Phil Courtney

Man, Husband, Father of 4. Concrete Artisan and Fabricator/Owner @ CreteWRX Alaska

[Murray Rothbard @MurraySuggests]

The Iranian navy, which has been destroyed eight times, has apparently closed the Strait of Hormuz again, because the United States, for the seventh time, won the war that wasn’t a war, so now the United States has to open the Strait of Hormuz that was already open before the not-war began.

The not-war began because Iran had uranium that was totally, completely, beautifully obliterated, so they can’t build the nuclear bomb they weren’t building, which is why the United States had to start the not-war it definitely didn’t start.

Now the United States, which has nuclear weapons, is threatening to use nuclear weapons to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, because nuclear weapons are far too dangerous for countries with nuclear weapons to allow other countries to have.

If the United States saw the United States doing what the United States does in other countries, the United States would invade the United States to liberate the United States from the tyranny of the United States.

[Dave Smith @ComicDaveSmith]

They swear before God and the nation to uphold the Constitution, and then they wipe their ass with it in front of us all.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

Continuing the blockade puts far more pressure on us than on Iran. Iran has proven it can endure economic pain—it has been doing so since 1979. The blockade will not force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles, or its proxy networks.

Instead, the blockade is hurting the American people and creating serious domestic pressure on POTUS:

Gas prices will continue to rise as we head into the midterms, harming the working class voters who overwhelmingly backed Trump and Republicans—putting GOP majorities in serious jeopardy.

Staging three carrier battle groups plus a massive build up of airpower in CENTCOM to enforce the blockade is unsustainable—it hands an emboldened IRGC ample opportunities to strike U.S. forces and drag America back into war on Iran’s terms.

The global fallout only increases the pressure on us, not Iran:

Beyond the oil and gas crisis, the blockade is now triggering a global fertilizer shortage that will cause major food security crises and potential famines in vulnerable regions.

The smarter path is clear: withdraw, declare victory, and use sanctions relief as our negotiating leverage with Iran. This resets the talks on our terms, avoids war, and prevents further escalation of the energy crisis at home and abroad.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

The undisputed valor of our troops and the tactical brilliance of our military operations do not equal strategic success.

If they did, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and Yemen would look very different today.

We can bomb and blockade Iran, or get dragged into something far worse, but none of it will force Iranian leaders to behave the way we want.

We can accept this reality now and clearly define what our actual interests are in the region, or we can be forced to accept it later—after losing more American lives and trillions of taxpayer dollars.

Yes, our military can sustain operations and crush any enemy in nearly any battle (while losing the war). But to what end? What’s in it for the American people?

It's foolish to think we can keep launching these senseless foreign interventions and maintain our status as the world’s most powerful nation.

This is the glaring blind spot that our foreign policy has failed to address for decades.

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

Netanyahu once boasted on video, smirking, about how easy it is for him to manipulate American public opinion in favor of Israel.

Imagine how much fun he has when he tells Trump: oh, don't worry: we're the little brother. You're the big brother! Endless entertainment for him.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

Like all of our previous interventions in the Middle East, we are worse off after the war (not that this is over) than we were before.

Wars in the Middle East are a series of lose-lose scenarios for us, the sooner we learn that, the better off we’ll be.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

Trump believes he is threatening Iran with destruction, but it is America that now stands in danger.

If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos—effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower.

This would upend our economy and shatter the global order. The process is already underway, yet we still have time to avert catastrophe if Trump finds the courage to pursue serious negotiations rather than reckless rage and destruction.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

We do not honor our fallen by getting more of our best men & women killed in the Middle East.

We honor our fallen by learning from our past & only shedding American blood in defense of our nation.

The best time to get out of a war of choice is now, before we lose more lives.

[Jack Hunter @jackhunter74]

Massie Moneybomb raises more than many House candidates raise in an entire election, yet mainstream legacy media is ignoring it.

Sort of like when another libertarian Republican had moneybombs years ago. https://t.co/06qyAtZ6zO

[a newsman @a_newsman]

Fox News brought on a billionaire bank executive to help explain that the financial cost of the war on Americans who were already struggling is worth it

[Liam McCollum @MLiamMcCollum]

It’s actually unbelievable. I’ve seen this in my own life with friends, and even with my younger brothers’ friends. Especially the normal, generally non-political types, who voted for Trump in 2024 out of excitement for his coalition. I can’t think of a single one who hasn’t expressed that he betrayed them on the Epstein files and Iran.

A historic coalition squandered.

[Caveman 🇺🇸 @thecavedaddy]

The Joe Kent vindication continues

[Furkan Gözükara @FurkanGozukara]

We didn't forget that Israel officially published this footage and boasted about how they completely destroyed Gaza

[Stephen McIntyre @ClimateAudit]

The most definitive White House statement purporting to justify the Israel-US war on Iran was its March 2, 2026 statement entitled "The Iranian Regime's Decades of Terrorism against American Citizens".
https://t.co/1Z7PI6oWE0

After a brief editorial opening, the article lists 44 incidents with a total of 992 US deaths. The source of the data wasn't given. Where did it come from?

Unlike the Iraq war or the Russia collusion allegation, the reporting didn't come from an intelligence assessment, flawed or otherwise.

It turns out that the list was plagiarized by the White House from a June 19, 2025 list (https://t.co/WqQy3itnnE) prepared by a former AIPAC employee (Tzvi Kahn) for a think tank (FDD) founded "to provide education to enhance Israel's image in North America". The think tank's original identity was "EMET (Hebrew for 'truth')". The June 19, 2025 publication was literally on the eve of the first US bombing of Iran on June 21, 2025.

In this thread, I'll compare each and every item in the White House statement to the corresponding item in the original list by the former AIPAC employee. The list is virtually identical. Any slight changes are always in the change of ratcheting up the underlying allegation.

[Cernovich @Cernovich]

You need to show me where you called for Mike Huckabee to be fired for meeting secretly with a convicted spy (Huckabee had tried getting him released from pension early, too) before I am going to deal with your nonsense about Joe Kent or Tucker Carlson.

[Cernovich @Cernovich]

It would be ironic if Joe Kent is under investigation for leaking the secret meeting Mike Huckabee had with a convicted spy.

[Voluntaryist Keith @an_capitalist]

The war is justified since there won't be American deaths.

Oh, Americans died?

Well, now the war is justified because we can't let their death go to waste.

Heads, the state grows; tails, the state grows.

[Clint Russell @LibertyLockPod]

Trump now says Joe Kent "was always very weak on security". An odd claim given that Joe Kent was your DIRECTOR OF COUNTERTERRORISM AS OF TWO HOURS AGO.

[Cernovich @Cernovich]

A generational coalition, squandered.

[Tom Woods @ThomasEWoods]

No need to read the below, but now that he's doing something no self-respecting person would ever do, namely devoting a whole post to praising the execrable Mark Levin, we can only imagine what they must have on him