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This is more geopolitical than culture war. There is a guy with naval experience that has been writing a theory that the US does not want to open the Straight of Hormuz. And Trump has hinted at the thesis. Especially Europe but the rest of the world has depended on the US to keep global shipping open. Europe also looks down on the US as Neanderthals. They do not have the guns to go do things like reopen the Straight and are dependent on the Americans. The US does not directly suffer from the closure as we do Neanderthal things like put little straws in the ground all over Texas sucking oil out of the ground. Europe hurts much more than the modern US today in an energy crisis (US may be net winner).
Besides being a nice FU to Europe it also exposes their geopolitical weaknesses as real. Which hopefully gets them to do things like build big guns, drill for oil, restart nuclear programs, forget Greta ever existed, etc. Which long-term I believe a strong Europe is in Americas interests. America’s relationship with Europe historically and especially Dems has been to go over there and talk nicely to them. Trump has a different philosophy which is basically poke them with a stick. On immigration it does seem like Europe is getting better.
And here is the article. [https://gcaptain.com/the-hormuz-hypothesis-what-if-the-u-s-navy-isnt-in-a-hurry-to-reopen-the-strait] (The Hormuz Hypothesis)
He talks about it more on his twitter. I am mostly posting this to see if he’s crazy or is this a good example of Trump playing 4D chess.
Edit: Based on early comments FU Europe is appropriately culture war
No, not really.
For one, the whole "Europe freerider reeeeee-" screeching is stupid personal projection onto international relationships; the US would need to have all that thang on 'im no matter what, given that all our shit comes from across two oceans so we need the ability to police the oceans. Given that we needed to have the tools of the hegemon, using them to do hegemon shit came free with our navy, so to speak.
In exchange, we get the consent of europe to do pretty much whatever we want outside their backyard, basing rights, a voting block, an economic ally, the ability to impose our idea of commercial law across most of the world by fiat, and a financial backstop (at least until the cheeto in the Whitehouse and his retard hangers-on started dynamiting the careful work of decades like Hong Xi burning the fleet)
For two, anyone who gives a shit about being looked down on as a Neanderthal is an emotional weakling and deserves to be metaphorically swirlied until they disappear down the drain, never to trouble me with their squeaky voice and bitchy tears again.
It's not even true, on top of that! Yeah, America was looked down on as boorish and uncultured, as a component of (formerly at least) being admired as vigorous, strong, cunning, and forward thinking! (Less so now, unfortunately. We've proven to everyone that no, we are that fucking stupid. It's gonna take another 8 years of an Obama tier genteel speechmaking lawyerly type to wash the stink off.)
Also the irrational personal antipathy toward Greta and not being petro-dependent is crazy to me. You're gonna turn down +/-infinity energy at below market rate because it's woke to not inhale carcinogens and die on average 2 years earlier than you would otherwise?
Just shut up, eat the bug, and install solar panels and a heat pump. It was cheaper for me to wire my tool shed with panels and batteries suitable for a home server, a heat pump, networking gear, resin printer, and a bunch of 240v shop tools than it was to extend new service to it, and I did it with no rebates and after the incentives got cancelled. (admittedly I had a decent amount of the materials just laying around and did all the labor myself and I do need to have a light hand with the bandsaw, allow me my point though)
Heat pumps are ubiquitous in new American construction in red states: most don't get cold enough to need a dedicated gas furnace, and already needed air conditioning. Residential solar isn't ubiquitous, but seems popular on all political sides where it's practical: reds like the off-grid resilience. Combustion-based fuels are powering only about 30% of the grid in Texas today, per ERCOT.
Bugs, though, are probably a bridge too far.
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