Netanyahu is in the USA right now. His aim is to get Trump to continue and even expand the futile war on Iran that these countries have been pursuing.
Two stories have come to my attention on this theme this morning. First, there is this from the New York Times:
The infographic shows the number of attacks from either side in this war over its timeline. There is little sign of de-escalation, and there were Iranian ballistic missile attacks last night. The war is ongoing.
The second is an FT story. They reported:
US crude stockpiles fell sharply last week as local oil refineries boosted activity to take advantage of surging fuel prices driven by renewed hostilities with Iran.
Commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 7.2mn barrels and the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 3.8mn barrels, as refiners drew down stocks to make products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
They went on to note that US refineries are currently operating at near 100% capacity to meet demand in the USA and beyond. China has reacted to this conflict by cutting oil use. The market-based approach in the USA is to exploit high prices to sell as much oil as possible by depleting stocks.
Only one of these options is viable beyond the short term.
Only one delivers energy security.
Only one avoids the risk of recession.
And as the war continues, the obvious likelihood that China will be its one big winner is becoming ever clearer.
As for the rest of us? We're living on borrowed time, pretending there is no crisis and all will turn out alright in the end, because that is the promise neoliberal politicians who claim markets can solve all problems always make.
There is just one problem with that claim: it is not true. Markets that reflect short-term sentiment when exploiting the short-term opportunity for profit that this war provides are manipulating prices for their own gain on a daily basis, but the reality is that this conflict is continuing, at cost to us all, and the outcome is going to be ugly. A recession is going to happen, and it will begin when those oil reserves are depleted, as they surely will be sometime soon.
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Net & yahooo wants the US to expand the war against Iran………….despite the fact that the USA is running out of missiles. If the USA is stupid enough to send in troops (in the Gulf summer?) then the body bags pile up, not a good look for the mid-terms. I’d call it stalemate. Nobody knows how many & what type of missiles etc the Iranians have left. News of a missile intercepted here or there and one hitting here or there suggest that they have not yet run out.
I agree that one winner will be China (all those new gas power stations in Iran).
In related news, UK serfs will be glad to hear that Burnt-ham’s idea of building up the UK ‘s industrial base is: more ballistic missile subs (& obvs these are useful against drones etc). Meanwhile, climate chickens are coming home to roost. & the cause of all this? Israel. 6 day war & the Yom Kippur triggered the inflation of the 1970s – which gave a leg up to the neo-libtards, weakened governments and made markets preeminent. The Israelis are doing it again – diverting attention away from important stuff (wild fires, rolling climate disaster etc ) on to their regional squabbles & inability to life in peace with neighbours.
Back in the day, Cato would have recognised the problem and finished accordingly. But free speech in the UK is now constrained.
And let us not forget distraction from investigating the Epstein crimes.
The US light crude produced by fracking is not suitable for the production of diesel, aviation fuel, chemicals, fertilisers and so on. This is exported to refineries outside the US.
US refineries are set up to process crude oil. The US imports huge amounts of crude oil each day. Without this the US economy stops. This explains why Venezuela is now under US control. The US controlling the supply of crude oil to the US refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Diesel is what powers the US economy.
Trump and his inner circle are fixated on crushing Iran, causing economic damage to China and others regardless of the economic cost to the global economy.
The US is running out of missiles etc. Will the US force Iran to stop preventing the passage of shipping through the Straits?It is looking increasingly unlikely.
The impending Trump Great Depression is getting closer.
Will the markets stop the economic chaos? There is no evidence that the markets accept the reality and will not do so until the markets crash.
Much to agree with
While we’re on the subject of war, it seems Burnham is going to obediently make sure Trident, our USA-controlled non-independent nuclear non-deterrent is renewed.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/29/trident-renewal-central-defence-reindustrialised-britain-andy-burnham
The arguments being used are all to do with re-industrialisation, and it seems that this appalling war crime of an unuseable non-independent weapon is primarily being renewed for economic reasons. Trident “revitalises communities” (except for the ones it is fired at), and will cost £31bn with a little bit of contingency (£10bn) in case of overspend. Cheap at the price. For that apparently we get 47,000 jobs and lots of votes in Barrow-in-Furness.
I wonder how much green re-industrialisation you can get for £31bn with a £10bn contingency?
So, no change there then.
Depressingly, much to agree with.
As an island nation we have the potential for significant amounts of offshore wind and tidal, plus plenty of unused opportunities for solar power generation. We were a leader in nuclear power at one point (long past). A generation of under-spending has meant that we pay relatively high prices for electricity while curtailing our cheapest capacity, paying more for gas power plants to increase production in other areas, and importing large amounts from abroad daily.
A nuclear submarine mainly helps provide that ultimate deterrent – that you can strike back when the whole population has been decimated. I’m not sure Mutually Assured Destruction is my priority, not compared to protecting the population right now by enabling more of them to heat their homes and feed their families.
It’s increasingly clear that large, expensive systems are not in line with modern warfare, and that it’s increasingly clear how difficult it is to wage war effectively on another country. The lesson should be that the chance of the UK being invaded any time soon has decreased as modern war is shown to be increasingly asymmetric in favour of the defender.
If we are to spend on defence, then it should be cheaper drones, and ideally technologies which we can sell to other countries and where the technologies have a broader benefit beyond war. Why not commit significant spending on humanoid robot development which might prove useful in an urben warfare setting but would also improve technology that could be relevant for care, for manufacturing and more?
I have always been baffled by Trident, and will never be convinced. It is the ultimate defence folly from a long passed era.
Its interesting to see how a generation that never experienced the existential threat that German Submarines posed to the UK are so unmoved by potential oil shortages
“His aim is to get Trump to continue and even expand the futile war on Iran”
Bebe is fighting a losing battle as almost no USA person supports this war.
I have not encountered one single person (MAGAt, Republican, Garden Variety Conservative, Evangelical, Center-Left, true Progressive Left -wing or Immigrant) that supports this war.
The November 2026 elections will demonstrate this to all watching. I hope Trump can find the attention span to notice.