IF! IF we have the most powerful military on the face of this planet then why can't we close the deal against technologically inferior nation states? Iraq and Afghanistan were both painful slogs without a satisfactory outcome. Before that you could say the same for Vietnam and maybe even Korea. Now we're faced with Iran and it ain't looking rosey folks.Iran’s leadership is admitting what the world can now see: the pressure is working.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 25, 2026
President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged Iran’s economic shortages, saying, “The war must come to an end at some point.”
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, was even more… pic.twitter.com/IEopNO1cT8
IF! IF the issue isn't with the troops or the gear then it swings toward leadership.
IF! IF its a leadership issue then you have to ask if its civilian or military leadership that is the problem.
Looking at Iraq & Afghanistan I come down solidly on the side of a failure of civilian leadership of BOTH parties. IMO Bush Jr was a fucking idiot. Obama didn't cover himself in glory. Trump didn't shine either. Biden? Biden was a fucking disgrace who lost his damn mind midway thru his term and his "camp followers" were even more pathetic.
But we don't know what advice they were given by our military leadership either so maybe they aren't as bad as I'm thinking.
Either way we have a serious problem.
We like to think that as jacked up as the federal govt is, at least the DOW is semi-capable.
I'm not so sure it is.
Now we have an apparent changing of the guard. Instead of a war being won by the DOW while being supported by the rest of govt, it seems that the Treasury Dept has taken the lead while the Services attempt to reset while engaging....if you can call an extended ceasefire as engaging.
