Yukon finally touched on the crux of it. This is all part of a much bigger geopolitical strategy.
It's interesting reading this thread and seeing how tactical most of the opinions are. Even when someone discusses china they are being fairly tactical in their assessment of this war.
Taken in a vacuum the varied opinions, for and against, have good arguments.
But there is a much bigger context that needs to be taken into consideration and it is driving most of all modern conflicts and all decisions of the world's leaders.
The entire geopolitical and economic foundation we have enjoyed the last 50 years is shifting back to regional hegemonies (Empires) at the same time of unprecedented revolutions in asymmetric warfare and AI coupled with plunging populations.
Russia was the first to move in a desperate attempt to shore up their defenses and alleviate their cliff diving demographics. They failed at first because of our support with anti-tank weapons and are continuing to fail because of Ukraine's innovations in drone warfare.
Whoever was running our country for Biden did not seem to grasp the magnitude of what is happening internationally or they put their priorities elsewhere. They seemed solely engrossed in taking one party control of the US political system to the detriment of the strategic moves they should have been making internationally.
Trump's team though appears to be fully aware of the dynamics and is trying to tackle the international part while they are attempting to shore up our domestic situation which is riddled with monetary fraud, political cronyism, electoral malfeasance, and the likelihood of an upcoming unemployment nightmare.
The administration's moves with Argentina, Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, and the cartels is the US positioning itself to be the sole influencer on both western continents. Cuba's days are numbered for sure. Yes, the Donroe Doctrine as has been stated.
But after shoring up Fortress America what is needed most to be able to withstand a world where global shipping is less safe than a Spanish galleon loaded with bullion as it sails past the Bahamas.
TIME
Time to move the most vital supply chains back home. Time to bolster new defenses against ariel and naval drones.
How do you buy time? You do two things. You destroy the largest manufacturer of drones for terrorists and you secure the oil and shipping lanes so that its business as usual for a few more years.
Wiping out a regime that has survived 45 years too long is a bonus, as is taking full control of most of China's access to oil. We always could have but if we command the strait then it takes a day to turn off their spigot. Taiwan will be off the table for the foreseeable future.
Now the off ramp. Say you achieved primary goals and are scaling back the operation BUT have added a few new and more limited goals to ensure that whoever takes over can never restart these programs.
Goal 1: safeguard the strait so it can never be cut off again
Goal 2: control the Iranian oil revenue to make sure that none of the nuclear, missile, or drone capabilities are revived by the current or new regime.
Goal 3: recoup the costs of the mission and the ongoing maintenance.
To do that:
1) Keep letting the Israelis work with defectors to decimate the leadership to make police actions untenable against a vengeful populace.
2) Take over the oil island, and the area where the uranium is buried. The size of the country which is a disadvantage will work to your advantage to keep Iranian forces from getting to the site without saying hello to a hungry A10. Get in, and get the uranium.
3) Set up defensible outposts on the island and both sides of the strait.
4) And never send troops into urban areas. You now own the flow of revenue to the new regime and the flow of energy to the rest of the world.
Start charging tolls to pay for it all.
