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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   696 thread views

Transnational Thursday for March 12, 2026

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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As we speak, Trump is trying (bitching on truth social) to marshal a global coalition to reopen the straits of Hormuz. Nobody has shown up.

There are 2 US carrier groups in the region. Even they aren't brave enough to go in close to Iran and open up the straits.

If the IRGC are incompetent, then what is there to be afraid of? Why should the US and Israel need to call for help in this war? Coalition-building clearly wasn't part of the plan before the war, Trump spent much of his time sneering at Europe. It seems that only very recently has Trump discovered a need for allies...

The next day, he rhetorically drives more of a wedge between the US and the rest of NATO again, having already discarded the thought that allies may be very useful in the future too.

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