Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Months ago, the administration said the war’s goals were regime change and the removal of all uranium from Iran. We never hear about that anymore because the war has failed to produce either goal. Instead, Trump calls for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which had been open before the war.

0:00 Intro and overall assessment
4:30 What the war was originally supposed to accomplish
6:04 Why the US can't climb the escalation ladder
7:58 The goals now: reopen the strait and save face
10:45 Iran stops negotiating — who's actually winning
15:27 The munitions shortage explained
21:13 Camp David and the decision not to bomb
25:38 Has Mearsheimer been proven right?
30:49 Realism, Rothbard, and the war system
38:06 Are Ukraine and the Middle East merging into one war?
44:15 The parable of the old man and the lost horse
45:53 Young Americans souring on intervention

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