IRAN. GROSS INCOMPETENCE & GOP DERELICTION HAS CAUSED IT ALL

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,“ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday as crude prices rose to $95 per barrel, a 40% increase from where they were before the US and Israel attacked Iran nearly two weeks ago. Oh yes. Profits from war and death is definitely good public relations. Or, as one oil industry source responded, “Oh, boy....” So, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, creating a global oil shock. Which seems to have been anticipated by everybody except the commander in chief of the world’s most powerful military. The International Energy Agency just announced that this is causing, quote, “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” Trump never takes seriously the idea that we are interdependent. To him MAGA means American power can do whatever it wants and everything is going to be shaped by that. Now he’s learning that that’s not true. Bullying has its limits. What has always worked for him in his sheltered world protected by wealth isn’t working when confronted with real world opposition. Opposition that he has no control over. And that he cannot make back down with words. Or even military might. But you know who is definitely laughing all the way to the bank during this fiasco? Russia. Now they can sell their oil on the world market. While informing on US military logistics in Iran. And buy more munitions to continue to kill democracy in Ukraine. Our president and his inept bungling is either making Russia richer through incompetence, or by intent to help out his friend Putin. Experts say Iran could also benefit from this lifting of Russian oil sanctions. Its government and independent militias probably own many of the tankers that make up a “shadow fleet” of hundreds of vessels currently holding Russian oil. This fleet is designed specifically to evade sanctions. It is made up of older, less reliable vessels that sailed uninsured and used radar-jamming devices and other techniques to avoid detection. The US and its allies have few remaining tools to keep oil prices from surging as the strait remains cut off. An historic release of oil from emergency reserves was approved this week, including 172M barrels from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But the release will backfill only a fraction of the oil that typically moves through the strait. And prices have continued to push upward since the release was announced. That Trump did not anticipate pushback in Iran is astounding. Or worse yet, that he ignored any advice suggesting that there would be any. Just like here in America, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, the administration seems perplexed that using might and fury doesn’t necessarily result in a win. They keep running into unanticipated resistance. They just never think it’s going to happen. And it keeps happening Now this same lack of understanding and monumental poor judgement has resulted in a war of choice in Iran. There is no path forward from here that is not highly disruptive and won’t leave things worse off than before Trump made his decision. But he’s finally succeeded in actually causing something unlike the world has ever seen before. FUBAR for certain.