Olivia
Online
JR Martin
@JRMartin1084832
Joined November 2023
85 Following
355 Followers
8.3K Posts
We spend billions of dollars on the CIA and other intelligence gathering organizations and think tank analysts. How can we underestimate China's power? Perhaps the egocentric neocons believe the know better or these organizations/think tanks are just scams. Neither is acceptable.
Former US🇺🇸 Ambassador to China🇨🇳 Nicholas Burns: ‘We UNDERESTIMATED China’s power.’
‘The infrastructure, that’s one strength. Second, their scientific and technological capacity. 34% of first year students in Chinese universities study engineering. In the US, it’s 5.6%…
I’ve seen the People’s Liberation Army. We’ve underestimated their military strength…
For the last 35 years, the Chinese Foreign Minister, whoever that person is, has made his first trip of the year in January to Africa, to show the Africans you are our priority. I think President Trump never went to Africa during his first term. President Biden went once.
They’re strategic and we’re not competing on that level. China’s technology, military and economics are stronger than we think they are, and I think we’ve underestimated them, and we can’t do that any longer.’
Netanyahu's existential war has to be fought to try and realize his 40 year dream and advance Greater Israel. Trump is unable to withdraw all troops out of Middle East as Netanyahu will need them. Maybe abandon our destroyed bases, but not withdraw.
To effectively implement President Trump’s economic campaign, we need to get our troops out of the Middle East—now.
We’re seeing indications that President Trump’s plan could ultimately work—if the reported statements from President Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf reflect the regime’s views, POTUS is on the right track. Their candor in expressing concerns about the impact that economic warfare will have on the Iranian people is significant, as is their pushing for more negotiations and, if not a deal, at least a return to the MOU.
Conversely, the IRGC hardliners argue that there is no deal to be had with us, and instead the only path forward is some form of escalation against the U.S.
By removing our troops, we deprive the hardliners of that counterargument—it effectively deprives them of targets and forces them to the negotiating table or back to the MOU.
We should seize this opportunity immediately—before a missile or drone hits our troops & restarts the escalation cycle. We have to be lucky every time. Our enemy only has to be lucky once.
Once our troops are out of harm’s way, we have the upper hand. We can then use sanctions relief & the unfreezing of Iranian assets as leverage to get the SOH open.
My guess is that lifting sanctions on 140 million barrels of oil had more to do with market manipulation for friends and family than Iran itself. Observed last second trades before announcements have been documented. Why would this scenario not be the same. Corruption prevails.
The fact that the United States lifted sanctions on 140M barrels of Iranian oil in March under General License U shows, almost to a hilarious degree, how incompetent the Trump Administration’s Iran War strategy has been… particularly in the context of economic warfare being our primary strategy now…
Bessent is clear. He said he wants to devalue the dollar by 30%. Consistent with the Miran Papers that he and John Miran recently revised. Heading to globalist controlled Central Bank digital currency.
The $40tr US deficit is too large to repay. The only way to “grow out of it” (Scott Bessent) is to stoke inflation or devalue the dollar.
It looks like kicking the can down the road.
Perhaps you describe Bessent's intended consequences. Bessent knew how to bring Bank of England to it's knees in 1993, with Soros. Why wouldn't he use his knowledge to weaken Iran for Netanyahu's fight to destroy Iran/advance Greater Israel at any cost. That's US's duty . .right?
This is an overt act of war. Does the president somehow not realize that this will spawn an equally powerful response from Iran?
Does the president think that somehow more economic pressure will cause Tehran to buckle to his demands? What if it doesn’t? What if it spurs a military response against our assets or our allies in the region, and makes our position worse? What is the plan then?
What this guarantees immediately, however, is that the SOH will remain closed, and the economic harm to our country and the western economies, will continue to worsen.
We have abandoned diplomacy, and we’re now going back to the old sanctions playbook that has never worked for us, but always harms our own interests. I fear this one will have great negative consequences for us.
Bessent seems to be forcing China into withholding REM/tungsten from US markets which would close, for example, our car industry in days. Why? War? China clearly has upper hand and regardless how that flabbergasts mouth foaming neocons, American Superiority types, it's reality.
President Trump just moments ago announces that the United States will be proceeding with the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country! This will be economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale."
He then proceeds to SPECIFICALLY highlight "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face tremendous economic consequences. Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies..."
"This will be economic D-Day"
Okay. So that was a lot to filter through. Let's just get one thing clear right off the bat... Bessent is doing most of the writing here. Trump does not know about ship registries, exchange houses, etc. Not in a way that he could speak to for more than three seconds.
That said... only one key aspect here stands out to me:
"ANY"
That's the big red line that Trump is drawing in this post. It's not addressed at Panama. Or Seychelles. Guernsey. Heck, it's not even really addressed at the UAE.
It's addressed to one country, and one country alone: China.
China, far and away is Iran's economic lifeline. By orders of magnitude. As I discussed with Reuters earlier this week, Trump and Bessent essentially has four options before them. Two of which involve CHYNA.
Sanctioning Chinese Teapot Refineries
Sanctioning Chinese Banks
By going after BOTH of these, it absolutely would impose immense economic pressure on Iran. Especially IF the UAE actually intends to truly cut all transactions, direct OR indirect, with Iran... that would very likely trigger a significant economic fallout inside of Iran.
But... if this was a good idea... if this was a strategy that offered a favorable risk/reward profile, why would the United States not have already employed this lever of economic warfare?
Because this is CHINA we are talking about here. This isn't the UAE that he can bully to carry out his bidding. This isn't some small fish. China has their own levers that they can pull to impose pain on the United States. They are not going to stand idly by and set the precedent that the United States can decide who they can and cannot conduct business with.
For example, just in recent months when Trump sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical, a very large Chinese Teapot Refinery, China imposed their first ever counter-sanctions blocking measure. This essentially prohibits Chinese companies from severing business with Hengli. Because Hengli (and most all Teapots) are almost entirely domestic facing with minimal international trade, this greatly insulates their ability to be impacted by US sanctions.
The Trump Administration is effectively running on two racetracks: One that damages Iran's economic runway, and another another that extends the United States' own.
The question that needs to be asked in Washington right now is simple:
Can these measures ACTUALLY change the outcome of the Iran War? Can it ACTUALLY pull victory from the jaws of defeat?
If it can, perhaps one can argue that it is worth severely deteriorating relations with China.
But if it FAILS to produce victory, Trump will only be digging his geopolitical grave six feet deeper.
We did not foolishly choose war. Our compromised President made a choice between serving the US or protecting himself from whatever others hold over him. Netanyahu constructed a war existential to Iran and Israel with no US off ramp. Trump made his choice.
It was painfully obvious *before* we foolishly chose war — the one we didn’t need to fight — that the combat & economic power we have to apply to the fight would not be near enough to compel submission.
In other words we walked into a trap of our own making; we’ll pay for that.
Bessent was key in Soros Fund attacking Bank of England shorting the Pound in 1993. Bet on the profiteers being in place to cash in on his attack on Iran. Sanctioning UN established court is despicable. Netanyahu could fight it's jurisdiction, but why bother as he has Trump.
The newest actions taken by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shows you how wildly dysfunctional and petulant the Trump Administration is.
While everyone is waiting for Bessent to back up his claims of “new before seen economic isolation on Iran” at a time when the United States is facing one of the greatest foreign policy failures in U.S. history, the Trump Administration is playing its role as Bibi’s puppet… AGAIN.
Just moments ago, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned:
Tomoko Akane
Abdoulaye Seye
Who are these people? Well, Akane is the PRESIDENT of the International Criminal Court, and Seye is the Senior Trial Lawyer leading work in the ICC’s “Situation in the State of Palestine”.
Why are they being sanctioned?
One reason: The ICC has an active arrest warrant against one Benjamin.
The "administration" may be considering it, but Netanyahu has not decided the war is over or that enough Iranian striking capabilities have been absorbed by US for Israel to proceed with its existential war. §219 will codify what exists. We are a tool to advance Greater Israel.
BREAKING: The Trump administration is now weighing a reduction of US military presence in the Persian Gulf, evaluating a pullback of troops from the region where US bases have been "battered by months of Iranian strikes," per WaPo citing 8 US officials.
This would be a major direct concession to Iran's long-standing demand for the removal and significant drawdown of US forces from the vicinity of Iran and the Persian Gulf region, which is included in Iran's new demand list for the Hormuz reopening.
The Pentagon has already signaled that it might not rebuild its US bases damaged by Iran as they were before the Iran war, calling it a "once-in-a-generation chance to reconsider its presence in the region." CENTCOM Commander Admiral Bradley Cooper directly supports the idea of potentially moving US troops west from the Persian Gulf.
Victoria Nuland, DoS and war architect, said her intent was to weaken Russia so it collapsed. Ukraine was previously divvied up for resources (such as ag land) and starting in 2013 became a disposable tool. Finally one cannot profit from reconstruction funds unless destruction.
By making NATO pledges and increasing military integration with Ukraine, Washington created a perception in Kyiv (and Moscow) that the United States had the capability and intent to help Ukraine overcome its relatively weak power position with respect to Russia.
DEFP's @chrisjmccallion demonstrates how Washington has fed Ukraine false hope of protection: https://t.co/MSbAU6YYca
Trump is setting negotiating anchors for subsequent negotiations for Trump Toll Company (he's said he will collect the tolls) as a compromise.
🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump wants to annex the Strait of Hormuz.
He just posted a graphic branding the waterway "NEW U.S. Territory," pressing his claim that America already runs it through its naval blockade.
Iran isn't amused, insisting the strait is under its own "complete management and control."
You can't just slap a star-spangled banner on a strait and call it yours. Or can you?
Writer: Julie
Neocons/Deep State/MIC need China to remain their strawman enemy to maintain their power and grifting. Everything from AI to EVs etc the US is in a made-up race to beat China or Democracy will fall to Communism. China could destroy US economy by stopping all REM export. It won't.
🇺🇸🇰🇵 Is Trump quietly pulling America back from Asia?
That’s the growing concern after he ordered a major scale-back of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, calling them costly and “hostile” toward North Korea while pointing to his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un.
At roughly the same time, the U.S. moved its only forward-deployed carrier in the Western Pacific, the USS George Washington, to the Middle East, leaving the region without an American carrier.
Analysts are starting to see a pattern: a softer line on China, military resources shifting toward Iran and the Americas, and increasingly mixed signals to allies from Tokyo to Seoul about how firmly Washington still has their back.
Meanwhile, Kim keeps testing missiles, deepening ties with Russia, and gaining real combat experience through North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine.
If this keeps up, China and North Korea get more room to maneuver while America’s Asian allies are left wondering how much of the security burden they’ll soon be carrying themselves.
Sources: Newsweek, CFR, iPaper / Writer: Julie
Rationality is relative to vested interests. §618 of pending Intelligence Authorization Act merely reflects what exists. Solomon option has always been rational to Israel. They are just telling US it is rational for us also. It's our job so China doesn't remove Israel from map.
🇺🇸 The moment a nuclear weapon is used, the empire ends, the alliances collapse, and the world changes in ways no one wants to see.
Fmr. CIA Analyst Larry Johnson isn't sure rationality is still in the room.
"Your problem is you're assuming that Trump is rational."
The cost-benefit math is catastrophic. The question is who's doing the math.
@newsonof
There is and never was a way for US to win Iran war. US has no foreign policy and strategy supporting going to war. There is no metric for a US win. US is supplying tactics for Israel's foreign policy to destroy Iran and advance Greater Israel. We are a disposable tool.
The only way the United States can win the Iran War is by popular uprisings that topple the government.
Trump has done everything in his power to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Minab. Threatening to wipe out Iran’s civilization. Threatening Bridge and Power Plants Day. Bombing roads and rail lines. Destroying water and wheat storage facilities. Imposing a blockade specifically meant to maximize civilian suffering.
Trump has doomed himself.
Unlikely US is changing it's passé China is enemy policy. Move of GW may be tacit recognition that Iran war proving that aircraft carriers are too vulnerable and antiquated to project power against modern states. Not replacing Lincoln would look like drawdown, so it's replaced.
🇺🇸🇨🇳 The U.S. is pulling its last aircraft carrier in the western Pacific as the war with Iran stretches America's naval resources to the limit.
The USS George Washington is heading to replace the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, temporarily leaving the Pacific without one of America's most powerful symbols of military deterrence.
China, meanwhile, has been conducting military exercises around disputed waters near the Philippines and Japan, while Taiwan prepares for a potential invasion with combat drills in the heart of Taipei.
America has spent years calling China its defining long-term challenge; now the Iran war is forcing it to move critical military power in the opposite direction.
Source: Associated Press / Writer: Mhedi
These statements by Trump are dangerous as leaders begin to ignore his outlandish statements and not take him seriously, yet he commands military and his statements can have consequences. Terrible situation for US citizens.
Aside from the fact that President of the United States doesn’t have the power to declare any foreign territory American, by making these claims, he causes the Iranian side to dig in deeper n resist us more firmly.
This is an arrogant, harmful statement to American interests.
Trump has found a way to get his name on Kennedy Center and the Plaza. If we rename to Trump Strait and give him a few more billion dollars will he just quit and save us continued embarrassment. Vance will do as Netanyahu/Thiel direct, but without the clown show.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Trump:
“Pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.
We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
Writer: Daniyal
https://t.co/w4vTQFUd1R
Trump acts out American Superiority/Monroe Doctrine without the usual advancing democracy pap. His personal greed and corruption align with these doctrines. Until we replace congressmen and executive branch, we cannot expect better.
Not only does President Trump here brag about stealing the Strait of Hormuz that just weeks earlier he declared “international waters”, he also again bragged about stealing the oil from a another sovereign country, Venezuela, like we were an old imperial power of the past, that could take whatever we want from anyone that wasn’t strong enough to withstand our pressure.
What the president says here is a grotesque abuse of power, it is unethical, illegal, and immoral.
And that is the state of play in the administration that currently controls the White House. Deeply saddening to me.
Hopefully we consistently review our strategies in context of furthering US foreign policy. What does Colby hope to achieve with his statement? China's FM has said if nukes are used.against Iran, Israel will cease to exist. Is Colby oblivious to this?
BREAKING: Senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby says the US is "currently reviewing the strategy for the specific and potential use of nuclear weapons" as part of a "nuclear strategy review."
U.S. Strategic Command head Adm. Richard Correll adds the Department of War is looking at ways of "expanding options" available to Trump and providing the "decision space for any conceivable escalation scenario."
Correll says this spans from "non-kinetic/conventional capabilities to, if you would envision, some kind of limited nuclear exchange to high-end escalation," as an "escalation maneuver."
Navarro never met a tariff he didn't like or understand. Trans shipping and incremental beneficiation are standard practices and even structured into US trade agreements such as Mexico's. Tariffs are not US government income but pass through costs paid by US consumers.
🇺🇸🇨🇳 White House: Transshipment has cost the U.S. up to $26 billion in lost tariffs
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro dropped the receipts in a new report called “The Great Transshipment Scam.”
Chinese goods get shipped to Mexico, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia, dozens of countries, get a light touch of assembly or a new label, and suddenly they’re “not from China” anymore.
Duties vanish, American factories lose, and workers get pink slips.
The central number they’re using: $75 billion in goods moved this way every year.
That alone costs us $19–26 billion in lost tariff revenue. Scale it up and you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of American jobs erased; direct manufacturing hits plus the ripple through suppliers, truckers, and local businesses.
GDP takes a $113–150 billion punch.
Tariffs were designed to level the playing field and bring production home, but if the other side can just reroute the same product through a friendly middleman and wipe out the duty, the whole strategy leaks.
Imports from China dropped to a 16-year low, yet imports from Mexico and Vietnam exploded. Forget free trade, that’s a shell game.
Forty-plus countries are flagged as high-risk enablers, some of them are supposed to be partners.
Navarro put it bluntly: “For years, the great transshipment scam has let communist China launder its exports.”
He’s right, and Customs is already testing AI to catch the patterns, like ownership trails, packaging mismatches, and sudden spikes from nowhere.
But detection alone isn’t enough, the real test is whether we start treating this like the organized trade fraud it is: higher scrutiny, faster penalties, and zero tolerance for the middlemen who profit from the loophole.
It’s money that could have stayed in American pockets, factories that could still be running, and leverage we voluntarily handed away.
The administration put the tariffs in place for a reason. Now the question is simple: do we finally close the back door, or keep watching the revenue and the jobs walk right out of it?
Source: Reuters / Writer: Val
Last Seen Users on Sotwe
Most Popular Users
Elon Musk 
@elonmusk
241.5M followers
Barack Obama
@barackobama
119M followers
Cristiano Ronaldo
@cristiano
113.8M followers
Donald J. Trump
@realdonaldtrump
111.8M followers
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
107.2M followers
Rihanna
@rihanna
98.6M followers
NASA
@nasa
92.4M followers
Justin Bieber
@justinbieber
91.7M followers
KATY PERRY
@katyperry
89.7M followers
Taylor Swift
@taylorswift13
83.6M followers
Lady Gaga
@ladygaga
75.1M followers
Virat Kohli
@imvkohli
72.8M followers
Kim Kardashian
@kimkardashian
70.7M followers
YouTube
@youtube
68.8M followers
Neymar Jr
@neymarjr
65.8M followers
Bill Gates
@billgates
64.9M followers
Selena Gomez
@selenagomez
62.7M followers
The Ellen Show
@theellenshow
62.3M followers
CNN
@cnn
61.8M followers
X
@x
60.7M followers