Thursday, May 7, 2026

Finally! Congressmembers ask: What are Israel's red lines about using nuclear weapons. Now....

#Israel #NuclearWeapons #RedLines #Iran #JCPOA


 Finally. Finally.


"Everybody" knows Israel has nuclear weapons, and not just from having a grad student with IDF ties for a politics TA once. Israel is not a signatory to the Non-proliferation treaty. Israel has been certain for years that Iran is two weeks away from a nuclear weapon. The inspection and downward enrichment regime agreed to under the #JCPOA proved otherwise. President #StableGenius ripped up the #JCPOA perhaps because of this Israeli certainty, or perhaps because the JCPOA was negotiated over two years by competent diplomats and bore President Obama's signature.


In general, Israel's idea of non-proliferation includes a sense of entitlement to bomb its neighbors' civilian nuclear facilities, Osirak in Iraq and more recently Iran. 


Iran understandably took Trump's abandonment of the #JCPOA as an invitation to resume its enrichment program. And President #StableGenius goes on about how crazy leaders should not have nuclear weapons and about "nuclear dust." Probably just as well that no one has tried to explain that uranium hexafluoride is a gas, but oh, honey LOOK IN THE MIRROR.


And by look in the mirror, RantWoman also means DON'T PICK A STUPID FIGHT with Pope Leo XIV, who like multiple previous popes is against ALL nuclear weapons.


RantWoman digresses. What is lighting up RantWoman's keyboard is the following item from Rep. Joaquin Castro onTwitter /X 



Rep. Castro did not supply a reasonable link, so RantWoman will go look for the proposal tomorrow. But FINALLY it occurs to someone to think strategically about whether Israel would ever use nuclear weapons for any other reason to threaten its neighbors. This posture is comical: Iran's proxies, Israel's neighbors are clearly not deterred from plenty of non-nuclear mayhem. 19th century German general Clausewitz may or may not be helpful in this situation, but if "war is an extension of politics by another name," could people actually TRY some politics and see whether it would be possible to cut back on the warfare?


Meanwhile, President #StableGenius threatens to use nuclear weapons as if he were saying "pass the salt" at the dinner table. MAYBE wise military officers can still hide the US nuclear codes, but RantWoman would love to go a step further than Rep. Castro. What if the world demanded the same level of inspection and monitoring of Israel as is being demanded of Iran? 


There are lots of political steps between where things stand now and resolving nuclear issues. The first step would be to persuade the current administration that backtracking from pointless absolutism and getting on a path that the #JCPOA was going to need anyway would be a victory.


There. Done going off, at least for tonight. RantWoman will try to look at the 14-point plan.


And RantWoman will TRY not to growl too loudly about the State Department just letting 200 senior diplomats go or about having negotiations in the hands of two real estate bros with negligible diplomatic experience...

Saturday, May 2, 2026

A historically proven solution exists, and the question is who is in the way.

#Iran #Russia #China #JCPOA #Blockade #StraifOfHormuz #IAEA 

RantWoman encourages readers to watch both the first videos because RantWoman is not going to summarize all the relevant insights.


"The blockade is theater."

"The war powers resolution is constitutionally speaking..."

Commanders "We have done what can be done from the air" but movement of special ops has accelerated.

Putin message: "Keep your forces away from Iran." In this case, NOT bluffing.

Bombing unifies a population.


450kg of Enriched Uranium LOCKED IN — Iran's Worst Nightmare Begins | Lawrence Wilkerson

Russia offers to take Iran's enriched uranium. Maintain or elevate RosAtom's place. 

THE SAME PROCESS AS THE #JCPOA

Only issue is ensuring constraints on what Russia does with the lowered enrichment uranium


If the US declines twice.... bad strategic consequences.

Iran parallel tracks: 


And economic uncertainties, how the US will look to the rest of the world.Trump Backs Down! Iran Launch Pads Ready for Massive Strike on US, Israel | Col Doug Macgregor


Trump Backs Down! Iran Launch Pads Ready for Massive Strike on US, Israel | Col Doug Macgregor - YouTube

China?

Mrs. Adelson lobbying, unrealistic but

Offramp for the US. Is Netanyahu still in charge?

10 years at least to restore any destroyed military assets.

Charlie Kirk quote! 

"We can't make Israel first on a global scale"

The US needs to re-evaluate... due to lots of changed conditions.

Everybody makes bad calls sometimes even Presidents. Military action will destroy the US.


Setback for Trump as Pakistan opens up land border for Iran to avoid US blockade | Janta Ka Reporter



And in a different vein

The #SecDef is incompetent (and, this is RantWoman, severely lacks strategic insight.)

FED UP Navy Commander REVEALS Hegseth’s WAR SECRETS

Small countries standing up to larger ones, Russia scales back annual parade, and...

 #Ukraine #China #Taiwan #Russia #DroneWarfare #AirDefense

This is a bunch of videos with frank views of Ukraine, Russia, Iran and offramps from different situations.

RantWoman will pick a couple subsets and write what seem like key points.


How a small power can stand up against a larger power

"Modern technology favors the defender."

small cheap naval drones: Ukraine and Iran

natural barriers





Tuapse Oil refinery





Russia has worse problems about air defense than Ukraine.

Thanks to Ukrainian drones, Russia cannot safely parade its military materiel.


Silicon Curtain
"Grow potatoes"



More on Iran

Pyotr Kurzin



Mo would like a word about Islamophobia

 

Friday, May 1, 2026

Today was the Senate's turn with the Secretary of #WarCrimes

 #Iran #SecDef #SenateHearing #Warcrimes



The whole dang hearing.



Hegseth gets interrogated about #DEI issues

Elizabeth Warren has QUESTIONS.



"We don't want to deal with this Congress and their pesky appropriations process."
Why have we abandoned Ukraine?

"What does this cost us and what does it achieve for the American people?...How many years to replenish?"

From the House Hearing yesterday

 




And from a different hearing


And about military newspaper Stars and Stripes