We’re watching US geopolitical power collapse in real time. Iran has given other countries the blueprint to beating back the US military. Any hope of ever defeating China is gone forever. US allies are abandoning it during its time of need. Its over. Decade defining strategic defeat.
Trump’s PR nonsense has always been effective, bc of the illusion the American public lives under, and the deep dissatisfaction his base has with the changing sociocultural order. Trump has been selling lies to make money his whole life, not so different than a lot of operatives, just more bombastic
What we’re watching in the Iran war is two types of propaganda illusions being shattered in real time: The illusion of Trump’s power, and the illusion of American military might.
Trump will emerge from this broken, weak, enfeebled. And so will US military power. Iran has broken them both.
Generations of PR, marketing, comms, propagandists…..have created these elaborate illusions around the depth of US hegemony. Trump has done this same exercise himself, about his own power. And we’re watching these illusions be shattered, watching people wake up and see reality for what it really is.
Quitting the war means more than losing face. It is a de facto declaration that Iran is the strongest power in the region, and that US military power is waning. No guarantee Iran won’t slow strait traffic anyway. Staying in means energy prices balloon, melting down western economies. DC is trapped.
I don’t know if the last 5 years could have gone any worse for Israel. Just a complete disaster on all fronts.
$200 oil and the midterms will look like a reverse McGovern electoral map
US allies are learning in real time that our government is not strong enough to protect them.
As bad as the war with Iran is going you can forget about war with China lol. Just a pipe dream in dc now.
The higher the oil futures go the higher the november margin is
Airstrikes alone do not win wars. Decapitation strikes do not win wars. Only boots on the ground and risking real casualties can produce a win against an armed and insulated opponent. And even then its no guarantee. You can’t win a war on the cheap. Or with headlines.
The question becomes, if the west needs to stop the war more than Iran—because they cannot stomach high energy prices and cannot defend their bases—what incentive does Iran have to stop? What will the US and Israel concede and give up to Iran?
The key problem for US and Israel is if they back down now, they risk strategic defeat and de facto acknowledgement that Iran is the strongest power in the region. If they cannot stomach high energy prices or casualties, cannot defend their allies…further Iran has given China a blueprint. Dangerous!
“Leaving the regime undefeated” is a hell of a euphemism for the strategic defeat the United States and Israel are facing.
Probably helps South Africa
The court is trying to help Trump. They understand that the tariffs were a drag on the economy and created uncertainty, and negative economies lose elections. They are trying to help Republicans salvage 2026 and 2028. If the tariffs helped Republicans electorally they would have upheld them.
So much of what Trump does is fake. Board of peace is fake. Venezuelan regime change was fake. Credit card interest caps were fake. Wall was fake. Its all about optics, the apperance of winning. Its all comms and marketing to make the base believe in the spectacle. But its not real and never was
Democratic ticket wins in 28 for structural reasons. Negative national sentiment on the economy + feeling country is going in the wrong direction under Republicans. However it will be a challenge to make substantive change, and in 32 Dems could be back in the same boat.
Elites in America have complete impunity, total immunity from consequences whatsoever. It is a neo aristocracy of sorts, which hates knowledge and rewards ignorance. Many elites are not only corrupt, vain, and contemptuous of the masses, but are also stupid and live vapid lives.
Board of “peace” which makes Trump chairman for life (fake)
This is why there has been so much appeasement of Trump from Europe. They’ve been vassal states since 1945. Now, perhaps, they are realizing the folly of exchanging their autonomy for markets and imperial privilege. When the empire faces challenges, it squeezes you first.
Sure NATO could dissolve, the Europeans can credibly threaten it. But it hurts them more than the Americans
Nazis always had collaborators, going back to the very beginning. In every single country they occupied.
But sending 25 EU soldiers to Greenland isn’t going to cut it. Time for Europe to get serious or go home. The US can no longer squeeze Russia or China. Its getting harder than ever to squeeze the “third world.” But DC believes squeezing the EU, their “allies” will be easy.
The reality is that Europe cannot fight a two front war against Russia and the US. It doesn’t have the capability. Their best bet now is to stall for time and try to accommodate one of the great powers. Perhaps a détente with China is in the cards and Canada was an opening salvo
Europe believed that America was “like them” that they cared about human rights and liberalism. But that was always a facade, behind the curtain was 500 years of imperialism, colonialism, and Machiavellian power politics. Europe thought they could reap the benefits of that. Now its happening to them
America essentially provides for all of Europe’s security. After cutting off Russian gas, the US now provides a large percentage of Europe’s energy. The US cutting off energy to Europe now would wreck the continent. Giving up your autonomy post 45 for market access and privilege was a very bad deal.
The Europeans are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They trusted the Americans implicitly. The history of US reneging on deals is long—Native Americans, Kurds, Iran Deal. But the Europeans never believed it could be them. They have to shoulder a lot of the blame for their predicament now.
Europe does not have much ability to resist a US invasion of Greenland. Besides being completely reliant on the US for security, they are also reliant on the US for energy since they cut off gas from Russia. They’ve invested everything in fighting Russia and cannot afford to fight the US too.
Trump could take Greenland militarily, but it probably means the end of NATO. The US feels the global tides shifting so its moving to cannibalize its allies. China winning the race by doing nothing