RE:RE:RE:RE:Possible Mideast WarQWERTY,
Ironically, the big winner here may be domestic US oil producers, benefitting from sky high oil prices. They are immune to Iranian attack. Talk about the law of unintended consequences. The attacks on Saudi production facilities would put more money in the pockets of US oil producers from higher prices, and contribute nothing to Iran’s bottom line. They still can’t sell any oil. And the more Saudi crude they remove from the market, the more money the USA makes. I don’t see any reason for Trump to back down. He’ll fight to the last Saudi, provided they’re willing.
I think the sanctions must be effective, or else why seize oil tankers and launch cruise missile/drone strikes on oil production facilities? If sanctions were not hurting, they would just shrug their shoulders, and blow it off. Also, the success of sanctions depends on what you consider “effective”. If the goal is complete surrender, then that’s not at all realistic. Why would they ever do that? If your goal is to deny the enemy resources, (they are currently losing income from 2.5 million barrels a day), then sanctions are successful. It’s not all or nothing. A permanently weakened enemy is not an undesirable outcome from a military standpoint. Of course, you’re right. What happens next is anyone’s guess.