This is so good, it's thrilling. The facts are not thrilling, of course, but the clearsightedness and the conclusions are. It makes me realize how little good analysis of events of any kind there actually is anymore.
I've just come from a YouTube comments section filled with references to "Trump the fascist," and on Friday watched part of a YouTube video in which a woman said she's convinced Trump is doing this to vent his malignant narcissism one last time before his death.
One can take only so much.
I have become a disbeliever in democracy, a view I know I am tardy in arriving at.
Thanks, Bobby. What’s disappointing to me is how much projection I’m seeing out there. Of course the Left will be doing it. That’s their profession. But the Right?
So, no disabled people could vote? Most of them have paid into the system, and in the case of those disabled in childhood, their parents have. Even the chronically poor pay sales taxes, Madjack, and they don't get a rebate.
There are very few professional welfare recipients, and those who are almost certainly are other kinds of criminals, too.
Something to remember is that we have a sick population, literally: the obesity rates prove that. Look into The ACE Study. It shows almost beyond controversy that incidents of childhood trauma increase the likelihood that one will have a sick adulthood.
Why don't we work on restricting voting to citizens?
Excellent piece. Well said. I am very anxious about this operation but once started it MUST be finished successfully. I am very favorably disposed to Persian history and culture and wish them well but my first concern is America and Americans.
Seriously, my fellow MAGA patriots need to stop crashing out every time Trump uses the U.S. military to put an end to forever wars. He’s not starting them, he’s ending them, and preventing them in the future. Same goes for blaming “the JOOS” for everything or believing Netanyahu or Miriam Adelson controls Trump. Grow up.
Where I part ways with the article is who the “enemy” is. It is not China. Let’s not make them into the next scapegoat for everything like too many have with “the JOOS.” China is not our enemy, they are our economic rival. May the games begin. Our enemy is the City of London. The City of London has used the USA to fight all of its wars since WW-I. In 2025, Trump went to war with them financially, and has pretty much won that with Scott Bessent at Treasury and, yes, Jerome Powell at the Fed. Starting with the drug running boats, he has gone kinetic. Then Maduro, then the Ayatollah and the IRGC, next Zelensky—all are assets of London to sow chaos in the world.
Trump gave Maduro and the Ayatollah—like he did in 2025 with the combatants in the eight wars he settled—an open book test: negotiate in good faith and we can solve this diplomatically. The eight other conflicts settled diplomatically with bi-lateral, reciprocal trading agreements. Maduro and the Ayatollah failed the open book test. I’m sure Zelensky has paid attention to the consequences when one fails.
Trump has unleashed the U.S. military, and the world now knows about its ferocious speed, power and capability to destroy its targets with minimal civilian casualties and minimal loss of U.S. lives. The MacGregors and Judge Naps and Larry Johnsons and all the rest of the chicken littles claiming the U.S. military is a paper tiger are dead wrong.
Trump said on Saturday, “our special relationship is over. And we will remember.” On the 250th Anniversary of our independence from Britain, Trump is liberating us once again from over a century of London intrigue to make us their colony again. How many color revolutions or regime change operations will London try now in a futile effort to provoke Russia and America into a regional war? We’ll treat it as retribution for the War of 1812. In other words, the next U.S. Military operation could be to wipe out that evil square mile in London.
So much of the Trump Amin actions are just bad political optics. But if you just get your lazy ass off the FB memes couch and do a bit of research, the truth unfolds to connect every Trump move with the MAGA agenda.
Peace, security and prosperity for the forgotten citizens of the country.
Why does Trump not support continued funding going to Ukraine? Because it does nothing to advance peace, security and prosperity for American citizens. Why does Trump support the joint operation with Israel to bomb the Iran terrorist regime into oblivion? Because it supports American peace, security... and with the China connection to Iran, it supports future increases to American prosperity.
Tariffs. Check.
ICE deportation of illegals. Check.
Eliminating DEI from government and the military and education. Check.
Getting biological males out of female private spaces. Check.
Reducing business-killing regulations. Check.
Drill baby drill. Check.
The list goes on.
Compare this to the Democrat actions, and you could make the point that everything they do is the reverse of peace, security and prosperity for American citizens... except if you are part of the top 10% in income and wealth.
Trump did not cause the current state of inflation. That all happened with the Biden Democrats in power for four years. Trump did not cause the massive increase in healthcare costs. Democrats again. Trump did not cause the flood of illegal immigrants bankrupting states and cities. Trump did not cause the hollowing out of working-class communities, higher crime rates, increased homelessness, increased opioid deaths and suicides. Trump did not cause the global terrorism problems in the Mideast.
But Trump is working on a fix for each of these problems. And for that, not only do the deranged left want to kill him for it, but his own MAGA base is turning on him too.
We seem to live in an insane asylum where people cannot think well enough to form any accurate perspective of reality over their spoon-fed, media mythology.
Finally a reasonable and logical take on what had to be done. I would also add in Iran's ballistic missel capabilities, growing drone exports, the world economic (and humanitarian) catastrophe when Iran really does try to wipe Israel off the map, and the opportunity presented by internal Iranian opposition.
Could have read my mind. "I have no idea if or if not this is a good idea, but pretending the Prez has to ask congress to shoot missiles, that "no new wars" is anything more than an expression of intent because it only takes one side to start one (or trigger the need for one), and so on, and watching the other middle east countries get in line to support this, not just Israel, tells me that something is not what the panickers on either side are decrying. One of our first acts as a country was to apply kinetic PR to country everyone else was appeasing (think "Shores of Tripoli").
In short, let's at least not engage in bullshit arguments or pretend the world is what it isn't
Yup. The frantic projection of obsessions as interpretive framework—this to me is the Left’s MO, so I’m irked to see so many decent *men* falling into it.
There are very valid concerns, yes, but at least get a grip. Put your go-to lens away and just LOOK.
I appreciate you laying things out concisely. Unfortunately, you were so concise that you didn't explain why Iran getting nukes (and not using them), and other Gulf nations getting them too endangers America. I think it makes war less likely. I think it makes further Israeli-Arab reproachment more likely. Of course, a new pro-Western Iranian regime would do the same thing. We see now though that such a goal is too difficult to accomplish. My point is that it may not be necessary. Nuclear armed North Korea has reduced tensions on the Korean peninsula. A nuclear armed Taiwan would accomplish the same. Nukes save lives.
As long as nuclear weapons aren’t ever launched, their value as a deterrent is notable - at least until it becomes taken for granted by foreign policy-makers that they’ll never be launched and that deterrence loses all significance. When the literal “nuclear option” is unthinkable, it ceases to be an option
That Iran would only possess nukes as a deterrent, however, seems like calling a bluff against a purse you cannot match. Let’s not pretend that first strike isn’t so much more valuable than any response in-kind, or that the nuclear community might not balk even in retaliation.
For 47 years, Iran has defined itself through a commitment to eradicate the Great and Little Satans - do they truly wish to do so or are we just the villain the Ayatollahs made up to sell their own hero’s journey? Iran’s people seem to have grown tired of that story - it’s a huge gamble to think the next Ayatollah will keep trying to tell the same one. Add in all the smaller nuclear options beyond a nuclear ICBM (tactical nukes, dirty bombs, etc.) and Iran could no doubt find a proxy use for weaponized material. Their puppets certainly don’t have the same hegemonic or economic concerns as does Tehran while providing a degree of separation for their sponsor.
__________
You may be right, a nuclear-armed greater Middle East may lead to reduced tension. However, it would be one far beyond our ability to influence, and every economic theory that assumes purely rational actors has failed (of the four instruments of national power, the economic seems to be the greatest driver).
Also….and I agree with everything you’ve said….we are already at war. Thanks to Joe Biden. There are 100,000 terrorists and narco gangs in the country. This war was brought to our shores already.
We need to face this. We are about to lose 2-20 civilians here in North America 3x a week until we fight back hard.
Fukuyama makes a number of solid points, but I disagree with his claim the objectives for the operation were unclear. More, like many he misjudges Trump’s language—the way Trump uses maximalist language that shoots well beyond objectives as threat and/or bargaining position. So “unconditional surrender”—so what?
The Trump team knows the IRGC’s strategic mosaic structure and of course knows the massive challenge this presents. But they’re counting on “Iran” not being one thing—that the remnants of the state will eventually fissure. How they get there while still keeping global oil supply flowing, that’s the tough part.
That “shoot[ing] well beyond objectives as threat and/or bargaining…” is probably the major aspect of Mr. Trump’s negotiating style that his detractors misinterpret.
His critics see blowhard hyperbole when, really, he’s setting a price that (while outlandish on the surface) starts the haggling from a favorable position. It doesn’t always work, but it works a lot.
Most Americans (including myself) are not raised to haggle - we’re taught to be honest and extend the benefit of the doubt that our counterpart is also honest. We either take it or leave it at sticker price (and are fortunate enough to get by just fine if we leave it or pay a little more), so the art of haggling has become an alien one to us. Not him.
He’s the Carny President - while that may seem derogatory, anyone who’s ever spent any time at circus games will recognize that it’s a good thing he’s under our tent.
And we are now at “the tough part.” At this point, bombing has diminishing returns. Next steps? Here are 5 suggestions: 1. Seize all IRGC and regime assets worldwide, 2. Drop leaflets on Iranian cities (and military bases) detailing the regime’s offshore assets and plunder of Iran’s wealth, 3. Let the Artesh know that if they don’t support the Iranian people they will at some point be targeted as well (and encourage them to lead a new Iran), 4. Take out Ayatollah Jr. (this is no doubt being pursued) and 5. The hardest one - get control of the Straights of Hormuz. This will cut off Iran’s income (60% of hard currency income) and re-enable exports for the Gulf states. Yes, this will be messy and difficult, but it will end the regime by destroying their ability to fund their machine while global energy markets return to normal.
Um...Iran can bomb the oil structure in all of the other gulf countries., which would ruin the global economy. I think that's why Obama did the nuclear deal etc. I don't know what your saying about "joos" but Trump, Rubio, the guy who just resigned all said openly they did it for Israel (and by that Netanyahu) he said this. These guys are all going senile and shouldn't be in charge of anything.
Iran can attack the oil infrastructure in Arab neighbors with drones and missiles. Do nothing, and soon they will be able to attack far beyond with nuclear weapons.
No one in the administration ever said they were starting this operation for Israel. What was said was that its launch timing was determined to coincide with an Israeli bombing campaign. Which makes strategic sense.
Our carriers and other assets had been moved into place and were ready. They weren’t moved there for Israel.
Eric the regime wants to survive. They had years and years to attack but they never did. They didn't even get nuclear weapons, or treat Israeli infiltration seriously. They probably thought the infiltration would just make it less likely to be attacked. Now that they see that the goal (or the US and Israel) is to destroy the country itself they will attack anything and everything to survive, or use the "Samson"option, toss the economic pillars of the world down as they go down. Certain countries (mainly America and Israel) are hoping Iran won't notice their being destroyed and end up doing nothing. That's why Europe is so furious with America.
This is so good, it's thrilling. The facts are not thrilling, of course, but the clearsightedness and the conclusions are. It makes me realize how little good analysis of events of any kind there actually is anymore.
I've just come from a YouTube comments section filled with references to "Trump the fascist," and on Friday watched part of a YouTube video in which a woman said she's convinced Trump is doing this to vent his malignant narcissism one last time before his death.
One can take only so much.
I have become a disbeliever in democracy, a view I know I am tardy in arriving at.
Thanks, Bobby. What’s disappointing to me is how much projection I’m seeing out there. Of course the Left will be doing it. That’s their profession. But the Right?
Democracy(the demos) is dangerous. You should not have the right to vote if receiving Government benefits(welfare, etc)
So, no disabled people could vote? Most of them have paid into the system, and in the case of those disabled in childhood, their parents have. Even the chronically poor pay sales taxes, Madjack, and they don't get a rebate.
There are very few professional welfare recipients, and those who are almost certainly are other kinds of criminals, too.
Something to remember is that we have a sick population, literally: the obesity rates prove that. Look into The ACE Study. It shows almost beyond controversy that incidents of childhood trauma increase the likelihood that one will have a sick adulthood.
Why don't we work on restricting voting to citizens?
Excellent piece. Well said. I am very anxious about this operation but once started it MUST be finished successfully. I am very favorably disposed to Persian history and culture and wish them well but my first concern is America and Americans.
Good article.
Seriously, my fellow MAGA patriots need to stop crashing out every time Trump uses the U.S. military to put an end to forever wars. He’s not starting them, he’s ending them, and preventing them in the future. Same goes for blaming “the JOOS” for everything or believing Netanyahu or Miriam Adelson controls Trump. Grow up.
Where I part ways with the article is who the “enemy” is. It is not China. Let’s not make them into the next scapegoat for everything like too many have with “the JOOS.” China is not our enemy, they are our economic rival. May the games begin. Our enemy is the City of London. The City of London has used the USA to fight all of its wars since WW-I. In 2025, Trump went to war with them financially, and has pretty much won that with Scott Bessent at Treasury and, yes, Jerome Powell at the Fed. Starting with the drug running boats, he has gone kinetic. Then Maduro, then the Ayatollah and the IRGC, next Zelensky—all are assets of London to sow chaos in the world.
Trump gave Maduro and the Ayatollah—like he did in 2025 with the combatants in the eight wars he settled—an open book test: negotiate in good faith and we can solve this diplomatically. The eight other conflicts settled diplomatically with bi-lateral, reciprocal trading agreements. Maduro and the Ayatollah failed the open book test. I’m sure Zelensky has paid attention to the consequences when one fails.
Trump has unleashed the U.S. military, and the world now knows about its ferocious speed, power and capability to destroy its targets with minimal civilian casualties and minimal loss of U.S. lives. The MacGregors and Judge Naps and Larry Johnsons and all the rest of the chicken littles claiming the U.S. military is a paper tiger are dead wrong.
Trump said on Saturday, “our special relationship is over. And we will remember.” On the 250th Anniversary of our independence from Britain, Trump is liberating us once again from over a century of London intrigue to make us their colony again. How many color revolutions or regime change operations will London try now in a futile effort to provoke Russia and America into a regional war? We’ll treat it as retribution for the War of 1812. In other words, the next U.S. Military operation could be to wipe out that evil square mile in London.
So much of the Trump Amin actions are just bad political optics. But if you just get your lazy ass off the FB memes couch and do a bit of research, the truth unfolds to connect every Trump move with the MAGA agenda.
Peace, security and prosperity for the forgotten citizens of the country.
Why does Trump not support continued funding going to Ukraine? Because it does nothing to advance peace, security and prosperity for American citizens. Why does Trump support the joint operation with Israel to bomb the Iran terrorist regime into oblivion? Because it supports American peace, security... and with the China connection to Iran, it supports future increases to American prosperity.
Tariffs. Check.
ICE deportation of illegals. Check.
Eliminating DEI from government and the military and education. Check.
Getting biological males out of female private spaces. Check.
Reducing business-killing regulations. Check.
Drill baby drill. Check.
The list goes on.
Compare this to the Democrat actions, and you could make the point that everything they do is the reverse of peace, security and prosperity for American citizens... except if you are part of the top 10% in income and wealth.
Trump did not cause the current state of inflation. That all happened with the Biden Democrats in power for four years. Trump did not cause the massive increase in healthcare costs. Democrats again. Trump did not cause the flood of illegal immigrants bankrupting states and cities. Trump did not cause the hollowing out of working-class communities, higher crime rates, increased homelessness, increased opioid deaths and suicides. Trump did not cause the global terrorism problems in the Mideast.
But Trump is working on a fix for each of these problems. And for that, not only do the deranged left want to kill him for it, but his own MAGA base is turning on him too.
We seem to live in an insane asylum where people cannot think well enough to form any accurate perspective of reality over their spoon-fed, media mythology.
Finally a reasonable and logical take on what had to be done. I would also add in Iran's ballistic missel capabilities, growing drone exports, the world economic (and humanitarian) catastrophe when Iran really does try to wipe Israel off the map, and the opportunity presented by internal Iranian opposition.
Could have read my mind. "I have no idea if or if not this is a good idea, but pretending the Prez has to ask congress to shoot missiles, that "no new wars" is anything more than an expression of intent because it only takes one side to start one (or trigger the need for one), and so on, and watching the other middle east countries get in line to support this, not just Israel, tells me that something is not what the panickers on either side are decrying. One of our first acts as a country was to apply kinetic PR to country everyone else was appeasing (think "Shores of Tripoli").
In short, let's at least not engage in bullshit arguments or pretend the world is what it isn't
Yup. The frantic projection of obsessions as interpretive framework—this to me is the Left’s MO, so I’m irked to see so many decent *men* falling into it.
There are very valid concerns, yes, but at least get a grip. Put your go-to lens away and just LOOK.
You laid that out perfectly. I got some real mental cases on my timeline arguing about exactly what you’re saying.
I appreciate you laying things out concisely. Unfortunately, you were so concise that you didn't explain why Iran getting nukes (and not using them), and other Gulf nations getting them too endangers America. I think it makes war less likely. I think it makes further Israeli-Arab reproachment more likely. Of course, a new pro-Western Iranian regime would do the same thing. We see now though that such a goal is too difficult to accomplish. My point is that it may not be necessary. Nuclear armed North Korea has reduced tensions on the Korean peninsula. A nuclear armed Taiwan would accomplish the same. Nukes save lives.
As long as nuclear weapons aren’t ever launched, their value as a deterrent is notable - at least until it becomes taken for granted by foreign policy-makers that they’ll never be launched and that deterrence loses all significance. When the literal “nuclear option” is unthinkable, it ceases to be an option
That Iran would only possess nukes as a deterrent, however, seems like calling a bluff against a purse you cannot match. Let’s not pretend that first strike isn’t so much more valuable than any response in-kind, or that the nuclear community might not balk even in retaliation.
For 47 years, Iran has defined itself through a commitment to eradicate the Great and Little Satans - do they truly wish to do so or are we just the villain the Ayatollahs made up to sell their own hero’s journey? Iran’s people seem to have grown tired of that story - it’s a huge gamble to think the next Ayatollah will keep trying to tell the same one. Add in all the smaller nuclear options beyond a nuclear ICBM (tactical nukes, dirty bombs, etc.) and Iran could no doubt find a proxy use for weaponized material. Their puppets certainly don’t have the same hegemonic or economic concerns as does Tehran while providing a degree of separation for their sponsor.
__________
You may be right, a nuclear-armed greater Middle East may lead to reduced tension. However, it would be one far beyond our ability to influence, and every economic theory that assumes purely rational actors has failed (of the four instruments of national power, the economic seems to be the greatest driver).
Lightning from Olympus, this one. Subbed!
Yes; same!
You got me at Realpolitik. As much as I prefer building inner strength through a moderate isolationism........
I hope the US will bomb what they can and leave it up to the Iranians to change their government. If the Iranians can't do it, nobody else can.
Also….and I agree with everything you’ve said….we are already at war. Thanks to Joe Biden. There are 100,000 terrorists and narco gangs in the country. This war was brought to our shores already.
We need to face this. We are about to lose 2-20 civilians here in North America 3x a week until we fight back hard.
https://substack.com/@frankfukuyama/note/p-190390993?r=2t6309
Fukuyama makes a number of solid points, but I disagree with his claim the objectives for the operation were unclear. More, like many he misjudges Trump’s language—the way Trump uses maximalist language that shoots well beyond objectives as threat and/or bargaining position. So “unconditional surrender”—so what?
The Trump team knows the IRGC’s strategic mosaic structure and of course knows the massive challenge this presents. But they’re counting on “Iran” not being one thing—that the remnants of the state will eventually fissure. How they get there while still keeping global oil supply flowing, that’s the tough part.
That “shoot[ing] well beyond objectives as threat and/or bargaining…” is probably the major aspect of Mr. Trump’s negotiating style that his detractors misinterpret.
His critics see blowhard hyperbole when, really, he’s setting a price that (while outlandish on the surface) starts the haggling from a favorable position. It doesn’t always work, but it works a lot.
Most Americans (including myself) are not raised to haggle - we’re taught to be honest and extend the benefit of the doubt that our counterpart is also honest. We either take it or leave it at sticker price (and are fortunate enough to get by just fine if we leave it or pay a little more), so the art of haggling has become an alien one to us. Not him.
He’s the Carny President - while that may seem derogatory, anyone who’s ever spent any time at circus games will recognize that it’s a good thing he’s under our tent.
This exactly.
And we are now at “the tough part.” At this point, bombing has diminishing returns. Next steps? Here are 5 suggestions: 1. Seize all IRGC and regime assets worldwide, 2. Drop leaflets on Iranian cities (and military bases) detailing the regime’s offshore assets and plunder of Iran’s wealth, 3. Let the Artesh know that if they don’t support the Iranian people they will at some point be targeted as well (and encourage them to lead a new Iran), 4. Take out Ayatollah Jr. (this is no doubt being pursued) and 5. The hardest one - get control of the Straights of Hormuz. This will cut off Iran’s income (60% of hard currency income) and re-enable exports for the Gulf states. Yes, this will be messy and difficult, but it will end the regime by destroying their ability to fund their machine while global energy markets return to normal.
Finally an analysis of the Iran situation by someone who understands why wars are fought
No
Um...Iran can bomb the oil structure in all of the other gulf countries., which would ruin the global economy. I think that's why Obama did the nuclear deal etc. I don't know what your saying about "joos" but Trump, Rubio, the guy who just resigned all said openly they did it for Israel (and by that Netanyahu) he said this. These guys are all going senile and shouldn't be in charge of anything.
Iran can attack the oil infrastructure in Arab neighbors with drones and missiles. Do nothing, and soon they will be able to attack far beyond with nuclear weapons.
No one in the administration ever said they were starting this operation for Israel. What was said was that its launch timing was determined to coincide with an Israeli bombing campaign. Which makes strategic sense.
Our carriers and other assets had been moved into place and were ready. They weren’t moved there for Israel.
Eric the regime wants to survive. They had years and years to attack but they never did. They didn't even get nuclear weapons, or treat Israeli infiltration seriously. They probably thought the infiltration would just make it less likely to be attacked. Now that they see that the goal (or the US and Israel) is to destroy the country itself they will attack anything and everything to survive, or use the "Samson"option, toss the economic pillars of the world down as they go down. Certain countries (mainly America and Israel) are hoping Iran won't notice their being destroyed and end up doing nothing. That's why Europe is so furious with America.