this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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The demonstrations, which were sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have been met with a crackdown by Iran's Islamic regime. Donald Trump has said the US will hit Iran "very hard" if protesters are killed.

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[–] runsmooth@kopitalk.net 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

From what I understand, Venezuela, Canada, and Russia are the primary suppliers of heavy crude. Even after so-called embargoes against Russia for the Ukraine-Russia conflict, ghost ships are still able to get product to market.

As for Iran, I'm not sure the US can even hold Iran, given their track record in Afghanistan and elsewhere. As it turns out, occupying another country requires huge troop deployments over decades.

Also, China's built out relations through the Belts and Roads Initiative, meaning they've diversified the markets they can access.

One alternative plan, from an outsider's point of view, is that the US has engaged in a long standing strategy of wealth transfer from its middle classes to its wealthy upper classes over decades. They're in the process of breaking down their country for sale to its billionaire classes. While on paper it looks like a coup, the structure of the US suggests that the whole thing comes down with a whimper instead of a bang.

I suspect the billionaires are just waiting to see if they can get away with stealing the US, without the American people rising up and charging them for treason.

[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just because it's a bad strategy doesn't mean they won't try it. In trying to figure out this administration's next moves, using faulty logic might actually help. Kind of a, "if I were an idiot, what would I do," sort of thing.

[–] runsmooth@kopitalk.net 1 points 2 days ago

If this were a terrible cake of mixed motives, one would be to throw out or damage the Epstein files in such a way that no one involved with those allegations can be tried.

Second, obtain war funding (Venezeula) to secure a coup, or to at least hold a significant portion of the the US indefinitely.

Third, in the event of complete failure, extort and move as much money out of the country that can resist tracing or recovery. Exit planning to leave the US on emergency basis.

I keep these three points in mind while looking at the Trump Administration.