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March 3, 2026
Rubio: Israel was going to attack Iran, so we attacked Iran first in self-defense
(The Guardian) “It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”
Go to discussionTrump Goes on Wild Posting Spree to Try to Shift War Blame
(Daily Beast) Donald Trump played a game of hypotheticals and then thanked himself in the third person as part of an attempt to deflect blame for his strikes on Iran. During a Truth Social posting spree, Trump, 79, first made a dubious claim about the nuclear deal agreed to under the Obama administration. “If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrendous Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Iran would have had a Nuclear Weapon three years ago,” he argued.
Go to discussionTrump rebukes Starmer over UK refusal to back strikes on Iran
(The Guardian) Donald Trump has criticised Keir Starmer again over the UK’s refusal to aid the offensive strikes on Iran, saying the “relationship is obviously not what it was”. Starmer had issued his strongest rebuke yet of Trump’s action in Iran, saying the UK did not believe in “regime change from the skies” and defended his decision not to allow the use of British bases to conduct the strikes. Speaking to the Sun, Trump compared Starmer’s actions unfavourably with France’s support for the strikes and with the backing of the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. “He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK,” he said.
Go to discussionMilitary officials question fortifications at site where U.S. troops were killed in Iranian strike
(CBS News) The first American service members to die in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran were killed in an apparent Iranian drone attack on a makeshift office space in Kuwait, three U.S. military officials with direct knowledge of Iran's attack told CBS News. At least six Americans were killed in a strike on a tactical operations center at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the deadly strike was caused by a powerful Iranian weapon that made it through both air defenses and the operations center's fortifications. But the three U.S. military officials questioned the assertion that the building was adequately fortified. They told CBS News the operations center was a triple-wide trailer made into an office space — a common setup at U.S. bases abroad.
Go to discussionFBI Staffers Ousted by Kash Patel Had Iran Expertise
(Mediaite) FBI Director Kash Patel fired at least a dozen counterintelligence staffers at the FBI mere days before the U.S. strikes on Iran, despite their relevant expertise, because they had also previously worked on the investigation into the classified documents at President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, according to a report by the New York Sun. The ousted staffers included agents and personnel from a counterintelligence unit called CI-12 in the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the firings were ordered directly by Patel, reported the Sun’s Daniel Edward Rosen.
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Leaked Interior Department database reveals US plans to revise historical information
(Reuters) The U.S. Interior Department said a database revealing how President Donald Trump's administration planned to revise information on key phases of American history at national park sites was deliberative and the employees who released it "will be held accountable." An internal government database first reported, opens new tab by the Washington Post and posted on two public websites, on Monday revealed the scope of the Trump administration's effort to revise or remove information on African-American history, LGBT rights, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites.
Go to discussionMysterious Jeffrey Epstein 'Walk of Shame' appears on path close to White House
(Irish Independent) A “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame” has been set up in Washington DC, not far from the White House, naming and shaming prominent public figures associated with the late paedophile and sex trafficker. The display consists of stickers – mocked up in the style of the celebrated Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles – which name powerful friends of Epstein and carry QR codes linking to specific entries about them in the files recently released by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
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