mditalia

@PaulRChase @JimBoland20 @DrJStrategy Why that is true? The answer is the path to the folly of high minded intellectualism. Perhaps add one more question. Who draws the lines on maps and how does the answer to the first question inform the latter? Thus is the world as it is and has always been.

@JimBoland20 @DrJStrategy Yep - we need to spend more on defence and less on welfare - no argument from me.

Food for thought. Trump, Hormuz and the End of the Free Ride For half a century, Western strategists have known that the Strait of Hormuz is the acute point where energy, sea power and political will intersect. That knowledge is not in dispute. What is new in this war with Iran is that the United States, under Donald Trump, has chosen not to rush to “solve” the problem. In Hegelian terms, he is refusing an easy synthesis in order to force the underlying contradiction to the surface. The old thesis was simple: the US guarantees open sea lanes in the Gulf, and everyone else structures their economies and politics around that free insurance. Europe and the UK embraced ambitious green policies, ran down hard‑power capabilities and lectured Washington on multilateral virtue, secure in the assumption that American carriers would always appear off Hormuz. The political class behaved as if the American security guarantee were a law of nature, not a contingent choice. Their conduct today is closer to Chamberlain than Churchill: temporising, issuing statements, hoping the storm will pass without a fundamental reordering of their responsibilities. Trump’s antithesis is to withhold the automatic guarantee at the moment of maximum stress. Militarily, the US can break Iran’s residual ability to contest the Strait; that is not the binding constraint. The point is to delay that act. By allowing a closure or semi‑closure to bite, Trump ensures that the immediate pain is concentrated in exactly the jurisdictions that have most conspicuously free‑ridden on US power: the EU and the UK. Their industries, consumers and energy‑transition assumptions are exposed. In that context, his reported blunt message to European and British leaders, you need the oil out of the Strait more than we do; why don’t you go and take it? Is not a throwaway line. It is the verbalisation of the antithesis. It openly reverses the traditional presumption that America will carry the burden while its allies emote from the sidelines. In this dialectic, the prize is not simply the reopening of a chokepoint. The prize is a reordered system in which the United States effectively arbitrages and controls the global flow of oil. A world in which US‑aligned production in the Americas plus a discretionary capability to secure,or not secure, Hormuz places Washington at the centre of the hydrocarbon chessboard. For that strategic end, a rapid restoration of the old status quo would be counterproductive. A quick, surgical “fix” of Hormuz would short‑circuit the dialectic. If Trump rapidly crushed Iran’s remaining coastal capabilities, swept the mines and escorted tankers back through the Strait, Europe and the UK would heave a sigh of relief and return to business as usual: underfunded militaries, maximalist green posturing and performative disdain for US power, all underwritten by that same power. The contradiction between their dependence and their posture would remain latent. By declining to supply the synthesis on demand, and by explicitly telling London and Brussels to “go and take it” themselves, Trump forces a reckoning. European and British leaders must confront the fact that their energy systems, their industrial bases and their geopolitical sermons all rest on an American hard‑power foundation they neither finance nor politically respect. The longer the contradiction is allowed to unfold, the stronger the eventual synthesis can be: a new order in which access to secure flows, Hormuz, Venezuela and beyond, is explicitly conditional on real contributions, not assumed as a right. In that sense, the delay in “taking” the Strait, and the challenge issued to US allies to do it themselves, is not indecision. It is the negative moment Hegel insisted was necessary for history to move. Only by withholding the old guarantee, and by saying so out loud to those who depended on it, can Trump hope to end the free ride.

@TheEconomist Why did Xi execute the engineer that designed the radars designed to shoot down American aircraft ? Perhaps Xi has other reasons for his silence?

We spoke to diplomats, advisers, scholars, experts and current and former officials in China. Almost all of them see the war in Iran as a grave American error. Register for free to read why: econ.st/416vZDK

@ShawnRyan762 Maybe bring Jacko back for some discussion? x.com/jockowillink/s…

“I just think that would be a disaster, deploying U.S. troops there. It would essentially be giving Iran a bunch of hostages on an island that they could barrage with drones and missiles. You’re putting U.S. servicemembers in a fishbowl where they are stranded on an island and can be targeted. Once we take losses, we fall back into that same cycle where we say we can’t leave, we have to stay and keep fighting. We’ve seen this over and over again in Iraq and Afghanistan. That would be handing Iran a strategic victory.” @joekent16jan19

@seanhannity VDH is a treasure.

Victor Davis Hanson says global signals suggest the tide is turning against Iran, arguing U.S. military dominance and shifting alliances point toward a potential collapse if pressure continues: “There’s enough evidence to see how things are really going. Europeans would never agree to go anywhere near Iran unless they thought the tide was turning and that we’re going to win. Otherwise, they would keep still. And the reason that the petro nations of the Gulf survive is they have their finger in the wind and are very attuned to the climate. When you have Al Jazeera praising the United States’ bombing campaign and saying that it’s been underestimated and is brilliant and effective, you get the feeling that they think not only should the United States finish the job, but that it can and will finish the job. So you put it all together, and I think it’s pretty clear that this rope-a-dope strategy—that we’re going to tire before they do—is dependent on public opinion, the midterms, and the United States. And if Trump sees it through—and I think he will—I think they’re going to fall pretty soon.”

@realDailyWire Every now and then, its good not to say what you are thinking.

This might actually be Trump's funniest moment 😂 Japanese Reporter: Why didn't you tell us before you struck Iran? Trump: "Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?" 💀🔥😂

@ShawnRyan762 surprised you are standing with this man. Your recent posts are leaking emotion, not reason. Sit in China's chair - if Iran falls, does that help them? Where was Trump's FIRST international trip after taking office? Saudi Arabia. Shortly after they had a sit down with China. Having American and Israeli interests aligned on checking Iran's power is a rational conclusion. It does not mean their policy objectives are the same. The principled thing for Kerr to do is to remain at his post and try to help his country. Pissing into the tent is not the act of an honorable man.

Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It's unfortunate it's come down to this. God's speed @joekent16jan19 I hope this wakes some people up.

@joekent16jan19 Bye

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC. May God bless America.

@JimFergusonUK Prepare for the US to take control of what oil gets exported from Iran and who it goes to... guessing we are getting close to the end.

x.com/JimFergusonUK/… 🚨 Trump Issues Strategic Warning to Beijing President Donald Trump has delivered a clear message to China regarding the security of one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. If Beijing does not assist in protecting the Strait of Hormuz, Trump says he may postpone his planned visit to China scheduled for March 31. His reasoning was direct. “I think China should also help us because it gets 90 percent of its oil from this strait.” The warning highlights the growing pressure on major global powers to contribute to the protection of international shipping routes as tensions escalate with Iran. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply, making it one of the most strategically important waterways on the planet. Washington’s message is increasingly blunt: If nations rely on the route for energy, they should also help defend it.

@OMGTheMess I think you just about summed it up. :)

Are European countries refusing naval service because they fear Muslim backlash? Or because they have degraded military capability? Or because they hate trump?

@Jkylebass @anders_aslund This was a marker for the US. Will be interesting to see who gets what oil concessions once this is over.

@anders_aslund France 🇫🇷 surrendered before it all started. The madness was appeasing a regime dead set on building multiple nuclear ☢️ bombs.

Very wise of France! No European country should join Trump in his madness.

@CENTCOM Love you guys, love the A-10, victory or nothing.

U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II’s receive fuel in-flight while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The A-10 Thunderbolt II can loiter for hours, standing by and ready to execute a mission whenever needed.

Did @CNN mention the UN Security Council voted 13-0 that “condemns in the strongest terms the egregious attacks” by Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, determining they constitute “a breach of international law and a serious threat to international peace and security.” China and Russia abstained.

As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, let me make clear: whoever leaked this lied. CNN should do some fact-checking. The U.S. has planned for Iran to try to close the strait for decades.

Thats a really good point. Two weeks after landing in Normandy everything went exactly as the allies had planned, Germany stopped fighting and surrendered. All because Eisenhower and Roosevelt made sure to tell retired military 'experts' and the press the details of the war plan. Compared to that this is a total fiasco.

Seriously? You think you’re going to retain any credibility by claiming that we prepared for months to use military force to clear the Strait of Hormuz, but now 13 days into a war with Iran after they closed it down and we still haven’t moved? There’s no reality to this claim at all. This is more evidence of an administration flailing in the wind, trying to use words to hide behind a grotesque failure of strategy, with no idea what to do next. Things just keep going from bad to worse…

@JasonJournoDC Carville is vile scumbag, lizard.

🚨NEW *UNHINGED* JAMES CARVILLE🤬 "Look, you fat f*ck Trump — if you listen to this, you listen good!" "I got Trump Derangement Syndrome. I hate the motherf*cker! And you know what? I don't want to get rid of it. I don't want to get better! I want to get WORSE! I want to hate him MORE!" "I pray to God in heaven: God, reign the righteous reign of Trump Derangement Syndrome on me. Pray for me, Lord. I'm your vessel on this earth." "Pray for the people that listen to this. We want MORE! We want to HATE the son of a b*tch so much that we can't see straight!" @DailyCaller

@Cappyarmy @BenStiller I thought @benstiller had a sense of humor?

@BenStiller -Makes movie using War. -Gets upset when War uses him.

Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.

@koshercockney Amazing Rubio has been there in our ear for 10+ years but we were not listening. Prophetic indeed, thanks for sharing.

Holy sh*t. Stop what you’re doing. Give yourself 3 minutes. Listen to this. Marco Rubio 2015. He called it. He called it word for word, like a play-by-play.

@MarioNawfal Did anyone else see that Xwing fighter?

🚨🇺🇸 NORTH AMERICA'S BIGGEST LAND RIG TIPS OVER IN ALASKA Doyon 26 toppled while being moved on a gravel road near ConocoPhillips' Alpine field yesterday. Small fire broke out, got put out fast. At 9.5 million pounds and nicknamed "The Beast," it's the largest mobile land rig in North America. It can drill wells over 40,000 feet deep. No serious injuries and no damage to pipelines or infrastructure reported. The cause is still unconfirmed. Rig moves are routine up there, but clearly risky. Source: Alaska's News Source, Anchorage Daily News

@catturd2 Why so kind?

James Carville looks like Gollum and Satan had a baby.

@GavinNewsom True, always thought of the dems as more a criminal organization. Pro slavery, pro succession, drug smuggling, pedo loving bunch.

Wake up, America. Stephen Miller has already publicly labeled the Democratic Party as a terrorist organization. This isn’t about crime and safety. It’s about dismantling our democratic institutions. We cannot allow acts of political violence to be weaponized and used to threaten tens of millions of Americans.

@gtconway3d From the party that brought you slavery and secession comes illegal immigration and sanctuary states.

Find your local event at #map" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">nokings.org/#map. Bring your family and friends. Stand up with everyone you love, for the country you hold dear.