Notes on US Government’s censorship of Iran War losses and US media’s self-censorship of same; demise of US bases in Middle East; “Economic D-Day”; likelihood of resumption of kinetic actions; and “Perspectives” podcast schedule.
Last Lament of the Neocons
Robert Kagan, of the “Kagan Klan”—Kimberly, Fred, and Robert, and their Institute for the Study of War—had heads scratching with his 10 May 2026 article in The Atlantic, “Checkmate in Iran”: has the old neocon had a conversion to realism? He followed this up on 21 May with “Trump’s Endgame Is Surrender.” On 23 August,Kagan wrote, “Iran Unleashed,” where he admits, “the dominant power in the Middle East from now on will not be the U.S. or Israel but Iran.”
But why? The Kagans are major supporters of the Iraq War, Iran War, and Ukraine War—Robert Kagan’s wife is Victoria Nuland. The Klan are devoted Zionists. The Atlantic, Kagan’s publisher, is rabidly anti-Iran, and its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, is a former IDF prison guard.
Kagan’s views have not evolved: he is subtly advocating for resumption of the Iran War before Iran’s position as the dominant regional power is cemented and Israel’s is diminished. Kagan’s message to Trump: “bomb Iran into oblivion before it is too late.”
Economic D-Day
Treasury Secretary Bessent was rambling about an economic D-Day that commences today, 24 August, which is supposed to crush Iran’s economy forever. Iran’s Foreign Minister dismissed his claims thusly.
An “economic D-Day” is likely to land first on US beaches. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is at its historical lowest (salt caverns holding the remaining oil could collapse if further extraction is attempted). Oil prices are rising; energy supplies through the Red Sea are declining due to the Saudi-Yemen War, adding to global shortages caused by Persian Gulf disruptions.
The US national debt hit $40 trillion; annual interest on said debt is ≥ $1 trillion, ≈20% of the annual US budget—and the budget deficit stands at $1.80 trillion. The bond market is flashing red: 30-year Treasuries are ≥ 5.25%, forcing Treasury to intervene to buy back US Treasuries, which Adam Kobeissi noted is the equivalent of a homeowner holding a 3% fixed 30-year mortgage, and refinancing into a 4% one-year adjustable-rate mortgage.
In any event, it is likely that the war will resume, either with preemptive action by Iran (favored by Mohsen Rezaee), or a “Hail Mary play” by the US and Israel.
US Bases in the Middle East
I wrote on 11 May 2026, “US bases are not coming back: Iran’s strikes rewrite Washington’s West Asia doctrine,” and on 19 July, my mutual, Amerikanets, published a superb essay describing the Iranian strategy, in which he coined the term, “Debasification.” The wrecking of bases, especially NAS Bahrain, began within an hour or two after the Aya K’s assassination. We recently learned that SECDEF Whiskey Pete had not informed POTUS that NAS Bahrain is kaput. The revelation followed complaints from USS Lincoln’s crew that they had not been supplied regularly with victuals and toiletries. Why not? Because NAS Bahrain was, inter alia, the main logistical supply base for the Fifth Fleet. The US Navy had to retreat to Diego Garcia. A handful of transports from DG supply the US Navy fleet in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman.
What did Whiskey Pete do? He fired the editor of Stars and Stripes who reported the USS Lincoln story. The editor was also concerned about “censorship” at the Pentagon! This is all terribly amusing, but there is a point: censorship by the US Government; self-censorship by US media of the Iran War; and voluntary withholding by US satellite providers of images of damage inflicted by Iran are not benefiting the American public.
If American media had done their job and exposed the effects of Iran’s bombardments of fifteen bases, DOD would have been unable to conceal its losses.
“Perspectives: A Podcast on Iran”
Unless the Iran War kicks off, I will be posting infrequently over the near term. This is because I am finalizing one book and trying to finalize another book by year-end.
However, podcasts will be published weekly (inshʾallah). Standard episodes are 3–5 minutes, focusing on a key point or subject. These punchy, two-person conversational episodes that cover topics like the Iran War, and Iranian history, culture, and science. A special podcast, “How the Taliban Defeated the Pentagon’s ‘Best and Brightest’,” was published on 15 August 2026, the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s victory.
The five most recent episodes are displayed by Apple in their embedded app on my “Podcast” page. There are two podcast specials in the pipeline. Please subscribe to the podcast channel, review, and comment. Thank you.
Podcast Specials: 25th Anniversary of 9/11
11 September 2026
“25 Years After 9/11: The Saudi-Wahhabi Doctrine that Built the Taliban and al-Qaeda”
This 25th anniversary 9/11 special examines how Saudi Wahhabism provided the ideological foundation for both the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The episode traces extremist interpretations of ‘commanding right and forbidding wrong’ (CRFW) from their roots in the Arabian Peninsula to madrasas on the Afghan-Pakistani border, revealing how CRFW became a revolutionary war program used against the Afghan government and its US protectors (22 minutes)
7 October 2026
Operation Jawbreaker: “When IRGC and US Special Forces Fought on Same Side in Afghanistan.” The US-led invasion of Afghanistan commenced 7 October 2001. Iranian Special Forces (SOF) fought alongside US SOF. Israel used 9/11 for its own ends, viz., Iraq War, which was initiated at CIA and DOD within 6 hours of 9/11. Israel then torpedoed US-Iran rapprochement (19 minutes)
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