199. THE US IS RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS: Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela & the Crisis of American Power

A bombshell leak to the Washington post on Sunday, August 31st, demonstrated that US General Officers in the Pentagon are vying for increasingly finite assets and matériel across Combatant Commands, limiting the military viability of interventions in Iran, Ukraine, and Latin America. This episode examines how and why that is. Here is our general outline: Part 1: Russia–UkraineWhy did the CIA Director urgently fly to Russia?The US trying to freeze the Ukraine conflictNATO’s fragilityCan the US rebuild its industrial base?Part 2: Iran, Sanctions & Economic WarfareThe limits of military forceThe new sanctions / economic isolationIran’s capacity to withstand the warIran’s international partnersPart 3: Venezuela & Latin AmericaSecuring Latin AmericaThe Venezuela dealLong-term objectivesChina & multipolarity in the AmericasFinal synthesis:● The three sections ultimately connect:○ Ukraine: limits of US/NATO military power.○ Iran: limits of US military and financial coercion.○ Venezuela: attempt to compensate by consolidating influence closer to home.● Central question: Is the US adapting to a declining relative position—or attemptingto reverse it through increasingly aggressive economic, military and politicalcoercion?