Wednesday, July 15, 2026
War, again
Not so long ago, we were all promised no inflation, a quick fix to the war in Ukraine, an end to politicized prosecutions and no more "forever wars." And yet, here we are.
It would seem that the negotiating skills Donald Trump developed in real estate were honed in deals with people who had the same interests that he does (profit and, maybe, fame). The capacity to tolerate pain is pretty low among that crowd.
Iran simply doesn't work that way. They are religious zealots-- not that that's good, but that's what they are. They have a high capacity for pain without changing trajectory (like other zealots). They have identified the "cards" they hold pretty well, and won't give them up.
The Vietnamese were the same way in the 1960's and 70's. We got nothing out of that war, in the end. This is beginning to look the same way, quite predicably.
But... I hope that I am wrong.
