"Cocked and loaded" to strike Iran, Trump says he called off operation when told 150 would likely di

[babylonsister]

Wait! He has a conscience?


"Cocked and loaded" to strike Iran, Trump says he called off operation when told 150 would likely die
By Kathryn Watson
Updated on: June 21, 2019 / 9:35 AM / CBS News


President Trump said the U.S. military was "cocked and loaded" to retaliate against Iran on three different sites Thursday night, but called off the operation after learning 150 people would likely die from the strike. Mr. Trump, explaining his decision on Twitter, said the response would have been "not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone."

As CBS News has reported, the president ordered the drone strike Thursday night, but backed down, avoiding — for now — a significant escalation of tensions between Iran and the U.S.

more...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-he-stopped-iran-strike-after-he-learned-likely-human-toll/?fbclid=IwAR1YQC5cWmVeg-siwkgjZXrZPGYyF9gs2pv2PT7EVak-zxLAW9uewrcCdhw

[Wounded Bear]

1. Gee, we always used to say "Locked and loaded"...

but what do I know?

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. "Half cocked" pretty well describes Trump.

In more ways than one.

[COL Mustard]

12. Please Don't Use The Words Trump and Cock in The Same Sentence......

Some of us have to eat.

[WhiteTara]

21. I hear you!

Welcome to DU!

[Celerity]

19. Mario Kart-cocked

[Yavin4]

3. Uncle Putin said, "Nyet" n/t

[C_U_L8R]

4. Isn't cocked and loaded redundant?

[Aristus]

8. No. they are two separate actions related to preparing a self-loading semi-automatic rifle to fire.

'Lock' means to lock an ammunition magazine into the magazine well.

'Load' means to load a round into the firing chamber by pulling the charging handle, causing the bolt to pick up a round from the magazine, and load it into the chamber. Every single cop show in history, at least since the shift from revolvers to semi-automatic pistols in law enforcement, shows a cop plugging a magazine into his weapon, then *click-clack*, charging the pistol in a dramatic fashion.

I served in the military for seven years, but I once had a DU-er, a number of years ago, continue to argue with me about the meaning of the phrase, as if I didn't know what I was talking about.

[C_U_L8R]

10. That's locked and loaded.

Clear on that. Cocked and loaded seems idiotic malaprop.

[Aristus]

11. Yea, I caught that.

I just thought there was some misunderstanding regarding the phrase at non-stupid people say it.

Shit, Trump can't even get his pseudo-tough-guy talk right...

[sop]

16. I suppose one could load rounds into the cylinder of a single (or double) action revolver

then cock the hammer before firing.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Another lie

Trump didn't want to held accountable for starting a war. He choked. And in any case, I'm glad he stopped the mission.

[shanny]

6. Yup--it's laughable to think he actually cared about people on the ground.

He's just a coward...and lazy and doesn't want to disrupt his weekend golf game.

[WhiteTara]

22. Putin told him NO

[Srkdqltr]

7. So, 150 deaths were too many or too few?

I didn't see the answer to that.

[katmondoo]

9. I say this again!!! Next he will want the Nobel Peace prize for preventing war.

[Butterflylady]

13. Oh please

Like he cares, not.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Bullshit.

Any time you start blowing stuff up people are going to die; even dumbass Trump would know that, and he would know (or be told) that a strike on structures instead of populations is still going to kill people because those targets will be manned day and night. Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about the lives of 150 Iranians; he doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone's ass but his own. His boss Putin told him not to do it, is my guess.

[ChicagoRonin]

15. Think of it terms of a self-centered narcissist

He may be dumb as a box of rocks (which is what an old banker I met who dealt with Trump actually said), but on some level his molecule mind knows that if you actually kill someone, you just opened the door for them to try and kill you. Maybe someone let him know the degree that his personal security would be stepped up if the US started dropping bombs, and how much less golf he'd have access to.

[sop]

17. Cooler heads prevailed

The generals who actually run the country probably found out Trump had ordered a strike, rushed over to the WH and told him he couldn't play with bombs, missles and such.

[Mosby]

20. I think this is the most likely scenario

International waters or not, drones are expendable, just ask Israel. It's just part of the business of intelligence gathering.

I think it's pretty obvious that putin has dirt on trump, because even little Israel doesn't kowtow to Russia re the ME, they overfly Lebanon, Syria and Iran all the time and attack weapon convoys heading towards Hezbo. Many of these weapon systems come from Russia.

[subterranean]

18. I don't believe him.

I think this is a story he made up to make himself look good, because the real reason he backed down would have made him look bad, or weak.

[NewJeffCT]

23. Putin told him to call it off

so, he complied.

https://nypost.com/2019/06/20/putin-warned-us-before-drone-was-shot-down-not-to-attack-iran/

[angstlessk]

24. How many will die from his pro-pollution stance?

Or his anti-climate change stance?

Did he ask?