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Kunstler.com ^ | 23 Jun, 2025 | James Howard Kunstler

[MtnClimber]

"In eight days, the United States and Israel eliminated Iran’s nuclear capabilities with minimal civilian casualties. One of the greatest military achievements ever." — Bill Ackman.

Of course, you must expect a whole lot of deranged thinking after the USA’s Saturday night “Massive Ordnance Penetrator” (MOP) attack on Iran’s three nuke sites — because derangement drives the spirit of our time in Western Civ. France, Germany, the UK, Sweden still can’t wrap their brains around the jihad they have fecklessly invited inside their countries — and they prosecute anyone who suggests as much.

Over here, the Oregon state legislature brought in drag-queens to entertain members in the chamber . . .California taxpayers subsidize the riots in LA . . . a federal judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from custody . . . AOC endorses a Muslim lunatic for mayor in New York. . . . So it goes.

For all that, often the simplest explanation is the correct one. Of the MOP attack on Iran, Secretary of State Rubio said, “They had all the pieces in place to have a nuclear weapon. . . now, not so much.” Mr. Rubio’s Sunday chat with Maria Bartiromo is well worth a listen for clarity. He also succinctly stated, “They [Iran] are the sole source of instability in the entire Middle East, and the world has been paying a price for this for forty-something years.”

Yet, the American hive-mind is aflame with histrionic hypotheticals over Iran, driven by the same prevailing anxiety that infects the illegal alien issue, lawfare, sexual insanity, our role in the Ukraine fiasco. The leitmotif lately is the popular idea that Israel controls the US like a puppeteer and that the Jews are out to rule the world. Yes, the shrill charge of “Zionism” boils down to that. (Just look at the comment section of this blog.)

There is, necessarily, uncertainty about the result of our MOP strikes. We will not be sending troops in to inspect Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran had time, while jerking-around American diplomats, to move its stockpile of 60-percent enriched uranium (if that’s what it was). But they no longer have the facilities to do anything with it, or the top scientists to run the program, and if they attempt to restart all of that, the US will have the option to take them out again. So, you can stop the handwringing over that.

Another popular rumor in circulation is that the MOAB mission was a charade, just a show that Mr. Trump put on to satisfy his ego. That assumes everybody in the chain-of-command was duped, a low-percentage supposition. How is it unclear that the president is not messing around? The main message is “No nukes for Iran.” There was, apparently, some part of that simple proposition the mullahs did not understand. Perhaps the Iranian people understand that the mullahs are not fit to govern their country. It looks like we’ll find out soon enough.

Meanwhile propaganda-central keeps trying to steer the hive-mind back onto RussiaRussiaRussia, and onto Mr. Putin especially. CBS’s 60 Minutes re-worked an old segment last night on Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last year at 47 under curious circumstances. I doubt we know the whole story, and CBS surely did not try to present it. But the main purpose was to call Mr. Putin names — thief, murderer, tyrant — and the reason for that was also clear and simple: to derail Mr. Trump’s efforts to normalize relations with Russia.

That effort is a cornerstone of Mr. Trump’s campaign to re-arrange trade relations in such a way that our country can become productive again, employing its citizens in a purposeful way. It happens to imply an end to the Ukraine war, which the Obama State Department and the CIA set the groundwork for in 2014. Ending this war is not in the interest of a certain Beltway blob that thrives on creaming-off the weapons industry. Their schemes require Russia to remain an enemy of the US, a wholly engineered idiocy that media outfits like CBS promote.

Viewed through a wider lens, the MOP mission was also intended as a message to China. It is a simple and straightforward message: Expect that Mr. Trump means what he says when he says it. He is not messing around. China has been messing around with us to a stunning degree, especially during the past four years of the phantom president “Joe Biden.” China has infiltrated every critical corner of American life: our government, our universities, our medical research, our computer tech sector, our finances, Hollywood, our news media, our critical infrastructure, you name it.

China has been waging war on us in every way except troops and kinetics. Mr. Trump seeks to end all these operations, without coming to blows. That is, he is trying to find a path to what used to be quaintly called peaceful coexistence. If there’s a reason that the political Left in America can’t get behind that simple idea, it might be because the CCP is too deeply mixed up in Democratic Party politics. Their intentions intersect: to bring chaos to America.

Earlier today (Monday), Iran sent another salvo of missiles into Israel at civilian targets, and Israel answered with its own salvo aimed at Iran’s government offices in Teheran. Many expect some sort of retaliation by Iran against the US, either at our bases around the Middle East and Mediterranean, or here in the homeland. You can’t doubt that Iran managed to sneak in many hundreds of capable saboteurs during the “Joe Biden” open border fiesta. Why wouldn’t they seize the opportunity? (Or China, too.)

There’s also the usual talk about Iran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20-percent of the world’s oil supply passes — and much of that (up to 45-percent) goes directly to China, which does not have enough of its own oil to function. So, blocking Hormuz would mainly harm Iran’s fellow BRICs nations in Asia while it would deprive Iran of the oil revenue that represents most of its national income. In other words, a really stupid play.

Otherwise, the Trump government looks to exit its role in the Iran-Israeli war. The chief aim has been accomplished. No nukes. Iran’s usual henchmen, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, are standing down for the moment, probably perceiving that Iran can no longer support, supply, or protect them. Israel is managing to do what it did in two earlier wars (despite doomish predications): prevail against its enemy. And rather quickly, too. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the Middle East happened to become a little peaceful for a while?

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TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: jhk; kunstler; spelledwithac

[MtnClimber]

James Howard Kunstler ping

[sauropod]

Bflr

[nopardons]

BTTT

[Thommas]

A very nice analysis, this. And, now, with the ceasefire, the next articles from the reality press will be congratulatory,
while, the news organs of the Democrat/Communists will respond with... crickets.

[daniel1212]

Their schemes require Russia to remain an enemy of the US, a wholly engineered idiocy that media outfits like CBS promote.

"Remain" is the key word. Stalin, whom Putin reverences, and whose Warsaw pact glory he can only wish for, obtained substantial assistance during WW2 from the world's factory, America (with the UK helping), which later helped him obtain German scientists, and together with his own spies developed the atomic bomb, and has had nukes pointed as the US for 70+ years, and against which the US has been fighting proxy wars during that time.

America and the West may be said to have squandered its chance to reconcile Russia after the fall of communism, but besides being rife with corruption, it seems that the West treated Russia more as a defeated foe than as a potential ally against China, which is by far the greatest threat to the West. The latter is committing slow but certain suicide by overall embracing Wokeism, as part of the world's war against the living and true God of the Bible, which enables men to make choices. In this case, the wrong one. With its eternal consequences. See tag.

[stanne]

This is a must read. It takes the loneliness out of just trusting Trump.

People I hear from want Trump to fail much more than they want peace in the Middle East. That’s what I tell myself as how I manage to keep a relationship - friend, cousin, sibling, neighbor.

I expect them to either continue their derangement for the rest of their lives or to come around to logic

I think I am the only one I know without the derangement. The most staunch Trump supporters rave about the “war either Iran” he just started

They don’t see the black knight in the woods screeching at King Arthur to ‘come beck here, I’ll bite you to death”

[stanne]

“ the news organs of the Democrat/Communists will respond with... crickets.”

They’ll jump on every violation of the ceasefire first

They do not want peace in the Middle East. They do not want Trump to succeed. The don’t want the US to succeed

[Repeal The 17th]

“... Mr. Trump ...”

[bobbo666]

Rabid dogs cannot be cured. TDS = rabies.

Many of those objecting assumed that MAGA = isolationist. BS. DJT never said anything like that. The other objectors simply hate Jews — and therefore align themselves with hamas, hezzie, Iran, etc..

[GOPJ]

James Howard Kunstler is my new favorite writer - thanks for posting this latest piece.

[little jeremiah]

Thanks for Kunstler pings.

[little jeremiah]

As usual, he covers a number of issues, and very well.

I read about Navalny and he had a pre-existing heart condition and died of it while in prison. I don’t have reason to doubt that. Putin didn’t need to turn him into some kind of martyr; and he was also not merely a critic, but a spy. Can’t remember details of his spydom.