Blair Mk II 🙄 Starmer just a bloke who can't say no

[Corona]

I wonder if his mate T, Bliar has had a word? “ Keir your party hate you, the public hate you, just suck up to America like I did, you’ll be a peace envoy to the middle east just like me”

[billybutcher]

@Corona

Buy an RS3, then just do U turns, how would that make you feel?

We are now in the situation where Iran has been attacking civillian infrastructure, not to mention RAF Akrotiri.

What range of options do you think Starmer has, precisely, just now?

[tim17]

Some ridiculous comments from the usual suspects, the UK has literally 000’s of thousands of it’s citizens in the Middle East and they need a government to take the necessary action to support and help them which like it or not means involvement in one way or another. The Iranian military are indiscriminately launching missiles and drones without a care who they hit or where and they need to be stopped, if the UK can get through this without losing any of it’s citizens or military casualties then Starmer will have done a good job.

[Moray]

I’m not quite sure how winding Iran up further makes UK citizens any safer. Within hours of Starmer’s announcement an attempt was made on Akrotiri. Concentrate on getting the UK people out, supporting Trump is like supporting Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Trump is a war criminal, is Starmer an accomplice by doing what he is doing?

[Corona]

Who drew the first blood? Also after Starmer agreed our bases could be used, they attacked. How long now this has kicked off will it take for Iran to enrich uranium? Yes the leader was a nasty person, so are lots but nothing happens to them.

It’s a sorry situation I just hope for all it calms down.

[Jennifer11]

I read earlier that the Pentagon are alarmed that retaliation has broken out the way that it has across the Middle East. I’m not surprised but I think it shows US naivety and lack of forward thinking.

[tim17]

@Moray

Within hours of Starmer’s announcement an attempt was made on Akrotiri.

There is a suggestion that the drone was launched before Starmer made his announcement.

[Corona]

Their naturally would be, wouldn’t there.

[billybutcher]

@Corona

It’s a sorry situation I just hope for all it calms down.

Yes, the situation is completely f**ked up which is why it is just about impossible to act in a way which won’t draw at least some criticism.

We were not involved in “first blood” - overall that mighht be the best compromise we could reach.

[billybutcher]

@Jennifer11

I read earlier that the Pentagon are alarmed that retaliation has broken out the way that it has across the Middle East. I’m not surprised but I think it shows US naivety and lack of forward thinking.

Not for the first time, of course and about par for Trump who, like most toddlers, throws his toys out of the pram with no particular plan for getting them back other than “the grown ups will do it for me.”

[Corona]

Yes, agreed we were not, that’s all American and Israel, oh another nasty leader, shall we take him out to?

I wouldn’t be so hard on Starmer if maybe just once in a while he told, I don’t know maybe a water company to stop dumping excrement on our beaches and rivers, surely much easier than committing us into a possible war.

[billybutcher]

@Corona

I don’t know maybe a water company to stop dumping excrement on our beaches and rivers, surely much easier than committing us into a possible war.

The war thing is probably easier TBH.

But, yes, they’ve wimped out on proper sanctions on the water companies which is pretty disgusting.

You know the question I usually ask at this point though - if not Starmer/Labour then who? It’s not as though the list of candidates is long or particularly inspiring.

[John_Scully]

@tim17

they need a government to take the necessary action to support and help them

That’s called evacuation Tim, not retaliation, which only makes things worse.

Even when I lived there in the nineties my Company had an evacuation plan for staff. We’d all be Oman by now, sipping cocktails in the Al Bustan Palace.

The governments charged with defending the UAE, for example, are… drum roll… the UAE governments, not the UK government

The Spanish aren’t US poodles, unlike Mr. Ditherer in No. Ten.

Spain denies US permission to use jointly operated bases to attack Iran | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian.

[billybutcher]

The defence minister, Margarita Robles, was similarly emphatic, saying neither of the bases had been used in the US military operation. “There is a deal with the US over these bases, but our understanding of the deal is that operations have to comply with international legal frameworks and that there has to be international support for them,” she told reporters.

In a video statement released earlier on Sunday, Sir Keir said the basis of the decision to accept the US request was the “collective self-defence” of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a “scorched-earth strategy”.

The prime minister added the US would use UK bases for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of destroying Iran’s missiles “at source”.

He added that the move was in accordance with international law, and the UK government had published what it said was a summary of its legal advice.

So, err, as far as I can see in principle the two stances are identical - just the headline is different.

[tim17]

@John_Scully

The governments charged with defending the UAE, for example, are… drum roll… the UAE governments, not the UK government

I guess the same applies to Qatar, perhaps you can tell the Qataris that they’ll have to shoot down the drones heading their way in future rather than have the RAF do it like they did on Saturday.

@John_Scully

That’s called evacuation Tim, not retaliation, which only makes things worse.

If Iran stopped firing missiles at Dubai they’d be no need for evacuation John.

[John_Scully]

@tim17

I guess the same applies to Qatar

Absolutely Tim it’s up to the Qatari government to protect Qatar, not the RAF. Goodness knows they can afford the most dense air defence per square kilometre in the World if they want it. There"s no need for the UK to go sticking its nose in, especially when all it gets for it is abuse from Trump.

@tim17

If Iran stopped firing missiles

They wouldn’t be firing missiles if Israel and theUS hadn’t attacked them in the middle of negotiations.

No wonder the war in Ukraine, you remember the one Trump was going to end on day one of his presidency, is continuing. Since it is the same Trump appointed clowns, Kushner and Witkoff, who having just brought the Iran negotiations to such a great conclusion are negotiating peace there too.

[John_Scully]

@billybutcher

just the headline is different.

The difference is Billy the Spanish stuck to their principals, and the US planes that were there have buggered off.

[Corona]

Starmer just said, he has to make decisions that are in the National interest. Hmm so actually enforcing a law we already have, which is in the National interest, rather than international interest to stop water companies doesn’t matter when peacocking around behind Trump. The interest of the nation on preventing a big share of £30 billion in profit from Qatar from our energy prices etc. I think he has his (sorry our priorities wrong)

[tim17]

Give it a rest Corona, there is already a thread about the water sector in the UK so there’s no need to go off piste on this one.