[RE]

FOREVER-WARS.COM 2026-07-30

A Regional War, With Options To Expand

The Jordan attack, and not only that one, shows that the battlefield is expanding inland—and adding combatants. It indicates Trump is trying to find military leverage to compel the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and, now, the Bab el-Mandeb, which Yemen's Ansarallah has closed to Saudi oil shipments. And, most frightening, it may not be done expanding.

The critical point of this article comes right at the top in the sub-Header:

Without any reason for Iran to trust in negotiations, this is a one-way elevator until U.S. capitulation

This conclusion is what the markets refuse to accept as they bounce up and down with each tweet from Chump either announcing Peace is at Hand or I will VAPORIZE THE TOWEL HEADS!, often in successive posts.  In REALITY for numerous reasons, on any timescale longer than about 2 weeks, the only direction this conflict will go is toward further escalation.  There is NO common ground upon which to build a diplomatic solution and neither side will compromise on the key dispute, control over Hormuz.  Which means Trumpolini must continue raising the stakes militarily to try and take control by force.

Given that actually succeeding in achieving that outcome is close to impossible and would require mobilization of a massive ground force of grunts, more countries will be drawn into the battle as each becomes increasingly more desperate over their inability to either sell or buy Oil or Food.

What is most annoying about the whole dynamic is how long it is taking for the whole thing to evolve and how BORING this sort of war is.  There's no strategy, each side just randomly picks targets on the other side to demolish each day.  It's not even exciting video.

What Chump NEEDS is some kind of dramatic action that will justify a ground campaign, so a False Flag would be worth watching for.  If it happens close to the election that would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and give him an excuse to declare Martial Law. Stay Tuned.

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[K-Dog]

Iran could end this war tomorrow, all they have to do is destroy all the export terminals.  Then the world won't get any oil, Hormuz open OR closed.

Iran, the crazy Islamic state that it is, appears unwilling to lower themselves to show the same depravity as Trump shows.  The crazies in Iran seem to be worried about their eternal reward.  And is that really so crazy?  Trump, however knowing he took the down escalator, in contrast is without any restraint at all.

  To the extent Trump knows anything.at all, he knows he is going to hell.  Absolute power and the mind of a child.

[RE]

THEGUARDIAN.COM 2026-07-30

He’s commander-in-chief of chaos. Now we’re all victims of Trump’s wars

New tariffs, gas price rises, the deaths of thousands, insecurity … We’re living at the whim of one capricious, vain, easily bored man and his gang of stooges.

We need just ONE Proposition on the ballot in November:

Proposition A

POTUS Donald J. Trump should be Impeached

__ YES

__ NO

If  this does not come back with at LEAST 60% YES, then Amerika deserves every bit of the mayhem ahead of it.

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[RE]

TIMESUNION.COM 2026-08-01

Trump says he will order halt to Iran strikes after parameters reached for deal to end war

The emerging deal “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote in a Saturday evening social media post   “Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,”

Yesterday, Bomb them Back to the Stone Age!, today Let's Make a Deal!

Basically, the Saudis know if Chump bombs Iranian power plants, Iran will bomb theirs.  They're running out of anti-missile and drone hardware and their radar installations are damaged, so more Iranian drones will make it to target.  All of MENA would be a mass Humanitarian Crisis as water desalinization plants go off line.

Does this mean all of a sudden they'll come up with a DEAL on Hormuz or Nukes?  Of course not!  But it buys another 24-48 hours of jawboning and Social Media Propaganda Posting while HR Trumpness screams expletives at his Syncophants and steam blasts out of his ears.

Then at some point more bombing, rinse and repeat until he finds some pretext to put Boots on the Ground.  It has to be good because lotsa Body Bags will be required for Dignified Transfers of Corpses.  The only justification that could measure up would be lots of Amerikan Civilians being killed.  Children would really fire up the War Spirit.  An Elementary School Bombing would be the ideal False Flag.  I hope I'm wrong on this, that not even Chump would blow up a school full of Amerikan Kids to justify his war. Unfortunately, it's just Hope.

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[K-Dog]

ENERGYNEWS.TODAY 2026-08-02

Oil drops over 4% after Trump calls off planned strike on Iran

Oil prices fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had called off a planned strike on Iran. “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.

Four percent in a day.  Not to be confused with Trump giving a shit.  That would take a Damascus moment, something Trump will never have.

[RE]

NEWSWEEK.COM 2026-08-03

Iran Found a ‘More Powerful Weapon Than a Nuclear Bomb’—And It’s Working

"With relatively few and inexpensive weapons, Iranian strikes on commercial shipping create a cascade effect throughout the global trading system as shipping lines, insurance companies, and seafarers reassess the risks of transiting," Tallis said. "Because the collateral damage is modest and offshore, while the consequences are global and pronounced, Iran reaps substantial strategic gains at minimal reputational cost."

Not only Iran, but Ukraine as well has demonstrated that "Superpowers" Military might no longer poses the same type of threat to Medium level countries, because it's now possible for smaller countries to inflict significant damage to the Superpower by attacking infrastructure and economic dependencies, aka supply chains.

It's also no longer about the size of your military in manpower or killing soldiers.  Its about demolishing the infrastructure of industrialized society.  All one country needs to be able to do is damage the electrical and communications grids of the other to put up a fight.  Then it's a matter of who can last longest and how much it costs.

How much do you think it will cost to repair the damage done to all those military bases?  A whole lot more than thee $32B they claim the war has so far cost.  How much to maintain those bases if they are under constant attack?  How does the FSoA control the Oil coming from MENA if it can't afford to keep those military bases running?  It can't.

It's not whether there is Oil left in the ground, it's about being able to move it from one place to another either on boats or through pipelines, and both are extremely vulnerable and easy to damage.  As the war spreads out, this becomes ever more difficult to do, and more places get cut off from the supply.   More blackouts, more fuel shortages, higher priced foods leading to more unrest and more war.  A virtuous cycle of destruction and entropy ending the Age of Oil.

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[RE]

CBSNEWS.COM 2026-08-04

U.S. has used nearly all its stockpile of long-range missiles in Iran war, sources say

Specifically, the U.S. has used virtually all of its Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, the sources said. Reuters was first to report that the U.S. had used "virtually all" of its long-range precision missiles during Operation Epic Fury.

Now we know why TACO is a regular Chump meal.  Offensively, the FSoA is a limp dick.


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[RE]

NPR.ORG 2026-08-07

The soaring demand for Patriot missiles, from the Middle East to Ukraine

The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said in July that the U.S. had more than 2,300 Patriots before President Trump launched the Iran war on Feb. 28. Today, the number is around 800.

There's something here everyone has missed.  This is an entirely new situation in War logistics since WWII.  Never before, from Korea to Vietnam to Afghanistan to Kuwait to Iraq has the FSoA been short of the Death from Above to rain down on uncooperative Brown People.  Why now?

The answer is the missiles have rendered the old form of aerial warfare and dumb bombs obsolete.  The FSoA has lotsa dumb bombs to drop from bombers, but they are very inaccurate and you get a lot of collateral damage and civilian casualties.  More importantly the VERY expensive B2 Stealth Bombers used to drop them are themselves very vulnerable to missiles when flying at bombing altitudes.  The reason so few planes have been lost is they are not flying over Iran!

Dumb bombs were cheap.  Missiles are very expensive.  They also are much harder to build.  You can't just hire housewives to stick semtex into metal casings.  Every missile requires its own rocket engine and guidance system like a jet plane, but it is Single Use.  Your basically blowing up a rocket every time you fire one off.

It's also why the FSoA doesn't want to license the Patriots.  They are the best ssystem for knocking flying objects out of the air, including FSoA jets.

Best case scenario it takes 3 years to rebuild the inventory, but at the rate they use them now, they'll never do it.  The cost would be astronomical.

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[RE]

ABCNEWS.COM 2026-08-11

Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper calls Iran's demands for fully reopening Strait of Hormuz 'ridiculous'

"Demands such as the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the region, reimbursement for the costs of the war, the fact that we would end our blockade, we would end sanctions. So it's gone beyond the pale."

Not ridiculous, they actually make sense.  Just they are demands Chump can't agree to politically.  Which is why there won't be a diplomatic solution.

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[RE]

ALJAZEERA.COM 2026-08-10

Netanyahu’s veto and the limits of American power

Trump has the leverage to enforce his Gaza plan. Netanyahu is betting that he lacks the political will to use it.

We all know Chump is Nitwit's Bitch.

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[RE]

SALON.COM 2026-08-16

Iran’s strategy to simply outlast Trump’s presidency

By now most of us have heard the acronym TACO, for Trump Always Chickens Out, but I was recently introduced to NACHO, which means Not a Chance Hormuz Opens.

Other new acronyms in this article also. 😀

There are other dumb acronyms for the Trump administration, continuing the taqueria theme, such as EMPANADA, for Everybody Makes Promises and Nobody Actually Delivers Anything, and TAMALES, for Trump Always Messes Around, Leaves Everybody Shafted.

Strategically, the idea of just waiting it out is pretty good.  It's hard to see how the Repugnants will do very well in the elections.  Not like a few more bombs will make a difference.

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[RE]

IBTIMES.COM 2026-08-18

Damage To U.S. Bases In The Middle East Prompts Pentagon To Consider Pulling Back Troops: Report

The U.S. Army is considering pulling back troops from the Middle East as the impact of the Iran war becomes increasingly evident, according to a new report.  The Washington Post claimed that the Defense Department has already signaled it might not rebuild struck bases as they were before the war began.

Think the $37.5B Chump says the war cost counts all the destruction of hardware & buildings on the FSoA bases?  How much do you think it would cost to rebuild?  Now that it's obvious we can't defend them, it's just flushing money down the toilet.

On the other hand, without the bases how does the FSoA protect it's Oil interests?  Basically, it becomes still more dependent on Israel as the only Regional country from which to launch the Death from Above and can fairly reliably keep FSoA grunts supplied with food, soap and ammo, at lest as long as the Eurotrash are still on the same side.

Once the FSoA does pull back, how long before the countries surrounding Israel gang up to try and even the score in the Extermination game?  They have a lot of catching up to do.  Or else maybe the Sunnis & the Shiites decide to settle once and for all who has the right interpretation of the Koran?  Either way, the amount of Oil flowing out of the region will probably be pretty thin.

So far with Hormuz, only about 20% of global oil trade has been impacted.  What happens when that percentage creeps up to 30 or 40%?

The slow motion train wreck still rolling along.



RE

[Haniel]

Evening dudes. Been a while.

What did I miss? 

THE END!!!!

Didn't you notice?

Seemed more like a reload form last good copy. 

Sorry, I reset my timeline so many times, I have no clue what the 2016-2022 timeline finished off with. 

In the end it does not matter, cool folks are still out there, narrating the collapse in terms that will resonate.

[RE]

In the end it does not matter, cool folks are still out there, narrating the collapse in terms that will resonate.

At least in short form current events commentary, anyhow.

Far as TDoS is concerned, the ongoing global mayhem doesn't fit his criteria for collapse.  We need to make it down to Cuba or Puerto Rico level before  he'll recognize it.  Not even sure that would be enough for him.

Drop by more often.  It's slow around here.

RE

[K-Dog]

TASNIMNEWS.IR 2026-08-31

Iranian Diplomat Warns of Severe Response to US Aggression

Iran condemned recent US military actions against its territorial integrity, vowing a decisive response and demanding foreign troops withdraw from the region. In retaliation for the Larak Island attack, Iranian forces struck United States bases in Jordan and the UAE while warning of further consequences.

Testing Trackback functionality from the new mobile (phone) view.  It works.  If an article has a trackback it will link to the post in the Diner that created the article card.  The above and below articles when viewed on a phone link to this post.  From which the articles can be viewed.  If an article does not have a Trackback the article is loaded without the extra step of viewing the Diner post first.

MIDDLEEASTMONITOR.COM 2026-08-31

US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking first attacks in weeks

US forces struck Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, targeting equipment allegedly used to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. This operation marks renewed military engagement amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran since February. Iran reported casualties and vowed retaliation while operational details remain unclear.

More on the criminal war.

Latest Escalations in West Asia: Iran Strikes US and UAE Bases Following Larak Island Raid
In an address detailing the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Reason to Resist host Demetri Lceris reported on a sharp escalation in hostilities between the United States, its regional allies, and Iran. The latest flare-up follows a US strike on Iranian launchers on Larak Island, prompting retaliatory ballistic missile and drone attacks by Iran against US military installations in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.


The Larak Island Strike and Regional Retaliation

According to a US official, United States forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island after observing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces preparing to load rockets with sea mines intended for the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian President Masoud Peshkin denounced the attack via the FARS news agency, stating that while Iran is not seeking war, it will not remain passive in the face of aggression and will deliver a decisive response to aggressors.

In retaliation, the Iranian military launched a major missile and drone barrage:

• Attacks in Jordan: Iranian forces targeted two US military bases in Jordan—Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (referred to as Malik Hussein) and another facility at Al-Azarak—aiming at technical infrastructure, repair facilities, and barracks. Military analyst Babak Tak reported that US forces in Jordan expended between 96 and 128 MIM-104F Patriot PAC-3 interceptors against 32 incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.
• Attacks in the UAE: Iran published video evidence showing the launch of numerous drones toward the Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. While the UAE Ministry of Defense initially denied attacks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later condemned a hostile drone attack, stating that a single drone was intercepted over territorial waters.

Maritime Disruptions and Economic Fallout

The conflict has severely disrupted commercial shipping and global energy markets:

• Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea Incidents: Data from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) documented multiple recent incidents, including a tanker struck near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, on August 24, another near Ash Shisha, Oman, on the same day, and subsequent projectile strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on August 26 and August 29.
• Super Tanker Hit: Iranian media outlet Tasnim reported that a super tanker caught fire after colliding with two sea mines while attempting to transit the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz.
• Commodity Prices: Following the incidents, Brent crude oil prices rose nearly 4% to $91.34 per barrel, remaining approximately 50% higher than levels at the beginning of 2026. Other commodities, including sulfur, have experienced dramatic price spikes, threatening prolonged damage to the global economy.

Strain on the United States Military

Internal Pentagon documents and recent reporting from The Guardian and The Washington Post reveal mounting financial and operational pressure on the US armed forces:

• Financial Strain: According to Guardian reports citing leaked documents and official interviews, the war has forced the US Navy to raid payroll accounts and shift funds to cover combat operations and depleted munition stockpiles, stretching its $300 billion annual budget thin.
• Leadership Warnings: An August 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense orders book highlighted that the heads of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, alongside regional combatant commanders, explicitly warned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks compromising defense capabilities globally and at the US homeland.
• Deployment Churn: The conflict continues to demand continuous carrier strike group rotations, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt departing San Diego for a seven-month deployment to the US Central Command region to relieve the USS George Washington.