The Atlantic: Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz
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@cstross I can't read the Atlantic article, do they address how conveniently the administration's planning failure worked out for Russia?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/trump-russia-oil-sanctions.html
Here
"Astonishingly, President Trump and his aides were caught unprepared when Iran, under air assault from the United States and Israel, retaliated by targeting shipping in the Persian Gulf region and specifically through the Strait of Hormuz"
It goes on⬇️
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The Atlantic: Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz
In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote.
(These people are deeply unserious. I mean, they *must* be old enough to remember the 1980-88 tanker war and the vital role the Straits of Hormuz played back then, right?)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/hormuz-strait-iran-oil/686365/
Oh, they don't have to learn from the past. They have this work-around, the 'Shock & Awe' plan that will remove any resistance.
So, when their plans do meet resistance, they have no fall back or options.
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@cstross About the time the first bombs started falling, I wrote a list of my main assumptions about the war, which were:
1. The US has an achievable plan to quickly eliminate Iranian air defenses.
2. The US probably does not have any coherent longer-term plans for what to do after that.
3. The Iranian regime have had several decades to think about what they'll do when their backs are against the wall.Nothing I've seen recently has made me think I was wrong on any of these points.
@angusm Also, the Iranian regime has, within the living memory of its surviving leaders, fought an existential war for national survival against a fascist dictatorship. This isn't their first rodeo.
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@jorny @cstross Trying to teach that to our military drone technicians what Ukraine has done with drones would be like trying to teach an F1 mechanic to build a low-rider bicycle. What Trump and the entire Military Industrial Complex is lacking is the imagination to know that a low-rider bicycle is a better tool for some jobs than an F1 car.
Trump looks at the Ukrainian defense industry.
"But where is the grift?"
I can force American companies to bribe me, but I can't bully Ukrainian companies.
Here's to hoping the more practical middle eastern states buy a lot more of their defenses from Ukraine than the dumb americans.
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@cstross
Part of the Christofacist Revelations cosplay is "The eagle will fall"; it's a death cult, after the wars, plagues, & famine, the ultimate collapse of the USA is part of the plan.@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual. -
Really? None of that is true except the part about values. We aren't talking people with no education or even no knowledge of history. Most of them aren't even especially stupid.
They just aren't as smart as they think they are and they let their prejudices drive their conclusions. Which itself is a special kind of idiocy, I'll concede. But it isn't what you are saying.
@jackwilliambell @ariaflame @cstross There’s also a performative aspect for the conservative audience. Conspiracy theorists are looking for simplicity, solvability despite complexity, what Fox News world seems to provide.
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@jackwilliambell @ariaflame @cstross There’s also a performative aspect for the conservative audience. Conspiracy theorists are looking for simplicity, solvability despite complexity, what Fox News world seems to provide.
@classwario @ariaflame @cstross
Also true. But the stupidest among them aren't performing…
ETA: And even the smartest lack the nous to plan an exit which doesn't invalidate their earlier performance. Instead they rely on the fact many of their supporters will uncritically believe the latest lies.
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@cstross These guys are all fundamentally bullies, and like all bullies don't ever consider that the person they're punching might have opinions on that which matter. Or that they may be punched back.
@wordshaper @cstross Same bullies were blowing up vessels unilaterally and illegally just before they started this war. Solipsistic psychopaths
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@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual. -
@cstross
Part of the Christofacist Revelations cosplay is "The eagle will fall"; it's a death cult, after the wars, plagues, & famine, the ultimate collapse of the USA is part of the plan.@HighlandLawyer @cstross and don't forget the bit about all the Jews being gathered in Jerusalem to convert to Christianity or be killed.
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Really? None of that is true except the part about values. We aren't talking people with no education or even no knowledge of history. Most of them aren't even especially stupid.
They just aren't as smart as they think they are and they let their prejudices drive their conclusions. Which itself is a special kind of idiocy, I'll concede. But it isn't what you are saying.
@jackwilliambell I think you're right— they're not actual uneducated. But there is a notable disdain for education and particularly knowledge. Like, they think it's not particular relevant. That they're powerful geniuses who can outwit any situation with a little bit of cunning and creativity.
As a result, they're profoundly willfully ignorant.
@ariaflame @cstross -
@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual.@stingraz @HighlandLawyer @cstross
I usually describe them as mad cultists trying to complete a spell to summon their god who will then eat the unbelievers first.
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The level of self delusion and machismo stupidity is darkly fascinating.
https://kyivindependent.com/trump-ukraine-drone-defenses/
"No, we don't need (Ukraine's) help in drone defense," Trump said in the interview. "We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually."
@jorny @cstross the Gulf states know better and are beating a path to Ukraine's door. The Ukrainians opening a drone factory in the UK is an interesting development, perhaps they will fund their war effort by exports of their battle-tested and infinitely more cost-effective weaponry than that produced by the bloated Western Military-Industrial Complexes. Similarly, the US is buying South Korean air defense missiles, just as effective as the Patriot at 1/3 the price.
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@HighlandLawyer @cstross and don't forget the bit about all the Jews being gathered in Jerusalem to convert to Christianity or be killed.
@fazalmajid @HighlandLawyer They can count me out of that one—ain't converting, ain't going to Israel either.
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The Atlantic: Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz
In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote.
(These people are deeply unserious. I mean, they *must* be old enough to remember the 1980-88 tanker war and the vital role the Straits of Hormuz played back then, right?)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/hormuz-strait-iran-oil/686365/
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The Atlantic: Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz
In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote.
(These people are deeply unserious. I mean, they *must* be old enough to remember the 1980-88 tanker war and the vital role the Straits of Hormuz played back then, right?)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/hormuz-strait-iran-oil/686365/
@cstross the article could be half the length of the headline - "because he's a dumbass" - but that doesn't seem like the Atlantic's style.
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@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual.@stingraz @HighlandLawyer @cstross you say chrstianity-as-a-cargo-cult as if it wasn't always a cargo cult
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The Atlantic: Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz
In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote.
(These people are deeply unserious. I mean, they *must* be old enough to remember the 1980-88 tanker war and the vital role the Straits of Hormuz played back then, right?)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/hormuz-strait-iran-oil/686365/
@cstross “Ukrainians are now working with American forces and those of some of the Gulf States, training them on how to use cheap, effective Ukrainian equipment to take down inexpensive Iranian drones”
I hope they are charging high for the service! For the irony, if nothing else!
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@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual.@stingraz @HighlandLawyer @cstross
they cannot be kicked in the ass hard enough for this bullshit, imo.
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@HighlandLawyer @cstross
I get the feeling that apocalyptic Christian extremism is basically Christianity-as-a-cargo-cult. They have a story of Rapture and Reward that they do not (are not allowed to) understand the deeper meaning of, being literalists. That story tells them that their savior and his kingdom will return after some series of events. Ergo, if they make these events occur, Jesus will come back and give them their due. It can't be a prediction, it has to be an instruction manual.@stingraz @HighlandLawyer @cstross Civil Rights and the loss of public moral supremacy broke their existing coping mechanisms and sent them overtly nihilistic; anything so depraved as to insist they not be white supremacist in public had to be destroyed.
And of course this narrative splashed everywhere; that the sinful world deserves destruction is a core part of Christian thought. (Not historical doctrine, but thought.) The novelty lies mostly in the ubiquity of craving an apocalypse.
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Numeri che pensano (ebook)
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@evan oh that's awful - I'm so sorry.
It's so important to have the soles of your shoes out on the pavement of your streets. You live among neighbours that way. And should never lose one of your community THIS way. 😩
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Almost a third of 2026 Oscar-nominated films acknowledge climate change
To pass the ‘climate reality check,’ a movie must depict climate change in some way, and a character in the story must recognize it
#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #ClimateInstability #MassAtrocity #pollution #ecology #environment #climate
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@david (Back in these days)
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@cmconseils
This is so much funnier than it deserves to be. 😂
