August 08, 2026
Time to Wrap this Thing UP
Timothy Birdnow
One thing you have to say about the Iranians, they sure do have chutzpah.
Here are their demands:
A top Iranian national security official delivered a sweeping set of demands on Saturday that he said the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can reopen to maritime traffic, throwing the fate of the critical trade waterway into question.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued a statement carried by state media laying out multiple requirements for reopening the strait. He called for the United States to lift its naval blockade and sanctions on Iran, withdraw the U.S. military from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, as well as end attacks on Iran’s allies in the region and threats against the country.
Trump needs to end this game of whack-a-mole and start seriously, aggressively destroying their infrastructure.
I just don't see where Mr. Trump is going with this but it has all the appearance of a quagmire. Even if he has a sound strategy it's not evident.
The problem with America in any war is that the public demands progress. In times past the media would be on-board with any war we were fighting but no more, so it's up to the President to show us the progress; he can't count on the media to do it. Without that the public will quickly sour on the whole affair. As with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam you can win the battles but lose the war if you lose the public.
Trump is losing the public, and this could be what drags down his whole Presidency. He needs a big win.
In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln had dreadful poll numbers and was expected to lose in the upcoming year. He was running against his former general George McClelaen, who wanted to sue for peace with the Confederacy and let them go. But then Robert E. Lee made the biggest blunder of his career, trying to go toe-to-toe with the Union Army under George Mead, a general willing to fight, and he did it with the Union Army encamped up on the high ground surrounding the valley of Gettysburg. Instead of turning and flanking the Union, and moving off towards D.C. and a better piece of ground for them Lee insisted on making a full frontal assault on the heights - and the Union army cut them to ribbons. The pasting the Confederates too at Gettysburg was so bad that when Lee prompted the man who led the charge - Gen. George Pickett - to "look to his division" the thunderstruck Pickett replied "General, I have no division". The Union had wiped out the man's entire command.
Buoyed by this victory and the now inevitability of a Union victory Lincoln sailed on to easily defeat McClellan. As Douglas McArthur would say almost a century later "there is no substitute for victory".
Limited warfare rarely achieves victory. It's like the prevent defense in football; you give up way too much ground as you are playing defense.
That appears to be Trump's strategy. It may even be sound in that every day this blockage continues is another day towards total insolvency for the Islamic Republic, but it does not take into account the real need to keep the American People on board. Lose the upcoming election and the Democrats will defund the war effort, and probably pass a War Powers resolution. (At least if they do that we will finally get an answer as to the Constitutionality of said Act.)
Anyway Trump needs to get his orange buttocks into gear.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
12:08 PM
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1
Trump has won a tremendous victory already by getting the Arab nations Iran has attacked to question whether allowing Chinas influence in their countries is worth it. He has already made them rethink how to move their oil using other routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump just needs to keep doing what he is doing and thats keep the blockade of the strait and hit Iran when it calls for it. Tousi reported that Irans bank has frozen Irans oil producers bank account due to its inability to pay its bills. He also reported that the ground work to break the news of the death of the gay cardboard supreme leader is being laid.This will star actual infighting of those seeking to replace him and could get quite bloody. Trump just needs to weather the storm.
Posted by: Mike at August 08, 2026 10:45 PM (Ocem8)
2
I hope you are right Mike and in fact in a rational world you would be, but the politics of this imperil everything Trump is trying to do. The Iranians understand American politics and are playing for time, hoping the Democrats win in November and they will end the war. Sadly they probably will if they win (not sure it's a foregone conclusion though, that they will win.)
I know Trump wants to avoid galvanizing the Iranians with a war that is unlimited; better to play them off against each-other. But time is not a luxury he can afford, not from a military standpoint but from the standpoint of American politics.
And of course he's getting little help from the Republicans in the Senate who keep blocking him. They are more worried about Russia at this point. Well, Russia never actually attacked us - Irna has, and repeatedly.(There has never been any proof the Russians offered bounties on American soldiers as was claimed by the media.)
I caught a Republican Senator bragging about how they were moving forward an agenda for MAGA on Fox News Sunday and he was touting advancing stronger sanctions against Russia. I thought "nobody cares dude" except the folks inside the beltway. We don't like Russia and we don't like bullies but we have no national interests at stake there - we do in Iran. Russian sanctions are not going to win votes. But an unwon Iran war may well win them for Democrats.
The GOP in the Senate has failed miserably, be it in refusing to moe the SAVE America Act or in moving hearings for Trump nominees, or anything else. Thune has let them go on several vacations while the Administration has been begging them to take action. The public sees this and remembers.
Then when the GOP loses Congress the lesson drawn will be that MAGA is dragging down the party and had those pesky MAGA folks not been so insistent we would have won in the grand old manner - by compromising and cutting deals that benefitted the Democrats greatly at our own expense.
At any rate I'm getting wide of the point. I just fear Trump isn't taking these upcoming elections into his calculus. He seems to be making the same mistake that Lee made at Gettysburg - victor's disease. I hope not but fear it is so.
I know Trump wants to avoid galvanizing the Iranians with a war that is unlimited; better to play them off against each-other. But time is not a luxury he can afford, not from a military standpoint but from the standpoint of American politics.
And of course he's getting little help from the Republicans in the Senate who keep blocking him. They are more worried about Russia at this point. Well, Russia never actually attacked us - Irna has, and repeatedly.(There has never been any proof the Russians offered bounties on American soldiers as was claimed by the media.)
I caught a Republican Senator bragging about how they were moving forward an agenda for MAGA on Fox News Sunday and he was touting advancing stronger sanctions against Russia. I thought "nobody cares dude" except the folks inside the beltway. We don't like Russia and we don't like bullies but we have no national interests at stake there - we do in Iran. Russian sanctions are not going to win votes. But an unwon Iran war may well win them for Democrats.
The GOP in the Senate has failed miserably, be it in refusing to moe the SAVE America Act or in moving hearings for Trump nominees, or anything else. Thune has let them go on several vacations while the Administration has been begging them to take action. The public sees this and remembers.
Then when the GOP loses Congress the lesson drawn will be that MAGA is dragging down the party and had those pesky MAGA folks not been so insistent we would have won in the grand old manner - by compromising and cutting deals that benefitted the Democrats greatly at our own expense.
At any rate I'm getting wide of the point. I just fear Trump isn't taking these upcoming elections into his calculus. He seems to be making the same mistake that Lee made at Gettysburg - victor's disease. I hope not but fear it is so.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at August 09, 2026 09:16 AM (oflqW)
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