Averting war open thread

So, Emperor Palpitations went on the teevee flanked by generals in their crisp uniforms with rippling thighs and firm buttocks and... basically blinked. Promised sanctions against Iran for its attack last night, although the sanctions are unspecified and have no timetable for enactment.Blamed the black guy for "giving" Iran money which it then used to buy ballistic missiles. Praised himself, as always.

But make no mistake: Trump lost.

He assassinated Qassem Soleimani in an effort to wag the dog. I hope that what advisers he has left told him that Iran would strike back. If they did, he of course ignored their warnings. The fact that he didn't address the nation last night as the bombs were falling is, at least to this scribbler, an indication that he was scared shitless. Bullies always cry when hit back.

And, the most farcical thing is that he now wants a nuclear deal with Iran to replace the one negotiated over a period of years which he ripped up because it had Barack Obama's name on it. One cannot make this up.

I guess we should all be grateful that he didn't wake up and order the bombing of the ruins of Persepolis. But be sure of this: he's in a weaker position now than before the Soleimani killing. That killing was an act of weakness, and now in not ordering bombing runs on Iran in retaliation, he will look weak to his cultists. They were all braying for nukes to be dropped on Tehran. They're going to get sanctions. Maybe. At some point.

We survive another day in this insane timeline.

This is your open thread.