Sounds like another idiot has been reading Putin's playbook from 2022.

#30 | Posted by NerfHerder at 2026-03-31 02:52 PM | Reply | Flag:

The MAGA fans want to simply erase Kharg, watch the gulf infrastructure get crippled, and don't care about oil prices while Trump is in office.

If the marines seize kharg island how is that still Iran's paychecks?

#31 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-31 02:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

If it's intact they can negotiate it back. If it's not because they obliterated their own oil terminal, their government is short 40% funding for the next 20+ years.

Kharg, kharg, kharg, yeah lets go capture and defend a postage stamp with oil tanks.

Lets definitely not go to the island that dominates the gulf's chokepoint, has runways, breakwaters, stormable beaches, allows us to drastically reduce troop density from missile and drone attacks, forward deploys C-RAMS and interceptors, has a short naval ferry range for reinforcement, and has a central hill range to hide on the reverse slope of...

Anyways you feint Kharg and go to Qeshm.

Today the US destroyed the desalinization plants on Qeshm, which is what you would do if you want to depopulate it in advance.

Can't imagine how excited the IRGC will be to blow up their paychecks.

"We like you, but we don't like you as much as we hate being cold."

Not without an orbital nuke. They're micro satellite constellations with distributed synthetic aperture radar.

Much more distressing, the USAF spent 16x what that E-3 cost and 16 years on next gen GPS software that doesn't work.

"North Korea is considered a major global repository of mineral wealth, with total estimated reserves valued between $6 trillion and $10 trillion. It boasts significant rankings in several key minerals, including the world's 2nd largest reserves of magnesite (after China), top-tier reserves of tungsten and graphite, and vast deposits of iron ore, zinc, and gold."

Hope you boys like kimchi.

How will your military option prevent Iran from sending drones or missiles to any of the numerous gulf ports or at any of the oil infrastructure?

#98 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 04:26 PM | Reply | Flag:

You have to conquer Shiraz. Now we're talking a million boots on the ground. Infrastructure gets written it off to attrition over time. None of that infrastructure has any long term strategic value anymore, only short term economics.

Did our mission just completely diverge? Yes.

Also to an earlier point, what happens when Israeli runs out of interceptors? Missile hits accumulate, and then the IDF burns Tehran to the ground. They might nuke them. Interceptors are the only thing checking escalation.

All the Houthis have to do is threaten tankers and sea traffic will grind to a halt.
#107 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2026-03-28 11:42 PM | Reply | Flag

They already did, and it did not grind to a halt.

"In the current conflict, an E-3 might see an incoming Iranian Shahed drone launched 200 miles away about 85 minutes sooner than ground-based radar, Layton said."

#4 | Posted by censored at 2026-03-30 10:00 AM | Reply | Flag:

Analyst neglected to mention the E-3 is being phased because of space based sensor platforms. Biden admin wasn't stupid in this choice.

#4 | Posted by censored at 2026-03-30 10:00 AM | Reply | Flag:

The KC-135 destroyed is a serious loss. E-3 was on the way out, E-2 & E-7 are in.

The Biden admin began retiring these in March 2023. They're 50.

How would you get the Strait of Hormuz opened?

#88 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 03:42 PM | Reply | Flag:

Never start this in the first place? We're led by -------.

--- for tat escalation? Send an empty VLCC through with no crew. If small boats come out they'll have a really bad day. If cruise missiles or drones hit it, do equal damage to Kharg. Let them cut their own throats at the expense of internationally flagged, empty cargo ships.

Has to be militarily? Put 2 USMC divisions on Qeshm Island. Drop the 82nd and 101st with them on the airfield. This is what these forces are built for. Reinforce the airhead and establish artillery dominance using HIMARS and 105 counter-battery fire. Now we can suppress Bandar Abbas proper. South then West & East simultaneously from the airport, the next 3 towns have breakwaters harbors. Begin bringing up supplies for wave 2, USMC divisions hit Persia Hormoz shipyards, Rajaei Port, and Bandar Abbas itself. The Iranians will love how much Freedom the marine corp delivers.

Are you aware that every day Israeli wounded from Iranian and Hezbollah missiles, drones and rockets increases?
What does that tell you about the "most successful air defense network in history"?
What will happen when Israel runs out of air defense missiles?

#87 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 03:39 PM | Reply | Flag:

It says clearly it's the most successful air defense network in history. If it wasn't there would be tens of thousands of dead Israelis and zero gulf infrastructure remaining.

Hezbollah in particular isn't doing anything successful offensively. They managed to lightly damage 1 Merkava in Southern Lebanon. It's raining bombs there at a level that makes Iran look peaceful.

When you run low, emergency war production kicks in, production rush catches up to lead time, and surpluses form. Modern war for you, the US just went +400% on THAAD interceptor production and is pushing an all around production ramp on munitions that makes the cold war build up look small and has been in motion across multiple administrations.

1 missile will cause huge impact on operations.

#81 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 03:35 PM | Reply | Flag:

Yes, the great impact of 1 missile, headed into the densest, most successful air defense network in history.

No. Iran surrogates immediately went offensive when this started. They got heavily bombed in response. Yemen is just late to the party, and now their missile supply line doesn't exist.

It was just a random example of some action Iran could have taken

#79 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 03:30 PM | Reply | Flag:
(Choose)

"Here's some ---- I just made up, but haven't ever looked at the maps."

Just open a map. The livemaps will tell you exactly what's going on.

Last time they attacked 190 ships using at least 400 missiles, mixed Anti-Ship Cruise missiles, Anti-Ship Ballstic Missiles, and hundreds of one-way fixed wing drones. They sank 2 cargo ships. The Persian Gulf is a bottle where Iran can easily shoot things at you when you try to leave it. The Red Sea you just go around, costs you 10 days in extra shipping time.

We could abandon the religious fanatics altogether

#74 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-03-28 03:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Then you cede the leading edge of US hegemony to Russian interests in favor of isolationism.

You're like 80% of the way to a MAGA platform plank, but with most plastic and less coal.

Yemen fired 1 missile.

With Iran now definitively able to close the strait, the Sunni powers will move to buried pipelines. They'll run through Jordan, occupied Southern Syria, Israel into the Med and circumvent the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. Religious fanatics on one side aren't going to be held economically hostage by religious fanatics on the other side forever.

or Iran raided Kuwait or something

#66 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-28 03:06 AM | Reply

Their supply line would run through Basra, the third largest city in Iraq. They'd have to come down the actual Highway of Death, in the open, in the face of the USAF and IDF.

I had to cancel some travel plans. I'm not sitting through that but I'm also not going to drive 20 hours one way.

Local news said here they have closed I believe 90% of checkpoints. No clear, no pre, only regular checkpoints at two out of five terminals.