[1]
By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with [2]
In the Stone Ages, as President Donald Trump (lead image) calls ancient history, it was expected that if a man wanted somebody enough, he would grab them by the short hairs to make them scream their compliance.
The Stone Age painters’ records on cave walls, which have been discovered to date, disclose more of the anatomical details of the animals and women the men hunted, and of their weapons, than they do of the hunters.
After several million years of that history had improved fighting and killing technology with metal and horses, Homer came along to polish the character of the hunters and put a shine on the original idea that brute force almost always succeeds unless it is met with matching brute force. He also introduced the idea that the gods are always on the side of the war winners, and that the theological reward they offer is sexual satisfaction following on slaughter (and vice versa [3]). If Trump and his speech and tweet writers had read enough, they would be citing Homer for their model.
But it won’t help them. In fighting a war as hackneyed Homeric as Trump’s against Iran (China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba), the predictability of his every move exposes him to defeat by an adversary who can predict, and is unpredictable himself. That adversary [4] understands that Trump has Achilles’ heels all over his body.
In this new podcast with Nima Alkhorshid, we go through the details of the fighting around the Strait of Hormuz, explaining why this is the lynchpin of all the Iranian end-of-war conditions – Iranian control is the only effective guarantee that the US (and Israel) will be deterred from resuming the war; the toll is the only method of securing multi-billion dollar reparations for the war damage; by strangling the economies of the West it is more effective for revenge and regime decapitation than those the CIA and Mossad have been able to use.
These were the end-of-war aims of Mojtaba Khamenei’s speech of March 26. https://www.dawn.com/news/1981500 [5] “The leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz must definitely continue to be utilised”, he said then. And so it continues through the Jalali Five Points of April 1; https://tass.com/world/2110185 [6] and the Ghalibaf Ten Points of April 19. https://wanaen.com/ghalibaf-irans-10-strategic-demands-are-the-basis-of-any-agreement/#:~:text=WANA%20(Apr%2019)%20%E2%80%93%20Mohammad,said%2C%20reflected%20this%20same%20approach [7].
Breaking news was added as we spoke of Trump’s closeting in lengthy White House “executive time” and “policy meetings” on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; then the new US Navy interception and boarding of the oil tanker Tifani in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Singapore. A day later, on Thursday afternoon, the abrupt sacking by Trump and his War Secretary, Peter Hegseth, of Navy Secretary John Phelan reveals that the US military resistance to Trump is beginning to spill outside the White House with grave political risk for Trump and the Republicans as the election campaign enters the final stage. .
Click to view the podcast now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUmUYAnpLjc [8]
[9]“It’s a strange kind of Mexican standoff with guns drawn but one side doesn’t understand the other side at all well, and that’s the case of the US side’s understanding of Iran” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUmUYAnpLjc [8]
TRUMP GOES INTO THREE DAYS OF SECRET WAR PLAN MEETINGS
[10]Click on source to read enlarged view. “President’s Public Schedule” -- https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/calendar/ [11]
US NAVY ORDERED TO INTERCEPT, SEIZE THE TIFANI OFF SINGAPORE
[12]The press release originated from Hegseth’s press office. https://x.com/DeptofWar/status/2046544038812156177 [13] The US Navy command responsible for the operation, INDOPACOM, has announced nothing: https://www.pacom.mil/Media/Press-Releases-and-Readouts/ [14]
HOW TRUMP COUNTS
[15]Source: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116445555373723862 [16]
THE COST OF US ARMY, US NAVY RESISTANCE
[17]Source: https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2039812664902271107 [18]
[19]Source: https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2047064432564482188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw [20] Background: https://gcaptain.com/navy-secretary-john-phelan-departs-abruptly-in-surprise-pentagon-shakeup/ [21]