President Trump has imposed a “blockade” of the Straight of Hormuz as his latest desperate attempt to find an exit ramp from the Iran War. But 90% of Iranian oil exports are to China and Chinese ships are sailing right
through.
So, what is this "blockage" actually blocking? Presumably, the Iranians are unable to export the other 10% of the oil they would otherwise export. Meanwhile, the Strait is still closed to any ship they do not wish to let pass, and those they do still must pay a toll before they ever reach the U.S. "blockade."
In other words, there is no
blockade.
It's just Trump's latest, desperate attempt to find an exit ramp from the war even he clearly realizes by this time was a mistake. And every time he tries to move toward a negotiated solution, the Israelis undermine it. They don't want the war to end.
It was announced today that Israel and Lebanon have separately agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. While this is
clearly a response from the Trump administration to stop undermining its efforts to end the war, it shows who is really in the driver's seat on the U.S. side: Israel. But Israel does have to guard against the remote chance the Trump administration grows a spine and really exerts the leverage it has over Israel. Without U.S. support, Israel loses this war.
Israel is a country of 10 million people, only 7 million or so of which
are Jews. The remainder are mostly Muslims opposed to the war. They are fighting a country of over 90 million people with an army that exceeds a million troops. They can't win without the U.S. They probably can't win even with U.S. support.
So, the U.S. should be able to order Israel around. But they can't, not because of Jewish-Americans, who number about 3 million tops, but because tens of millions of American Christian
Zionists who believe fighting these wars for Israel will affect the "end times."
And they call the Iranians crazy religious fanatics.
I get into this and more on today's episode of Tom Mullen Talks Freedom.