Sunday, March 22, 2026

The Scoop Is…?

BREAKING: In a phone call just minutes ago President Trump told me Democrats want to make a deal on DHS funding but he doesn’t “think any deal should be made on this until they approve save America.”

First I asked him how long he’s prepared to have ice agents help out at airports

He told me, “For as long as it takes.”

Then I asked “Some lawmakers are saying they should just fund TSA while they negotiate on DHS. What do you think about that?”

President Trump said “Now that I did this the Democrats want to make a deal. And I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America. Ok, so you have a scoop.”
...  Trump is an idiot who has no idea what’s going on? Or that people in lines at airports don’t give a shit about the SAVE Act? (He’s not even aware of the number of votes Democrats have forced to make Republicans vote down a separate bill to pay for TSA.) 😹 😹😹
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🐓 Or 🥚 Or 🐈?

I guess hospitals is a … pink line? For the U.S., I mean. Like Schrödinger’s cat, it’s all a matter of who looks, and when they’re looking. And it’s just a thought experiment, anyway. 
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Putting It… Mildly?

Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the Spokesman for the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified combatant command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces:

“Hey Trump! You are fired! You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter. The Central Headquarters of Khatam-al Anbiya.”
If he’s putting it mildly, why is he shouting?  And what is he putting mildly? Peace? Strength? Or how to say something? The Iranian guy I understand. Maybe his cleaned up in translation.  I don’t know what would fix Trump’s.

As Charlie Pierce used to say: “This close to English.”
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Hope Is Not A Plan

The belief that Israel and the US could help instigate widespread revolt was a foundational flaw in the preparations for a war that has spread across the Middle East. Instead of imploding from within, Iran’s govt has dug in and escalated the conflict, striking blows and counterblows against military bases, cities, ships in the Persian Gulf, and against vulnerable oil and gas installations." (gift link)
No one could have foreseen? 🤷‍♂️
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OK, Let’s See Whether He Makes Sense, Or Not

Asked about what he thought of today’s statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister saying Iran would not be swayed by threats after President Trump said the U.S. would strike Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours, Trump told NewsNation:

“Ok, let’s see whether or not he’s right.”
Regarded plainly, it’s a perfectly empty statement. Will the Foreign Minister of Iran be swayed by threats? He says not. What will Trump “see”? That the Foreign Minister blinks? Or that Trump turns his threats to action, at which point Iran has not been swayed by threats.

Language, how does it work, again?

Trump really has no idea how to bully someone who won’t be bullied.
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Follow The Money

Because if you don’t describe the problem correctly, you can’t affect the solution.

I was watching a discussion on PBS among four “experts” about Iran and the Strait and not one mentioned the question of insurance.  It was only discussed in terms of military control, not in terms of risk assessment. They were talking about a problem that exists in the realm where they can discuss and describe it. Reality be damned.

And their answers are always right, of course; they are just never implemented properly. The Big Idea cannot fail; it can only be failed.

I’ll retire to Bedlam.
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You Need To Read This

  Not this post; this one. Seriously. You do:

Rheinmetall’s CEO went on CNBC and said the thing that nobody in his position is supposed to say. “If the war lasts another month, we will have nearly no missiles available. All European, American, and also Middle East country warehouses are empty, or nearly empty.” This wasn’t a leak. Not an anonymous source. Not a think tank estimate. This was the CEO of Europe’s largest defense manufacturer, on camera, stating plainly that the cupboard is bare. It is the military equivalent of the pilot coming on the intercom to say he doesn’t know how to land.
Future’s so bright:
The IEA released 400 million barrels from strategic reserves. The largest coordinated release in history. It will be remembered as such for 3.8 days. The fire extinguisher lasted less than a week and the fire hasn’t even noticed.

United Airlines is planning for $175 per barrel through the end of 2027. Whatever “winding down” means, United’s CFO doesn’t believe in it. Corporate planning has looked at the situation, done its own maths, and concluded that this is a two-year problem being described as a two-week one.
Does this sound like Trump and COVID all over again? And shouldn’t that worry us? Or should it worry us that this is worse?
There exists in diplomacy a concept known as “sanctions”, which works on the same principle as telling a child they can’t have dessert while you’re eating cake in front of them. The United States has been sanctioning Iran for years. It has also been bombing Iran for three weeks. These are, in the normal course of events, complementary activities. One is economic warfare. The other is the regular kind.

This week, the US Treasury lifted all oil sanctions on Iran. For 30 days. 140 million barrels of Iranian crude, sitting on ships at sea, may now be sold freely on the global market. Including to the United States itself.

In yuan.

The United States is purchasing, with Chinese currency, oil from the country it is currently bombing?! The same oil that funds the missiles that just shot down an F-35 for the first time. The same missiles that are redecorating allied oil infrastructure.

Treasury Secretary Bessent called this “narrowly tailored”. Narrow like in white, and tailored as in card, apparently.

In the same OFAC filing, Russian oil sanctions were lifted as well. And Belarus potash too, because apparently the universe was running low on irony and needed to top up.

The logic, insofar as there is any, goes like this: the war has crashed the global oil market so hard that the administration needs the enemy’s oil to keep gasoline prices from eating the midterms. They are unsanctioning the people they’re bombing because the bombing is working too well at the thing they didn’t want it to do. The sanctions were necessary to stop Iran funding the war, but the war made the sanctions too effective, so the sanctions had to be lifted to fund the war effort against the country that no longer needs sanctions because the oil revenues that sanctions were preventing are now required to prevent the economic damage caused by preventing those revenues, which is itself a consequence of the military campaign designed to make the sanctions unnecessary by making Iran the kind of country that doesn’t need sanctioning, which it would be, if the sanctions hadn’t been lifted to pay for making it that.
And still it gets worse:
Friday’s press gaggle. Barely exaggerated: at 12:03 PM, President Trump told reporters he wanted a ceasefire with Iran. At 12:05 he declared victory. At 12:07 he announced he was sending Marines. At 12:08 he said no boots on the ground. At 12:11 he said he did not want a ceasefire. At 12:16 he declared victory again. At 12:17 he asked for a ceasefire. At 12:23 he told NATO they were cowards. At 12:29 he said Iran was begging for a ceasefire. At 12:31 he said everything was perfect. At 12:36 he said $500 oil was a good thing. At 12:37 he demanded Iran open Hormuz. At 12:39 he said Hormuz was never closed. At 12:41 he said the US was not at war with Iran. At 12:42 he declared victory in Iran.

By 3:43 PM he told CBS he doesn’t want a ceasefire. By 5:13 PM - 13 minutes after futures markets closed for the weekend, in a coincidence that should be studied in every securities fraud textbook - he posted on Truth Social that the US is “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts”. The S&P reversed more than 1% in seconds. QQQ had already surged 1.1% in the 80 minutes before the announcement, with call options flowing in at a pace that suggests someone, somewhere, had an itinerary.
No notes. Or surprises.
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Surely Attacking Kharg Island Will Save The Day!

Senior American officials in recent days have told their counterparts in Israel and other countries that the United States will be forced to launch a ground operation to capture Iran’s Kharg Island, the primary oil export terminal for the Islamic Republic, in the Northern Persian Gulf, according to two sources familiar with the details who spoke to Israel’s i24News.
Any Israeli ground forces? Or are we doing this for them?
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking today on Fox News, advocating for a ground invasion of Iran’s Kharg Island in the Northern Persian Gulf: “We've got two Marine Expeditionary Units sailing to this island. We did Iwo Jima. We can do this. The Marines, my money is always on the Marines.”

U.S. Forces suffered over 26,000 casualties in the Battle of Iwo Jima, including 6,821 dead, in an operation which lasted 36 days and involved an island about the same size as Kharg Island.
But taking Kharg and destroying Iran’s energy sector won’t be a hideous war crime and humanitarian catastrophe, but will lower oil prices, right? Right?
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The 🐓? Or The 🥚?

Reza Pahlavi, the Exiled Crown Prince of Iran, has called on U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt further attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, following yesterday’s 48-hour ultimatum against power plants in Iran by President Trump, with the Crown Prince stating, “The Islamic Republic's infrastructure is the machinery of repression and terror used to keep that future from becoming reality. Iran must be protected. The regime must be dismantled.”
Nobody cares.
According to a U.S. intelligence report, assembled prior to the anti-government protests in early January, which was shown to President Donald J. Trump a week before the start of the Iran War, Reza Pahlavi, the Exiled Crown Prince of Iran, they concluded lacked a sufficient network inside the country to lead an effective overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

“They never took him that seriously,” Vali Nasr, a Professor at Johns Hopkins, said of the Trump Administration. “There’s a difference between having an organization on the ground versus just having people who like you. If you’re going to help change a regime, you have to have a ground game.” Trump and his aides began referring to Pahlavi as the “loser prince,” according to The New Yorker.
The White House is listening to someone else. What a coinkydink.
No way! Israel, who clearly is not aligned with the operational objectives of the United States and instead wants a “failed state” and the total destruction of Iran, supports strikes against Iranian power plants which will ultimately result in the suffering of the Iranian people as well as mass attacks against, not Israel, but energy and desalination infrastructure in the Gulf States. What a surprise!
Timing is everything.
I had a phone call interview with President Trump today about Iran. Asked about the strait of Hormuz and his ultimatum, @POTUS said: “You’ll find out what’s gonna happen”. Will they cave in to the ultimatum? “You’re gonna find out soon. It’s gonna be very good. Total decimation of Iran. It’s gonna work out very good.” About NATO countries: “they are not doing anything, it’s too bad”. President Trump added: “They’ve been very bad for 47 years (Iran). Now they’re getting their comeuppance.”
Haven’t we heard this for three weeks now? Did Trump come up with this on his own and out of the blue? Or did Bibi urge him on? Why do I suspect Bibi is at least as important to Trump’s decision as Europea declining to help? Conversely, Bibi talks to the rest of the world like Trump is stupid. Which audience is Bibi talking to? Well, which comes first? The 🐓? Or the 🥚?
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BTW: Graham Is A Ghoul

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And Then Do We Get To Pick The New Ayatollah?

Asking for Trump….
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You Don’t Know Any Of Them

They don’t live here. Don’t be ridiculous, Karl. See? Trump’s a victim!
BRENNAN: 60% of Americans disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. 57% think the conflict is going badly. How do you tell the American people they're wrong?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president a 100% approval rating
There! He’s run rings ‘round you logically! JAPAN SHOT FIRST!
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Efficiency Cubed!

And think of all the people they can detain!
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Children Should Be Seen And Not Heard

Whose desperation are we talking about? And mau-mauing the flak catchers. Or something. Children today are SO disrespectful!
WELKER: If the point of sanctions was to stop funding the Russian war machine, why is the administration effectively rewarding Russia now?

BESSENT: Again Kristen, you're missing the point

WELKER: They wouldn't have gotten any money with sanctions in place

BESSENT: Kristen, whoever does your research, you should get rid of
When the facts are against you, pound on the table.
WELKER: Would the administration ever raise taxes in order to fund this war?

BESSENT: Again, Kristen, terrible framing

WELKER: It's a simple question

BESSENT: It's a ridiculous question

WELKER: Can you answer it?

BESSENT: Why would we do that? We have plenty. We have a trillion dollars.
🙋‍♂️ Then why do you need 200 billion dollars more? WAR IS PEACE.  FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.
WELKER: Do you think it's appropriate for the president to celebrate the death of a Bronze Star, Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam?

BESSENT: Neither one of us can understand what has been done to the president and his family

WELKER: But is it appropriate for the president to celebrate the death of any American citizen?

BESSENT: Give what has been done to President Trump and his family, it is impossible for either of us to understand what he's been through

WELKER: So you don't think there's anything wrong with a post saying, 'Good. Robert Mueller's dead'?

BESSENT: We should have empathy for what's been done to the president and his family
And in the Trump Administration, the first (and only) Rule of Holes is: keep digging.

A child knows better than Bessent.
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Will 🧊 Be At The Airports For The World Cup Games?

Maybe that’s the exit Homan wants to guard?
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🙋‍♂️

If Iran is dead, who’s keeping the SOH closed and threatening to attack power plants and desalination plants in neighboring Gulf states?

Or is this some kind of four-dimensional chess head fake?
So is it also the only language  “Radical Left, Highly Incompetent Democrat[s]” understand? Or is it just a dog whistle for MAGA? Dog whistle it is, then.
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To Do What? 🛩️

"The great Tom Homan is in charge.” Just so we’re clear on the job requirements….

(Granted, I haven’t been to an airport lately, but I don’t think going through an exit is why people are standing in long lines.)
Hopefully they get more training than Homan, because he doesn’t seem to understand what the problem is. Ah, yes, the little known footnote to the 5th amendment: “*Except when it’s ICE/CBP.”
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Saturday, March 21, 2026

War Crimes ‘R’ Us

For many people asking if such strikes would be considered a war crime, it depends. If strikes were carried out on power plants just because they are power plants and those plants were utilized by civilians, then yes it is a war crime, however, if there is a distinction made and strikes are only carried out on plants supporting military actions, then no it technically is not. Though President Trump does not appear to make a distinction between civilian or military power plants in this post on Truth Social.
The Spokesman for the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified combatant command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, has stated following tonight’s 48-hour ultimatum by U.S. President Trump, that if the United States attacks fuel or energy infrastructure in Iran, then they will attack U.S. and allied energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure across the Middle East.
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I’m Sure We’ll All Sleep Well Tonight

U.S. President Donald J. Trump is now facing the toughest decision so far of his presidency, a legacy-defining endeavor, whether to deploy hundreds or even thousands of American ground troops into Iran to support a number of contingencies being prepared by the Pentagon, including the capture of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, or operations deep behind enemy lines to secure highly-enriched uranium from nuclear sites in Iran, according to CNN.

For many Trump allies in Washington, the deployment of thousands of troops to the Middle East would mean the swift end of their public support for the Iran War - and likely threaten the administration’s ability to deliver the hundreds of billions of dollars in supplemental funding that will soon be requested from Congress by the Pentagon and White House. The economic repercussions of the conflict have led many of Trump’s Republican allies, staring down a tough political road to the midterm elections in November, to urge him to find a way out of Iran.
And other great ideas: Trump knew this would happen. He’s fine with it.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump attacks David Sanger and The New York Times for an article published earlier today questioning if all objectives have truly been achieved so far during the Iran War, with Trump stating, “The United States has blown Iran off of the map,” once again saying that the operation is “weeks ahead of schedule! Their leadership is gone, their navy and air force are dead, they have absolutely no defense, and they want to make a deal. I don't! We are weeks ahead of schedule.”
Which schedule is that?
Per the Tasnim report, the Iranian official said that beggaring the safe passage of trade through the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea was one of the options available to the “Resistance Front,” which implies that the Houthis would get directly involved should the below stated red lines be crossed.
In an interesting report, according to Tasnim News Agency, citing Iranian officials, if the U.S. conducts a “military attack” (1) on the strategically and economically important Kharg Island, Iran will threaten shipping in the Bab el Mandeb Strait. This is notable as the Houthis, who Iran used as their primary executor of their strategy to threaten shipping in the strait and the Red Sea in the past, have yet to enter the conflict.
1: Assuming this means a ground operation, as the U.S. has already conducted strikes on the island.
Does the schedule include that?
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🪦

☠️
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Dear Chief Justice:

 Is this:

On Friday, Trump said that he met with Hope Scheppelman, who is running for Colorado’s 3rd District, and her husband, Steven, “to discuss various opportunities to serve our Country in a different capacity than her current run for the United States Congress.”

“Hope and Steven are wonderful and patriotic Veterans of our U.S. Navy, and loyal supporters of our Historic MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Movement. Therefore, I am proud to announce that they will be leaving the Campaign trail in order to join my Administration, in a capacity to be determined,” Trump wrote on social media, adding that they decided nothing should impede GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd’s race.

Trump has used his endorsement as a tool to exert power or threaten members of Congress who go against him, but despite Trump making good on that threat, House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to demonstrate how the president can also be convinced to change his mind.

Two sources familiar with the matter said that Johnson made a strong case to the White House to support Hurd, who represents a competitive district that Trump won by about 10 points in 2024.

“The Speaker advocated vigorously for Jeff who has been a great colleague and great member of the House Republican Conference,” one of the sources said.

It’s not clear yet what roles Scheppelman and her husband will serve in the administration. The White House did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on what capacity the Scheppelman’s will be serving, why her husband was also offered a role and whether the president directly offered them jobs in exchange for stepping out of the race.

...

Trump made clear that his decision was fueled by preventing a Democratic alternative from winning, writing, “It is time to stand together against the people that want to destroy our Great Nation, and vote for Jeff Hurd.”
This is clearly illegal: offering a government job for political benefit; but is it an “official duty” protected by presidential immunity?

And how many years of judicial review will it take to settle that question?
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Our Man On Their Side

He’s not through yet:
The Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will. Just like the Radical Left allowed millions of Criminals to pour into our Country through their ridiculous and dangerous Open Border Policy, the Republicans closed it all down, and we now have the Strongest Border in American History. Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES! President DONALD J. TRUMP
A TSA agent and union rep was on MSNBC yesterday talking about how much training TSA agents have before they take up a station in the airport. Now Trump wants to release his undertrained goon squad on America’s airports. They have no training in screening and the security equipment or procedures, so they’ll what? Look for brown people to “detain”? Or just people with accents? Walking through airports with guns and masks? What could go wrong?

This may ensure the largest midterm party sweep in American history.
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Does This Give Me Permission To Piss On Trump’s Grave?

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“We Don’t Need It”

That’s Biden’s fault.
Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and through President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, we are winning this critical fight at an even faster pace than anticipated. In response to Iran’s terrorist attacks against global energy infrastructure, the Trump Administration will continue to deploy America’s economic and military might to maximize the flow of energy to the world, strengthen global supply, and seek to ensure market stability.

Today, the Department of the Treasury is issuing a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea.

At present, sanctioned Iranian oil is being hoarded by China on the cheap. By temporarily unlocking this existing supply for the world, the United States will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets, expanding the amount of worldwide energy and helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran. In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down as we continue Operation Epic Fury.

This temporary, short-term authorization is strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production. Further, Iran will have difficulty accessing any revenue generated and the United States will continue to maintain maximum pressure on Iran and its ability to access the international financial system.

So far, the Trump Administration has been working to bring around 440 million additional barrels of oil to the global market, undercutting Iran’s ability to leverage its disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump’s pro-energy agenda has driven U.S. oil and gas production to record levels, strengthening energy security and lowering fuel costs. Any short-term disruption now will ultimately translate into longer-term economic gains for Americans – because there is no prosperity without security.
Hmmmm:
The world consumes 37,434,218,625 barrels of oil as of the year 2024, equivalent to 102,559,503 barrels per day.
440 million barrels, you say? So what does the world do by Friday?
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Please, Let’s Conduct Our Military Strategy By FoxNews Hits

But I was told we’d hit Kharg Island harder than it’s ever been hit before. And that Iran had no military capacity left. It’s Vietnam all over again.
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The Democratic Response:

Trump: "If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota. I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
"Don’t threaten us with a good time.”

You thought air travel was bad now….
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Except The “Investors” Are All Of Us

Except the ROI is data centers that suck up electricity and water and take our jobs. 

And make a handful of people richer.  So they buy the house, and we pay for it.

Is this a great country, or what?
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We Will All Be Expected To Say “Thank You, President Trump!”

Pretty sure they’ll all pay the market price for it. Which is higher than it should be, thanks to Trump.

I guess Britain and France should tell Trump “Thank you”?

Wouldn’t matter;

That’s if we’re still there, this time next week: Oil prices are still most likely to lead quickly to that off ramp. Although he’s going to be disappointed when oil prices don’t drop to prewar levels immediately. 😵‍💫
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Friday, March 20, 2026

The Nation Suddenly Realizes Gas Prices Aren’t That High

😑
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We May Not Withdraw Soon, But….

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued waivers temporarily lifting nearly all sanctions imposed on tankers originating from or carrying oil from the Islamic Republic of Iran, dubbed “Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Iranian-Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 20, 2026” effective for vessels loaded on or before 12:01a.m. EST, March 20, 2026 through 12:01a.m. EST, April 19, 2026.
...we’re gonna lower the price of gas!

Or, you know, probably not. Unless this is also a sign we’re gonna cut ‘n’ run. I wouldn’t be surprised about that, either. Because nothing short of ending hostilities and getting Iran to release the Strait (two conditions that may not be yoked together) is likely to calm the global markets; or the insurance underwriters.

Insurance is finance; and finance runs the world. Until the insurance industry decides the Strait is safe…it ain’t open.
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“And Every Day You Take Another Bite…”

No Daddy to bail him out, so he’s just going to wait for it to go away. What are the odds he has a plan?
EVERYONE REPEAT AFTER ME

You CANNOT get to Kharg Island with Marines until you successfully transit the Strait of Hormuz ... which the IRGC will make a living hell with sea mines, suicide boat drones, missiles and aerial drones

Once past the SOH its a 20-24 hour dash (380nm) to Kharg along a coast that may be firing off antiship missiles, ballistic hypersonic missiles, cruise missiles small boats and suicide drones of all sorts, aerial, surface and subsurface.

Then they can just blow up the islands refineries when you arrive so you have to live in a town of 8,000 who hate you in a cloud of poisonous smoke/gas
So, what’s going on now? Or ... not. This sounds like Trump paid attention to the Europeans who said “Not until the fighting’s over.”  But what if we do go after Kharg Island?
Both of those things are feasible. Let me just start with Kharg Island. We can put troops on there. We can air mobile them in. We could land them by boat. I guess the comment I have about Kharg is, I’m not sure what the significance is of putting troops there. It’s only about 20 miles off the coast of Iran. So you’re definitely under the threat of their weapon systems. You’d be very, very vulnerable there. And I don’t know that it would give us any particular tactical advantage that we don’t already have or couldn’t get someplace else at an offset location where we have established bases and other things like that. So I’m not sure what the tactical advantage of it is.

I get that it has an informational and kind of messaging advantage against the Iranians that we are on their territory. And it may send a message to the broader energy community that we are safeguarding these vital Iranian infrastructures. That might give them some confidence [but] kind of an odd thing to do. But I just don’t really see the big advantage of going to Kharg. But we could certainly do it if we had to.

We would be vulnerable.
Aye, there's the rub.
When you start putting troops on the ground – I know there’s some mishmash and words on that – but that’s troops on the ground right there. It also implies that you are going to have to take care of them, you’re going to have to resupply them, you’re going to medevac them, you have to do all the things that keep them in place for whatever period of time. And that requires that you have a logistical tail, and at some point that tail has to be protected as well. So these are not insignificant considerations and they’re often bigger operations.

I would imagine on a little island like Kharg, you would need a battalion sized force of Marines or soldiers could probably do that. So you’re probably looking at 800 to 1,000 troops, kind of size, maybe a little bit smaller, probably not much larger than that.
Nothing simple, right? I don’t think it would be without dangers, either. Iran has struck one of our jets, enough to force it to land. Providing support to troops won’t be easy. And just straightening out Hormuz will take more than “NOT OUR PROBLEM!”
And then we have to undertake a very deliberate effort to open the Strait. And then we’ll have to stay committed to helping move ships through there, for some period of time, and Iran will continue to have the ability to interdict that.
Think about it: why wouldn't they? Hope is not a plan.
My concern is that when we move to a new normal that hasn’t necessarily changed the dynamic all that much, we will have to stay committed to this for some time forward. I don’t know that that was necessarily what we had envisioned at the start of this, or had envisioned for the force long term.

Q: How long do you think this will go on, given what you’re seeing now?

A: I think we’ve got weeks more of operations.

Q: A month? More than that?

A: More than a month, I think probably double digit weeks and single digit months when you throw in a Strait of Hormuz operation, stuff like. I can see us for a couple of months here.
So, through spring maybe into summer, at least? With the possibility of casualties?

The tougher this war gets, the less popular it gets. Trump knows that. But does he understand the logistics of withdrawal? 

The withdrawal from Afghanistan which Biden carried out on Trump’s “plan,” does not inspire confidence.
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We Don’t Need Anybody! We Just Need Somebody To Bail Us Out!

Trump doesn’t need help, but he does. The U.S. Navy can reopen the Strait with no risk, but we need NATO to do that. Trump wants somebody to bail him out because Daddy’s not around to do it. But nobody’s coming to his rescue.

They want hostilities to end, first. Which put it back on Trump. No wonder he’s so upset.
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“Especially Christians”

All men and women, especially Christians, are called to fix their gaze on those who suffer, on the pain of the lonely, and on those who are emarginated for various reasons, for without them we cannot build a just society. Only together can we build communities of solidarity capable of caring for everyone, in which wellbeing and peace can flourish for the benefit of all. Caring for the humanity of others helps us to live our own lives to the full.
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Thursday, March 19, 2026

The First Casualty Of War

The first casualty of Trump is competence.
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Way Off

Where is that damned off ramp?
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Literally Trickle Down Socialism

Which I thought was bad….
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What Trump Wants To Hear

Important to note that Bessent’s comment stands in stark contrast to Tulsi Gabbard’s congressional testimony on Wednesday, where she said Iran’s theocratic leadership has been significantly degraded by U.S.-Israeli strikes but remains unified.

“The regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded by Operation Epic Fury,” she told a Senate hearing. She added that Iran and its proxies “remain capable of and continue to attack U.S. and allied interests in the Middle East.”
And doesn’t want to hear:
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Is He Describing Iran, Or…?

Hegseth: The media wants you to think that we're somehow spinning toward an endless abyss or a forever war or a quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hear it from me.

One of hundreds of thousands who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, who watched previous foolish politicians like Bush, Obama and Biden squander American credibility. This is not those wars. President Trump knows better. Epic fury is different.
Is that why Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz? And our core industries are winning hearts and minds? How’re we doin’ with that? What’s that? Our other core industry is building bombs? Great; just great.  Speaking of apocalyptic endgames: When you pray for war, pray like this:
O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(After a pause.) “Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!”

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
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“The Room Goes Completely Silent”

You think it didn’t get worse? And has lost 10% of that value since. What’s your point?
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