651–660 of 678 posts
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“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet” seems like the golden rule we’ve all forgotten
Yet here we are, believing that the Houthis used fake AI voice to achieve a battlefield victory.
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You're dodging the question and the conversation. Again: Is it possible to criticize the actions of the government of Israel without hating Jews? The government of Israel is simply above reproach because of their religion?
" Don't feed egregious comments by replying; flag them instead. " a.k.a. please don't feed the trolls https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html (Also, please avoid tit-fot-tat spats - they never do any good.)
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I just realized how much money one could make by hacking Truth Social and posting some "truths" under Trump's account. It's a relatively new, relatively complex platform; surely there are bugs.
they've already had a very similar idea at truth social themselves, they're now selling premium early access to market moving news https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/truth-social... it's actually amazing to type that out and notice it's not a joke
That's why relying on mercs (which is what both UAE and Saudi chose in Yemen) is a double edged sword. At some point the cash isn't enough of a motivator and they will just run away.
It's not clear that non-mercenary Arab armies are much better in this respect.
I don't think native Yemeni are motivated enough to fight for unification. That's why all the fighters are mercenaries hired by the UAE or Yemen
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It's not clear that non-mercenary Arab armies are much better in this respect.
Most southern Yemenis don't want unification. North and South Yemen were separate countries for decades. When unification first happened there was optimism but South Yemen (which is about 20% of the total population of Yemen) was always hesitant about how little political power they'd have. North Yemen is 80% of the population and, today, almost entirely controlled by the Houthis. I don't think native Yemeni are moti…
My quibble here is with the house style "Iran-backed" that they attach to every mention of the Houthi's. While it's fine for governments to use that language, I don't think journalists should use it without being very specific to its relevance to the particular subject under discussion. The "Houthis claim major advance in Yemen - what you need to know" article could omit "Iran-backed" in its entirety and lose no info…
I think people read things like "Iran-backed" and immediately frame it in terms of US/Iran conflicts, but GCC/Iran conflicts are the more salient geopolitical frame, at least until like last year.
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Until we bar export.
What's next? Full blown communism? In any case, bad idea if other retaliate with their exports. Also, US cannot really use the oil it produces, because it can refine very little of it. Any export ban would require massive investments.
Will this bring oil prices down in Europe? Oil tankers could still go to the mediteranian via the suez canal. This will not help asia, but I can imagine if it is too dangerous the go through bab al-mandab strait it is more lucrative to sell the crude oil to europe at a discount?
No. A cynic might think a significant part of this half-arsed Iran war was: - make sure fuel prices increase globally - The US economy is relatively well-shielded from the fallout by its own fossil fuel sources, local and in colonies like Venezuela. - export more US fossil fuels, especially to Europe, at inflated prices. US insiders reap the profits. - further kneecap European competitiveness in energy intensive sect…
When Iran hit some of Exxon's oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, their stock actually shot up. Because they have an even greater investment in LNG in Texas which are now incredibly valuable
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> Just to be clear: the current situation is a huge mess caused by one deranged leader. Agreed. The situation is worse than before the U.S. attack. Iran has proven they can control the straight, threatening the world's energy supply. This is a more powerful weapon than a nuke (which multiple agencies, including U.S. intel, said they didn't have when this all started). New leadership in Iran is more galvanized against…
> The U.S. already lost this war. Iran is dictating terms. Allies in the region have seen that the U.S. cannot protect them, and are making other accomodations, reducing U.S. influence in the region and beyond. literally no part of this sentence is accurate.
Let me break it down some for you, and anyone else who may be interested:
1) Iran is dictating terms
Look how often Trump has changed his story on how long the war will last [0]:
> March 2, We will easily prevail. We're already substantially ahead of our time projections
> March 9, We're ahead of our initial timeline by a lot. I would say that we probably would not have thought after a month we'd be here
> March 17, We'll be leaving in pretty much the very near future
> March 31, I think two or three weeks
> April 1, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion
> June 11, We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran
> Aug. 6, I think it's going to end pretty soon
Now he's sayign the war will be over right after the midterms [1].
Then there's all the times he said the straight was open, when Iran still was able to strike ships trying to transit.
Does that sound like someone who is in control of events? I've never heard a U.S. president who was wrong so many times.
2) Allies in the region have seen that the U.S. cannot protect them
> During the conflict, Iran reportedly carried out attacks or hostile actions against multiple countries and targets across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman—where specific incidents involved ports and ships—Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, the British overseas territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, and the West Bank. Additional alleged activity was reported in Azerbaijan, while maritime targets included vessels of the United States Navy and Thai-flagged ships operating in the region. [2]
The above page includes a detailed list of all of the above attacks [3] and caulaties [4]. More ally citizens have been killed than U.S. military personel.
Trump even threatened to bomb an ally at one point:
> President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman - a US ally - if it "gets in the way" of his administration's own talks with Iran, Fox News reports. [5]
And now the war is expanding, with the Saudis, a U.S. ally, being attacked:
> Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked four cities in the south of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze. [6]
The Saudis and even some of our European allies are restricting U.S. air traffic [7]
3) and are making other accomodations
Regional powers are making alliances amongst themselves, alliances that do not include the Unites States:
> The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, formally the Mecca Defence Alliance, is a defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed into force on 7 August 2026 [8]
4)reducing U.S. influence in the region and beyond
China is using this as an opportunity to increase their influence in the region:
> Iran expresses willingness to continue diplomatic negotiations but vows to defend its sovereignty firmly, appreciating China's role in regional peace and seeking deeper cooperation with China. [9]
The U.S. has shown itself as incapable of securing shipping in this straight, and, by implication, other strategic straights. Countries have seen how having U.S. bases in their territories become a liability, drawing enemy fire, enemy fire that the U.S. is not able to intercept. This will echo for a loong time.
A large part of U.S. influence, and related military and economic power, was build-up over 80 years. Eighty Years of alliances and goodwill. And all that is very much in decline.
[0] https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/28/donal...
[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/09/trump-iran-war-end-...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_during_the_202...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_during_the_202...
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_during_the_202...
[5] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5dzk0ryzdo
[6] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/09/08/iran-cr...
[7] https://saudipress.com/saudi-arabia-bars-u-s-bases-and-airsp...][https://cde.news/italy-denies-sigonella-use-to-u-s-war-fligh...][https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-refuses-us-request-to-use-r...
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca_Joint_Defence_Agreement
[9] https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-actively-c...