Free Republic

President Trump on Saturday issued a blistering ultimatum to Iran, warning that it has 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face US strikes that would “obliterate” its vital energy infrastructure. “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” the president fumed on Truth Social. Iran has effectively closed the crucial waterway — responsible for a fifth of the world’s oil exports — since Trump launched...

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump's public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground. The war is "very complete, pretty much", Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit - are moving into the region. It is "winding down", but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world's oil export travels, is a "simple military...

The last-place cable news network hits rock bottom, but still keeps digging.Among the errors to which journalists are prone, none is so common as the delusion of instant expertise. Assign a reporter to do an article about theoretical physics, and by the time he files his story, he’ll be convinced he’s Stephen Hawking. You see this sort of phony expertise everywhere in the media nowadays, including sports, where every ESPN panelist offers his predictions with rock-solid confidence, and never acknowledges his mistake when the team he’d picked to win ends up on the wrong side of a lopsided blowout. Trafficking...

Douglas Macgregor, Col is a senior fellow with The American Conservative, the former advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration, and a combat veteran.In this YouTube presentation, Colonel Douglas Macgregor sits down with Stephen Gardner to update us on the Ukraine Russia war. Colonel Douglas Macgregor shares thoughts on Scott Ritters battle assessment, China, North Korea, Biden, the US dollar and de-dollarization.Timestamp: 0:44 Has Bakhmut fallen? 2:50 Bakhmut is the keystone of this war 5:40 General Milley goofs and says Ukraine cannot win this war 8:20 DC will provoke China to engage in war and rumors of...