OlDawg

Given enough time, the blockade of Iranian ports will work to starve the country economically. But, China will find a way to resupply their military via Pakistan, and other ground or air routes. The U.S. either can't--or won't--block that access. Trump is actually tying the hands of our military, and has from the beginning when he stipulated no ground troops. I'm aware--more than most on this site--of what our military can do when allowed to do it's job without restraints. What benefit are you seeking? If your answer is "No nukes", how will you assure that given the regime's history, and no ground troops? Did you really believe this would end positively without regime change? As long as people of similar ideology are in power in Iran, you're just spitting in the wind, and making our servicemen and women fight with one hand tied behind their back because of political concerns. Personal opinion: The ceasefire was--and is--a mistake.

If you weren’t committed enough to send ground troops, you weren’t committed enough to the purpose to start the conflict. Issue is, POTUS knew he wouldn't get public, or Congressional support for ground troops. So, he tried an end-around. Without public support, success will be hard to achieve. Success in this endeavor required eliminating the IRGC, and affecting regime/cultural change. I keep repeating myself there's a reason why conflicts are supposed to be difficult to start.

The sad part is, this will go down by many as another failure of our servicemen & women when—as usual—nothing could be further from the truth. Our politicians who are so quick to jump in, and too weak to finish are the problem. Again.

GIGO

Iran as the Black Knight, Language warning. But, this one never gets old.

La Porte vs. Baytown Sterling @ Sterling Thurs. 4/23, 6:30 pm @ La Porte Fri. 4/24, 6;30 pm If Necessary: @ GCM Sat. 4/25, 12:00 pm

Panama Canal, Hormuz, and now Malacca? Interesting... I would recommend all reading this article. Control over these 3 major waterways controls shipping for the world. China is heavily dependent on Malacca. [Hidden Content]

Opinion: Trump Brilliantly Calls Iran’s Bluff [Hidden Content]

For an ex JAG, he’s definitely a war monger. He and McCain went together like hand in glove.

My thoughts on this whole issue and in general...

I ignore trolls for the most part.

Yes. WTI—which is actually light, sweet crude—will remain slightly elevated against Brent simply because of access. It can’t elevate in price too much because it’s almost a byproduct for the U.S. We have more than enough light, sweet crude and our refineries are mainly set up to process heavy, sour. What many don’t understand is that it’s actually more expensive to refine the heavy, sour that we import. But, because of environmental policies through the recent decades, we don’t use as much oil as many think. Also, heavy, sour can be refined into multiple more products like diesel, asphalt, pharmas, and other petrochemical products whereas light, sweet is primarily only for gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel. It actually becomes more cost efficient to import heavy, sour and export the sweet. Plus, it’s a way of using our oil exports as diplomacy, and steadying the global market. WTI never really gets that much separation from Brent simply because global buyers know the U.S. has to pretty much just unload a lot of it because we can’t use it all. Hopefully, my comments are helping make more sense to some out of a hard to understand commodity market. If nothing else, y’all are learning more about the overall business. There’s a lot more to it than most know. They just see gas prices and hear the price of oil. They’re not getting a bigger overview.

It's not evil according to the zealots in control of Iran. They believe that by attacking and destroying Israel, they will initiate the second coming of their Mahdi, and Allah will return to reward them. So, they actually want a major war that kills however many it kills. Reading your posts these past few months, you should read the link. I think you--and others--may find it very interesting. (Of course, you have to separate the Iranian people from this view as many--if not most--aren't believers of these ideas.) Dr. Tim Orr isn't a 'Fly-By-Nighter.' He's a well known scholar with multiple degrees and decades of first-hand experience between religions. [Hidden Content]

Swalwell Staffers Stand with Accusers [Hidden Content]