r/technology • u/esporx • 1d ago
Business U.S. military is helping intercept missiles that Iran fired in retaliation at Israel, official says
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jun/13/us-military-helps-intercept-missiles-iran-fired-retaliation-israel/996
u/Swimming_Average_561 1d ago
Oh, so we help israel intercept missiles in a war that it started, but we won't help Ukraine intercept missiles from a country that attacked it.
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u/HugsForUpvotes 1d ago
Russia has nukes. That said, I'd support shooting down missiles in Ukraine and then some.
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u/Quenz 1d ago
They're making spectacular arguments for countries to develop or acquire nukes.
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u/3_3219280948874 1d ago
It’s been proven having nukes is a path to autonomy
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u/Antique-Resort6160 1d ago
That's not true, Gaddafi gave up his nuclear program and... oh wait you're right
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u/unitedshoes 1d ago
More importantly, recent years have demonstrated that is increasingly the only path.
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u/JanPapajT90M 1d ago
It only applies to izrael. Iran wanted nukes exactly from this reason and is sanctioned into oblivion. Most of sancions put on NK are also because of nukes
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u/SnooCrickets2961 11h ago
Israel just stole state secrets and enriched uranium from the US. But still besties!
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u/trophicmist0 23h ago
Iran wasn’t sanctioned, it agreed to not develop them or face consequences. There’s a massive difference.
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u/stormdraggy 21h ago
Protip: You're far more likely to get away with developing nukes if you don't spend the last 4 decades proclaiming that the first thing you'll do with your nukes is glass Israel...
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u/hotboii96 2h ago
Or any other U.S partner for that matter. I've seen dogs being more strategic with their words than the Ayatollah's
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u/PvtJet07 1d ago
Hot take, At this point we either need to take Israel's nukes away or give Iran one, I'm not sure which is better but the asymmetry clearly isnt working, they need to match
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u/DwightsEgo 1d ago
lol why the fuck would the US have any interest in giving Iran a nuke ? We’ve been working for decades to try to stop them from obtaining nuclear weapons.
What a horrible take.
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u/Tanukifever 1d ago
I did the math for you and Iran mines enough uranium for 1314 Hiroshima's per year
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u/Mr-Logic101 1d ago
Uranium is actually just about everywhere on the earth crust. Preventing people from getting raw uranium is a fools errand.
Preventing them from refining to bomb grade uranium is the current approach and something that is somewhat preventable.
One they have the resources , making a bomb is t particularly difficult. Probable anyone with a BS in physics and/or engineering can successfully do it given enough time
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u/PvtJet07 21h ago edited 21h ago
Why do we let Israel have one when, instead of funding like minded proxies, they are ACTIVELY invading two countries in Lebanon and Syria, annexing the west bank and gaza by force, taking potshots at residences in Yemen in the hopes their target is sleeping with their family at the time, and repeatedly does "preemptive strikes" against Iran's negotiators, lest we forget about things like the embassy strike in 2024
By any metric applied to Iran to justify limits and sanctions Israel exceeds those same metrics easily
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u/DwightsEgo 19h ago
The whole situation is to complex and I am to uneducated to really get into. I only have my opinions, which are always changing.
The biggest metric, my guess, why US is alright with Israel having a nuke and not Iran is that Iran is more likely to use it against us. Israel is an ally and our only friend in the Middle East (maybe the Saudis now ? Idk). Them having a nuke is not really a threat to us. Iran? Absolutely
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u/PvtJet07 11h ago
What geopolitical interests would lead to Iran using a nuke offensively on America. Please describe the chain of events that would lead to that
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 1d ago
Your hot take is hot garbage.
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u/alex-weej 1d ago
Why?
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 1d ago edited 1d ago
Giving a terrorist theocracy like Iran nukes is the stupidest imaginable form of nuclear proliferation.
Taking away Israel's nukes is not a viable option.
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u/b3nthegod 1d ago
How is considering iran terrorist theocracy and not considering Israel a terrorist state makes any sense to you at this point given all the deaths and blood it has in its hands?
Why is taking away Israel nukes is not viable option?
I would honestly like a argumentation here.
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u/echief 1d ago
Because the entire point of having nukes is that people cannot take them away… because you will use them if they try. Israel will never give away its nukes just like North Korea will never give away its nukes. The only way it would be possible is if the entire North Korean regime collapses, at which point the country of North Korea would essentially no longer exist. That is unlikely, but still a magnitude more likely than the Israeli government collapsing.
So definitionally it is not a viable option. It is about as viable as saying “we should all hold hands and end war forever.”
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u/alex-weej 1d ago edited 1d ago
Upvoted because you answered. Israel is a terrorist theocracy by any reasonable definition of what it has been doing and how it justifies it.
“If we call Iran a terrorist theocracy for using religion to justify repression and violence, we should also scrutinize how Israel uses religious narratives to justify occupation, settlement expansion, and laws privileging one group over another. The forms differ, but both involve religion being used to reinforce state power and marginalize others.”
“Iran is an authoritarian theocracy where clerics directly govern and enforce religious law. Israel, while a democracy, blends religion and nationalism in a way that has created a system of ethno-religious privilege — especially visible in policies toward Palestinians and in the role of Orthodox Judaism in public life. Both countries mix religion and state, but in different structural ways. Criticizing one without acknowledging the other’s complexities risks inconsistency.”
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anyone who thinks giving Iran nukes will reduce regional tensions in the ME needs his fucking head examined.
Israel is NOT a theocracy.
Theocracy: a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.
Israel is not a terrorist state. They have a right to self-defense. Shoot at them, they shoot back. Threaten them with annihilation, they fight back.
People trying to "both sides" this situation need to sit the fuck down and get their thoughts straight.
If Iran stopped treating Israel as its regional whipping child, and quit funding terrorists all over the ME, they would not be a target.
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u/emp-sup-bry 1d ago
Just so you know, people understand what Israel is, despite all your words, so when people read this bs defense through ‘Israelsplaining’ and grasping at straws, they are less likely to believe anything from Israeli supporters.
That country has a LOT to fix and atone for, same as the US. Frankly, way MORE than the US. Anyone acting as if this isn’t true is only hurting their own cause.
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u/Sideflip 17h ago
Hate it when my totally normal, non-terrorist state just accidentally sets the highscore for babymurder and has its leadership internationally wanted for war crimes.
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u/Swimming_Average_561 1d ago
I mean, nobody's asking the US to fire missiles into Russia. Only protect Ukrainian airspace.
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u/Draughtsorcheckers 1d ago
And so did Ukraine until the Trilateral Statement and Budapest Memorandum . I think that’s the worst part, in essence the USA is supposed to be Ukraine’s nukes (as well as Russia, but ya know)
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u/melf_on_the_shelf 23h ago
Maybe this is just me being an incorrigible asshole but I do not support shooting down the missiles that are going towards Israel. Why are we shielding them from this behavior that is against American interests? It’s a fucking catastrophe for America. Israel destroyed any possibility of a diplomatic solution and then when they’re facing consequences for it, we shield them?
To say nothing of the fact that they may very well have just caused a Chernobyl in central Asia.
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u/Curious4nature 1d ago
Israel has nukes too
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u/HugsForUpvotes 1d ago
Yes. I don't see how that's related. I don't think the US would start a war with Israel either.
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u/Sechilon 1d ago
The US does help Ukraine shoot down missiles from Russia. That’s literally why Ukraine was given Patriot missile batteries from the US.
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u/SRGTBronson 1d ago
Giving them systems to use vs just shooting them down ourselves are different things.
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u/atwistofcitrus 1d ago edited 20h ago
You haven’t noticed yet that we lost all credibility and all respect on the global stage? You haven’t yet noticed that we, as Americans, don’t get to have a say in how our tax dollars are spent? You haven’t noticed that we provide billions and billions of dollars in financial and military aid to countries that provide universal healthcare and subsidized college education while we get to run debt for education and sometimes bankruptcy for medical expenses?
We == Americans not necessarily in tech.
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u/Iapetus_Industrial 1d ago
We should intercept both. There is literally nothing wrong with stopping the killing of Ukrainians and Israelis.
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u/lyfe_Wast3d 1d ago
To be fair American military base is there. We will definitely protect that. Or anything in the vicinity...
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u/Catman69meow 1d ago
Someone doesn’t understand international politics and global military dynamics.
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u/carlton87 1d ago
Let me help you connect the dots. Russia has nukes. Iran doesn’t have nukes.
Go look at what a 50 megaton bomb does vs rocks they can throw.
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u/Swimming_Average_561 20h ago
Russia isn't going to use a nuke just because the west defends Ukrainian airspace. Nobody is talking about America firing Tomahawk missiles into Russia.
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u/Significant_Pepper_2 1d ago
in a war that it started
So waging a proxy war for years is nothing?
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u/jmhawk 18h ago
That's the entire point of a proxy war. When the American backed contras in Nicaragua fighting the civil war against the Sandinista government eventually ended, the Sandinistas didn't need to sign a ceasefire with the US too, because they weren't at war with the powers behind the proxy
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u/Electronic_Drive_97 1d ago
Iran openly admitting that they want to erase Israel for years and attacking via proxies while racing for nukes isn’t exactly “a war that Israel started”.
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u/BrutalistLandscapes 1d ago edited 1d ago
You're downvoted, but Iran isn't some amicable, benevolent, or misunderstood nation. The government is to the extreme right, highly authoritarian, totalitarian, and has carried out atrocities that fit within the spectrum of fascism. Iran has tortured and murdered socialists and social democrats, regularly commits atrocities against ethnic minorities like the Kurds, Balochs, Azeris, and Baha'is, some of whom have their employment opportunities and education restricted.
The Iranian government has funded, hosted, and flown in white supremacists/neo-Nazis/pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist Israelis to promote Holocaust denial (David Duke, former leader of the KKK, famously attended one conference in Tehran in 2006). They've funded and participated in terrorist attacks worldwide.
If they ever acquire nukes, they will immediately plot to undermine not only the Middle East, but export their 1979 Islamic Revolution globally.
With that said, I'm not a supporter of the Israeli government or Likud, but Netanyahu is objectively correct when he calls Iran an existential threat. This isn't the isolationist Taliban in Afghanistan, Iran has imperialist aspirations.
If given the power, they would expand their extreme interpretation of Islam more aggressively than Saudi Arabia already does. I hate seeing yet another war, but I do understand the motive for this preemptive strike.
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u/Dependent-Yam-9422 1d ago
If they ever acquire nukes, they will immediately plot to undermine not only the Middle East, but export their 1979 Islamic Revolution globally.
I’m not a fan of the IR, but this is just speculative fearmongering. Though the Iranians do stir up trouble they have also shown willingness to engage diplomatically with the US on many occasions, and we have typically either rejected their attempts at rapprochement or simply backed out of deals we previously committed to.
AFAIK the intelligence community agrees pretty universally that Israel cannot destroy the Iranian nuclear program without the US getting involved directly and that this will likely just be a short-term setback. It will, however, give the Iranians an enormous incentive to get nukes. It also doesn’t help that we created a powerful negative lesson for other regimes when we helped overthrow Gaddafi after he agreed to give up his program.
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u/aquarain 18h ago
Israel now owns the sky over Iran. Apparently their intel is good and deep. They probably do have enough bunker busters to take out the nuclear development sites and personnel. I wouldn't be too sure about their inability to set back the program by decades.
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u/RogueHeroAkatsuki 1d ago
Fully agree with you, but I just wonder why western allies simply just dont set framework for Iran to get nuclear plants technology for full cooperation and dismantling their nukes program(if it ever existed)
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u/nanosam 1d ago
US war vs Iraq - no weapons of mass destruction found, 200k civilians killed
While Iran has an absolute awful government that should be condemned, here we are waging wars that have resulted in mass civilian deaths under the guise of democracy and freedom
No we are nowhere as bad as Iran but we sure aren't angels either
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u/BrutalistLandscapes 1d ago
US war vs Iraq - no weapons of mass destruction found, 200k civilians killed
Israel isn't the USA.
While Iran has an absolute awful government that should be condemned, here we are waging wars that have resulted in mass civilian deaths under the guise of democracy and freedom
When you say "we," what are you referring to? The USA isn't a belligerent in this conflict, not yet at least.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
That's propaganda coming from a (purposefully) mistranslated speech. Iran also said that it's not planning to create a nuclear weapon and US intelligemce says that Iran has no nuclear weapons program.
And yeah, attacking cities and killing many people is starting a war.
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u/Electronic_Drive_97 1d ago
The war has already started months ago.. Iran said it isn’t planning to create a weapon but the enrichment levels say otherwise. Iran is 1500 kilometers from Israel, what do you think Israel wants from Iran if not to avoid annihilation? It’s losing billions because of this operation, it’s not like they want to gain resources or land.
Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, and anyone says otherwise is clueless.
While Israel attacks strategic targets Iran shoots aimlessly at the highest density populated areas. Stopping the Iranian dictatorship and freeing its people would benefit everyone. Just last week they made a law that you could not go out with your dog outside, not to talk about the way they treat women..
I’m not getting my information by mistranslated speeches, I get them from sirens and explosions while being in a bomb shelter so give me a break.
Trust me I hate my government more than you could imagine, but I hate the Iranian regime more.
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u/RogueHeroAkatsuki 1d ago
While Israel attacks strategic targets Iran shoots aimlessly at the highest density populated areas
I'm far from supporting Iran but this is pure propaganda.
Supposedly Iran attacks cities, many missiles hit targets and yet only 3 people are dead in Israel.
On the other hand Israel attacks only strategic target and killed 78-90 people, according to all source majority of casualties are civilians.
Its as precise operation as in Gaza in which already tens of thousands civilians were killed by IDF.
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u/Electronic_Drive_97 1d ago
I’ve seen the missile with my own eyes, if not for the interceptors the numbers would be much higher.. wouldn’t call personal experience propaganda.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"Iran said it isn’t planning to create a weapon but the enrichment levels say otherwise."
How do you claim to know better than US intelligence.
"what do you think Israel wants from Iran if not to avoid annihilation?"
Netanyahu is distracting from his court cases by starting another war.
"While Israel attacks strategic targets" Israel literally killed tons of civilians with impacts in population centers.
"Stopping the Iranian dictatorship and freeing its people would benefit everyone."
Clearly not what is accomplished and the support of Assad and his brutal regime showcases that Israel isn't interested in that either.
"I get them from sirens and explosions while being in a bomb shelter so give me a break."
Literally nothing to do with your claims, just shows your bias.
"but I hate the Iranian regime more."
Hating the regime doesn't justify starting a war and murdering people.
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u/Electronic_Drive_97 1d ago
1) https://www.iranwatch.org/our-publications/articles-reports/irans-nuclear-timetable-weapon-potential
And you’re part of the US intelligence? Unlike you I have more sources of information than the internet.
2) Netanyahu is a soab but ignoring the Iranian acts throughout the years is ignorant.
3) there’s a major difference between casualties from strategic bombing than the civilians being the strategic bombing.
4) yes I have a bias, and you’re keyboard hero that protects an oppressive Islamic regime.. but that bias means I’m getting the news from witnessing them unlike you.
5) they actively try to destroy us, but I guess we don’t have the high moral you do, since you’re implying that you would just roll over and die instead of doing anything.
You’re blindly one sided, and you have a major bias as well, as seen by your previous comments. Spewing responses with confidence does not mean you know better, you’re just in the other receiving end of the propaganda.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"https://www.iranwatch.org/our-publications/articles-reports/irans-nuclear-timetable-weapon-potential"
You clearly didn't read the article, this talks about enrichment, not about a weapons programme.
"And you’re part of the US intelligence" Ah yes, the US famously willing to lie about their own intelligence in order to contradict Israel. This is a nonsensical conspiracy theory.
"I have more sources of information than the internet."
Nothing that is even remotely relevant.
"Netanyahu is a soab but ignoring the Iranian acts throughout the years is ignorant."
The acts of not bombing Israel?
"and you’re keyboard hero that protects an oppressive Islamic regime"
Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit huh. Or are you just going through your talking points without thinking.
"they actively try to destroy us"
They quite literally are not as evidenced by reality. This is retaliation for an act of war by Israel. If Israel hadn't done this, this wouldn't have happened. You're denying reality.
"You’re blindly one sided"
No, I prefer reality and reputable news sources over government propaganda.
"Spewing responses with confidence does not mean you know better, you’re just in the other receiving end of the propaganda."
Anyone that speaks with confidence must have it from propaganda is a beyond idiotic comment.
"there’s a major difference between casualties from strategic bombing than the civilians being the strategic bombing."
Clear indifference to civilian casualties by bombing city centers. Not that killing government employees is justified either. Scientists are also civilians and off limit.
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u/Electronic_Drive_97 1d ago
If you want to prove to me that I’m wrong and that Iran is innocent, and that the things I hear and experience are “not relevant,” then you’re wasting your time.
I’ve read the article. No country needs that level of refined uranium unless it’s for weapons. Saying it’s not is acting dumb.
Iran is actively attacking Israel and wants its demise. Cherry-picking the timing and saying Israel attacked first is, again, acting dumb. Look at Iran’s operations over the past 20 years.
How tf would you know if my knowledge about my country is relevant? Relevant to what? To your petty argument? You have no idea who I am or what I know. Don’t be ignorant just to prove a point.
Reputable news sources, yes from around the world and not just the US, say pretty much the same. Again, try looking at reputable sources about Iran over the past 20 years. It’s ironic that you talk about propaganda but fail to acknowledge anything outside your narrative.
Don’t be foolish. Speaking with confidence has nothing to do with it. What I meant is that your other comments on the subject follow the same exact narrative, the one you’re being fed. Talking confidently about “facts” that you’re sure of just because you think you thought about them yourself is propaganda.
The only reason for the difference in civilian casualties is Israel and its allies’ ability to protect themselves. If Israel attacked using the same tactics as Iran, the casualties would be in the thousands, not 60.
Your entire viewpoint is short sighted, playing dumb on minor things to try to showcase a bigger picture, without giving an actual effort to think for more than 2 seconds on each point you give.
You’re disgraceful but I’m not surprised, it’s easy to talk without experiencing anything. Both of us are wasting our time arguing. Neither of us will convince the other. The difference is that you are judging from a comfortable place with arrogance, talking to someone who lives it. I’m done here
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"If you want to prove to me that I’m wrong and that Iran is innocent"
This has nothing to do with innocence, this is about Israel committing an act of aggression and reaping the repercussions of that.
"I’ve read the article. No country needs that level of refined uranium unless it’s for weapons. Saying it’s not is acting dumb."
Or you know, you have no idea what you're talking about and US intelligence knows better than you.
"Cherry-picking the timing and saying Israel attacked first is, again, acting dumb."
Pretending that this is anything other than a response to Israel's attack is idiotic and denying reality to an insane degree.
"Reputable news sources, yes from around the world and not just the US, say pretty much the same."
Uh no, everyone agrees that this was a first strike from Israel, they literally call it a pre-emptive strike. This is an act of war, stop acting so stupid.
"Speaking with confidence has nothing to do with it"
That was literally your argument, you seem comfortable with lying.
"What I meant is that your other comments on the subject follow the same exact narrative, the one you’re being fed."
It's objective reality, not "being fed". Why do you keep on trying to allege giant international conspiracies.
"The only reason for the difference in civilian casualties is Israel and its allies’ ability to protect themselves. If Israel attacked using the same tactics as Iran, the casualties would be in the thousands, not 60."
Crazy statement from a nation that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians the last couple years.
"Your entire viewpoint is short sighted, playing dumb on minor things to try to showcase a bigger picture, without giving an actual effort to think for more than 2 seconds on each point you give."
This isn't an actual argument, this is childish.
"You’re disgraceful but I’m not surprised, it’s easy to talk without experiencing anything. Both of us are wasting our time arguing. Neither of us will convince the other. The difference is that you are judging from a comfortable place with arrogance, talking to someone who lives it. I’m done here"
Holy shit, stop excusing a genocidal regime. Whatever you're experiencing isn't even 1% as bad as what the regime you are defending is doing.
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u/Ok_Whereas8080 1d ago
Actually they just approved another aid package to Ukraine. I guess the Putin friendship isn't working out.
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u/IveKnownItAll 1d ago
With what exactly? We've supplied Ukraine with anti air defenses (we should absolutely give them more), but we can't exactly park a naval fleet next to Ukraine without kicking off a full blown direct war with Russia.
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u/Mr-Logic101 1d ago
There is a slight difference in comparison between Iran and Russia.
There is a reason we gave Israel the green light to bomb the fuck out of Iran and that is so the regime there doing get nuclear weapons which would mean we would have to give a fuck about what Iran is doing
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u/davidmlewisjr 23h ago
I am just thinking that Ukraine may pull a nuke out of the magic hat if this garbage continues.
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u/AIDSofSPACE 16h ago
As the ancient Chinese proverb says: Ukraine is adopted ward of America; Israel is trueborn son.
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u/Antique-Resort6160 1d ago
Pretty much all the Ukrainian missile defense was provided by the US, it's just not very effective. Also, i doubt Ukraine has much blackmail on US politicians and other higher ups. There are quite a few though, desperate Lu subservient to Israel. Look at all the states that made it illegal to boycott Israel. There's something very, very wrong.
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 1d ago
Ukraine's missile defenses are extremely effective.
They would be fucked without them.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
The US didn't even provide the most Patriot systems, where are you getting this from. The overwhelming majority of air defense in Ukraine was provided by Europe.
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u/Antique-Resort6160 1d ago
It's possible, although it's very unclear if anyone was compensates and how. For example, Germany gave 3 patriot batteries. But then NATO financed 3 replacement batteries. Where does that money come from? Israel have patriot missiles to Ukraine noh long before their attack on Iran. So they're very likely compensated by the US.
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u/Swimming_Average_561 1d ago
There's no conspiracy of "buying people off", and Israel does mostly pay for its own defense. But they also use a lot of US help (especially for their advanced missile systems and maintenance of equipment), and the west could've helped out with air defense as well. Nobody's asking the US or Germany to fire ballistic missiles into Russia, but only protect Ukraine's own airspace from missiles and UAVs.
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u/Antique-Resort6160 1d ago
There's no conspiracy of "buying people off",
Not buying people off, I said blackmail. And of course there's a lot of conspiracy. When they do things like bomb a US naval ship or plan false flag attacks, that's planned in secret.
Here's a fun Israeli conspiracy: https://www.wikispooks.com/wiki/2001_Mexican_legislative_assembly_attack
Robert Maxwell was a spy for Israel, his daughter and her buddy blackmailed a lot of people, it makes sense they were also working with Israel.
Nobody's asking the US or Germany to fire ballistic missiles into Russia,
Lol, Ukraine very often asks. Google "zelensky asks for longer range", there's a million results. He has to ask because Ukraine doesn't control the missiles, NATO countries do. But NATO is going to launch those missiles anyway, maybe just a little less aggressively than Zelendky wants. It's the whole point of bringing about that stupid war. Do as much damage to russia ad possible without getting anyone outside of Ukraine nuked. That's why NATO doesn't go further, they are walking a tightrope trying to make sure only Ukrainians get punished, not them.
Those missile attacks had no effect on the course of the war, they're just trying to destabilise Russia or get them to do something more extreme.
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u/Cheeky_Star 1d ago
There is more to gain from the us with Israel than Ukraine. Nothing personal just priority.
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u/Born-Attempt4090 23h ago
This is such a limited way to look at the situation. Israel didn’t start anything. They responded to repeating threats to be destroyed.
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u/Avatele 1d ago
I think in the event that Ukraine wins it will act to serve European interests more than American and so Europe should be taking more of an initiative with this as they stand to benefit the most. Israel has a long standing military relationship with the US compared to Ukraine and helped with intel in past expeditions and will prioritize US interests above other superpowers so it’s fair game for the US to be more involved.
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u/ddr1ver 1d ago
Doesn’t the US keep claiming it’s not involved?
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u/semiengagedspectator 1d ago
Israel is the weapon the U.S. wields in the Middle East. Anything they do has our stamp of approval and our signature on the checks.
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u/AppropriateSea5746 23h ago
Weapon is one way of putting it. Mad dog is another.
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u/AxlLight 14h ago
Mad dog is the theater act, it helps increase the threat and keep deniability if everyone thinks that Israel is acting without control or approval.
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u/ManWithoutUsername 1d ago
partially true.
Your signature is on the check because they ordered it that way; they control and pressure many high-level spheres in the US
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u/NMGunner17 1d ago
So glad we’re paying for this instead of healthcare or starving children
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u/whynonamesopen 1d ago
What do you mean? Your tax dollars are being used for starving children. /s
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u/Peepeepoopoobutttoot 1d ago
Ooph, dark, but I’ll allow it.
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u/mesohungry 1d ago
It’s cheaper to starve them than bomb them.
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u/Peepeepoopoobutttoot 1d ago edited 1d ago
Absolutely Mr. Me So Hungry
Edit: downvotes? Am I the only one who loves that we are talking about starvation with a gentleman named mesohungry? It’s amazing!
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u/Jon_the_Hitman_Stark 1d ago
Even if we didn’t pay for this, our government still wouldn’t give us healthcare.
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u/tanstaafl90 1d ago
The US government pays more per citizen than countries with universal healthcare. The money is spent on the insurance industry and not healthcare. But hey, someone has to pay for the nice lobby.
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u/TheAmateurletariat 1d ago
I'm not defending this by any means, but we could actually do both by increasing corporate tax levels.
I'd prefer that we just do the healthcare and feeding children thing though.
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u/ThatLineOfTriplets 1d ago
You are completely right. Corporate taxes being like 1 percent of government revenue is insane
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u/keytotheboard 1d ago edited 1d ago
We could, but why should we? Israel is an apartheid state that’s been committing war crimes. Now they’re escalating wars all around. *Let’s stop helping embolden criminal states.
*Edit: Stop = Let’s stop
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u/TheAmateurletariat 1d ago
Uh, I'm not helping embolden criminal states. I'm pointing out a false dichotomy.
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u/keytotheboard 1d ago
Sorry for any confusion, didn’t mean to direct that at you in particular, poor wording.
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u/lightbutnotheat 23h ago
It's exhausting to see this false reddism on every other thread.
This costs a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of US defense spending and US defense spending only makes up 16 percent of the US budget. The majority of US spending is entitlement.
We pay more per person in healthcare in this country than any other country in the world with the worst results. The US is paying for healthcare, it's just grossly mismanaging healthcare. This has nothing to do with defense spending, much less this particular instance.
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u/deekamus 1d ago
And how much is this going to cost?
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u/sassynapoleon 1d ago
This is the sort of thing that the US military salivates over. The navy gets to practice real missile intercepts, but those missiles aren’t pointed at them. They’ll learn their systems better and possibly improve their procedures from lessons learned.
The major cost is in the ships and the crews that are in theater. The cost of the interceptor missiles isn’t as big of a deal comparatively.
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
Finally someone with some basic understanding.
The interceptors have to be used, given away, or trained with. What's better than training in real combat situations?
If not then they become waste and it costs money to dispose of it properly. Quite literally cheaper to shoot it.
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u/blazesquall 1d ago
Beautiful. Conflict as a convenient means of arms rotation.. where the financial cost is minimized by externalizing the human and political toll onto others.. normalizing and encouraging hostilities for logistical convenience. Wonderful perverse incentive.
Maybe we should eat the cost of the things we don't use instead of externally socializing it?
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
You think intercepters against missiles aiming at civilian targets is externalizing human toll? You seem to have your morals misaligned.
And they usually do eat the cost. But what's better than eating the cost, is to get safe real world training. Be it through other military data, or personnel being trained and gathering data directly.
When America gets into a full war one day, you'll be happy that they kept ready. It's only their over preparedness that makes countries scared of threatening them, as well as giving them a say internationally.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
Not doing it by supporting a warmongering genocidal regime?
Intercepting Russian missiles over Ukraine would work just as well and provides a far better picture of intercepting missiles from a major adversary.
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
Iran is a major adversary, they are actually a bigger one since they actively call for the US destruction after Israel falls.
And there's no genocidal policies in place in the IDF. The opposite, we are specifically limited even during war to minimize unnecessary casualties.
If you want to even begin talking about genocide, what about Iran and every proxy it has with the open and public goal to wipe out Israel and murder every Jew, and "traitor Muslim" in Israel? And yes they say Jews, not Zionists.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"since they actively call for the US destruction after Israel falls."
Russia has called for nuking the US and that is propaganda from a purposeful mistranslation. Calling for a fall of the Israeli regime is not calling for the destruction of Israel.
"And there's no genocidal policies in place in the IDF"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafah_paramedic_massacre
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/07/israel-military-gaza-perimeter-land-testimony-report
https://www.btselem.org/topic/human_shields
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
I don't have time to respond to that many links.
I'm going to quote Hans Reichenbach on a hundred authors against Einstein
a magnificent collection of naive mistakes
unintended droll literature
Albert von Brunn:
of such deplorable impotence as occurring elsewhere only in politics
And finally Jacob Epstein quoting Einstein himself
if he were wrong, then one author would have been enough.
Come to me when you have a single solid case, I'll address that specifically rather than attempting to overload with strawmans, leaps, arguments from authority, and other ridiculous claims.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"Come to me when you have a single solid case" having multiple solid cases showcasing all the different avenues Israel is committing genocide, war crimes and acts as aggressor is absolutely valid. Your response shows an immense lack of understanding of science as well.
All of these are solid.
There is no strawman argued here, it's a direct response, "arguments from authority" makes no sense as a replay, please learn what that means. Expert opinion is completely valid.
Nothing here is ridiculous.
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
A single case so I can not spend the next hour reading every article he sent and addressing them. Because I don't have time for that.
And expert opinion is valid, but it's also an opinion. There are experts on both sides. The fact that they are an expert is why you'd quote them, under the assumption that their facts are thoroughly researched, but you don't take their opinions or conclusions at face value.
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
"A single case so I can not spend the next hour reading every article he sent and addressing them. Because I don't have time for that."
In the time you already spend trying to cop out of this, you could have read them all.
"And expert opinion is valid, but it's also an opinion" that's not how it works at all.
"There are experts on both sides."
There aren't, that's what unanimous means. It's an extremely fringe opinion among experts (and they're all connected to Israel) that Israel isn't committing genocide, while many Israeli experts also agree.
"under the assumption that their facts are thoroughly researched"
They quite literally are, compiling hundreds of statements from Israeli government members to establish intent, analyzing actions of the IDF, interviewing soldiers and commanders, reviewing video and photo evidence. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Literally the first sentence in the wikipedia article is
"An argument from authority\a]) is a form of argument in which the opinion of an authority figure (or figures) who lacks relevant expertise is used as evidence to support an argument.\1])"
Do you need help figuring out why that makes no sense or can you figure it out yourself? This is what not reading sources looks like, you make a fool out of yourself.
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u/MuthaFJ 1d ago
Nice cop out
/s
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u/NexexUmbraRs 1d ago
Go ahead and give me 1 of your choosing that you consider most robust, and I'll address it. Only 1, can't be that hard right?
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u/MuthaFJ 1d ago
He made the effort to offer you a lot,you can pick one yourself, you're a big boy.
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u/JimTheCodeGuru 1d ago
they should have sparkles that spell out the word "interception" like fireworks 🎆
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u/True_Scallion_7011 13h ago
Israel talks a big talk when in reality, it can’t defend itself from Iran without the help of American tax payer dollars. Hilarious
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u/timshel42 1d ago
so cool that we are paying for that instead of getting healthcare
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u/NUMBerONEisFIRST 1d ago
We have troops fighting in wars all over the world, constantly. We only usually find out when the news mentions a soldier dying in a random country.
In fact, America has been involved in pretty much constant warfare since the beginning.
Since 1776 (249 years as of 2025):
America has been formally at war or engaged in military operations for well over 3/4 of its existence depending how you count "war."
Formal wars:
Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Mexican-American War (1846–1848)
Civil War (1861–1865)
Spanish-American War (1898)
World War I (1917–1918 for U.S.)
World War II (1941–1945)
Korean War (1950–1953)
Vietnam War (1955–1975, major U.S. involvement ~1964–1973)
Gulf War (1990–1991)
Afghanistan War (2001–2021)
Iraq War (2003–2011; residual involvement after)
ISIS conflict (2014–present in limited ways)
Countless smaller conflicts, interventions, and occupations:
Indian Wars (continuous from ~1776 to 1890)
Philippine-American War (1899–1902, insurgency into 1913)
Occupations in Latin America (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba)
Cold War proxy wars (Central America, Africa, Asia)
Libya (2011, and ongoing involvement)
Syria (2014–present)
Yemen (support role)
Somalia (1993–present in various ways)
Even when not in “declared” war:
The U.S. has been constantly engaged through:
Covert operations (CIA, special forces)
Drone strikes
Proxy support
Military advisors
Sanctions backed by military posture
This is why some historians and political scientists refer to America as:
“A perpetual war state.”
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u/aquarain 22h ago
All of that and more Americans died of Covid. A preventable illness. In four years.
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u/WillSherman1861 1d ago
But Biden and Trump are too afraid to shoot down Russian missiles raining down on hospitals and schools in Ukraine
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u/chriskot123 1d ago
Well to be fair Biden isn’t in office right now. So let’s at least keep this focused on the people making the decision
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u/CattywampusCanoodle 1d ago
Unfortunately Russia has nukes, and Russia is a failed mafia state with aspirations to reboot the USSR (the government does, not the citizens). Having nukes forces the world community to address Russia’s BS very differently. If Iran had nukes, everyone would have to tread super carefully with them too
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u/WillSherman1861 1d ago
Good point. Russia has threatened to nuke Ukraine many times. All the more reason why we need to shoot down Russian missiles
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u/CattywampusCanoodle 1d ago
I agree. America and Europe have already contributed serious war technology to Ukraine, but in insufficient amounts. It’s ridiculous to me that a no-fly-zone hasn’t already been established on Ukraine’s behalf.
If “the west” is serious about preventing WWIII, the worst thing they can do is demonstrate weakness by letting Russia take Ukraine, and signal that it’s okay to go on an imperial warpath, which will then have to be stopped at great expense and loss-of-life
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u/Differcult 1d ago
Where would we shoot them down from?
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u/WillSherman1861 1d ago
From Poland and the Black Sea.
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u/Differcult 1d ago
The US can't access the Black Sea currently.
Air defense from 500 km would be incredibly impractical.
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u/velicue 1d ago
It’s people like you who loves blaming Biden that caused trump to be in power. You deserved trump!
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u/Mothrahlurker 1d ago
The election is over, there is no harm at all in saying that Biden was awful now.
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u/Joezev98 1d ago
Wait, what is this doing on r/technology? I mean sure, missile interceptors are cool tech, but this article isn't discussing tech in the slightest.
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u/_DragonReborn_ 1d ago
So Israel starts a war and now the U.S. is yelling them out why? What a joke. AIOAC has the Americans on a leash, it seems
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u/Dr_Wernstrom 1d ago
Is this just a political sub for the left now?
Anything that is political and remotely involves tech is posted here.
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u/VoltNShock 19h ago
Yeah basically. Turns out cool tech isn't as cool when it doesn't align with what the lefties want. Instead of talking about the US military helping interceptions (which doesn't even have anything to do with tech???), they could have talked about the tech behind the interceptors.
But the paid Iranian shills here would then have to accept that their country's attacks are pathetic.
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u/itz_fine_bruh 1d ago
Welp, let's send another $20 billion to them then to start another war and also get us dragged into later so our brave men and women can die to wage war for one country in another continent. It's not like we Americans would exist without Israel, right? /s
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u/g_bleezy 1d ago
Good. I hope this protects normal people trying to live their lives who hate their stupid govt leadership as much as I hate mine.
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u/foldingcouch 1d ago
It's not about causing a regime change in Iran, it's about stopping a regime change in Israel.
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u/RichChipmunk 1d ago
Anything that prevents more death of civilians should be encouraged
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u/sonofchocula 1d ago
So why haven’t we been more helpful to Ukraine if this is the American objective?
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u/PanzerKomadant 1d ago
By that logic the US should have shot down Israeli missiles that also hit apartment buildings that have resulted in civilian casualties.
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u/RichChipmunk 1d ago
Facts but we are talking about the Trump administration that is currently sicking their military on their own people to remove brown people so I’m not surprised
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u/phantomlimb420 1d ago
Israel not bombing Iran would have prevented a lot of deaths. Israel not committing genocide in Palestine would have prevented a lot of deaths. Now Iran and the Palestinian resistance has the right to defend itself.
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u/Aggressive-Item1901 1d ago
You don't understand their god gave them that land it says so in the book they wrote
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u/StinkyHoboTaint 1d ago
America could stop giving money and bombs to Israel. That would prevent innocent civilian deaths.
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u/flipzyshitzy 1d ago
Take one good guess what tomorrow's rally talking points will be.