Saturday Roundup 2/14/26

In what world does this make sense? The obvious intent is to keep pushing at China in China’s own backyard. We’re doing this at a time when the US is still pushing toward a major war on Iran that will keep us fully occupied and heavily depleted—in defiance of the overwhelming will of We the People. I guarantee, the American people do not want war with Iran, with China, with Russia—or anywhere else I can readily imagine. No, not Greenland, either. But if we keep provoking China we will get a response at some point:

US-Controlled ATACMS Missiles Deployed In South China Sea, 10km Off China’s Mainland

When he says “in the South China Sea” he means on the Matsu Islands that I wrote about here: Remember Quemoy And Matsu?

The entire article is worth reading, but here’s the key—which I wrote about in this post: What Will China Do?

Mere days after the US-backed government in Taipei launched the so-called Joint Firepower Coordination Center (JFCC), defined as “an enhanced firepower coordination effort in close cooperation with the United States”, multirole sources have confirmed that the Chinese breakaway island province of Taiwan is deploying the overhyped and exorbitantly overpriced M142 HIMARS MLRS (multiple launch rocket system) to the islands of Penghu and Dongyin.

The point is that “Taiwan” is deploying US missiles that remain under US control only 10km from the Chinese mainland—never mind that Taiwan is simply a province of China to begin with.

On to Iran, and it looks like the stand down was quite temporary.

The original announcement was that the HWBush CSG would be deployed immediately. Cancel that—it’s gonna be the Ford, which has already been on deployment for 8 months. Given that 9 months is the typical max deployment for a CSG, the likely conclusion is a war on Iran within a month. Imagine the morale in the navy with these extended deployments—probably lower than whale shit. This first post suggests—very plausibly IMO—that direct action by the WH was required to overcome objections from the USN:

Eyal Ofer אייל עופר @Eyalo365·

Feb 13

The White House has recalculated its timeline and directed Navy leadership to devise a solution under a significantly compressed schedule.

As someone who closely tracks U.S. Navy carrier operations, it is hard to overlook the exceptional nature of the decision to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford. In my view, this reflects a marked shift in the White House’s strategic perspective—one imposed as a constraint on naval commanders, who, I believe, had no intention of sending the Ford at this juncture. This constraint suggests that President Trump is accelerating the timetable for potential military action, though we are likely still at least two weeks away from any strike. Here is why:

1. The USS George H.W. Bush has not yet completed its COMPTUEX (Composite Training Unit Exercise), the culminating certification drill that prepares a carrier strike group to defend against threats to the carrier and conduct full-spectrum operations. Without it, no carrier deploys for combat missions. Had planners waited for the Bush to finish, it would have taken her roughly another month to reach the region.

2. The Ford deployed on its current mission on June 24, 2025—eight months ago. Typical carrier deployments last up to nine months at most, meaning the Ford should have been heading home by March 24 at the latest, or—if extended—departing the Middle East (after arriving) within about a month of on-station time. That window has already closed.

3. Beyond the strain on the crew—who have not seen home in eight months and are now being sent on a new mission (with the round-trip transit to the Crete/Cyprus area alone taking roughly a month)—the Ford continues to grapple with persistent engineering issues in its vacuum collection, holding, and transfer (VCHT) sewage system, which require port-side maintenance to resolve properly.

Someone at the White House has evidently rerun the numbers and instructed Navy leadership to find a workable path forward on an expedited basis.

Another factor is that the fundamentals remain the same:

Iran war described as ‘biggest opportunity’ at US oil lobby’s DC summit

An attendee told The Grayzone that oil industry heavyweights were less excited about Trump’s Venezuela policy, privately complaining about the President’s aggressive push to restart their operations.

From the stage at Washington DC’s Anthem theater, veteran industry consultant Bob McNally of the Rapidan Energy Group could not contain his excitement over the prospect of toppling the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Iran holds the biggest promise as well, though they’re the biggest risk, but the biggest opportunity,” McNally proclaimed. ... If you can imagine our industry going back there, we would get a lot more oil, a lot sooner than we will out of Venezuela.”

According to McNally, who formerly advised President George W. Bush on energy policy, a US regime change war on Iran would be a “terrible day for Moscow, [a] wonderful day for the Iranians, the United States, the oil industry and world peace.”

Everyone in the USN must be fully aware that the welfare of USN personnel comes in a distant second to the demands of Jewish Nationalists.

Rosie’s 50k DOW Dollars! @DarnelSugarfoo

Feb 12

Anthony Blinken ran the Biden administration.

Howard Lutnick runs the Trump administration.

We don’t have Presidents anymore. We have Mossad handlers.

The Meme-Industrial Complex @MemeIndustrial

Feb 12

Antony Blinken is a Mossad asset if not agent and was the de facto US President (along with Jake Sullivan) from Jan 2021 to Jan 2025, while Kamala Harris was busy being drunk and incompetent and Joe Biden was busy shitting himself x.com/HBendaas/statu…

Hamid Bendaas @HBendaas

Feb 12

Once again throwing out the almost unbelievable fact that Antony Blinken’s stepfather Samuel Pisar was a longtime lawyer for Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwells’s father, and reportedly the last person to see Robert Maxwell alive. Afterward he became an advisor to Jeffrey Epstein x.com/casestudyqb/st…

The Meme-Industrial Complex @MemeIndustrial

Feb 12

So Blinken’s stepdad Pisar was Robert Maxwell’s lawyer & supposedly ‘the last guy’ to see him alive.. Epstein emailed how Mossad waxed Maxwell after he tried to blackmail them for $400 mil. Pisar goes on to aid Epstein. Blinken goes on to do Israel’s Final Solution. Small world!

Military considerations:

Exclusive: US military preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

…

The planning under way this time is more complex, the officials said.

In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The official declined to provide specific details.

Experts say the risks to U.S. forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.

The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over time.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict.

Will Schryver @imetatronink

10h

To me, the key indicator - beginning in the first hours of conflict - will be the degree to which US/Israeli targets are getting hit.

Iran will be able to almost immediately detect US aircraft and Tomahawk launches -- and, depending on where in Iran is being targeted, from launch to strike will take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3+ hours.

Iranian SRBMs [short range ballistic missiles] can hit US bases in the region within 5-7 minutes.

Therefore, Iran can very conceivably achieve multiple significant strikes against US targets long before US munitions hit any targets in Iran.