Archive for the ‘middle east’ Category

Iran and the Democrats Playing the Jefferson Davis 1864 War/Election Strategy

Posted: September 13, 2026 by datechguy in middle east, politics, war
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That Grand Old Army [of the Potomac] did performed many heroic acts but never in its history did it do a more devoted service than vote for Abraham Lincoln.

Unknown Soldier quoted by Ken Burns in The Civil War Episode Seven Host Hallowed Ground 1990

After the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg and the fall of the Mississippi river to the North the Confederate Armies were no longer capable of major offensive actions against the North. This was punctuated by the defeat of Braxton Bragg who failed to follow up on his victory at Chickamauga by seizing Chattanooga giving time for Grant to take over the armies there and defeat him and force his retreat back into Georgia & his relief.

With overwhelming forces the plan of the North was for Grant as general in chief accompanying the Army of the Potomac under Meade going after Lee & Richmond and with Sherman commanding the Army of the Tennessee going after Joe Johnston & Atlanta.

This was a problem for Jefferson Davis and the South. Both Union Armies were at least a half again larger than the Confederate Forces, they were well supplied by a United States whose industrial and agricultural sectors were expanding. Meanwhile the Union blockade was squeezing the South, inflation was rampant and despite interior lines the pressures from both advancing armies combined with raids on infrastructure were creating a supply crisis. The discontent on the home front meant that the government itself was in danger

It was true that daring raiders such as the CSS Alabama at sea and the genius of General Nathan Bedford Forest cavalry on land gave the North grief neither was sufficient to do more than annoy the forces of the Union Army or dent their trade and while Johnston was an excellent general and Lee, despite his defeat at Gettysburg was rightfully considered a military genius they simply weren’t strong enough to destroy the Armies converging on them.

Davis had one card left to play. The election of 1864 was coming and with the war was not popular. If the Democrats which has a large peace faction could manage to unseat Lincoln who was committed to conducting the war to the point of victory, the South could win diplomatically what they were incapable of winning militarily, and such an electoral defeat of the GOP might even bring France or England on board diplomatically to end the war.

Thus is was the job for Lee and Johnston to do all they could to slow the advances of Grant and Sherman making sure it was costly in terms of time and lives to put the Democrats in power who would be amiable to the end of the war, even if it meant a defeat for the Union while expelling the hated Lincoln from the scene.

162 years later Iran and the Democrats have the exact same game plan.

Iran has been creative in their use of drones in order to try and overwhelm US capabilities and to strike (with aid & intelligence from Russia & China) bases in the middle east and the Houthi’s moves against the Saudi’s can drive the price of gas up but in the end Iran can only resupply by land and very slowly, they can’t sell their oil to get hard cash, their tankers which are not being blockaded find themselves venerable to the US navy at sea. What’s left of their air force is currently on the ground in Pakistan to avoid destruction, their navy HAS been destroyed & their army dare not move against US bases in the area for fear of being desiccated, that is even if they could manage the logistics to move, supply and feed their forces.

For all their loud talk and big treats they are unable to do much to wit:

Four days later no missiles are heading to Israel, which is just as well as Israel are much less reluctant to hit Iranian targets in Iran as we are and could even decide to go after the Houthis (although I suspect they will make the Saudi’s ask for the help or to sign the Abraham Accords before they do). Iran can basically hunker down and take it, but they can do one other thing, STALL.

Iran knows there is an American election in less than 60 days. Iran also knows that Democrats hate Donald Trump much more than they love America (at least among the minority of Democrats who do according to pols). They know that the Democrat left will do all they can to have the war end in an American defeat & will advance propaganda to that effect. If they can keep the price of gas high enough and create enough economic cost they hope to cause President Trump to end the stranglehold on the nation giving them a chance to rebuild. It will take years to do so, but that’s better than the Islamic republic falling.

In 1864 the Army of the Potomac had a ton of votes and despite the Democrat nominee being their beloved first commander who treated them well they voted enmasse for Abraham Lincoln and came from people all over the nation. In my city of Fitchburg which was still a town at the time of the war, a book on Fitchburg’s service members needed many many pages to list them all. They knew what they were fighting for

Today those in the service & who have served know what Iran is and who the enemy is, but they are a tiny minority of the country.

So it will be up to the non-serving members of the public, if Iran will be more successful than the Confederates.

May we as a nation have the wisdom to see things as they are.

Iran: It’s Worth it, Even at the Cost to my Wallet & of Election 2026

Posted: May 5, 2026 by datechguy in economy, middle east, politics, war
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Paul Crewe: Hey Pop, the time you hit Hazen in the mouth, was it worth 30 years?

Pop: Yeah: For me it was.

The Longest Yard 1974

Last week I filled up my gastank at $4.009 a gallon.

The $4 barrier was a big shock as gas had plummeted during the 2nd Trump term to a point where I had paid $2.56 just before the start of the war with Iran. That had saved me a lot of money and it showed.

I had hoped that things would be over before a final oil delivery but it was not and my oil delivery cost considerably more than I had budgeted, fortunately my prepay had still covered it so the impact wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

With my job about to end this week after 10 years these additional costs are a real strain on the family budget and I imagine that for people who are less careful with their money, which I imagine is most people, the gas increase is a matter of real pain.

Gas is now $4.27 everywhere as we start getting fuel that was traded on markets at the top of the spikes.

It’s a real concern not just financially but politically because the cost of gas increases the cost of everything else and the Democrats who didn’t say boo when gas prices were like this during the Biden years are making hay of it all.

Every incentive both personal for me and political for conservatives in election 2026 screams for things in Iran to end yesterday.

But when it comes down to it, none of that matters, because this is a defining moment for the country and the world.

For 47 years the Islamists in Iran have been the number one source of murder and terror in the world and have exported this terror to almost every corner of the planet. Thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of others have lost their lives become of their direct actions over this time. They have been the delivery system for all our enemies who want us dead. For 47 years they have chanted “Death to America” and I’ve never for one moment thought they didn’t mean it.

America had opportunities to stop this. Reagan, could have gone in regardless of the Hostage release but was dealing with the cold War. Bush one didn’t want to upset Arab allies as he dealt with Iraq. Clinton was more interested in not getting booted, Bush two who actually had Iran surrounded on three sides never pulled the trigger and Barack Obama, It’s my opinion that he’s been on Iran’s side from the very beginning of his presidency and into his 3rd term running the autopen man.

The single greatest thing Donald Trump can do for the United States and for the World is removing the Islamic Republic from the face of the earth.

  • It will save countless lives, free the people of Iran from the terror they’ve lived under.
  • It will destroy terror networks and connections that will take our foes years to rebuild.
  • It will change the face of the middle east permanently giving an incentive for Israel’s neighbors to make peace
  • It will deprive both Russia & China of a proxy used to attack us and intimidate others
  • And it will deprive Islamists of a nuclear device (at least until England and France fall)

All of these gains are stacked against a tighter belt for me and mine.

There is no contest.

I hate where Gas prices are, but if they reach $5 and Iran falls this year, it’s worth it.

If the economy slows because of the increase in gas prices, but Iran falls this year, it’s worth it.

And if the Democrat left, which I suspect is doing all it can to encourage Iran to hold out actually wins both houses of congress because of this war, but Iran falls IT’S STILL WORTH IT!

All of those things me a harder life for me in the short term, but a better life for my sons and myself and the entire world in the long term.

About 85 years ago my father found himself in the Pacific fighting a war for the world’s survival while at home my ancestors on both my mother and fathers side did without in order to support that effort until it was won. Because of their sacrifices I lived in a safer world in freedom.

You and I are being asked to do the same but on a much smaller scale and with a lot less pain.

Let’s be worthy of those who came before us.

Mr. President, fight this war to win. I know the world will not thank you for it, in fact they will publicly curse you for it and teach others to do so. A generation of idiots (outside of Iran itself) who already hate you will hate you more. The Europeans whose oil supply you will scorn you and don’t even think of the Nobel Prize that you had earned for your actions of the past year.

They will attack you for the rest of your life and dance upon your grave with you go to face your maker. They will live to do it in freedom and security.

But even as they do all of these things, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the freedom, security & even the lives that they spend mocking you, will have been a gift you have freely given them asking nothing in return.

That’s one great legacy.

Five Iran War Thoughts Under the Fedora: Ignorance is the rule, Yes they get to shoot back, Ukraine gives a hand, The only two advantages Iran Has, Israel’s big Drone Endgame

Posted: March 13, 2026 by datechguy in middle east, under the fedora, war
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One of the disadvantages of the all volunteer army is that you have 1% of the population serving so that the vast majority of people in the nation have absolutely no idea how the military or how war works.

A good example of this is the fuss over the meals for the troops but a better example is the shock, SHOCK that the enemy gets to hit back in war.

Without history being taught properly combined with only movies & TV to give them a reference means people don’t know what they’re talking about & are easily taken.

We have pretty much destroyed the air & navel arm of Iraq and have done so at a cost so minimal that military historians will be writing about it for centuries.

Yet because of the ignorance that I mentioned above, the slight amount of causalities we have suffered are being treated as a disaster by the left & being sold as failure.

This is war, the enemy gets to shoot back and occasionally they will get lucky and occasionally we will get unlucky with a failure of equipment or even human error.

Additionally our enemies (Russia & China) while not providing direct aid are undoubtedly proving whatever intelligence available

This is war and in war some of our troops are going to die. This is a reality and the price that’s necessary to destroy an enemy who has been killing our people since I was a teenager.

Ukraine has gotten a lot from us over the last 4 years to help in their war vs Russia (and not just the graft either) and until now they had little that we needed.

But there is one thing that they have in abundance that we do not have & would be most useful in the effort to destroy the Islamic republic: years of practical experience in drone warfare, both in offence and defense.

It is reported that Ukraine is now sharing that experience with us and those that are being hit by Iran.

This is a smart move by Ukraine, if Iran falls one of Russia’s key allies goes with it and thus weakens Putin further. Additionally such help make it more likely that Trump will be more amenable to releasing more aid with less questions is a helping hand is given.

Nothing builds an alliance more than mutual self interest.

To say Iran is getting pummeled is the understatement of the year. No level of propaganda, tweet farms & paid influences spinning makes all of this any less of an absolute disaster to the Iranian Muslim leaders and their networks.

Combine this with Israel’s use of intelligence to use drone attacks on small checkpoints to eliminate those whose job it is to repress the people and all the cards look poor for them.

They do however have two advantages one tangible and one not.

The tangible advantage is the clock. The war powers act gives Donald Trump 60 days to do what he can without a vote in congress. While there is every chance he would win such a vote (no matter what the MSM says) the longer the war goes on the better the chance that any kind of reversal can be played upon by the left or that the cowards in the congress will be subject to their fears.

The intangible advantage is Islam itself.

I suspect there are plenty of people in the Iranian government working for the Mullahs or the secret police that are IINOS (Islamic in name only) who are doing what they do for the money and/or doing it out of fear for their families or even to “be somebody”.

But I also suspect that there is a percentage of these people who are true believers in radical Islam, Who think that “Death to America” isn’t just a chant but a holy command.

Those true believers will fight to the death because they think they’re serving God. If there are enough of them it will be real trouble for us because people who don’t care if they die are capable of anything.

Granted neither of these are big advantages but you have to play the cards you have.

Finally when it comes to drones Israel has made it an art.

With information given via Iranians in Iran they have been able to strike at individual checkpoints within cities. In other words at the people who actually do the killing of protestors who want the Mullahs gone.

Even if the US stops bombing if Israel can keep this up then the game is up and done. Without those guys holding the people back there is no way to stop a popular revolution.

I think the Mullahs might lose their country before I officially lose my job

The Bright Side of Tucker et/al for Israel

Posted: March 3, 2026 by datechguy in culture, Israel, middle east
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4th Doctor: I was thinking in terms of a psychological barrier. It’s cheap, efficient and energy saving,

One of the great advantages of being Sicilian ,other than the excellent genes that you get when your ancestors come from an area that just about everybody in the world conquered at one time or another, is the fear factor.

There are still a few Italians in general and Sicilians in particular who get angry that when people hear “Italian” or “Sicilian” they think “Mafia” because they don’t like the stereotype of being considered gangsters applied to them.

Most of the Sicilians I know not only don’t care but actually like it for two reasons.

  1. They don’t give a damn what other people think
  2. There is a large advantage in life if nobody wants to mess with you

If any person who might cheat or harm you is afraid that there is a large organization that might choose to take revenge on them for doing so and that said organization may take said revenge even years after the fact in a most unpleasant way said people tend to decide it’s a much better idea to look for easier marks.

It takes away the tension every time you have to start your car.

Now consider for a moment Jews in General and the State of Israel in particular.

From 70AD till 1947 a period of 1877 years there was no state of Israel or Jewish state. Even when Israel had kings and rulers it’s status as an international power pretty much ended with the death of Solomon centuries before the Romans or the Greeks or even the Persians extended their empires to include the Holy Land.

As for the Jewish people while you might have some Jewish quarters in cities in various countries Jews as a total population of most areas were in fact nominal. The only reason why you tended to notice Jews in quantity in an area is the same reason why most Americans notice Rhode Island license plates on cars. While they might be common in Massachusetts & Connecticut in the rest of the country they’re a rare sight.

Even today the total number of Jews in the world based on 2023 figures is only 17 million. That’s barely over 3/10’s of 1% of the worlds population. Even in the US which has the highest number of Jews in the world (barely edging out Israel) has only 7.4 million Jews out of a population of over 330 million people, under 3% of the population. Even in Israel Jews make up only 80% of the population of the Jewish state.

Meanwhile as a population that was hated by many and collectively blamed for the crucifixion of Christ based on a bad interpretation of a gospel verse (Matt 27:25) that went beyond Christ’s prophecy (Luke 18:41-44) on it’s effect, Jews who excelled tended to stand out in a population again because there were so few relatively speaking.

And none of those points even touch on the holocaust.

So consider. You are the Jews, you’ve somehow become the only ancient nation to survive to the 20th century. Your capital falls during the days of the Roman empire but you stay united as a people. You finally get your nation back seventeen centuries later in 1948 after a bloody war and you finally regain your historical capital Jerusalem in 1967 after beating three enemy armies in six days but you remain a nation and people who are:

  1. Historically hated
  2. Incredibly tiny both in population & size
  3. Surrounded by nations whose populations want you dead
  4. Marked for death by one of the worlds largest religions
  5. BUT considered sly

How do you keep from being destroyed?

Well having a strong sponsor with the largest population of Jews in the world (the US) helps but they are thousands of miles away. You can develop an excellent war industry and tech industry and various innovations to make your country wealthy but even that is not enough. You need to convince people that you have an almost superhuman reach to get to your enemies.

That’s where a Tucker Carlson et/al come in.

If you want to convince the world that your tiny nation is a nation of bad asses who you don’t want to mess with it really helps a lot if you have a member of the media widely known with a huge following telling anyone who will listen that you are this insidious power who manages to manipulate all kinds of things in the world and responsible for all sorts of things.

While Carlson’s rants might increase hatred among a population that already doesn’t care much for you what it also does is reinforce the idea that messing with you might not be the wisest move in the world.

Now ops like the pager attack on Hezbollah and infiltrating Iran anti-Mossad agency (the head of it was a Mossad agent) and the hacking of Iranian traffic cameras helps sell this even more and it all brings the desired effect that of making people think that messing with you might not be the best idea.

It’s true that if your enemies are part of a giant suicide cult which is a fair description of radical Islam it might not completely stop the odd bomber or assassin but there is a reason why millions of Muslims men of military age who hate Israel and Jews are in England and Europe rather than in the middle east carrying weapons.

It’s because thanks to those ops and the loud “Israel controls the world” crowd like Tucker they would rather scream “Death to the Jews” far far away from a safe distance. It’s a psychological barrier that only a few dare to cross.

Frankly if folks like Tucker didn’t exist I’d expect the Mossad to create them.

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