Trump counts in days. Netanyahu counts in millennia. Their war against Persia is a clash of mental fictions and of time itself. The narcissist seeks adoration. The neurotic seeks annihilation.
Thanks! Unfortunately there is no messiah that will save us. If the billionaire class really start losing wealth and power they may eventually rebel. The national security state is divided into three factions: anti-Russian, anti-Iranian and anti-Chinese. Maybe two of these will combine to overthrow the third? I'm not optimistic...
The one undeniable talent Trump possesses is the iron will to turn any catastrophe into a rhetorical victory. BlackRock is now limiting withdrawals from its private credit fund as oil prices surge past $90, proof that financial stress is spreading through the global economy. Trump's TACO truck could soon be entering center stage under financial oligarchic pressure.
The key will be those THAAD systems that are/were? in South Korea. If those get sent to the Middle East for destruction then the Empire will be blind and logic will push towards a retrenchment towards the US' North American bastion. So Colby will be fighting like mad to keep that THAAD system in SK, but if he loses then the Pacific region is toast.
I've never quite understood if Colby really was a China-hawk or if it was a mask he was donning to push for retrenchment. After this debacle in the Persian Gulf, it is beyond obvious that in any future conflict with China, US forces would need to standoff by at least 2000 kilometers.
Is Vance then the anti-war messiah that will save the US? The neocons will go apoplectic once Trump cuts and runs, even if he successfully invades Cuba on the way back home from the Persian Gulf. They may demand Trump's scalp but I have trouble believing Vance can stand up to them but we may soon see!
Well, instead of the individual explanation, I think we should lift the explanation to the more marxist structural level. Hitler could not do what he did without broad support, including support from the deep state, neither can Nethanyahu and Trump.
Great idea. This bird's eye systemic lens is crucial and an enjoyable way to analyze these events and cycles. I have a concept of Global Wars based in part on Fernand Braudel's work that I will try to apply to this war.
Great Kevin, excellent text! Systemic analytical depth coexists in a tense system with the most diverse psychological archetypal dimensions in your writings; well done for that, it is very necessary in these times!
Amazing essay, Kevin, you've made such a masterly psychological comparison of two psychopaths.
"Netanyahu is nailed to the fiction of Iran as existential threat" : I would assume that he knows it's bunk; he is such a consummate politician to his fingertips that he can't really believe any of that mumbo-jumbo. I would have thought it's more about power, Zionist expansion and getting his name forever into the Jewish history books. As you hint further down in your piece, he then just implicitly uses the archetype which is vivid in Jewish culture.
"The paradox is that Netanyahu’s obsession forced Iran to arm itself to the point that it might now constitute a genuine challenge to Israeli regional dominance." : Brilliant insight, you are right on the button. It is actually Israel's aggressiveness that has provoked this military development in Iran. So true!
"yawning void of banal security" : nice phrase, and indeed: this is also what I hear is quite typical of the Jewish/Zionist mindset. They need the victimhood, the risk of destruction, always. It's what gives their lives meaning.
"the alliance between two mentally damaged men may soon crack." : agree, but remember though that there is also the wider US-Israel-AIPAC-Capitol Hill relationship as well as potential blackmail on Trump since years back (Epstein).
"The Suez Canal presents an easy target for Iranian special forces" : Not clear to me, how that is possible?.
The last part, with the three masks that gentiles can wear towards the Jews, is simply brilliant, original and so thought-provoking, thx!
Thanks Finn! For the Suez I thought Iranian special forces could infiltrate Egypt and get close enough to launch at least drones at the armada as it was passing through the canal. Those war ships are super vulnerable in the tight confines of the canal. I'll discuss the rest with you by phone. Thanks again!!
I think it impossible, however I heard that Ansar Allah has joined the fight and some militias in Sudan as well, able to operate along the Western Red Sea coast. Don't know any of these capabilities today though.
Taking (with violence) something that already exists, and is not yours, and then selling it, is not production, but theft. Thus the term "oil production" is blatantly wrong. It should say OIL THEFT.
> Oil and liquefied natural gas leave through the Strait of Hormuz
Also the gas in question is a fossil fuel harming out planet. Thus the term "liquefied natural gas" is wrong. It should say LIQUEFIED FOSSIL GAS. This can be abbreviated to LFG.
Thanks! I bet he is getting plenty of pressure to TACO out and I can see he is planting a few seeds here and there. Not sure he will survive politically though when he cuts and runs!
incredible piece. reminds me of Eliade’s work: archaic man cannot escape the world of archetypes and is doomed to repeat those archetypal events, again and again and again.
Very good! But WHO is going to arrest insane leaders and save the world???
Thanks! Unfortunately there is no messiah that will save us. If the billionaire class really start losing wealth and power they may eventually rebel. The national security state is divided into three factions: anti-Russian, anti-Iranian and anti-Chinese. Maybe two of these will combine to overthrow the third? I'm not optimistic...
Looks like Elbridge Colby has lost out. Who knows if he'll be able to pivot the Administration to Asia at this point. I don't see it happening.
The one undeniable talent Trump possesses is the iron will to turn any catastrophe into a rhetorical victory. BlackRock is now limiting withdrawals from its private credit fund as oil prices surge past $90, proof that financial stress is spreading through the global economy. Trump's TACO truck could soon be entering center stage under financial oligarchic pressure.
The key will be those THAAD systems that are/were? in South Korea. If those get sent to the Middle East for destruction then the Empire will be blind and logic will push towards a retrenchment towards the US' North American bastion. So Colby will be fighting like mad to keep that THAAD system in SK, but if he loses then the Pacific region is toast.
I've never quite understood if Colby really was a China-hawk or if it was a mask he was donning to push for retrenchment. After this debacle in the Persian Gulf, it is beyond obvious that in any future conflict with China, US forces would need to standoff by at least 2000 kilometers.
Is Vance then the anti-war messiah that will save the US? The neocons will go apoplectic once Trump cuts and runs, even if he successfully invades Cuba on the way back home from the Persian Gulf. They may demand Trump's scalp but I have trouble believing Vance can stand up to them but we may soon see!
Well, instead of the individual explanation, I think we should lift the explanation to the more marxist structural level. Hitler could not do what he did without broad support, including support from the deep state, neither can Nethanyahu and Trump.
You are right, that is necessary too, but it doesn't remove anything from Kevin's amazing essay.
Great idea. This bird's eye systemic lens is crucial and an enjoyable way to analyze these events and cycles. I have a concept of Global Wars based in part on Fernand Braudel's work that I will try to apply to this war.
Except that Israel clearly has blackmail material over Trump, not to mention Trump is weak, stupid and easily manipulated.
All true...
Great Kevin, excellent text! Systemic analytical depth coexists in a tense system with the most diverse psychological archetypal dimensions in your writings; well done for that, it is very necessary in these times!
Thanks Pio!!
Amazing essay, Kevin, you've made such a masterly psychological comparison of two psychopaths.
"Netanyahu is nailed to the fiction of Iran as existential threat" : I would assume that he knows it's bunk; he is such a consummate politician to his fingertips that he can't really believe any of that mumbo-jumbo. I would have thought it's more about power, Zionist expansion and getting his name forever into the Jewish history books. As you hint further down in your piece, he then just implicitly uses the archetype which is vivid in Jewish culture.
"The paradox is that Netanyahu’s obsession forced Iran to arm itself to the point that it might now constitute a genuine challenge to Israeli regional dominance." : Brilliant insight, you are right on the button. It is actually Israel's aggressiveness that has provoked this military development in Iran. So true!
"yawning void of banal security" : nice phrase, and indeed: this is also what I hear is quite typical of the Jewish/Zionist mindset. They need the victimhood, the risk of destruction, always. It's what gives their lives meaning.
"the alliance between two mentally damaged men may soon crack." : agree, but remember though that there is also the wider US-Israel-AIPAC-Capitol Hill relationship as well as potential blackmail on Trump since years back (Epstein).
"The Suez Canal presents an easy target for Iranian special forces" : Not clear to me, how that is possible?.
The last part, with the three masks that gentiles can wear towards the Jews, is simply brilliant, original and so thought-provoking, thx!
Thanks Finn! For the Suez I thought Iranian special forces could infiltrate Egypt and get close enough to launch at least drones at the armada as it was passing through the canal. Those war ships are super vulnerable in the tight confines of the canal. I'll discuss the rest with you by phone. Thanks again!!
I think it impossible, however I heard that Ansar Allah has joined the fight and some militias in Sudan as well, able to operate along the Western Red Sea coast. Don't know any of these capabilities today though.
Thank you for that great piece of text.
Two corrections on small but important details:
> Oil production
Taking (with violence) something that already exists, and is not yours, and then selling it, is not production, but theft. Thus the term "oil production" is blatantly wrong. It should say OIL THEFT.
> Oil and liquefied natural gas leave through the Strait of Hormuz
Also the gas in question is a fossil fuel harming out planet. Thus the term "liquefied natural gas" is wrong. It should say LIQUEFIED FOSSIL GAS. This can be abbreviated to LFG.
These stories means humankind can learn lessons. Cultural memory makes us human
Well written summary. For myself I find it hard for Trump to survive to TACO as there won’t be anything left to do the TACO Tango.
Thanks! I bet he is getting plenty of pressure to TACO out and I can see he is planting a few seeds here and there. Not sure he will survive politically though when he cuts and runs!
Agree, difficult to see TACO in this case, though the desire may soon be there.
incredible piece. reminds me of Eliade’s work: archaic man cannot escape the world of archetypes and is doomed to repeat those archetypal events, again and again and again.
Thank you! That's funny, I have been reading Eliade recently (The Forge and the Crucible) and I must have learned something!!
This is both brilliantly historical and contemporary in its communication of meaning👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you so much!!