We Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

“Resuming a limited bombing campaign didn’t get it done. Neither did making apocalyptic threats to wipe out Iran’s entire civilization. Every time Trump touts a possible breakthrough in negotiations, the hard-liners in Tehran seem to delight in changing their terms and yanking away a possible deal. It’s like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, except this time, the pigskin is the Strait of Hormuz. Nothing has worked. So Trump’s new strategy is to try doing nothing, and see whether that works.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump’s New Strategy of Nothing. “But this new tack will require the president to show patience. Trump is, to say the least, not known for his self-discipline.”

+ The president isn’t the only one required to show patience, and for many in the military, that patience is wearing thin. “Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and the Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.” USS Abraham Lincoln sailors tried to jump overboard amid extended deployment. More from Stars and Stripes.

+ And oil companies aren’t wasting any time adjusting to the new abnormal. That means going around the strait. Gulf Oil Giants Are Spending Billions to Build Ways Around Strait of Hormuz.