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Asymmetrical War, Asymmetrical Victory
America can keep this asymmetrical wheel spinning much longer than Tehran can. Practically, maybe not.
1 day ago3 min read


Four Bad Options in Iran
From the Department of Unintended Consequences The possible endgames in Iran are starting to look like a Waffle House menu at 3am: Everything will probably give you heartburn, but booze and hunger make people optimistic. The administration is now using phrases like “degrade capability,” “strategic reset,” and “regional stabilization” for the same reason that CEOs do – use enough syllables and it’s less obvious that you’re pin-wheeling. The assumption is that if sufficient pre
May 214 min read


Fake News and Real Markets
If you want to look smart, be a pessimist; if you want to be rich, be an optimist.
May 13 min read


Hormuz Ceasefire or Mexican Stand-off?
What was supposed to be a “night in Caracas” operation to decapitate a regime has become a Mexican stand-off.
Apr 243 min read


Why I'm Revisiting Pothole of the Gods
Pothole was published a year before what future historians may well mark as the start of World War III. Like the first world war, this conflict will have its aspects of jihad,
Apr 173 min read


Weapons of Mass Disruption
Tehran has discovered a deep vulnerability at the heart of the global order.
Apr 103 min read


China's Hormuz Calculus
White House luxuriate in unpredictable chaos. Exactly what China’s current entrenched model needs to avoid.
Apr 24 min read


Persian Chicken
Four weeks into the current war, the regime’s only hope to increase leverage on Washington is to isolate it politically and win the optics war. Which, given the unprovoked nature of the attack and the fact that all our allies hate us, shouldn’t have been too hard. Save for a glaring miscalculation.
Mar 234 min read


THE APOCALYPSE HAS A SUPPLY CHAIN
On March 8, around the time that the Swedish navy was impounding its first Russian “shadow fleet” carrier, Britain was considering sending an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. President Trump responded “That’s OK Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer. We don’t need people that join Wars after they’ve already Won!” Creative grammar aside, days later the White House was calling on Britain, along with France, Japan and South Korean – and China - to help the U
Mar 195 min read


Weekend at Mojtaba’s - on the Hormuz
A Weekend Thought Experiment I was mooning around a hospital in the sunny Shi’a south of Iraq when a young doctor flagged me down and politely asked why were we - meaning Americans – there. He’d watched us invade his country twice before toppling the government and dismantling all the systems that ran the country. As far as he could tell, he gently explained, there had been no plan for after we’d blown the place up. The poor guy wasn’t even mad, he was just baffled on a cosm
Mar 134 min read


A Coup in Iran
“Iran doesn’t give into pressure – only a lot of pressure.”
Feb 255 min read


Forget Milan, the Fireworks are in Tehran
This will not be a surgical operation from the A Night in Caracas playbook. From the build up, the US the option for a weeks long siege, should it come to that.
Feb 192 min read


Venezuela, Iran & ... Belarus?
Venezuela, Iran and Belarus walk into a gas station...
Dec 12, 20251 min read


WTF: Venezuela
This isn't about cocaine... it isn't really about oil.
Dec 4, 20254 min read


CIA Blows a Coup in Greenland
The operation has the CIA's prints all over it - especially getting blown in the first hour.
Aug 28, 20254 min read


Iran's Uranium is No Longer the Point
Iran's uranium is not the issue, its political will is.
Jul 1, 20253 min read


The Iran War: What's it Going to Cost You?
This story was updated 24 June 2025 It seems that everyone involved in this apocalyptic three-way is promising a lively week. Leaders are...
Jun 23, 20253 min read


Good News from the Middle East?
Good news from Syria? How the beleaguered nation could go right.
Dec 17, 20247 min read


Optics, Oil and Old School Assasinations
You can't tell with True Believers, but Iran v. Israel may have an off-ramp...
Oct 29, 20242 min read


Israel v. The World
Israel v. the World is inching closer to disaster.
Jul 31, 20243 min read
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