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> But rather than protect global sea lanes, the US is bombing Iran. That’s not the same thing. Arguably the primary threat to modern sea lanes is Iran. Right
by bawolff 8mo ago
> But rather than protect global sea lanes, the US is bombing Iran. That’s not the same thing.
Arguably the primary threat to modern sea lanes is Iran.
Right now Iran is harrasing traffic. Previously the Houthis, generally considered an Iranian proxy, were harrasing traffic. Its all kind of the same war, this is just the end game.
- RobRivera 8mo agoPeople should begin quantifying the commercial freight global costs incurred from the Houthi harassment. There is a basic ROI one can do that impacts not just US interests, but global interests.
- Terr_ 8mo agoIf it were that straightforward, right now the US would (A) have a consistent set of demands/goals that include shipping security and (B) a large international coalition of support. Neither are true. P.S.: Plus, of course, the whole problem where "protecting global sea lanes" typically requires a different approach than "start a war by assassinating the leadership you were negotiating with."
- bagels 8mo agoJD vance whined that we shouldn't protect middle east shipping lanes because he believes it helps Europe more than the US.
- IncreasePosts 8mo agoDon't make me defend JD vance. He said Europe should pay their fair share for protection since 40% of their trade passes through those lanes but only 3% of America's.
- tw-20260303-001 8mo ago[flagged]
- IncreasePosts 8mo agoYou really think the US should stop supporting Ukraine?
- tw-20260303-001 8mo agoWho's talking about Ukraine here. Have you lost your mind? The comment you replied to talks about Middle East shipping routes.
- IncreasePosts 8mo agoThere's a war in the shipping lanes?
- Jensson 8mo agoYes, Iran sits next to one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
- tw-20260303-001 8mo agoYes, you have lost your mind. Or you're an LLM.
- mongol 8mo agoThe US is hardly supporting Ukraine any longer.
- datsci_est_2015 8mo agoWhy focus on the consumer side, especially when so many of the current administration are brazenly in bed with the regimes that benefit from free oil flow in the region? (Kushner & MBS) You’re not forced to repeat his rhetoric, maybe think critically about it.
- vkou 8mo agoHow much of the destabilization of North Africa and the Middle East is America's responsibility, and how much did Europe pay in absorbing refugees from it? Should Germany be sending DC a bill? If I recall correctly, America didn't even say 'Thank you'...
- bawolff 8mo agoUS messaging has been all over the place, but stop funding proxies has been one of the more consistent parts. To be clear, im not saying protecting shipping is the primary reason for this war. I'm just saying if that is what you think usa should be doing, then this war makes sense. As far as b) there are a lot of factors. Its not like freedom of navigation is the top concern of every country in the world.
- RobotToaster 8mo ago> Right now Iran is harrasing traffic gee, I wonder why they're doing that.
- edm0nd 8mo ago[flagged]
- seattle_spring 8mo ago"The terrorists hate our freedoms." This seems like a perfect opportunity for a revival of David Cross's standup career.
- nielsbot 8mo ago"terrorism" who bombed them first and repeatedly? and embargoed and sanctioned them before that? and tore up the nuclear deal? and before that installed the shah so we could get the oil?
- Jensson 8mo ago> who bombed them first and repeatedly? and embargoed and sanctioned them before that? and tore up the nuclear deal? and before that installed the shah so we could get the oil? Not the people they are attacking. Intentionally attacking people unrelated to those you have a grievance with is terrorism, Iran has a terrorist regime. Russia doesn't do that, Ukraine doesn't do that, and so on.
- nielsbot 8mo agoMy point is that the US and Israel especially are committing terrorism. (See examples given) Who are they attacking that isn't attacking them?
- carefree-bob 8mo agoA total mystery!
- mothballed 8mo agoHouthi harassments was also a byproduct of the Israel-US "self defense" against the Iranian backed hamas attacks. Maybe it is pointless to pontificate whether the the tic-for-tat would have been initiated had the Israel-US coalition had stopped at punishing the Oct. 7 terrorists rather than leveling half of gaza, although I'm not convinced it was an inevitable byproduct.
- mikepurvis 8mo agoThe first gulf war was 1990. The US has been at war with various factions of the Middle East more or less continuously for thirty five years. The current president specifically campaigned on no new foreign wars and repeatedly tried to bully the Nobel committee into awarding him a peace prize before accepting a second hand one from another world leader and a sham one from FIFA of all things. What makes anyone think that this latest attack is the "end game" vs just the latest expensive chapter?
- karmakurtisaani 8mo agoThe only end game here is distraction from the Epstein files and a potential coup to prevent midterm elections. The whole war is just plain stupid.
- Terr_ 8mo agoMe-of-2000 would be utterly incredulous at just one auto-coup [0] in the US, let alone the potential for two in 6 years. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-coup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-coup
- antod 8mo agoAs an aside, I remember before the 90s when the Iran/Iraq War was called "The Gulf War".
- PieTime 8mo agoThe end game is when the US backed dictatorships collapse, this is the end of American power, not the beginning.
- bawolff 8mo agoThat seems pretty unlikely at the moment.
- throwaw12 8mo ago> Arguably the primary threat to modern sea lanes is Iran. Such a strange take. Can you share number of attacks by Iran in the last 10 years in sea lanes, where it was started solely by Iran? > Right now Iran is harrasing traffic As a response to attacks, Iran AFAIK wasn't harassing anyone in the ocean traffic up until 3 days ago