War on Iran

[C C]

It seems that any idiot with military hardware can start a war. Disengaging from that idiocy runs into an ego problem. One needs to ask: Was Iran interfering with shipping through the strait of hormuz before the us and israel started bombing them? If not, then why would you think that they would behave differently if the bombing stops? [...]

The regime wants compensation for the damage Iran has suffered in the war. The article below contends that Iran would be unable to sustain its levying on ships. But traffic in the Strait has been easily intimidated so far. Iran doesn't have to attack every vessel that defies payment. Simply continuing to strike one or two occasionally will send a message to the rest not to be a toll evader.

• Despite its best efforts, Iran won't be able to toll the Strait of Hormuz
  https://theconversation.com/despite...to-toll-the-strait-of-hormuz-heres-why-286241

Voluntary fees are proposed below as a solution, but sounds a tad ridiculous. Agreement or not, the regime would have little to lose by still attacking an intermittent ship just to encourage more to volunteer. It can always assert that such incidents are the work of rogue units not under government supervision.

• A payment structure not enforced as a toll but acceptable to all stakeholders may hold the key to break the impasse
  https://www.ibtimes.com/how-end-tus...man-floating-not-so-straight-proposal-3805199

Trump was initially indifferent to the Strait crisis he had generated, signaling that the campaign would be six weeks at max (Iran satisfactorily blasted), and then the supply nightmare would be the world's affliction to remedy on its own.

But instead he did the switcheroo and made it his agenda to solve it. If he had departed early as planned, he would have just been deemed a callous SOB who did his "peeing all over everything" show and split. But now he looks like a defeated coward if the forces leave (Iran chortling in the background) and has indeed backed himself into an ego corner.

Hand it to the regime if they strategically goaded Trump into hanging around.
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[sculptor]

Deep systemic change requires long time horizons and difficult work and delicate complex negotiations with reality. Politicians like to use the rhetoric of "war on" because it makes it sound like they're all for quick decisive action that will crush some sort of "enemy" and start showing results during an election cycle. It all plays into that populist romance of a strong person who will roll up their sleeves and fix things in some dramatic and uncompromising way.

roll up their sleeves

long ago (i do not go to political rallies) I went to a "town hall" meeting hosted by a model I knew...
The politician came in rolling up his sleeves, and I thought, "Is this clown planning on washing the dishes?"
not