A stupid, bloody war that he was convinced was such a good idea. War isn’t good for *anyone*. We’ve had one “war” when we went in, did the thing, and got out. Everything else has been abysmal. And for once, I won’t get started on Ukraine’s position. Would have been a good thing if former President Biden had a little more oomph to help them out. Yes, we know what a tightrope he had to balance on. They are good people, a democracy, and worth helping!
But back to Trump. This Iran War idea from Trump and Bibi is not going at all well. Israel refuses to stop bombing Hezbollah in Lebanon. That makes a ceasefire incredibly difficult. It drags on us. It costs us. Trump doesn’t have to worry about a damn thing except for what he’s going to blurt out next on Truth Social. We do. Much obliged to Raw Story:
Donald Trump launched his Iran war alone — and now, according to a scathing new analysis, every American is about to pay the price. Political analyst and former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt argued in a new Substack column Friday that Trump’s decision to attack Iran will wallop the economy, and America got nothing in return for it. “The consequences of Trump’s decision — made by him alone — have set off an inflationary shockwave that will sink the American economy into recession for the achievement of establishing Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote.
Now what on earth could have given him *that* idea? Perhaps the current situation we’re stuck in? Sounds good to me. The people of America are getting the really short end of the stick due to Trump’s (and Hegseth’s) war. It’s hemorrhaging support by the day. It’s not helping that Trump keeps posting these insane screeds. All it will do is give Iran more ammunition.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was an international waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and 20 to 30 percent of its fertilizer flowed freely. Now, Schmidt wrote, it has become an “IRGC toll road,” a chokepoint controlled by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces who are charging ships fees to pass through in Chinese yuan and cryptocurrency.
We *need* that fertilizer. Badly. And so does the rest of the world. It’s growing season. And as other writers on Pz have already covered, it’s going to have a cascade effect. Inflation will shoot right off the charts. Everyone here at home is struggling right now. We can’t hope for improvement anymore, not with the stupid war that could break back out at any moment. We are hurting, and it’s going to get worse. Jobs are in short supply. All prices have shot up, not just gasoline. Food is going to become scarcer. Housing is *really* hard to find if you want to buy. Our household has given up on that. Utilities are going to cost more. People will have to choose between food and a roof over their heads. We’re already in sticker shock!!!
Iranian sovereignty over the strait, Schmidt argued, is the only concrete result of a war that Trump launched after polling his advisers one by one in the Situation Room — without Vice President JD Vance or intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard even present. The economic consequences have cascaded, with energy costs spiking and oil markets rattled. The 400-tanker bottleneck persisting in the Gulf shows no sign of clearing. “Their collective incompetence is exceptional, historic, and truly unprecedented across American history,” he said. “Never has so much idiocy been witnessed so clearly, quickly, and easily. It is truly mind-boggling.”
Goodness gracious gosh and golly gee, ya THINK??!!! ONE MAN did this, all for some unknown reason for the war. Enriched uranium, they say. We can’t risk nukes, they say. Yet every so often in one of Trump’s rages, it certainly sounds like he’s considering using one (or more). It’s not in the equation, they say. Well, after Trump’s latest outbursts, we can’t be certain of anything at all. Except for inflation and a recession. Are you excited? Me, either.
See you soon!
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It’s one thing to fight a war to drive out a country that’s attacked yours for a specious reason, and quite another to start a war because a country has something you want/covet, because you don’t like what they stand for, or feel threatened even though the threat is dubious. Or particularly to distract from your own problems – the so-called Was the Dog thing. I say again and again, war should be engaged in when all you have are shitty options and it’s the least shitty. Or ‘best bad option.’ Those of us who remember Vietnam remember a protest anthem that still resonates:
Ha, I’d been thinking about something using that song. You beat me to it 🙂 although I actually thought it was Springsteen, so I’m glad to be corrected. It could still be used as a piece, actually. GREAT song.
This war happened for all the WRONG reasons. Trump decided to throw everything at a country where the concern was nukes. That was unnecessary and unneeded. We had *no* good reason to start this thing. And doing so out of the blue just made us look like fools. We’ve thrown a lot of expensive munitions at them, and they’re getting us with short and medium range missiles, and drones. Things that are much less expensive and just as effective. Plus they still have a LOT left.
I partly remember Vietnam. That was a mess. I supported Nixon because he got us OUT. People seem to forget that. I got in trouble at school because of it. Ha.
Let’s compare:
Obama’s Iran Deal: Zero Americans killed. Zero Iranians killed. Zero bombs dropped. Iran’s nuclear program frozen under international inspection. Achieved through years of multilateral diplomacy. Cost: diplomatic effort.
Trump’s Iran Ceasefire: (After he cancelled Obama’s signed and sealed, already working, deal). Approximately 15 Americans dead. Hundreds wounded. An estimated 1,900+ Iranian civilians were killed. Forty-plus days of air strikes. Two carrier strike groups are effectively out of the war theatre. Every US base in the Gulf was damaged or destroyed. $45–50 billion spent. And at the end of it: Iran demanding — and getting — full sanctions relief, uranium enrichment rights, Hormuz control, US military withdrawal, and a UN resolution to lock it all in permanently. And world fuel and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed, probably bringing on a new world recession.
Except now we don’t even have those positive achievements, thanks to Dimwit Donny’s blustering ineptitude. And high prices and a recession now seem locked in. And his handpicked sycophants are now, still, ‘negotiating’ with Iran.
Does this look like ‘winning’ to you?
As you said, it’s growing season in the northern hemisphere and any crops that are imported from the south will have tariffs added to the cost. So, yes our economy will be tanked. Not an auspicious position, going into the mid-term elections.