewiltakeback: "Yes, true. Foreign Minister spokesman press conference held in a classroom! *camera rolling and black veil clad female students*"
Meme - "RELAX LEFTISTS! It WAS Mostly Peaceful lranian Bombing"
Meme - Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno: "Imagine an Iranian bomb had slaughtered 165 Israeli school kids. Imagine the response of the Western media and politicians. And note the lack of outrage and disgust here."
Max K @MaxE2review: "We don't need to 'imagine' - an Iranian-backed jihadist death cult DID slaughter far MORE than 165 people, including women, kids and pensioners, during a medieval-style massacre. People you regularly do media appearances with called that a 'day of celebration' (see next tweet)
Here are some of the responses from contributors and editors at the 'anti-racist' publication Novara, who Owen contributes to regularly, to the Oct 7 massacre. That genocidal jihadist massacre was, apparently, 'a day of celebration' and something we should 'support'."
Meme - Adam Ma'anit @adammaanit: "Novara Media's editors and contributors on Oct 7. Vile."
Rivkah Brown @rivkahbrown: "Today should be a day of celebration for supporters of democracy and human rights worldwide, as Gazans break out of their open- air prison and Hamas fighters cross into their colonisers' territory. The struggle for freedom is rarely bloodless and we shouldn't apologise for it."
Barnaby Raine @BarnabyRaine: "Shabbat Shalom and may every coloniser fall everywhere"
Adam Ma'anit @adammaanit: "Sky News giving airtime to a man who tweeted this on October 7 morning:"
Michael Walker @michaeljswalker: "So guys, do we support the right of an occupied people to fight an occupier or not?"
Mepassistant (Quentin) on X - "So the French public TV decided to broadcast the movie Persepolis, an autobiographic movie about a girl and her family going through the 1979 revolution in Iran and the years that follow. It deals with the brutal repression of the opposition by the Shah prior to the revolution as well as the brutal social control imposed after the revolution by the mollahs. A great movie and a must watch/read (it's also a graphic novel). But it is now being criticised by a number of leftist activists as "war propaganda", an islamophobic movie that depicts a caricature of Iran under the mollah and that actually most women are actually better off under their regime. I'm starting to be convinced that part of the left actually wants the far right to come into power next year."
Oscar Ekman on X - "What is interesting is as the movie came out 20 years ago, there was no such controversy. Everybody including the left was against the Iranian regime, save for Islamists who were not emboldened enough to speak up."
tantum on X - "Also if Tel Aviv were actually a lake of fire they would be gloating and celebrating and hoping the war lasts forever, which is how they acted during the Oct 7 attack. Instead they're saying "Oh Drumpf you have to end the war, muh Tel Aviv, checkmate Drumpf" so... lying."
Thread by @memeticsisyphus on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "If Tel Aviv were burning they would celebrate, if one civilian building is hit in Tehran it’s a war crime, if oil tankers and refineries in the gulf are destroyed it’s brave resistance, if oil refineries in Iran are hit it’s an environmental disaster, if Trump continues attacks he’s a blood thirsty monster, if he stops he’s chickening out, Israel asking people to not film incoming barrages for security reasons is fearful suppression of the truth, Iran blocking all internet access country wide is… not happening? You quickly see that they don’t actually care about the details, it’s why they don’t care they’ve fallen for an older video or ai for the 30x that morning. They just hate the west and hope it loses.
It’s true, a lot of guys on the right are doing it out of hatred of Israel, but they find themselves shoulder to shoulder with BLM activists, Islamists, and basically every stupid activists organization dedicated to tearing down the west.
Yes, people downplay when their side creates a tragedy and play up when their side suffers a tragedy, it is a tell of allegiance which was my point."
Roshan Rai on X - "US and Israel must be shitting in their pants after watching this video. A large Iranian crowd did not even flinch even after missiles were seen coming towards them. You can’t defeat a nation that fears nothing. This video is historic, Absolute Cinema."
Daniel Friedman on X - "Propagandists claim the reason Israelis run to shelters when air-raid sirens go off and Iranians don't flinch when US and Israeli planes and missiles are overhead is that Iranians are brave and Israelis are cowardly. The truth is that Iranians don't flinch because they know the US and Israel don't bomb crowds of civilians, and Israelis have all those shelters and sirens because Iran and its proxies try to kill as many innocents as they can."
RazörFist on X - "I voted for Trump to secure the border and maybe bring the odd job back. Him going CommieSmasher5000 on all of the CCP's allies - and pissing off every talent-bereft faux-right podcaster I already despised - is the cherry on top of the cherry, really."
