On 23 July 2026, I was on the “Deep Dive” with Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis talking about the war hawks and Iran. They are as enthusiastic as ever about escalating the war, but they still cannot explain how that produces a positive outcome for the US. As Danny and I emphasized for the umpteenth time, it will just make a bad situation worse.
One wonders if Trump will have the good sense to ignore the calls for escalation and instead try to work out another memorandum of understanding. Of course, if he does, he probably won’t be able to stick to that agreement either. Meanwhile, the Houthis have shut down the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Brent crude was over $100 per barrel yesterday. It escapes me and Danny how anyone can believe that escalating now is going to fix those problems, much less open the Strait of Hormuz? Or get the Iranians to surrender?
John, is it possible that the US needs a very high oil and gas price? It's still the world's biggest producer and exporter, yet it has scant reserves and can't handle its own light sweet crude. It has the business but not the supply and not the efficiency. Without wars, blockages and the Nordstream sabotage etc...how do the Americans produce and sell at the needed price point? Have they left themselves with a choice? This way they have the price point. It's not like they can go back to selling Chevrolets to the world.
I'm not sure of any of this, just throwing it out there. It would explain a few things, like Alberta secession movements, for example.
The City of London (square mile) & New York (stock exchange) are in an existential crisis. They need to pretend they can't see genocide, in order to preserve control over the world's oil supply, keep their economies afloat & prevent de-dollarisation.