Trump Has Opened a Pandora's Box

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Edward Luce, Financial Times: How this unfolds, and who gets to diagnose whether Iran's actions are token or lethal, is largely out of Trump's hands. This leaves him as the most powerful military actor in the Middle East but potentially a hollow one. Power is about the ability to shape events. Trump is largely their prisoner.

Posted by retort at 01:38 PM | 17 COMMENTS | permalink

Without consulting Congress, and in probable contravention of international law, Trump has taken a fateful gamble. Whether he has fully digested this fact or not, he is now committed to seeing this through to the end. Iran and Israel will have at least as big a say as Trump in deciding when and how that happens.

Comments

Poor Donald Trump thinks that Pandora's Box is someone's vagina.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2025-06-22 01:56 PM

Might drive the price of oil up enough to make fracking worthwhile again. Lewzer needs to get on filling that SPR back up like he said he was going to.

#2 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-06-22 02:04 PM

W opened it with his "preemptive action" BS. We were told it wouldn't take long, that hopefully they got Saddam in the first strike, and even after we found him and executed him we were in the mess for 20 years

#3 | Posted by hamburglar at 2025-06-22 02:08 PM

We were told it wouldn't take long, that hopefully they got Saddam in the first strike, and even after we found him and executed him we were in the mess for 20 years

#3 | Posted by hamburglar at 2025-06-22 02:08 PM | Reply | Flag: MMMHHHMMM

We nonstop bombed Iraq for 2 weeks... 1700 sorties... and expected to be greeted as liberators...

mission accomplished...

#4 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2025-06-22 05:57 PM

@#3 ... W opened it with his "preemptive action" BS. ...

And. is Pres Trump's "A Great Success" declaration going to be looked at in a similar light to fmr Pres GW Bush's "Mission Accomplished" statement?

#5 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-06-22 07:28 PM

Ironically... by deposing Hussein... we did Iran the bigger service than we did for ourselves... since Iraq wasn't a threat to us... or the rest of the world... as the cl0wns insisted he was... they were a thorn in Iran's side and we neutralized them...

Iran normalized its relationship with Iraq once Iraq was no longer a secular nation.

#6 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2025-06-22 07:47 PM

And a shout-out to those Dems who voted for the passengers in the Trump Foreign Policy and Defense clown SUV. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, we are going to war with the leadership we picked, not the leadership we want.

I know--send those Proud Guys into the fray first--convince them that by dying at the hands of some Arab insurgent that they are keeping this country safe...

#7 | Posted by catdog at 2025-06-23 08:19 AM

Donald Trump as I write this is having a panic attack, I think a literal one, over the price of oil after his attack on Iran.

Pandora's Box, she be opened.

Don't expect any smooth reactions from Donald.

#8 | Posted by Zed at 2025-06-23 10:47 AM

having a panic attack, I think a literal one, over the price of oil after his attack on Iran.

I don't think Lewzer has enough awareness to generate a panic attack. His "brain" will just decide high oil prices are good. Very good, in fact. Best thing ever.

#9 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-06-23 11:02 AM

Now that Orange Hitler has brought up regime change doesn't that mean troops on the ground in Iran? I feel like I'm watching a terrible movie over and over.

#10 | Posted by danni at 2025-06-23 11:05 AM

I am sure glad we are all done with Iran.

Now we can get back to attacking the real enemies destroying America.

Los Angeles, California.

#11 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-06-23 11:05 AM

I'm watching a terrible movie over and over.

#10 | POSTED BY DANNI

Because your crazy uncle, blitzed on meth and beer, is holding a gun at your head to make you.

#12 | Posted by Zed at 2025-06-23 11:13 AM

Spending billions of dollars blowing up Iranians in exchange for a resort in Gaza is the best use of tax money.

Thank god health care for poor people is getting cut.

Donald Trump as I write this is having a panic attack, I think a literal one, over the price of oil after his attack on Iran.

He is stupid enough to believe that Iran would just surrender to this show of force from the mighty dotard.

He is dumb enough to believe that they would not shut down the Straight of Hormuz and cut off the oil flowing through there.

Jesus flocking christ him, vance and kegbreath are the three stooges.

Now the news is that the Iranians moved all their material out of the sites he bombed. Was it the plan between Iran, Russia and him all along or did he tip his hat with his 4 am golden throne posts telling the people of Tehran to evacuate?

#13 | Posted by Nixon at 2025-06-23 11:19 AM

High oil prices are going to make it more expensive to fill up the Strategic Reserve, but Lewzer doesn't really seem to be doing that.

In fact, the SPR level went up twice as much between January and June of 2024 than it has in the same time period this year. What's up with that?

Drill, Lewzer, drill!

#14 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-06-23 11:32 AM

Donald promised to reduce grocery prices by reducing the cost of gas.

I guess that the price of eggs is going up again.

#15 | Posted by Zed at 2025-06-23 11:37 AM

Donald promised to reduce grocery prices by ~~reducing the cost of gas~~ magic.

#16 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-06-23 11:41 AM

------- Idiot

#17 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-06-23 12:35 PM