The Strait of Hormuz is a bending narrow body of water linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman leading out to the Arabian Sea. It separates Iran from the Arabian peninsula. It is of strategic and economic importance as a waterway through which sea traffic, to and from the oil-rich countries of the gulf, must pass. But where is it? On one side of the Arabian Peninsula is the Arabian Sea, which is connected to the Mediterranean by the red Sea. It runs between the Arabian

Horizontal escalation occurs when a state at war, widens the geographic and political scope of the conflict, rather than intensifying it vertically in a single theater of operations. It is especially appealing as a strategy for the weakest side in a military contest. Instead of trying to defeat a stronger adversary head-on, the weaker side multiplies arenas of risk – drawing additional states and economic sectors into the conflict. The Iranian missile and drone barrages that

The “Deep State” is not just corrupt US politicians. It’s a transnational criminal organization that has embedded itself within governments around the globe, and leveraged entire nations to do their bidding. Or as JFK called it, a “secret society” and a “monolithic and ruthless conspiracy”. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources, in the building of a highly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economi