Here are two excellent companion pieces to this video which cover different aspects of what events this week really mean providing clues as to how things will develop from this point on. It's kind of ironic that Trump's 'Liberation Day' actually turned out to be dollar, bond and equities hostage day, revealing that Trump does not have the power to rule the world simply by signing executive orders in public with a great flourish of his pen: all of which is pure theatre.
The first by the Sirius Report details how all Trump's tariff fiasco has really done it to expose to China where all the web of US economic and financial weaknesses and vulnerabilities exist.
The second with Peter Schiff explains the reasons why gold is likely to become the reserve backing currencies again. I would provide an additional observation that there is no reason why for large transactions physical gold could not be used in preference to the dollar or any other paper or digital proxy.
In terms of economics and another financial crisis I think things are a lot worse with the issues arising from the failure of this tariff policy than people think for a number of reasons. I will just bring up one of them and that is a general breakdown in counter-party trust.
As much as the GFC was called a liquidity crisis it was mostly a breakdown in counter-party trust between banks and other financial institutions when they looked at the state of their own books and then suspected that everyone else’s in that industry looked the same. There have been significant rises in the BoE’s Short Term Open Market Operations [STOMO] lately which indicates a rise in anonymous liquidity starved entities who have been going to the BoE and trading toxic or worthless assets for cash or yield bearing treasuries because they couldn't raise funds from other banks etc. as that would reveal the perilous state of their finances. The BoE also lowered the standard or bar as to what could be traded with it in terms of acceptable collateral.
This is probably where we are now in both the UK and the USA in terms of increasing central bank STOMO and LTRO operations and much of it takes place in secret in terms of maintaining national financial security. However what makes the current situation so much worse is that in 2008 despite the breakdown in counter-party trust between banks there was trust between nations in the world and indeed the Chinese helped bail out the Western financial system at the time. Following the GFC we found the world’s central banks working together in a highly orchestrated manner. This included the BoE, FED, ECB, BoJ, PBoC, Swiss National Bank etc. They would each take it in turns and sometimes act in concert to inject liquidity into global markets passing the baton from one to the other and this has largely gone in an unbroken manner ever since.
What makes a financial crisis so much worse this time is that whilst there is another breakdown in counter-party trust taking place between banks etc. then Trump's tariffs have ensured that there is also an international breakdown in trust between nation states. This means that because of Trump's attacking and alienating them, then central banks in China, Japan and the ECB etc. are unlikely to step up to bail out the US like they did in 2008
You can't do a deal with the Neoconservatives because they are Machiavellians who lie and deceive about every deal you think you might have made with them like Russia found out with Minsk 2 & 3. Trump is no different but for different reasons in that he doesn't set out to deceive but simply because you cannot trust or take a single thing he says at face value. It doesn't matter if you are dealing with the Neocons or Trump you cannot trust any supposed deal you think you have made with them. I don't see how we can fix this abolition of trust which is occurring on every level.
The notion that Trump is going to go to War with Iran on top of all this dangerous chaos shows how totally delusional and ignorant he really is.
I had done a quick background review in case anyone thought interesting
Bombing Iran and historical US requirements v Iraq (which US claims was such a great success)
Population in Iran ~85 million vs. Iraq’s ~18 million in 1991
Land Size Iran’s land area is approximately 1.65 million square kilometers vs. Iraq: ~438,317 sq km. Iran is about 3.8 times larger.
Iraq in 1991 had a demoralized, poorly led army post-Iran-Iraq War; estimated 300,000 to 400,000 combat effective troops v US coalitions 700,000
In 1991, the U.S.-led coalition deployed around 670,000–700,000 troops for Operation Desert Storm --- US Participation ~540,000 U.S. personnel (not all ground troops; many were air, naval, or support) [[ Effectively the US could never muster that coalition or US forces today ]].
Currrently The U.S. Army has ~450,000 active soldiers, with said and estimated 100,000–150,000 deployable for a single theater after rotations and commitments elsewhere - they could probably muster more deployable but at great effort [ Iran military is of course already there ].
... Logistics always matter - brutal vulnerability and expense for the US
Iran’s active forces number ~580,000, with ~350,000 reservists, plus IRGC units skilled in asymmetric warfare.
Allies: not just Russia and China but Hezbollah, Iraq and Houthis may assist Iran among others
- Iraq was pretty much alone
Weapons and Air Defenses: goes without saying, Iran has them
- This ain't no Iraq - this may be a brutal loss for the US the old pyrrhic victory even if a victory can somehow be claimed [[ after oil and other resources destroyed and perhaps a trillion $ expenditure ]]
RUSSIA did not make a more thorough pact with Iran on coming to their defense
Because they did not need to
Russia and China will do this ' by the book ' the UN Book
Article 51 “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
The moment US attacks Iran [ if they were stupid enough to try ] Russia China and Iran will go to the UN - and then respond .
RE: Probable US Failure in Iran - if US were to attack - Trump Has No Plan
The U.S. Diplomacy Plan / Policy of ''' Chaos Destruction and Internal Overthrow '''
( eg: Iraq Sadaam, Libya Gaddafi; Syria Assad ((Ukraine 2014 )) ) what the US historically
[ McCain Nuland et.al. ] and their NGO Proxies commonly refer to as """ Old Reliable """ also unlikely to work
Religious Leadership: The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, wields ultimate authority [[[[Assad’s Alawite clique was a minority (10% of Syria); Iran’s Shia majority (90%) aligns with the regime’s identity, reducing sectarian fractures. ]]]
Military: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, ~200,000), loyal to the Supreme Leader.
=========================
So effectively Trump can Bomb them ( and anticipate retaliation ) but cannot send in troops and cannot cause an overthrow - Trump has no plan because there is no plan -
It has to have been a US dream that Putin and Iran would have military and equipment wasted in Syria, as well as time and attention.
Had Russia and Iran gone into Syria it would have them in part overextended, this was likely a 'great' US plan and Hope and Desire
Putin and Iran walking away was probably completely not expected by US not only did it leave Russia and Iran strengthened and prepared to defend Iran, it left the mess in US hands
Syria was a disaster for US in relation to their desire to disarm Iran.
Now US has to deal with Israel and Turkey in Syria as well as multiple other fronts, and the unholy mess they created
.
Very well played by Putin / US once again extended
But is it going to bomb? If so, what's changed? After all, the Empire has been going on about attacking Iran for decades? I don't see the US actually invading, so it would be by missile and aircraft or, would it use Israel and invite immediate retaliation? And if it's merely threat and bluster, what's to be gained? I suppose the unknown, unknown is Trump himself, who has already shot himself in the foot with this tariff nonsense. I get the feeling that the US is over-extending itself and this maybe all down to Trump himself but I like to think that there must saner voices operating on the Beltway, or is this just wishful thinking on my part?
Please don’t perpetuate horrific neocon propaganda terms such as “decapitation”.
What’s is being referred to is assassination of national leaders of nations not at war. Which is illegal according to international law. And last I remember from history, is what sparked World War I.
The American High Command and their Quite Insane Commander In Chief have learned nothing from American involvement in unnecessary WARS, Korea was unnecessary, The American War on Vietnam was unnecessary calling this conflict The Vietnam War is completely misguided America Declared War on Vietnam and Wasted Generations of Fine Young Men in a War their Teenagers couldn’t WIN these Heroic Brave Soldiers didn’t know who the enemy was. The Whitehouse the Pentagon and CIA sent these Poor Laddies to Die for a Worthless Corrupt South Vietnamese Dictator and his Corrupt Generals and Government into the Jungles and Valley’ Mountains and Paddy Fields they went questioning why and what the Fuck they were doing there some came home in Bags some came home horribly maimed most of these Brave Young Guys were Spat on had bags of dog shit thrown at them Bags of Human Shit thrown at them hit with rocks potatoes tomatoes and eggs. This was done by Scumbags not fit to breathe in the air these returning Laddies sucked into their Lungs no wonder they were Mentally Scarred to receive this treatment from their own People after doing terrible things and seeing what was done to their Brothers in Arms to be treated like this by Hippies a group of drug addicts and COWARDS who evaded going into this War I can understand why they didn’t want to go what I don’t understand is why they treated these Returning Soldiers like they did this I will Never Forget or Forgive they were Scum then and even if they are Priests Ministers or even Congressmen today they are still SCUM NOW. I am from Scotland and I felt bad for the Laddies then because these Brave Young Men were the same age as Myself when the Lunatics in the Whitehouse Sacrificed these Guys for NOTHING and I still feel the same today And like the Veterans I am heading towards my Finish Line Our Road is getting Shorter Guys and Mine was Much Much Easier than Theirs Good Luck To Them Who are Left. My Thoughts and Prayers are with them all and with their Mates who were Captured and never saw their Loved Ones Mates and Homeland again. Iran will be another pointless War and Waste of the Future for so so many Do not Allow Them to Do this it is Complete Madness.
Here are two excellent companion pieces to this video which cover different aspects of what events this week really mean providing clues as to how things will develop from this point on. It's kind of ironic that Trump's 'Liberation Day' actually turned out to be dollar, bond and equities hostage day, revealing that Trump does not have the power to rule the world simply by signing executive orders in public with a great flourish of his pen: all of which is pure theatre.
The first by the Sirius Report details how all Trump's tariff fiasco has really done it to expose to China where all the web of US economic and financial weaknesses and vulnerabilities exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MAvhBcrp3U
The second with Peter Schiff explains the reasons why gold is likely to become the reserve backing currencies again. I would provide an additional observation that there is no reason why for large transactions physical gold could not be used in preference to the dollar or any other paper or digital proxy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQG01DRxHk
In terms of economics and another financial crisis I think things are a lot worse with the issues arising from the failure of this tariff policy than people think for a number of reasons. I will just bring up one of them and that is a general breakdown in counter-party trust.
As much as the GFC was called a liquidity crisis it was mostly a breakdown in counter-party trust between banks and other financial institutions when they looked at the state of their own books and then suspected that everyone else’s in that industry looked the same. There have been significant rises in the BoE’s Short Term Open Market Operations [STOMO] lately which indicates a rise in anonymous liquidity starved entities who have been going to the BoE and trading toxic or worthless assets for cash or yield bearing treasuries because they couldn't raise funds from other banks etc. as that would reveal the perilous state of their finances. The BoE also lowered the standard or bar as to what could be traded with it in terms of acceptable collateral.
This is probably where we are now in both the UK and the USA in terms of increasing central bank STOMO and LTRO operations and much of it takes place in secret in terms of maintaining national financial security. However what makes the current situation so much worse is that in 2008 despite the breakdown in counter-party trust between banks there was trust between nations in the world and indeed the Chinese helped bail out the Western financial system at the time. Following the GFC we found the world’s central banks working together in a highly orchestrated manner. This included the BoE, FED, ECB, BoJ, PBoC, Swiss National Bank etc. They would each take it in turns and sometimes act in concert to inject liquidity into global markets passing the baton from one to the other and this has largely gone in an unbroken manner ever since.
What makes a financial crisis so much worse this time is that whilst there is another breakdown in counter-party trust taking place between banks etc. then Trump's tariffs have ensured that there is also an international breakdown in trust between nation states. This means that because of Trump's attacking and alienating them, then central banks in China, Japan and the ECB etc. are unlikely to step up to bail out the US like they did in 2008
You can't do a deal with the Neoconservatives because they are Machiavellians who lie and deceive about every deal you think you might have made with them like Russia found out with Minsk 2 & 3. Trump is no different but for different reasons in that he doesn't set out to deceive but simply because you cannot trust or take a single thing he says at face value. It doesn't matter if you are dealing with the Neocons or Trump you cannot trust any supposed deal you think you have made with them. I don't see how we can fix this abolition of trust which is occurring on every level.
The notion that Trump is going to go to War with Iran on top of all this dangerous chaos shows how totally delusional and ignorant he really is.
Trump Can't Go to War in Iran For many reasons
One he is not able to
2 Article 51 UN
I had done a quick background review in case anyone thought interesting
Bombing Iran and historical US requirements v Iraq (which US claims was such a great success)
Population in Iran ~85 million vs. Iraq’s ~18 million in 1991
Land Size Iran’s land area is approximately 1.65 million square kilometers vs. Iraq: ~438,317 sq km. Iran is about 3.8 times larger.
Iraq in 1991 had a demoralized, poorly led army post-Iran-Iraq War; estimated 300,000 to 400,000 combat effective troops v US coalitions 700,000
In 1991, the U.S.-led coalition deployed around 670,000–700,000 troops for Operation Desert Storm --- US Participation ~540,000 U.S. personnel (not all ground troops; many were air, naval, or support) [[ Effectively the US could never muster that coalition or US forces today ]].
Currrently The U.S. Army has ~450,000 active soldiers, with said and estimated 100,000–150,000 deployable for a single theater after rotations and commitments elsewhere - they could probably muster more deployable but at great effort [ Iran military is of course already there ].
... Logistics always matter - brutal vulnerability and expense for the US
Iran’s active forces number ~580,000, with ~350,000 reservists, plus IRGC units skilled in asymmetric warfare.
Allies: not just Russia and China but Hezbollah, Iraq and Houthis may assist Iran among others
- Iraq was pretty much alone
Weapons and Air Defenses: goes without saying, Iran has them
- This ain't no Iraq - this may be a brutal loss for the US the old pyrrhic victory even if a victory can somehow be claimed [[ after oil and other resources destroyed and perhaps a trillion $ expenditure ]]
RUSSIA did not make a more thorough pact with Iran on coming to their defense
Because they did not need to
Russia and China will do this ' by the book ' the UN Book
Article 51 “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
The moment US attacks Iran [ if they were stupid enough to try ] Russia China and Iran will go to the UN - and then respond .
RE: Probable US Failure in Iran - if US were to attack - Trump Has No Plan
The U.S. Diplomacy Plan / Policy of ''' Chaos Destruction and Internal Overthrow '''
( eg: Iraq Sadaam, Libya Gaddafi; Syria Assad ((Ukraine 2014 )) ) what the US historically
[ McCain Nuland et.al. ] and their NGO Proxies commonly refer to as """ Old Reliable """ also unlikely to work
Religious Leadership: The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, wields ultimate authority [[[[Assad’s Alawite clique was a minority (10% of Syria); Iran’s Shia majority (90%) aligns with the regime’s identity, reducing sectarian fractures. ]]]
Military: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, ~200,000), loyal to the Supreme Leader.
=========================
So effectively Trump can Bomb them ( and anticipate retaliation ) but cannot send in troops and cannot cause an overthrow - Trump has no plan because there is no plan -
------
..
.
At the End of the Day One Must Remember
Putin and Iran did not take the Syria Bait
It has to have been a US dream that Putin and Iran would have military and equipment wasted in Syria, as well as time and attention.
Had Russia and Iran gone into Syria it would have them in part overextended, this was likely a 'great' US plan and Hope and Desire
Putin and Iran walking away was probably completely not expected by US not only did it leave Russia and Iran strengthened and prepared to defend Iran, it left the mess in US hands
Syria was a disaster for US in relation to their desire to disarm Iran.
Now US has to deal with Israel and Turkey in Syria as well as multiple other fronts, and the unholy mess they created
.
Very well played by Putin / US once again extended
But is it going to bomb? If so, what's changed? After all, the Empire has been going on about attacking Iran for decades? I don't see the US actually invading, so it would be by missile and aircraft or, would it use Israel and invite immediate retaliation? And if it's merely threat and bluster, what's to be gained? I suppose the unknown, unknown is Trump himself, who has already shot himself in the foot with this tariff nonsense. I get the feeling that the US is over-extending itself and this maybe all down to Trump himself but I like to think that there must saner voices operating on the Beltway, or is this just wishful thinking on my part?
Please don’t perpetuate horrific neocon propaganda terms such as “decapitation”.
What’s is being referred to is assassination of national leaders of nations not at war. Which is illegal according to international law. And last I remember from history, is what sparked World War I.
The American High Command and their Quite Insane Commander In Chief have learned nothing from American involvement in unnecessary WARS, Korea was unnecessary, The American War on Vietnam was unnecessary calling this conflict The Vietnam War is completely misguided America Declared War on Vietnam and Wasted Generations of Fine Young Men in a War their Teenagers couldn’t WIN these Heroic Brave Soldiers didn’t know who the enemy was. The Whitehouse the Pentagon and CIA sent these Poor Laddies to Die for a Worthless Corrupt South Vietnamese Dictator and his Corrupt Generals and Government into the Jungles and Valley’ Mountains and Paddy Fields they went questioning why and what the Fuck they were doing there some came home in Bags some came home horribly maimed most of these Brave Young Guys were Spat on had bags of dog shit thrown at them Bags of Human Shit thrown at them hit with rocks potatoes tomatoes and eggs. This was done by Scumbags not fit to breathe in the air these returning Laddies sucked into their Lungs no wonder they were Mentally Scarred to receive this treatment from their own People after doing terrible things and seeing what was done to their Brothers in Arms to be treated like this by Hippies a group of drug addicts and COWARDS who evaded going into this War I can understand why they didn’t want to go what I don’t understand is why they treated these Returning Soldiers like they did this I will Never Forget or Forgive they were Scum then and even if they are Priests Ministers or even Congressmen today they are still SCUM NOW. I am from Scotland and I felt bad for the Laddies then because these Brave Young Men were the same age as Myself when the Lunatics in the Whitehouse Sacrificed these Guys for NOTHING and I still feel the same today And like the Veterans I am heading towards my Finish Line Our Road is getting Shorter Guys and Mine was Much Much Easier than Theirs Good Luck To Them Who are Left. My Thoughts and Prayers are with them all and with their Mates who were Captured and never saw their Loved Ones Mates and Homeland again. Iran will be another pointless War and Waste of the Future for so so many Do not Allow Them to Do this it is Complete Madness.
Crooke mentioned a piece on Substack in the first half of the video but I can’t seem to find what he was talking about - anyone know?
I think he was referring to a post in his Conflicts Forum Substack but I’m not sure which one.
https://substack.com/@conflictsforum?r=7zux5&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile
Thank you!!