Posted on 11/01/2026 11:06:55 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
That’s how many barrels of oil have made it out of the Hormuz Strait with U.S. military guidance.
Voters aren’t happy about gasoline prices as they head to the polls, and it’s now axiomatic in the press that the Iran war is a loser for the U.S. with no good choices except capitulation. So it’s worth noting U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper’s update this week that the U.S. has helped its allies in the Gulf export 1.5 billion barrels of oil since this summer.
“When I flew over the Strait” recently, Adm. Cooper said in a video on Friday, “I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting—all types, cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas or LNG.” What he didn’t see: The IRGC. “At all.” He’s referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Meanwhile, Iran’s Navy “is all at the bottom of the sea.” The score-board for Iranian exports? Bupkis.
In other words, the U.S. military’s mix of escort and blockade is prevailing in the Strait. President Trump will have to sustain the naval pressure on the Iranian regime for longer than he may prefer. But a bigger risk than Mr. Trump’s volatility is that Democrats will defund the project if they retake Congress.
The blockade is taxing the U.S. Navy, and top officers are warning of worn out destroyers and compounding maintenance bills from months of heavy operations. Yet Democrats won’t even replenish spent munitions stocks lest some new weapons may be used against Iran. The party has run a blockade in Congress for months on the Trump Administration’s request even to buy fuel and pay for operations.
The Navy’s work is also a reminder that conventional military power is hardly obsolete even in today’s era of rapid technological change. A show of staying power in the Strait will echo beyond...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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If voters believe that choosing dem will lower their gas and other prices well...
Roll out the barrels, billions of barrels of oil....
The bigger the ship, the larger the value of that national asset, the farther the necessary stand-off from ground zero of the “hot zone”, or potential “hot zone”.
That’s okay. If they are needed closer, they can dip in, do their business, and skip back out.
In the meantime the Navy will work the small boys’ fingers to the bone.
They deserve it since they’re the ones who can discreetly hit liberty ports even during a conflict while the carrier crews can end up getting practically zero liberty, as recent experience shows.
I thought “Gee, who killed The Wall Street Journal” and took over its editorial board?”
A generally positive editorial from them.
In any Navy in any conflict of any scale, the "Little Boys" are always the ones that get their fingers worked to the bone...but, on the other hand, as you point out-they can get at least a small respite from work due to being able to sneak into a port here and there.
I was thinking that it was a Dem that was saying our national debt was “not to worry about”, but here they are about to screw up things BIGTIME if we Repubs lose & those idiots take over Congress & reduce spending in all the WRONG areas. Sure hoping that does not happen. Our country has problems to be sure, but it seems to me that a Dem majority in Congress will only make it MUCH worse. We must win in regards to the Iranian situation against those hardheads.
No matter how many barrels of oil have made it out of the Hormuz Strait gouging won’t stop who’s going to stop them even stores are raking in extra bucks.
It's bizarre logic. President Trump brought the prices down - way down - from what they were under Biden. Now they've gone back up - but not as far back up as they were under the Democrats/Biden - and policies are still being implemented to increase our supply and capacity that were not in place before, that, if we stay the course, could eventually render issues in the Middle East and Persian Gulf to have far less effect. So obviously, the solution is to put those back in charge who caused the prices increases to begin with and will reverse the policies that are and will bring them down...
I recall $4 gas during Obama years and $5 gas during Biden.
Can someone explain how gas prices will be lower under next democrat president? Democrats will shutdown pipelines and push refiners into closing shop. Less supply = higher prices.
Same here, I had to do a double take.
It takes all types.
We need to rebuild the fleet, including adding a substantial number of decently-sized, decently-designed, modestly-armored, modestly-armed but still lethal, bad-assedly engined (fast), decently-crewed guided-missile frigates.
Small boys to do the expected dirty work, in-close, in harm’s way.
They will come up with a design. I understand fully why they had to cancel the Constellation class frigates. They just could not store enough missiles.
In today’s world, the missile load is everything, and the Constellation just did not have enough.
Wish we could build even more Arleigh Burkes. Those ships are absolutely studly destroyers. Aptly named after an amazing destroyer sailor, they seem to fit his temperament exactly...almost as if designed in just that way...:)
And, they are beautiful to the eye, too.
I read it just a tad too fast...:). Hahaha, too slow on the take there.
I’m afraid many people do not think.
Beauty to the eye is no small consideration.
The crew needs to have sources of pride associated with their service.
I agree, though I was aiming for the aviation maxim “If it looks good, it flies good.”
But your observation is a pointedly good one.
I agree, though I was aiming for the aviation maxim “If it looks good, it flies good.”
But your observation is a pointedly good one.
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