Brett Wilkins Jun 16, 2025

Flight-tracking websites showed dozens of Air Force aerial refueling planes departing from military bases in the United States and heading to Europe on Sunday, fueling speculation of direct U.S. involvement in the widening Israeli-Iranian war.

Military-focused news sites reported that around 30 U.S. Air Force KC-135R and KC-46A tankers were identified by flight-tracking software in what The Times of Israelcalled an “unprecedented mass deployment” to Europe.

    • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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      6 days ago

      Other Americans just want fucking guns and affordable discrimination. It’s a sad day.

    • HistoryPug@lemmy.mlBanned
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      6 days ago

      Best we can do is give more people PTSD and then deny them disability or treatment for it. America loves dead soldiers, we can’t go too long without having a new batch.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      And human rights. Due process. Rule of law and respect the constitution. Less inflation. More progress on our environment. Rebuild some infrastructure. Invest in some technologies of the future rather than the past. Leadership that understands basic economics and actually the art of the deal

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
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      7 days ago

      Sorry, best I can do is 2 trillion more for Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and the like. They’re desperate man, they haven’t had a war for like 12 minutes, they need to be fed.

      • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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        5 days ago

        Lockheed Martin did October 7?

        Basically 9/11 truther style conspiracy nonsense going on here.

        • Asafum@feddit.nl
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          5 days ago

          What?

          It was a joke about how we have no money to spend on healthcare for the population, but we always jump to throw endless cash at defense contractors to supply the military…

          • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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            4 days ago

            Haha… good joke. I didn’t see your mention of healthcare in your previous comment.

            It’s typical of conspiracy theorists to say “it was just a joke” when called out on their bullshit. You may go back to doing “your own research in the internet” now.

      • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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        7 days ago

        Zomg, Boeing planes being flown above enemy territory as surprise kamikazes (surprise to the pilots & crew).

      • kayky@thelemmy.club
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        7 days ago

        This is the truth.

        Americans have shown where their priorities lie, time and time again.

      • Corn@lemmy.ml
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        7 days ago

        The media told them Hillary is the most qualified candidate in history only Biden can beat Trump, because he appeals to moderates, where things like free healthcare and not locking immigrants in cages only appeals to far left loonies.

        The average American wants these things, its just we cant risk the Republicans winning so we have to run on the republican platform from 4 years ago.

        • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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          7 days ago

          None of which are socialist.

          They are all systematically weaved out of the closed, private two-party system.

  • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    If the shit hits the fan, I want too see every single fucking MAGA voter at a US Army recruiting office signing up for 11 Bravo, Grunt Infantry.

  • sudo@programming.dev
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    6 days ago

    This would have to be the most unpopular war in US history and yet I think everyone Trump has surrounded himself with is telling him to do it.

    • Naevermix@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      I think Trump is attempting to scare Iran into accepting his nuclear deal. The only problem with this tactic is that Iran might not believe him as they know how deeply unpopular the war would be.

      • sudo@programming.dev
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        5 days ago

        I think Trump is attempting to scare Iran into accepting his nuclear deal.

        Israel wouldn’t tolerate any deal though. They want no deal and permanent sanctions on Iran. Besides, we are well past talking about any nuclear deal.

        • Naevermix@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          So what’s the game plan, they’re going to bomb Iran into submission? That strategy has never worked in the history of warfare. They’d need boots on the ground and direct US involvement. And even then, this didn’t work in Afghanistan, nor Iraq.

          • sudo@programming.dev
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            5 days ago

            Are the bombs working? No. Are we going to keep bombing them? Yes.

            – President Biden on Operation Prosperity

            • Naevermix@lemmy.world
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              5 days ago

              This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t

              – The Onion, 2003

  • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    God I hate Republicans.

    Trump is absolute garbage on every single scale and stat, but it’s the republican voters who got us here. Fuck every republican voter.

    • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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      6 days ago

      It’s really Democrats and independents who got you there. Unconvinced ones, though. Republicans did what they do, just enough Democrats and independents stayed at home.

    • brachiosaurus@mander.xyz
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      6 days ago

      What got us here is the same two parties cycling in power for a century. If you believe war is red fault alone and that voting blue will change anything, you are part of the problem.

    • kingofras@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Hate is not going to get you anywhere.

      Yes some of them voted for him but a bunch of them didn’t.

      Stop being defeatist… inform yourself… look at the numbers. Look at the evidence. Get active.

      If you’ve wondered why everything looks like a coup since he got in, perhaps it is because it is one.

      https://lemmy.world/post/31401705

      https://youtu.be/AaKFx5rxdmA

      https://smartelections.us/

      https://electiontruthalliance.org/

      Edit: the upvote/downvote ratio on a comment like this shows how rapidly Lemmy is turning into Reddit. Nobody cares about the data, if you remotely sound like defending the GOP down the chute you go.

      It’s your loss America. I’ll sleep fine as long as we don’t have electronic voting systems here.

      • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        It’s not that we don’t agree with you, it’s that your kinda acting like a dick. Change your tone and you might get a better reception.

        • Victor@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          [you’re] kinda acting like a dick

          I really don’t see it. I see only advice trying to help them get a healthier point of view. 🤷‍♂️

          Change your tone and you might get a better reception.

          This has literally the same vibe.

          • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            Edit: didn’t realize the response was a different user.

            I’m not trying to convince anyone of something. I’m just telling why you’re they are being downvoted, and it’s not because of the content of your their post. I’d post differently if I were trying to make a sincere point.

            • Victor@lemmy.world
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              6 days ago

              I’m not the one who made the “dick” comment…

              I’m not trying to convince anyone of something.

              You’re saying they should change their tone. 🤷‍♂️ Meh. Whatever you say.

  • Hotzilla@sopuli.xyz
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    7 days ago

    This is basic dictator playbook, problems in domestic politics, start a war and problems change to foreign policy.

    Putin has done this multiple times now, and Trump is following up.

  • kayky@thelemmy.club
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    7 days ago

    Time to waste hundreds of billions defending israel while our infrastructure crumbles and our citizens still go without healthcare.

    Again.

    • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
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      5 days ago

      US is about to go to war the day before I go down to the states to get an MRI, lovely.

      edit: So idiots are excited about wars, but I’m also an idiot for not being excited about wars? Fair enough then, I can’t win.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        5 days ago

        USian here who is also getting an MRI tomorrow. Fun coincidence and I wish you well on your alien abduction simulator!

        The fortunate thing for you and me, and the unfortunate thing for humanity as a whole, is that daily life in the US is generally pleasant and undisturbed by brutal overseas military actions.

        That’s a general theme of this place though. The country is massive and geographically isolated/protected while the military is spread all over the world doing shit all the time.

        • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
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          4 days ago

          Just got back home from getting my MRI. IT band syndrome in both of my knees, no tears or degeneration. I feel much better after hearing that!

          My knees are both still kind of sore but at least I know why now lol

          I’ll start physio and maybe get some better shoes and then hopefully I’ll be as good as new.

  • kreskin@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    A-10 movement always preceeds ground deployments. They moved those to Kuwait at the end of March. This has been coming for a while, its not an unplanned thing like it appears.

    • Destide@feddit.uk
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      6 days ago

      Also indicates complete air superiority in guessing Israel has removed a fair amount of threat

  • Jhex@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    worry not. remember this is TACO Don… he’ll chicken out again

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      6 days ago

      Yeah, it seems fairly impossible he’ll get fully into the war, and even lending a few bunker busters would be surprising when that’s risking a blowback on American forces.

      I would guess that Trump is expecting Khamenei to cave, because that’s what he’d do. Most likely, he won’t, Trump will be confused, and this will drag on and on until a regional nuclear exchange is on the table.

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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          6 days ago

          Iran or Iran’s splinter states. They have several bombs worth of uranium that’s almost ready.

          I doubt the US would get involved, and nobody else is going to for sure.

    • ikidd@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      Everyone knew he wasn’t going to be able to curtail democratic elections without the excuse of a war. This is on schedule.

        • ubergeek@lemmy.today
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          6 days ago

          Not anymore. The SCOTUS ruled already that they must have their ballots approved by the Feds, and feds can overrule their ballots.

            • ubergeek@lemmy.today
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              6 days ago

              So, Donald wasn’t allowed to appear on the Colorado ballot, being an insurrectionist?

              • RedditIsDeddit@lemmy.world
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                6 days ago

                That’s a state issue, not a federal issue.

                Donald Trump was allowed to remain on the Colorado ballot despite the challenge based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, because the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states lack the authority to remove federal candidates from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

                There is nothing about “approval” from feds, nor is there a process federally to approve such things. There’s courts. That’s it.

                • ubergeek@lemmy.today
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                  5 days ago

                  So, the SCOTUS ruled the feds control who is on the ballots in each state, right?

                  There is no such thing as a federal ballot.

  • RadioFreeArabia@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Trump is after Iran’s eggs, I guess. He promised the people of the US lower egg prices, he will get them from Iran.

    How can people in the US be okay with this? Their quality of life has only decreased since Bush 2 started his wars of terror. A propagandized population driven to hate others and rally behind the president.

    As unlikely as it may be, I hope the US loses quickly and decisively against Iran. Not in 20 years from now like in Afghanistan, but soon. I don’t know what cards Iran has, what leverage they may have, but I hope they have something that enables them to inflict pain.

    • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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      6 days ago

      The people of the US have never seen a brutal invasion of the middle east they didn’t support.

  • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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    7 days ago

    I didn’t call it, but there’s nothing quite like a war to distract the population from rampant decline at home.

    This one is weird though, Iran is allied with Russia. Israel is allied with the US. Historically, this made sense.

    But Trump and Putin playing war together would benefit both of them. It allows Putin to pull out of Ukraine because “Iran provided us much help and they need us now.” And it allows Russia to maintain the war economy. It benefits Trump because he wants to play war.

    Neither leader would have any actual skin in the game, it’s just people’s lives that would never contribute in another meaningful way to their power.

    I don’t like this. This is feeling more 1984 than 1984.

    Edit: I like this even worse after I read the specifics of the KC-135R and KC-46A. Each can carry about 200,000 lbs of additional fuel. A single F-15E can hold 13,000 lbs internally. 30 KC-135Rs can refuel an entire F-15E 460 times. Israel has 7 KC-130H (60,000lbs) and 7 Boeing 707s (which is what the KC-135 was based on). This isn’t just escalation, this is staging for invasion.

    • Tillman@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      The nice thing about Americans going to war is that it reduces the amount of dodge owners drag racing late at night. Silver linings.

    • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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      6 days ago

      Come on now, you don’t need to invoke some BlueAnon conspiracy to explain why the US would attack Iran; it’s been champing at the bit to do so for decades.

    • brachiosaurus@mander.xyz
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      6 days ago

      WW3 is any ruler biggest dream because it would grant them the highest amount of power they can get. WW3 won’t happen as long as people refuse to go to war because rulers never fight their wars and they need pawns who do die for them. You will get a world war once enough people get brainwashed to fought one. Watch out for government and war propaganda.

    • Match!!@pawb.social
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      7 days ago

      Imagine starting WW3 the weekend after 3% of your population came out to protest for other reasons. Your war weariness debuff will hit 100% in one turn.

      • eagleeyedtiger@lemmy.nz
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        7 days ago

        You could argue it started when Russia invaded Ukraine. But I wouldn’t mind Trump being forever remembered in history as the instigator.

  • xenomor@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I’d just like to take this opportunity to say “fuck you” to all the service people flying these planes, planning the logistics, and otherwise operating at the behest of our sadistic federal government. Sure, the civilian leadership is ultimately at fault here, but y’all are humans with agency. I’m no longer carving out culpability from these goddamn people anymore. Fuck you terrorists. If we escalate yet another war, I’ll plan to spit on you when you arrive back broken and dead. Bring on the downvotes.

    • chunes@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      How hard is it to just not kill others?

      Apparently really fucking hard for some.

    • Gsus4@mander.xyz
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      7 days ago

      But only against countries that pose no threat to them i.e. they are chickenhawks. At least Biden could do the bare minimum to help Ukraine.