@policytensor It’s one of the biggest recipients of US military aid, a fragile economy, susceptible to coups, and funded by huge amounts of external debt. It literally has no legs to stand on.
@_Unknown_D_ I feel like he can influence enough from the outside, dare I say even set the standard enough. Within the office? I think there’s risk of falling into the swamp and becoming it, ultimately disappointing everyone.
Iran-Oman 11-points agreement have been concluded. Iran is in total security control of the strait of Hormuz with a passage via the southern crossing (Oman), only when the Iranian authorities have approved the crossing.
No hostile country or entity will have the right of passage and fees will be collected to compensate war damage.
The negotiation between purely between Iran and Oman with no direct role of the US. If Oman consults with Washington, that is not Tehran's business.
This deal, when confirmed and implemented, means that the US has lost the control of the Strait of Hormuz.
@davidsirota Because it’s a zero sum game. Once you have universal healthcare, esp with an ageing population, corporate welfare, esp for the military industrial complex, will decline.
The leaks coming out from talks on Hormuz are incredible. It appears the US is willing to make massive concessions on control of the Straits of Hormuz. It will try to keep plausible deniability by not signing anything and keeping it as a deal between Iran and Oman:
1) A Gulf source told Reuters: "the concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz." But how control is defined is still being discussed. This means the pre-war status quo will not be restored. Iran will have some sort of primacy.
2) It appears one mechanism would be split lanes, where Ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled lane and exit through an Omani-controlled one.
4) A registration system logging every entry and exit, which Iran believes lets it "impose full control over shipping."
5) Iran is insisting on "service fees" would be collected from vessels transiting the lanes. If the US accepts this, it will be a massive reversal. Trump said publicly on August 4 "there won't be charging."
6) The US has already made concessions to smooth this over. Sanctions were just lifted on two aircraft and three airlines tied to the IRGC.
It looks like this will be another MOU, this time more favorable to Iran, paving the way to nuclear talks. If any of this is true and Trump agrees to it, the US is on the ropes.
@magi_jay And at most that was a response to clearly a racist and Islamophobic campaign from Stevens, her campaign, and her special interest backers. Everyone will pay a price.
@GrizzKhan 💯 We have a massive lack of balance in the squad. If money is restricted, which it likely is, it has to be allocated in essential positions, not luxury ones.