Friday, February 27, 2026

Deal or No Deal

The fortnight ended on February 28, 2026, interesting news items to look at for the past two weeks are:

1. Deal or No Deal: Has anyone been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for a major war to erupt in the Middle East?  If they have been, then it was an awful waste of time and energy. All the movement and display of military assets was, as some analysts say, a Kabuki theatre. (Fig. 1).


Kabuki is a 400-year-old traditional Japanese performing art renowned for its highly stylized drama, elaborate costumes, and dramatic makeup (keshō). Performed exclusively by male actors—including those specializing in female roles (onnagata)—it combines dance, music, and mime to depict historical events and moral conflicts. On my January 31st  2025 Blog, I listed 5 reasons why I think a US strike was unlikely and that the chips are stacked as a bluff. Shall we see what hands the opposing team holds? (Fig. 2).

What I asked Germini AI to draw is a suit called “Pretty without a Kicker” - a strong suit on the 4 cards revealed, but the hidden card was a spoiler.

(i) The Zionist Suit: After the 2025 12 day war, the Arab world understood that Israel, with a small land mass and dense population, could not sustain a full-scale missile retaliation by Iran. If I had read Natanyahu correctly, the urgency to finish Iran was with presumptions that (a) Trump is the last US President he can manipulate for a full-scale attack on Iran. (b) Natanyahu had gone all in with Mossad and CIA “agent provocateur” assets to destabilize Iran for a regime change. (c) Both Israel and US believed in an opinion poll funded by USAID and National Endowment for Democracy that 80% of the Iranian population would rise up in rebellion against an unstable theocratic government. The hope was chaos instigated by “agent provocateurs”  would cause the Iranian administration to crumble, weaken its defense and made easy a decapitation strike. 

In my opinion, the flaws in Natanyahu’s plan were (a) Had Natanyahu and his settler colonists backers truly followed the Old Testament, he would have known from Isaiah 13:17 that the Iranians could not be corrupted like the Venezuelans nor the Iraqis and shut down their defense to the barbarians. (Fig. 3)


and (b) That Geo-security concerns would prompt Iran to full Russian and Chinese support that not only neutralized CIA embedded Starlink communications but allowed total incapacitation  of the CIA and Mossad agents planted in situ in Iran.  

For Trump, he was put on the spot by Natanyahu because the 2025 bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities was a failure despite Trump’s claim was a total annihilation. Any US involvement with a ME armed conflict would make a mockery of the US National Security Strategy released only December 4 2025, the “Donroe Doctrine”. (Fig. 4).


Insiders familiar with the war plan development leaked that Natanyahu threatened Trump that like it or not Israel would go alone if necessary and when faced with an Iranian retaliation, the Zionists backers in the US Senate, Congress and the Executive Branch would force Trump to intervene anyway. So Trump was reluctantly dragged into the conflict but conditional upon (a) the regime change destabilization effort would be effective and (b) the deployment of US military assets would only be auxiliary as a pressure tactic.

Reluctance by Trump was not without reasons because (i) The US Military Industrial Complex is deficient of a serge capacity in the event of a peers war. Capacity for standard onboard battleship air defence missiles, the SM-3 and SM-6 by Raytheon is only 600 per year.  Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has purposely leaked that depleted U.S. munitions stocks and limited allied support pose an acute risk to any Iran operation. (Fig. 5).


Iran with an arsenal of over 2000 missiles and thousands of battle hardened drones could totally deplete air defense for the two US Carrier Strike Groups within days. With a standard complement of around 300 anti air missiles per US Carrier Strike Group and it will take at least two interceptors for every incoming sortie, the odds are not in favor for the massive floating targets. For students who followed the truce between the Houthis and the US in May 2025, the memory is still fresh that the two US Carrier Strike Groups (Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Groups) could not even defeat the unsophisticated armed militias after 6 months. (ii) The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League Countries have denied use of their air base to launch an attack on Iran. (Fig. 6).

 The logistical nightmare is even with Jordan and Saudi Arabia cooperation, the flight distance from the Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan and Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia far exceeded the combat radius of F16, F22 and F35 and hence require midair refueling. (Fig. 7).

The refueling tankers are not stealth equipped and hence makes these fighter jets and bombers visible. F15 has a longer combat radius but is not a stealth fighter. Once West Asia airbases are off limits, the only available platforms to launch an air strike would be Israel and the two aircraft carriers. (Fig. 8).

The same flight path calculations apply and with a reduced efficiency. The USS Abraham Lincoln is a 36 years old craft with legacy jet takeoffs and landings whilst in theory the USS Gerald Ford is equipped with electric catapults but the catapults has not been functioning properly and can only launch F35. Gerald Ford’s runway is known to be too short for jet fighters like F15, F16 and F22s. Please note the narration above is all from open source and what would be the combined intelligence of Iran, Russia and China but every US airbase, equipment and movements tracked and measured.

(ii) The Iranian Suit: US sanctions against Iran has been in place since November 1979 for over 45 years. Despite numerous attempts using extreme pressures, like the 8 year Iraq and Iranian war, for regime change, Iran survived and developed a formidable attack arsenal of home grown drones and missiles on minimum resources. Iran like China is an ancient civilization state of Medo-Persian origin from BC550 and with it deep human intelligence, culture and conviction. The 12 day war in 2025 has proved modern expensive military assets of US and Israel could not prevail over Iran. Whereas in 2025 Iranian hubris of self determination has prevented the government initially from seeking help from Russia and China, since that time, the existential threat has prompted Iran to open her doors fully to other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. As China and Russia do not want escalation into WWIII or even a major regional war, the military assets provided were defensive in nature but will prove adequate but not excessive. It is believed that China had provided YLC-8B anti-stealth radar that are linked to the military grade BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) capable of spotting all US stealth aircraft up a radius of 700Km. Independent analysts like Alastair Crooke and Pepe Escobar both commented the Chinese had enabled the system to support existing Iranian missiles and the upgrade will pose a serious threat to US and Israeli offensive air assets. It is believed that Russia has provided S300 and S400 air defense systems. All these together will inflict unavoidable heavy casualties to any and all incoming aggressors.

The political objective for Iran/Russia/China is simple enough, Iran does not need to win a war with Israel and US but what has been been put in place will be more than enough to defeat a Natanyahu Prime Ministership and Trump Presidency.

(iii) Stop Press: Both US and China has called for an NEO (“Noncombatant Evacuation Operation) of its key ME Embassies and there is wide speculation that an attack will be launched this weekend. My Christian worldview is WWIII is close but not yet.  

A month ago I posted the following chart which showed a US Current Account Annual and Cumulative Deficit of $1.2 trillion and $31.5 trillion. (Fig. 9).


There is only one country in the world capable of funding the looming US Deficit and that country is China. In an absence of China to the party, US will need to gobble up a middle power country the size of Netherlands or Saudi Arabia each and every year. This explains the desperation and hunger of the US Empire and its attitude towards Venezuela, Denmark, Canada and Iran since Liberation Day. US has crossed the Rubicon and WWIII will happen. My prognosis is however, hyperinflation will come first and we have less than one year to prepare. Be forewarned and keep safe.

Isaiah 13:17  "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18  Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. 19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20  It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there. 21  But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there.22  The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged." 

 

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Painted into A Corner

The fortnight ended on February 14, 2026, interesting news items to look at for the past two weeks are:

1. Painted into A Corner: I suppose few could imagine the speed with which Donald Trump had painted himself into a corner in just the first month of 2026. (Fig. 1).


Two years ago in February 3 2024 I posted the US Administration and the Military had insufficient bandwidth to deal with all the issues coming at it. Rather than admitting failures and re-prioritize allocations, third rate politicians in seeking self preservation often double down and make bad choices for short term optics and accelerate their decline. (Fig. 2).

This is especially true for persons with a n
arcissistic personality disorder (NPD). NPD is a mental health condition characterized by a long-term pattern of grandiosity, an overwhelming need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. Individuals with NPD often possess a fragile self-esteem, are sensitive to criticism, and frequently exploit others to maintain their superior image, causing significant distress in relationships and daily functioning. Let’s take a closer look at current events with a view to estimate a timing for the decline of the Anglo American Empire.

(a) Iran -  Despite sensational MSM headlines as to an immanent attack against Iran by US in late January and early days of February, 2026, the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group actually pulled back 1400 Km away from Iranian waters. (Fig. 3).


In the previous Blog we reported that China and Russia will not sit idle and watch US/Israel destroy Iran and place a military stranglehold on oil supplies and key logistics choke points in the Middle East. By a public display of satellite images of US military ground and naval assets targeting Iran, China is letting the West understand she will not entertain untoward decorum in a resource war. (Fig. 4).

With a likely deployment of Russian S300 and China HQ-9E anti-air missile system in Iran, neither US nor Israel could just walk all over Iran with its fighter jets and bombers similar to the June 12 day war in 2024. (Fig. 5).  

We have previously highlighted the obstacles US and Israel is facing in a kinetic war with Iran. For US and Trump in particular, a war with Iran would risks losing Israel and all the US  military base in the ME. The consequence is a handing over of dominance in the region to Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, both countries have aspirations to join BRICS. Yes, Iran may become a failed state but like Iraq and Afghanistan, complete US control will not be possible even with US troops stationed in situ. For Trump’s Zionists backers, anything short of a sudden and complete destruction of Iran without retaliation against Israel will be considered a failure and thereby jeopardize Trump’s mid term election. The 1999 Kosovo war showed Serbia was able to withstand 78 days of continuous US bombing without degradation of her air defense. This time round Iran will be a far tougher combatant and US military supplies and logistics much more stretched as compared with Serbia. Should Trump double down ? Even assuming a victory over Iran, US would have left herself exposed to other adversaries who would rise up and challenge US in a then weakened state.

As we stand back and watch how situations develop, it was obvious that Trump made important decisions on strategic power plays on the fly. Different parties of vested interests are pushing the US military in opposing geographical directions and there neither was time nor resources for White House to follow through with any single agenda.  The latest rumor is for the Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to leave the Caribbeans for deployment in the ME. (Fig. 6)


Honestly, has Project Venezuela been declared “Mission Accomplished”. Has the “Pirates of the Caribbean” return home with the bounty. (Fig. 7).


(b) Project Venezuela - Trump’s donor Vitol is offering China Petroleum Venezuelan oil at a discount to Brent. (Fig. 8).


China Petroleum naturally declined. So much for trying to choke China oil supplies from Venezuela. Guess it is not easy to cream off Venezuela when there is no other buyer around except China.

(c) Governor Carney - The International Go Federation Hall of Fame welcomes new entrant Canadian PM Mark Carney as a distinguished Go Player. Carney joins such luminaries as Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin who have inspired millions in their cool, calm and collected moves against bully checker players. (Fig. 9).


Joking aside, Canada just counter US tariff threats with a squeeze of electricity export to North East US, vital gas and oil supplies and green aluminum that may cause a cardiac arrest for major industries in US.

On another Platform, Donald Trump was awarded the 2026 Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Trophy for his amazing ability to create satires so naturally without premeditation. (Fig, 10).


2. Debt Death Spiral and Super Commodity Cycle - (Fig. 11). We have tabled the Chart before but now updated with Treasury and Fed numbers to November 2025. (usually two months time lag).


As predicted in my Blog dated November 7 2025, the Fed started QE in early December because the US Government exhausted all the purchasing power of US domestic bond buyers as net new Treasury issues overwhelmed money supply. (Fig. 12).

No matter how the Fed spin the debt monetization as just a technical issue to ensure ample liquidity in the financial markets, students of financial markets are all aware insufficient demand has plagued the Treasury market for years. The sad saga is even with camouflaging synthetic bond demand using Cayman Island Hedge Funds and Swaps Treasury has run out of elbow room. (Fig. 13).

The telltale sign is US has to export an increasing quantity of non-monetary gold for cash when virtually all Central Banks are adding gold to the national reserves. (Fig. 14).

At $5000/oz, the entire value of annual US Gold mine production is approximately $25 billion which is not much more than one month export of US Non-monetary gold. Ever wonder why Fort Knox gold is never audited.

So from 2025, resources took on a new meaning as the world woke up finally that government promissory notes and bonds depreciates as soon as it is printed. Hyperinflation is coming this year because universal QE is baked in to avoid payment default by G7 nations. The Vault Project is a prime example as government will borrow, print, pirate and kill to secure real tangible resources. The hype on AI, Mag 7 and Crypto has lost all momentum the struggle for resource is here (Fig. 15).


Ecclesiastes 3:1  To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2  A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3  A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4  A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5  A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6  A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7  A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8  A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.