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Iran and the collapse of the trade-for-peace theory
Arab News ^ | April 7, 2026 | Salman Al-Ansari

Posted on 04/08/2026 8:05:49 AM PDT by Twotone

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1 posted on 04/08/2026 8:05:49 AM PDT by Twotone
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To: Twotone

“You can’t serve a Writ on a rat.”


2 posted on 04/08/2026 8:08:25 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: Twotone

Interesting article.
Thanks for posting


3 posted on 04/08/2026 8:11:52 AM PDT by 1ScrappyArmyMom
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To: Twotone

Libertarians often repeat the line “when goods are not crossing borders, armies are”, as though free trade between nations will automatically prevent wars. For one thing, that leaves them to explain civil wars, where there previously were no borders and thus goods could travel tariff-free, not to mention the innumerable wars fought between nations with trade relations favorable to both sides (e.g. the Ribbentrop-Molotov aka Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact was economically beneficial to both Germany and the Soviet Union since Germany got raw materials and the USSR manufactured goods (and their blueprints), but that didn’t stop the bloodiest front in the history of modern warfare from taking place 2 years later).


4 posted on 04/08/2026 8:15:11 AM PDT by ek_hornbeck
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To: Twotone; Alberta's Child
Saudi Arabia, for example, was attacked despite not hosting a single American base.

Blatantly misleading. We have over 2,000 American personnel located in Saudi Arabia; Prince Sultan Air Base was struck by Iranian drones and missiles during the recent conflict precisely because we had aircraft and other equipment housed there.

5 posted on 04/08/2026 8:17:00 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007 (There is nothing new under the sun.)
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To: BenLurkin
“You can’t serve a Writ on a rat.”

But you can subpoena a ham sandwich.

President Trump's graciously bestowing a two-week fire pause on Iran will not enable the regime to measurably bolster its war-making potential; such a brief interlude suffices hardly for it to lick its wounds.

However, it might help the internal opposition to gain traction.

Regards,

6 posted on 04/08/2026 8:33:02 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: alexander_busek

“Nothing emboldens sin so more than mercy’’.- Shakespeare.

Keep the pressure on Iran with the assurance of the carrot.

Regards.


7 posted on 04/08/2026 8:39:20 AM PDT by jmacusa ( Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.)
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To: Twotone

6 GIs dead, 300 wounded, billions spent on what? The destruction of Iranian Air Force, navy, and 1st level of leadership.

The end result? Islamic nut jobs are till in power, Tehran is now being allowed to charge $1m per ship to transit what once was a free navigation right of way under international law. Drones and ballistic missiles are still flying into Israel, as of today, and we don’t have access to their nuclear material.

Thanks Trump. Please shut your pie hole and let the adults work the problem. It’s time you went on a long vacation.


8 posted on 04/08/2026 8:40:38 AM PDT by DownInFlames (P)
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To: DownInFlames

Are you a paid shill for the left? or just an activist.

Everything you say sounds just like them.............


9 posted on 04/08/2026 8:44:01 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: Twotone

The “Trade for Peace Theory” collapsed a long time before WWII.

Before World War I, many Europeans believed that deep economic interdependence and trade would make war impossible, a concept popularized by figures like Norman Angell. While trade brought economic prosperity, it failed to stop the 1914 conflict because nationalism and political alliances outweighed economic incentives.

It won’t work any better with Iran.


10 posted on 04/08/2026 8:52:49 AM PDT by DugwayDuke (Most pick the expert who says the things they agree with.)
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To: Twotone

I believe it was no less a prophet than Jesus Christ who said there would always be wars and rumors of war, yet some pursue foolish theories to prevent war.


11 posted on 04/08/2026 8:56:10 AM PDT by DugwayDuke (Most pick the expert who says the things they agree with.)
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To: DugwayDuke

The USSR and the Third Reich were huge trading partners until they weren’t.


12 posted on 04/08/2026 8:59:59 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: jmacusa
Keep the pressure on Iran with the assurance of the carrot.

After Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion eviscerated Iran's air force, naval assets, etc., these two weeks will serve essentially to allow the sting of defeat to sink in.

Imagine yourself getting a root canal treatment - in the middle of which your dentist cheerfully informs you that he'll have to disappear for a few hours in order to play a round of golf. So you get to lie there, in the chair, with exposed nerves, until he gets back.

The United States and Israel will continue to monitor the situation on the ground conscientiously. Any unexplained movements of troops, any convoys of matériel, will raise alarms, and be immediately interdicted.

Regards,

13 posted on 04/08/2026 9:16:01 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Twotone

Obama paid $1.5 Billion in cold, hard cash for a 5 year ‘Hudna’, which he thought would get him into another Democratic term for the Presidency.


14 posted on 04/08/2026 9:21:27 AM PDT by Judge Bean
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To: BenLurkin

Great Movie!


15 posted on 04/08/2026 9:23:14 AM PDT by Judge Bean
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To: Twotone

Why do people think Iran attacking the UAE is some shocking development? They host a giant US base from which we attacked Iran. Same for Qatar that has a giant US base.

They wouldn’t have been hit if they didn’t allow us to launch our attack from their soil.

If this is the magical childlike thinking in DC, this war won’t end anytime soon.


16 posted on 04/08/2026 9:38:16 AM PDT by DesertRhino (When men on the chessboard, get up and tell you where to go…)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

We didn’t have a base in Saudi Arabia, but somehow the Iranian missiles blew up American planes when they hit the Saudi base.... and they freely allowed our planes and Israeli planes to use their airspace.


17 posted on 04/08/2026 9:40:47 AM PDT by DesertRhino (When men on the chessboard, get up and tell you where to go…)
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To: alexander_busek

No. That only drags the process out and allows the mullahs to fight another day.

It has to end now. Fighting a war halfway is worse than not fighting at all.

“In war there is no second place prize for runner up’’.- General Omar Bradly.


18 posted on 04/08/2026 9:52:52 AM PDT by jmacusa ( Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.)
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To: DownInFlames

GFY.

L


19 posted on 04/08/2026 10:00:36 AM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: Twotone

Th Arabs were always pretending they could live with the Mullahs in Tehran, thus maintaining a semblance of peace between them, while the Mullahs grew their tentacles via proxies across the region, holding off bolder demands on the Arabs till they had the nukes to back up any demands. Recent events have caused the Mullahs to “pull the trigger” (missiles and drones) against the Arabs at a time when they, the Mullahs, are having their war engines decimated. Now the Arabs have seen what the Mullahs really think of them.


20 posted on 04/08/2026 10:29:16 AM PDT by Wuli ( )
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