The United States hasn’t played its cards right. From the end of World War II to today, we should have followed what I call the Handsome Bouncer Theory. Vietnam should have taught us that lesson decades ago.
Instead, we’re now led by a profound narcissist — something I warned people about before his first election. History shows that putting a narcissist in the top political job is a grave mistake, and we’re seeing why in real time. As Trump loses his grip on the Iran situation and finds no way to extract himself, the danger will only grow. Mark my words: a cornered narcissist doesn’t back down quietly. He lashes out before he’ll accept even the smallest dent to his ego.
The antidote isn’t more of the same. It’s what I’ve spent years building into a course — not religion, but as close to gospel truth as I’ve found.
To chiefly attribute the current administration’s actions in Iran to Trump is to ignore nearly a century of “New Deal” liberal hegemonic wars of destruction. Trump is just the latest iteration.
From the civilian bombing campaigns of World War II, to Vietnam, the Balkans, Iraq, Syria, and now Ukraine. It’s State Dept-sponsored “colour revolution” followed by war crimes.
Trying to politicize wars for profit as pushed by economic coercion is a little too tin-eared to pass muster—in my opinion. Those were not “Liberal” wars. How is liberal = liberty and the expansion thereof somehow about making wars reactionary factions of capitalism need to keep their noses above water? If the US, the world’s largest supplier of armaments in the world, were to lose that business, the US economy likely would crash and burn. This is what happens when an economy becomes war-dependent due to what is called by critics neo-colonialism. Look up that term.
Yes. The Soviets were such wonderful and freedom loving folks that had nothing whatsoever to post WWII world order. In fact there was no cold war. There was no iron curtain and there was no Stazi and there was no KGB and there were no active measures. There was only evil American imperialists making trouble. We all know that Mr. Chief Investigator.
George Kennan’s containment theory got it right. His core argument: contain Soviet expansion primarily through political and economic strength, not military confrontation. Lead by example, build up allied economies (he was a key architect of the Marshall Plan), and use firm diplomacy rather than force. Kennan believed the Soviet system carried the seeds of its own failure — that if the West stayed patient and disciplined, Soviet communism would eventually collapse under its own internal contradictions.
One nuance worth adding: Kennan later became a sharp critic of how containment was actually implemented. His original 1947 “X Article” was read by many in Washington as a call for military buildup and global intervention (this became NSC-68). Kennan pushed back hard — he meant containment as primarily political and economic, and saw the militarized version (Korea, Vietnam, the arms race) as a distortion of his idea. So “out-smart them, wait them out” is close to his actual position; the U.S. often didn’t follow it.
PS. This doesn't excuse the tons of incompetent idiocy and sheer arrogance and private sector greed that got the US into Vietnam and much of what took place in South America.
BUT.
In the final analysis I think that while Kennan feared that militarizing containment would ruin America’s moral authority and bleed its resources, the historical reality suggests he was overly optimistic about human nature and totalitarian regimes. Economic alliances created the stability needed to endure the Cold War, but military containment and hot localized wars were the actual shields that kept the Soviet empire at bay until it finally imploded.
We needed a mixture of both and we certainly get it right in every situation. But we did win and we see that economics and politics ain't gonna stop Putin in Ukraine. History is rhyming again.
It's just not simple. Containment may have worked or not, but without forcing the Soviet's commitment to Afghanistan I think their economy might well have stayed in good enough shape to destroy more lives for more decades.
The issues I have with how we left Afghanistan is a different question and I believe we completely absolutely and totally F*CKED that up and ended up planting the seeds of our own problems.
The short version goes something like this: You can't leave thousands of war hardened heavily armed Mujahids with nothing to do. And you can't leave their country with zero funding and zero rebuilding.
It's like expecting a 16 year old juvenile delinquent to vacation peacefully while his parents are away and the garage is filled with 4th of July fireworks and powertools.
But America has great admirable men such as you and Colonel Douglas MacGregor. I have tremendous respect for both of you and make sure I watch you every week in Judge Napolitano and Glenn Diesen. Warm greetings from Seoul, South Korea
As with many other decisions of this supposedly “conservative” administration, their main goal is to support foreign Israeli and Jewish interests.
The appropriate stance of the US in an ideal world would be to withdraw military and economic welfare to Israel and let Israel and Iran just fight it out.
The ideal situation is not the destruction of Israel per se but its disarmament and containment. They should simply be treated like any other insignificant, small, Middle Eastern country.
I’m all for a two state solution. One for Jews, Christians and Muslims in Palestine as they have been for centuries, and another for Zionists cooling their heels in a quiet corner of Antarctica. If the Penguins will have them.
At this point, Israel is so absolutely racist/supremacist, hate-filled, and corrupt, they will never stop attempting to sabotage and instigate violence against Palestinians and its neighbors, sabotage peace at every turn, while continuing to perpetually lie to the world. The only peace Israel abides with their neighbors occurs when the U.S. forces them to. They're demonstrably proud of themselves for their atrocious criminal behaviour, and have no intention of changing... except possibly temporarily (by force), but only as subterfuge to continue at a later date when they get the chance. They (and their founders) have been behaving this way for 100+ years. And the West keeps supporting them. Why would anyone think Israel will change their ways now. It appears to be more ingrained in Israelis' psyche than ever.
Confine the Gestapo state to 1948 borders. Plus no say in who returns to adjoining lands. That is god’s punishment on violating ever norm of post- nazi world
I agree; I too am rooting for Iran over the USA and Israel, as both have committed genocide in the Arab region of Gaza. What an immoral duo; I give them no support. Iran has behaved with far greater morality in this war scenario. I'm ashamed of the USA and Israel and hope they lose big in this exchange. Same for Ukrane; time they raised the white flag and gave relief to the rest of the world. STOP these STUPID WARS ........
From my perspective, within the IC, Trump botched it all up. WE ADVISED AGAINST IT but it was Jared kushner who convinced him that would be easy. 🤔. Subsequently, he got a bonus from Israel and his paycheck for talking Trump into the war
John. Several months ago you quickly listed the reasons leading up to the war in Ukraine, and why Russia was pushed into its actions. Most US citizens are unaware of the reasons behind this, starting with the Clinton administration. could you please provide a one page list. Also many are unaware of Ukrainian shelling of Russian speaking people or the lingering Nazi influence in Ukraine. Thanks.
Uh, did he list that Biden removed Trump’s sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and Russia was about to make even bigger profits on its natural gas exports to Europe?? And keep in mind Biden did that even as Putin was involved in military operations beyond his borders. All Putin had to do was not cross any red lines that Biden very clearly laid out and Putin could continue being in the good graces of the West.
Btw, Bush stated in 2007 that Iranian proxies were killing American soldiers and we didn’t attack Iranian soil until 2025…so once you move beyond your borders you should expect your adversaries to supply and help the enemy you are militarily engaging which are the rules America has played by since 2007.
Trying to "make sense of US and European policies that do not make strategic sense" huh? That's because you are both too pure. If you were a bit cynical like I am the US and European policy would make a lot of sense. A brief prologue: the EU stated today (28 Aug 26) that the €90 billion to the Ukraine's war "effort" must be spent on European produced weapons. France is particularly pushy in this direction. So we might gather that the "senseless" European approach towards Ukraine actually is an indirect (and not too subtle) way to subsidize the arms industry. And we guess that such industry will be very appreciative matching with a generous kickback whoever shows such generosity. Still think the European policy doesn't make sense?
"Let the forensic lens dissect the exact pathology of the Philip Agee file. The Central Intelligence Agency does not merely train case officers; it engineers a manufactured dissociation. The young officer is methodically programmed to view sovereign populations as terrain, democratic institutions as pliable obstacles, and human suffering as a sanitized line-item in a black budget. This requires the deliberate suppression of the frontal lobe’s empathetic and moral-reasoning centers.
"Agee is the empire’s rarest and most terrifying anomaly: the biological asset whose conscience violently rejected the programming."
Pence was lying through his teeth. That's what politicians do.
Politicians ride two cycles; The election cycle and the news cycle. Most things are forgotten by the public within a week or two of dropping out of the news cycle. He did it because he knows that the average American citizen that even heard him say it will have forgotten about it before the next election cycle.
100%. That’s why whoever owns the media and education decides what’s important or “The Current Thing”.
The viewer cattle will simply gobble it up and forget everything prior — just look at how they forgot about Covid, or the Iraq War, or “Defund the Police”, etc.
I have found for the last month John you have been going down this dark alley about the World hating the USA. I live in Canada and no I am not cheering for Iran and NO I am not hating the USA or cheering against them. I am cheering FOR THEM.We all wish that this would come to peaceful end as soon as possible but solving things aren’t always easy. The guy you partnered with in this video is obnoxious in his views also. I think I’ll pass for a while on your videos/essays until I feel like trying you again.
Canada is the second most progandized nation in the world. You desperately need to apply critical thinking, instead of posting evidence of your propagandization.
To support the current American governmental constellation (Republicans and Democrats, Trump and Obama, etc. are false dichotomies) is to hate the American people and America as such.
All these pro-Israel pro-Jewish interest wars are definitionally anti-American, as they drain America of resources, financial means, and credibility.
The truth is that we should collectively care about Israel just as much as we collectively care about eastern Tajikistan. That is, not at all.
I should also add that for a renowned, respected individual such as yourself John to make such a generalized comment “ as the World hates the USA “; you lose all credibility. I would think the same if you had said “ the whole World loves the USA”. You should know better than to have done this.
There is an important distinction here between people “rooting for” an actor and states actually aligning with that actor.
A country may prefer to see a powerful adversary weakened without being willing to bear the costs of helping its opponent succeed.
That distinction matters strategically.
Popular sentiment can influence legitimacy and political pressure, but strategic alignment usually requires something more durable: resources, diplomatic commitments, economic exposure, military cooperation, or a willingness to absorb costs.
So I wonder whether the more important measure of declining American influence is not simply who people are rooting for, but how that sentiment changes the actual freedom of action of states around the world.
Perception can be a strategic effect. But only when perception changes behavior does it become strategic leverage.
That is where the feedback between legitimacy, adaptation, and power becomes particularly interesting.
The United States hasn’t played its cards right. From the end of World War II to today, we should have followed what I call the Handsome Bouncer Theory. Vietnam should have taught us that lesson decades ago.
Instead, we’re now led by a profound narcissist — something I warned people about before his first election. History shows that putting a narcissist in the top political job is a grave mistake, and we’re seeing why in real time. As Trump loses his grip on the Iran situation and finds no way to extract himself, the danger will only grow. Mark my words: a cornered narcissist doesn’t back down quietly. He lashes out before he’ll accept even the smallest dent to his ego.
The antidote isn’t more of the same. It’s what I’ve spent years building into a course — not religion, but as close to gospel truth as I’ve found.
To chiefly attribute the current administration’s actions in Iran to Trump is to ignore nearly a century of “New Deal” liberal hegemonic wars of destruction. Trump is just the latest iteration.
From the civilian bombing campaigns of World War II, to Vietnam, the Balkans, Iraq, Syria, and now Ukraine. It’s State Dept-sponsored “colour revolution” followed by war crimes.
Trying to politicize wars for profit as pushed by economic coercion is a little too tin-eared to pass muster—in my opinion. Those were not “Liberal” wars. How is liberal = liberty and the expansion thereof somehow about making wars reactionary factions of capitalism need to keep their noses above water? If the US, the world’s largest supplier of armaments in the world, were to lose that business, the US economy likely would crash and burn. This is what happens when an economy becomes war-dependent due to what is called by critics neo-colonialism. Look up that term.
Yes. The Soviets were such wonderful and freedom loving folks that had nothing whatsoever to post WWII world order. In fact there was no cold war. There was no iron curtain and there was no Stazi and there was no KGB and there were no active measures. There was only evil American imperialists making trouble. We all know that Mr. Chief Investigator.
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/ואטאבאוטיזם
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
George Kennan’s containment theory got it right. His core argument: contain Soviet expansion primarily through political and economic strength, not military confrontation. Lead by example, build up allied economies (he was a key architect of the Marshall Plan), and use firm diplomacy rather than force. Kennan believed the Soviet system carried the seeds of its own failure — that if the West stayed patient and disciplined, Soviet communism would eventually collapse under its own internal contradictions.
One nuance worth adding: Kennan later became a sharp critic of how containment was actually implemented. His original 1947 “X Article” was read by many in Washington as a call for military buildup and global intervention (this became NSC-68). Kennan pushed back hard — he meant containment as primarily political and economic, and saw the militarized version (Korea, Vietnam, the arms race) as a distortion of his idea. So “out-smart them, wait them out” is close to his actual position; the U.S. often didn’t follow it.
PS. This doesn't excuse the tons of incompetent idiocy and sheer arrogance and private sector greed that got the US into Vietnam and much of what took place in South America.
BUT.
In the final analysis I think that while Kennan feared that militarizing containment would ruin America’s moral authority and bleed its resources, the historical reality suggests he was overly optimistic about human nature and totalitarian regimes. Economic alliances created the stability needed to endure the Cold War, but military containment and hot localized wars were the actual shields that kept the Soviet empire at bay until it finally imploded.
We needed a mixture of both and we certainly get it right in every situation. But we did win and we see that economics and politics ain't gonna stop Putin in Ukraine. History is rhyming again.
Gee, if what’s currently happening in Western countries looks like winning, then count me out.
Как там Москва в это время года? Или вы переехали?
It's just not simple. Containment may have worked or not, but without forcing the Soviet's commitment to Afghanistan I think their economy might well have stayed in good enough shape to destroy more lives for more decades.
The issues I have with how we left Afghanistan is a different question and I believe we completely absolutely and totally F*CKED that up and ended up planting the seeds of our own problems.
The short version goes something like this: You can't leave thousands of war hardened heavily armed Mujahids with nothing to do. And you can't leave their country with zero funding and zero rebuilding.
It's like expecting a 16 year old juvenile delinquent to vacation peacefully while his parents are away and the garage is filled with 4th of July fireworks and powertools.
A narcissist's ego is like a leaky balloon - it takes a constant stream of hot air to keep it inflated
But America has great admirable men such as you and Colonel Douglas MacGregor. I have tremendous respect for both of you and make sure I watch you every week in Judge Napolitano and Glenn Diesen. Warm greetings from Seoul, South Korea
As with many other decisions of this supposedly “conservative” administration, their main goal is to support foreign Israeli and Jewish interests.
The appropriate stance of the US in an ideal world would be to withdraw military and economic welfare to Israel and let Israel and Iran just fight it out.
Without U.S. support, Israel would be gone within 48 hours. This would be a blessing to the entire world.
The ideal situation is not the destruction of Israel per se but its disarmament and containment. They should simply be treated like any other insignificant, small, Middle Eastern country.
I’m all for a two state solution. One for Jews, Christians and Muslims in Palestine as they have been for centuries, and another for Zionists cooling their heels in a quiet corner of Antarctica. If the Penguins will have them.
At this point, Israel is so absolutely racist/supremacist, hate-filled, and corrupt, they will never stop attempting to sabotage and instigate violence against Palestinians and its neighbors, sabotage peace at every turn, while continuing to perpetually lie to the world. The only peace Israel abides with their neighbors occurs when the U.S. forces them to. They're demonstrably proud of themselves for their atrocious criminal behaviour, and have no intention of changing... except possibly temporarily (by force), but only as subterfuge to continue at a later date when they get the chance. They (and their founders) have been behaving this way for 100+ years. And the West keeps supporting them. Why would anyone think Israel will change their ways now. It appears to be more ingrained in Israelis' psyche than ever.
Confine the Gestapo state to 1948 borders. Plus no say in who returns to adjoining lands. That is god’s punishment on violating ever norm of post- nazi world
Couldn't agree more.
Oh look. An Antisemite in the wild. I've never seen one before. Can we pet you, or do you prefer donations in blood? Asking for a friend.
— Jewish interest group
So is that a yes to petting or blood?
I agree; I too am rooting for Iran over the USA and Israel, as both have committed genocide in the Arab region of Gaza. What an immoral duo; I give them no support. Iran has behaved with far greater morality in this war scenario. I'm ashamed of the USA and Israel and hope they lose big in this exchange. Same for Ukrane; time they raised the white flag and gave relief to the rest of the world. STOP these STUPID WARS ........
From my perspective, within the IC, Trump botched it all up. WE ADVISED AGAINST IT but it was Jared kushner who convinced him that would be easy. 🤔. Subsequently, he got a bonus from Israel and his paycheck for talking Trump into the war
It's only human to root for the underdog.
John. Several months ago you quickly listed the reasons leading up to the war in Ukraine, and why Russia was pushed into its actions. Most US citizens are unaware of the reasons behind this, starting with the Clinton administration. could you please provide a one page list. Also many are unaware of Ukrainian shelling of Russian speaking people or the lingering Nazi influence in Ukraine. Thanks.
Uh, did he list that Biden removed Trump’s sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and Russia was about to make even bigger profits on its natural gas exports to Europe?? And keep in mind Biden did that even as Putin was involved in military operations beyond his borders. All Putin had to do was not cross any red lines that Biden very clearly laid out and Putin could continue being in the good graces of the West.
Btw, Bush stated in 2007 that Iranian proxies were killing American soldiers and we didn’t attack Iranian soil until 2025…so once you move beyond your borders you should expect your adversaries to supply and help the enemy you are militarily engaging which are the rules America has played by since 2007.
Anything that brings us closer to the collapse of the anglozionist empire is good for the world
https://clovenkingdom.substack.com/p/james-angleton-israels-man-at-the?r=32rh4k&utm_medium=ios
The US is making all the mistakes the British made in their Imperial days. And we have the Zionist monkey on our backs. God help us!
I live here and I’m rooting along with the rest of the world ffs!
Trying to "make sense of US and European policies that do not make strategic sense" huh? That's because you are both too pure. If you were a bit cynical like I am the US and European policy would make a lot of sense. A brief prologue: the EU stated today (28 Aug 26) that the €90 billion to the Ukraine's war "effort" must be spent on European produced weapons. France is particularly pushy in this direction. So we might gather that the "senseless" European approach towards Ukraine actually is an indirect (and not too subtle) way to subsidize the arms industry. And we guess that such industry will be very appreciative matching with a generous kickback whoever shows such generosity. Still think the European policy doesn't make sense?
"Let the forensic lens dissect the exact pathology of the Philip Agee file. The Central Intelligence Agency does not merely train case officers; it engineers a manufactured dissociation. The young officer is methodically programmed to view sovereign populations as terrain, democratic institutions as pliable obstacles, and human suffering as a sanitized line-item in a black budget. This requires the deliberate suppression of the frontal lobe’s empathetic and moral-reasoning centers.
"Agee is the empire’s rarest and most terrifying anomaly: the biological asset whose conscience violently rejected the programming."
https://griobhtha1.substack.com/p/hemisphere-of-plunder-ecuador-and
The United States and Israel are the real "terrorists"
They’ve been doing this a while.
People conveniently forget about things like the fire-bombing of Dresden, and Hamburg as well as the nearly signed Morgenthau Plan.
People like to forget that these are the same criminals who also fire-bombed Tokyo and dropped two nukes on Japan.
Kinda makes one think about… Gaza.
Pence was lying through his teeth. That's what politicians do.
Politicians ride two cycles; The election cycle and the news cycle. Most things are forgotten by the public within a week or two of dropping out of the news cycle. He did it because he knows that the average American citizen that even heard him say it will have forgotten about it before the next election cycle.
100%. That’s why whoever owns the media and education decides what’s important or “The Current Thing”.
The viewer cattle will simply gobble it up and forget everything prior — just look at how they forgot about Covid, or the Iraq War, or “Defund the Police”, etc.
I have found for the last month John you have been going down this dark alley about the World hating the USA. I live in Canada and no I am not cheering for Iran and NO I am not hating the USA or cheering against them. I am cheering FOR THEM.We all wish that this would come to peaceful end as soon as possible but solving things aren’t always easy. The guy you partnered with in this video is obnoxious in his views also. I think I’ll pass for a while on your videos/essays until I feel like trying you again.
Canada is the second most progandized nation in the world. You desperately need to apply critical thinking, instead of posting evidence of your propagandization.
100% correct!
To support the current American governmental constellation (Republicans and Democrats, Trump and Obama, etc. are false dichotomies) is to hate the American people and America as such.
All these pro-Israel pro-Jewish interest wars are definitionally anti-American, as they drain America of resources, financial means, and credibility.
The truth is that we should collectively care about Israel just as much as we collectively care about eastern Tajikistan. That is, not at all.
I should also add that for a renowned, respected individual such as yourself John to make such a generalized comment “ as the World hates the USA “; you lose all credibility. I would think the same if you had said “ the whole World loves the USA”. You should know better than to have done this.
There is an important distinction here between people “rooting for” an actor and states actually aligning with that actor.
A country may prefer to see a powerful adversary weakened without being willing to bear the costs of helping its opponent succeed.
That distinction matters strategically.
Popular sentiment can influence legitimacy and political pressure, but strategic alignment usually requires something more durable: resources, diplomatic commitments, economic exposure, military cooperation, or a willingness to absorb costs.
So I wonder whether the more important measure of declining American influence is not simply who people are rooting for, but how that sentiment changes the actual freedom of action of states around the world.
Perception can be a strategic effect. But only when perception changes behavior does it become strategic leverage.
That is where the feedback between legitimacy, adaptation, and power becomes particularly interesting.