Comment by rasHjl
5 hours ago
You won't find it in the mainstream press. This administration is about "pivoting to China" (i.e., controlling China more). Elbridge Colby, who is a main China hawk, is undersecretary of defense now.
Here is a write-up on the China part:
https://www.hudson.org/national-security-defense/iran-strike...
For broader geopolitical chess games the "Path to Persia" and "Extending Russia" papers are all time favorites.
The EU part isn't that explicit. It is a mixture of the US wanting to take the Greenland Arctic Sea route, sabotaging energy deliveries from Russia and making the EU dependent on US LNG. Now the EU is even more dependent on the US and there is no sign that the US wants Hormuz open. It is stalling, in my opinion deliberately.
I think it's stalling because there is no support for the war in the US, and the political cost of actually opening the straight is higher than they are willing to pay. Notice the US is now declaring that the war is over, so they don't have to go justify it in Congress.
Unlikely to be even the bulk of the explanation. There has been zero cost to them (both administration and congress) in pursuing what they're pursuing and keeping the conflict hot, so no reason to stop. And congress is in on the act, they don't give a crap.
Were you under the illusion your house of representatives was representing you?
Oil per-barrel price is up so American energy exporter profits are up. At the same time, total quantity of exported barrels from the US and Canada are up as well because they have become the most "stable" supplier.
Stock market is also up, or at least flat, but "predictably" up where it needed be to keep the right people happy. Insider trading and a cycle of "taco-tuesdays" has allowed key parties to make absolutely insane amounts of money at the same time.
Trump is boldly incompetent and bumbling as a person. But the people telling him what to do are not. He's there to make them rich and he's doing a fabulous job of it.
They are all very aware that the midterms are coming up in six months. An unpopular war in the middle east could make the blowout even worse than it is already likely to be. Those bastards would certainly like to keep their jobs. You think they aren't thinking about this?