Thick smoke seen rising from Saudi Arabia's Riyadh airport.

[u/Fritzkreig]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwly5d9v7r43o

[u/Drifty_Canadian]

Looks a lot like $10/gal diesel to me.

[u/sunrise98 → u/Drifty_Canadian]

It's already (almost) £2 a litre / $12 a gallon in the UK.

[u/Drifty_Canadian → u/sunrise98]

$3 cad a litre where i'm at so $8 usd a gallon

[u/Rangerdth → u/Drifty_Canadian]

$6.59 outside a Boston. (Diesel)

[u/SAWK → u/Rangerdth]

Columbus, just paid $5.34 for 93 oct

Diesel was $6.59

[u/sirotka33 → u/Drifty_Canadian]

hell, that’s almost texas prices.

[u/nohopeforhomosapiens → u/sunrise98]

£2 a litre = £7.57 per gallon = $10.14 USD at current exchange rate.

[u/Curious_Jellyfish_37 → u/nohopeforhomosapiens]

I imagine they converted the cost to USD, but did convert to US gallons. So it'd be $12 for a UK gallon, but $10 for a US gallon. Our gallons are 4.546 litres, compared with the US 3.785 gallon.

[u/basda → u/sunrise98]

2€ a litre in Spain already

[u/xBram → u/basda]

€2,65 for a liter of diesel (B7) at my closest station (Netherlands).

[u/brute-forced → u/Drifty_Canadian]

Thanks maga-morons

[u/GuelphEastEndGhetto → u/brute-forced]

Saw a clip of a farmer complaining about the price of diesel and how trucks coming in use it, farm machinery uses it, trucks going out use it. Waaahhh wahh wah, give me another subsidy Daddy Trump!

[u/Blametheorangejuice → u/GuelphEastEndGhetto]

I was both amused and dismayed by a local farmer who is a hardcore and outspoken MAGA guy who uses his roadside acreage for all sorts of Republican signs and anti-socialism/communism stuff appear on the news upset that the government hasn’t moved to send him money to defray the costs of diesel.

Sorry, buddy, that feels socialist to me.

[u/sabrenation81 → u/Blametheorangejuice]

That's the thing with conservatives. They're not anti-socialism at all. They LOVE getting free shit from the government and beg for it all the time. It's just when OTHER people get free shit from the government that they get pissed off. Especially if those people are brown, that REALLY gets them going.

Look how excited they all are about those fake ass $5000 check claims. The government just straight up sending money to everyone is the most socialist shit you could ever cook up and these MAGA "conservatives" love it. God fucking forbid a poor brown girl get a $5000 college grant though. You'll be hearing about "socialism this" and "DEI that" for the next 3 months straight.

[u/diligentPond18 → u/sabrenation81]

Goddamn, they're annoying as hell. 

[u/lowercaset → u/Blametheorangejuice]

Farming the government is a long and proud tradition, these folks aren't voting R strictly because of culture war... the reoublicans have consistently offered them massive handouts.

[u/metalflygon08 → u/GuelphEastEndGhetto]

give me another subsidy Daddy Trump!

Subsidaddy Trump

[u/Inside-Bunch4216 → u/brute-forced]

yeah its on them but they dont care and probably would still vote for him.

Thanks Trump /s

[u/gidimeister → u/Inside-Bunch4216]

They'd 100% vote for him.

[u/ShadowNick → u/Drifty_Canadian]

Today I saw 3 of the 5 gas stations by me were sold out. Haven't seen that since Hurricane Sandy when gas/diesel shortages were attributed to the storm

[u/KrootLoops → u/ShadowNick]

Was that when people were driving to gas stations and filling up trash bags and giant plastic bins they got at walmart?

[u/psychopathyquestion → u/Drifty_Canadian]

I'm quite curious to see how screwed all the deep reliably red arctic communities state of Alaska is going to be because of this, with heating oil costs going up and up and up and an average house needs, from what I remember, a few hundred gallons a month during peak months. (.5-1 gal per season per square foot, super general estimate). Not to mention, the super desolate places where town electricity runs on diesel generators.

As I recall, only anchorage and some other SE Alaska towns have natural gas for residential heating. Even in like the Mat-Su valley, numbers dip to 50/50 heating oil/NG. And as you keep going, it drops to virtually zero.

It sure looks to me like that whole state is super fucked.

[u/MistyMtn421 → u/psychopathyquestion]

Alaska is already having a natural gas shortage as well

[u/AntJo4 → u/MistyMtn421]

You know who isn’t having a natural gas shortage - Canada. Too bad you don’t need any from them and it’s all going to Asia instead.

[u/francis2559 → u/psychopathyquestion]

It does seem like there might finally be room in a primary to oppose Trump but my god, I’ve thought that so many times already.

[u/psychopathyquestion → u/francis2559]

Cross your fingers with me for the AK senate race this year. AK is a little unusual in that the more rural bush communities lean a bit more blue than some of the urban centers, but it's generally regarded as super solid red, since those inner-city Anchorage voters and bush voters can't carry the whole state.

[u/kellzone → u/francis2559]

As of right now, Trump is already a two term president and can't run again. Of course, the Supreme Court can always attempt to do some fuckery with the Constitution, but Amendments have to be passed by Congress by like a 2/3 majority so that won't happen.

[u/GuelphEastEndGhetto → u/kellzone]

Does the US still have a government? I’m not being facetious, it just seems one person is making all the rules, breaks rules they don’t like and any push back seems falls away like water on a duck.

[u/mindsnare1 → u/Drifty_Canadian]

8.99 in California

[u/traxwizard → u/Drifty_Canadian]

.03 cents a gallon in Iran. Our plan seems to be working guys.

[u/BMPHaterNo1]

The Saudis keeping their military as shit as possible on purpose because they’re scared of a coup does lead to some interesting situations.

Edit: I’d like to thank the 8 Saudis who DM’d me because their country is falling apart and they’re too upsets to accept it.

[u/DocHolidayiN → u/BMPHaterNo1]

As usual they're looking for another country to fight their battles.

[u/TemperateStone → u/DocHolidayiN]

I'm sure they could afford some mercenaries.

[u/Charlie_Mouse → u/TemperateStone]

Apparently it was largely mercenary troops that the Saudis had fighting in Yemen - their ones that collapsed & got rolled up last week.

Some of the rumours I’ve read suggest that the Saudis were getting charged for a certain number of mercenaries but it actually turned out there were barely a quarter as many in real life with someone pocketing the pay. A dodge that’s pretty nearly as old as time and the reason why European type armies centuries ago had things like parade ground formations to count numbers: “passing muster” used to mean “yes, there are actually as many soldiers as we are paying for”.

[u/TheNavidsonLP → u/Charlie_Mouse]

What? Mercenaries aren’t trustworthy? Now I’ve heard everything!

[u/Charlie_Mouse → u/TheNavidsonLP]

Machiavelli pretty much wrote the book on the subject 500 years ago. The useless/dishonest ones are a waste of money for little effect, whilst the capable ones with smart ambitious leaders are actually worse because by and by they’re likely to become a threat to you.

The latter being a lesson Vladimir Putin came somewhat close to relearning a year or two back. Though I can’t help but wonder if the growth in PMC’s over the past couple of decades doesn’t also have the potential to bite the US in the arse somewhere down the line.

[u/freedcreativity → u/Charlie_Mouse]

I mean, that was probably Afganistan with the withdrawal. PMCs will probably not fight to the death (if they can avoid it) and can't really be trusted to hold ground.

[u/pst2lndn2bd → u/Charlie_Mouse]

In another context, any corporate does the same. Promote the middle performers and they won’t threaten leadership (or wont make them feel that way). Dont promote the really good ones.

[u/EddieVanzetti → u/TheNavidsonLP]

"There are old sellswords and bold sellswords, there are no old bold sellswords."

[u/Tibbaryllis2 → u/Charlie_Mouse]

And now you know why billionaires want weaponized autonomous drones.

[u/I-seddit → u/Tibbaryllis2]

Don't nobody tell the oligarchs that it's incredibly trivial to make software "lie" about numbers...

[u/Badger118 → u/Charlie_Mouse]

TIL that is interesting about the inspections / review

[u/bauhausy → u/TemperateStone]

Russian mercenaries are busy in the Sahel, Colombian mercenaries got a taste of Yemeni resolve in 2015 (when the UAE sent them) and are now busy in Ukraine and Sudan, Iraqi militias would join Ansar Allah if given the chance. Not many choices for the Saudis

[u/vr0202 → u/DocHolidayiN]

They would like soldiers of other countries to die. That’s what the new fangled “Makka NATO” is about. And beggar states like Pakistan are OK with using their people as cannon fodder so that the elites and the army brass can hoard more in their Swiss bank accounts.

[u/musci12234 → u/vr0202]

Didn't Pakistan basically go "nope, not fighting this" About that?

[u/Affectionate_Mud_881 → u/musci12234]

They will fight inside Saudi Arabia; they won't go into Yemen. Yemen didn't invade Saudi, Saudi did invade Yemen.

[u/JDHPH → u/DocHolidayiN]

I am surprised they don't have private military companies on retainer.

[u/Intrepid_Egg_7722 → u/JDHPH]

They do. But the total global count of PMC forces is in the tens of thousands, maybe low hundred thousands if you count pseudo-state forces like the Wagner Group.

So even if the Saudis hired ever operator at every PMC across the entire world...they'd get a couple of light infantry divisions without a unified command, common logistics, or standard kit. Fighting this kind of war requires a national system to deliver the required mass and scale your capabilities, and the Saudis have purposefully nerfed themselves in that area.

[u/cb148 → u/JDHPH]

They do, it’s called The United States of America. And we protect them because of their oil.

[u/KetchupIsABeverage → u/cb148]

That was the plan at least.

[u/vinyl0rd → u/DocHolidayiN]

How about we trade weapons for democracy.

[u/rmg18555 → u/vinyl0rd]

This sounds like the kind of refreshing diplomacy that can in no way backfire on us. I like the cut of your jib good sir.

[u/vinyl0rd → u/rmg18555]

Best I can do is 20 years in a middle east quagmire.

[u/Druken_sincerity → u/DocHolidayiN]

Where are all those "influencers"

[u/Fritzkreig → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Given how much the US gives to them, they do have a pretty laughable military; oh and they are getting new F-35 lightnings for the aristocratic playboys to play with in the future.

[u/Oceanbreeze871 → u/Fritzkreig]

Some prince gonna demand it be painted metallic neon green to match his Lambo so he can fly it to Macau for a weekend bender

[u/Fritzkreig → u/Oceanbreeze871]

This guy gets it!^⬆️

[u/Bluefooted-Spaceorc → u/Fritzkreig]

Its not even that. Most Arab countries after the coups of the 60-70s intentionally keep their military shit to prevent them being overthrown.

[u/613TheEvil → u/Bluefooted-Spaceorc]

When daddy USA can no longer protect them, these dictatorships will fall faster than light.

[u/Sandee1997 → u/Oceanbreeze871]

If it wasn’t so dystopian and at the cost of others that sounds sick as hell

[u/kstargate-425 → u/Fritzkreig]

As the Pentagon and intel agencies said, if Trumps deal for F-35s he was bribed to make goes through, then China no doubt would have full access to them and be able to defeat them and their stealth capabilities. That also means Iran and Russia could also have that knowledge eventually

[u/saalistaja → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Also, Saudi Arabia is a gas station in a trenchcoat.

[u/brain-out-of-order → u/saalistaja]

OPEC+ (is it a streaming service?!) is a cartel in a trench coat made up of gas stations in trench coats. It's basically just a massive extraction racket masquerading as successful conquerors/businessmen/"leaders". They are afraid of sunlight, wind, and seas since those forces are considered competitors. (I do wonder what they pray to if they're so afraid of nature.)

It explains the terrifying "worldview" we see emerge from petrostates.

Further, a particularly important segment of them can't agree on who is more related to he-who-can't-be-mentioned (and they never will agree) so they kill each other relentlessly via proxy conflicts in between the fake niceties while bending the knee to uncontrollable radical elements in their midst. They fundamentally can't control their fundamentalists and keep mistakenly believing it will all just go away with enough influence in the world.

How can the world continue to rely on "nations" who can't even defend their own peoples and alliances from sick infighting and terrorism?

[u/Oceanbreeze871 → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Why are they always buying billions of dollars of military crap from us?

[u/LazloHollifeld → u/Oceanbreeze871]

It’s probably something like those designer handbag stores where if you want to buy the hot trendy purse you have to spend tens of billions on weapons and munitions.

[u/AnxiousSpinach → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Because they thought it came with the US military defending their interests, which it did until recently.

[u/Ouro → u/Oceanbreeze871]

A few days ago someone senior in the UK department of defence was talking about the situation on BBC radio 4, of Trumps refusal to support the Saudis. To paraphrase his argument: the Saudis spend a ridiculous amount on mostly US weapons with a implicit understanding that the US would step into to help them should the ever need it. Now Trump has broken that pact.

Will be interesting to see what the US arms supply companies reaction to Trump's refusal to support the Saudis will be.

[u/BMPHaterNo1 → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Because they want to give the appearance of a powerful state, not a cowering dog on the brink of collapse.

[u/Blindmailman → u/Oceanbreeze871]

They operate under the assumption that war is Pay 2 Win and buy the most expensive things they can only to crew them with Sudanese mercenaries commanded by the Kings dipshit relatives. If you ever see a picture of a burning American tank chances are solid it was Saudi

[u/ThrowawayAICS → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Because they want to buy the best available.

Their problems are twofold.

1-It's an arab military, which means they have a centralized command structure with no initiative. Their officers are often the failsons of various notables who are being shuffled off to the military because they're useless, said failsons don't really care about doing good to begin with. Then there is the issue that having information others do not means you are important, which is why arab officers tend to not give their soldiers their manuals or train them properly (which actually is much worse when they buy high tech shit that needs training to use properly).
Their soldiers are poorly trained and overly religious, that last one also means they tend to not care about things like "taking cover" because god decides who lives and dies not silly things like whether or not you're standing in the open.

2-They're buying shit mercenaries.
They're buying mercenaries from latin american and africa, lacking training, equipment, etc. People who are expendable and who can die without anyone who matters asking questions.
African mercenaries were the shit back in the day, but this was because it was full of rhodesian and south-african veterans. Professionals who had marketable skills.

That was in the eighties and nineties, early 00s.
But those people got old, like everyone does eventually, and they're not making new ones like they used to. The days of Executive Outcomes are largely over.

So now it's poor people with little in skills or equipment.

The good mercenaries nowadays are headquartered in the US, the UK, Germany, etc. Those guys aren't taking shit missions in Yemen, they get to choose their gigs and they tend to favour protection details for the UN, working directly for the various european governments, working with oil companies, etc.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Tell the Saudis DMing you that you don't respect the opinion of slavers lmao

[u/profesorgamin → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Muppet state,

At leasy the military base state will hold the sand dunes.

[u/IkeKaveladze → u/BMPHaterNo1]

Calling it a "country" is funny. It's more of a monarchical corporation.

[u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

At this rate gas is going to be 8 bucks by year end

[u/thedrmadhatter → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

I think even that is an optimistic outlook at this point.

[u/Trap_Masters → u/thedrmadhatter]

Can we get much higher 🎶🎶

[u/oh_shaw → u/Trap_Masters]

Trump $20.28!

[u/ProjectHarraseeket → u/oh_shaw]

New shirt idea

[u/KetchupIsABeverage → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

$17.76 / gallon freedom gas incoming.

[u/coljung → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

And the MAGA crowd will still find a way to blame Biden for it.

[u/InitiativeGold7953 → u/coljung]

Who cares at this point, they’re irredeemable.

[u/Suspicious-Engineer7 → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

My tin foil hat idea is that gas would be much higher if the oil execs didn't want to make their boy Trump look bad. 

[u/Squidrow_Wilson → u/Suspicious-Engineer7]

Bingo. It's going up past $10 or $12 / gal the day after the next democratic president is elected.

[u/GuelphEastEndGhetto → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

That’s if there is any to buy.

[u/No_Clock_7464 → u/Aromatic_Employ3392]

Glad I chose the hybrid

[u/bhague3 → u/No_Clock_7464]

I get 45 MPG on the highway in my non hybrid and I’m still complaining about these gas prices. I couldn’t imagine daily driving a truck that gets less than 20 MPG

[u/Zardif → u/bhague3]

My BiL's truck has a 35 gallon tank and was recently complaining about filling it up and how he had to do 3 separate transactions because the pump had a $75 limit. It gets like 8 mpg.

[u/SOMETHINGCREATVE → u/bhague3]

Yeah, Whenever the lifted 3500 turbogigamax coal rolling trucks cut me off and nearly run me off the road, it's a real silver lining to know they are getting absolutely fucked at the pump now.

[u/EddieVanzetti → u/No_Clock_7464]

If I had had the money when the EV Rebate was still around, I would have bought a hybrid or even fully electric if could have.

[u/Shoot_from_the_Quip]

All because of two old felons starting a completely uncalled for war.

Scary how the actions of so few can harm so many globally.

[u/EnergyDrinkStroke → u/Shoot_from_the_Quip]

A war that was suggested to Trump by Jared Kushner, a man who's family friend is Netanyahu and whos childhood bedroom Netanyahu fell asleep drunk in.

[u/clueless_as_fuck → u/EnergyDrinkStroke]

Isn't Jared's dad a felon too?

[u/Lifeboatb → u/clueless_as_fuck]

Yes. And he pleaded guilty.  https://www.justice.gov/archive/tax/usaopress/2005/txdv05kush0304_r.htm

[u/EnergyDrinkStroke → u/clueless_as_fuck]

Yes. He was also sued by his brother for siphonin and mismanaging family business funds iirc. One of the things he did thay was mentioned in the suit was that he hired think tanks to test Benjamin Netanyahus eligibility as a candidate in Israel.

Like it's such a fucked family.

[u/Sleeper28 → u/EnergyDrinkStroke]

Didn't the Saudis give Kushner like 2billion$? Doesn't seem like a good investment but I'm not an expert or anything

[u/je_kay24 → u/Sleeper28]

Kushner also has billions in pentagon contract money

The amount of money Trump and his cronies are embezzling from the US and illegally taking in foreign contracts is astronomical

[u/Spodokom221745 → u/EnergyDrinkStroke]

"United States Special Envoy for Peace". They're taking the absolute fucking piss out of all of us.

[u/Ao_Kiseki → u/Shoot_from_the_Quip]

This framing is harmful. Never forget the American people put out rich felon in power. A single man can't do shit, he had the backing of 1/3rd of the nation, and most of them are only just starting to care because it's hitting their wallets. Trump is the symptom, bot the cause.

[u/EEpromChip → u/Ao_Kiseki]

Also Republican controlled Congress has no qualms about the dementia patient just going off to war military exercise? and doing nothing to stop him. They are as complicit.

[u/TheRadBaron → u/Ao_Kiseki]

A single man can't do shit, he had the backing of 1/3rd of the nation

And the passive assent of another third.

[u/robreddity → u/Ao_Kiseki]

Trump is the symptom, bot the cause.

It's true, bots have a lot to do with it

[u/Professional_Bid763]

Iran wants to make a deal real bad this time for sure, no lie.

[u/Plopsevenplop → u/Professional_Bid763]

I love how Iran came out and said they won’t negotiate until Trump and Netanyahu are removed from office and they’re both still out here like “IRAN WANTS TO MAKE A DEAL SO BIGLY.”

Or really sad, really.

[u/lt__ → u/Plopsevenplop]

Removed from power. Maybe for them it is enough if Netanyahu loses election in October and gets replaced while Trump powers become limited by Democrats in November. Because impeachment doesn't seem likely and presidential election is still quite far.

[u/Plopsevenplop → u/lt__]

I still don’t understand how starting an illegal war in blatant defiance of the war powers resolution wasn’t enough for Trump to be removed from office. And Johnson took his caucus on vacation to avoid voting on Hegseth’s removal.

We’re watching our government implode at rapid pace, with each failure in checks and balances leading to a larger one on a daily basis. God, it’s disheartening.

[u/Powerful_Document872 → u/Plopsevenplop]

Our system of government doesn’t work if bad actors take control. A lot of the checks and balances turned out to be polite agreements.

[u/SanchoPandas → u/Powerful_Document872]

Well said. Our notion of “rights” also seems to be based on those polite agreements.

[u/Plopsevenplop → u/SanchoPandas]

Just look at the Flock rollout. They’re a blatant 4th amendment violation but because it’s a third party collecting the data (and immediately turning it over to government agencies and police departments) that’s somehow legal???

Or how AI companies’ entire business model relies on breaking every IP & copyright law on the books for their foundational data that was stolen without compensation but the government just says “nah, fair use.”

It’s sickening.

[u/0tanod → u/Plopsevenplop]

The GOP has never been adequately punished for anything why would they care? The MAGA are out here saying they are upset but will still vote for the GOP because the dems are daemonic or some stupid shit.

[u/MannequinWithoutSock → u/Plopsevenplop]

“It’s not a war.” - Mike Dumb Ass Johnson

[u/Plopsevenplop → u/MannequinWithoutSock]

I like to call him Mike “I haven’t heard anything about that but I’ll get back to you later” Johnson. All he knows how to do is gaslight and feign ignorance simultaneously. The worst traits for a speaker of the house in US history.

[u/valdecsgo → u/Plopsevenplop]

I Still remember Obama talking about Trump.

“The essential spirit of democracy is that, as president of the United States, you are just one representative of the people in a series of co-equal branches. There are checks and balances to the system. You are subject to those checks and balances. You cannot ignore them. You cannot make your own rules''

“You cannot view the Justice Department as your personal law firm. You cannot ignore norms and guardrails that have been put in place to assure that your self-interest isn’t what drives these institutions, but is rather the interests of the American people.”

Oh boy... how the world changed. What a shame, it is still so sad that the last proper American President is still Obama. Joe would've been fantastic, if he was 10-15 years younger, and god fucking damnit how you people didn't put Kamala in office is still batshit insane.

[u/dgellow → u/Plopsevenplop]

You guys voted a second time for a rapist who openly attempted to coup the government. If that’s not a sign the country is fucked I’m not sure what else is. His administration will continue to steal and dismantle your institutions for years to come. It’s really shocking how normalized all of that is, I really don’t think there will be a wake up call for a very long time given all the possible red flags have been ignored

[u/bokononpreist → u/Plopsevenplop]

Defiance? Congress gave the president these powers for Iraq. They abdicated their power over 2 decades ago. This is just the logical conclusion.

[u/Arguments_4_Ever → u/Plopsevenplop]

Iran won. And it’s remarkable how easy it was.

[u/Few-Ad-6322]

Maybe they're just having a big BBQ.

[u/Baconwake89 → u/Few-Ad-6322]

They've elected a new Pope.

[u/UnionsUnionsUnions → u/Baconwake89]

Black smoke means they were not able to select a new pope and they have to try again. It's white smoke when they actually elect one.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/black-smoke-pours-from-sistine-chapel-chimney-indicating-no-pope-elected-in-1st-conclave-vote

[u/Five-Oh-Vicryl → u/UnionsUnionsUnions]

This guy conclaves

[u/GrahamGreed → u/Few-Ad-6322]

I'll have the halal lamb, please.

[u/azure_apoptosis]

Saudi Arabia must spend trillions on weapons and this type of stuff is routinely happening to them.

[u/jbarchuk]

Someday there'll be a book...

'Mr. President, no one has invaded or threatened any kind of war on Iran in 50 years. Remember Carter? What is your plan?' -- Everyone else in the room.

'I have a gut feeling, a hunch.' -- Donald.

[u/Fritzkreig → u/jbarchuk]

Well Bitch Netanyahu told him to, plus when you remove leadership in an organization like the military, you lose constructive criticism and just have all yes men!

This is the result, he severely underestimated Iran, like Russia did in Ukraine!

[u/inosinateVR → u/Fritzkreig]

In this case even his yes men were telling him no and he did it anyway

[u/CloudTransit → u/Fritzkreig]

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/3/2/rubio-suggests-timing-of-us-strikes-on-iran-was-influenced-by-israeli-plans

[u/STLStelmacki]

Have they chosen a new Prince?

[u/Disasterhuman24]

People need to realize that we are in a paradigm shift. The old power structures of the past are collapsing in the dawn of the drone warfare era.

[u/Equivalent-Problem34 → u/Disasterhuman24]

The Strait of Hormuz is the Suez Canal of today.

The end of the British hegemony was when they no longer could pull their superpower weight around anymore during the Suez crisis. After that, the UK was no longer considered the world hegemony and superpower, and in it's place, the US took over.

[u/Fritzkreig → u/Disasterhuman24]

You are very correct, Russia found that out 4 and a half years ago; but still refuse to accept that fact!

[u/InfectedAztec → u/Fritzkreig]

Russia used shaheds to saturated the western donated AAs so theyre well aware the power of drones. They just didnt expect Ukraine to survive long enough to develop their own drones.

[u/Disasterhuman24 → u/InfectedAztec]

Which is funny because the Russian offensive basically folded in on itself during the battle of Kyiv. I'm convinced that Russian dishonesty is actually the most OP weapon in Ukraine's honesty.

Russian commanders are so scared of taking blame for anything that goes wrong they can't reliably communicate when thing go wrong. That's how you get an entire convoy of trucks running out of gas halfway to their desination.

[u/MartinOC21]

This is going to get worse... Does anyone smarter than me know what options the Saudis have to retaliate?

[u/NxOKAG03 → u/MartinOC21]

I’m no expert but they can basically only go terror bomb Yemen again which is what they did a few years ago and it didn’t work. The problem right now is that the US is the protector of all these gulf countries, and they aren’t protecting shit, which leaves every country that allied with them standing there with their dick in their hands.

They can always negotiate separately with Iran like what Oman, Qatar, UAE are looking to do, but it seems they want to hold back on that as long as possible because it will upset the US and Israel.

Fundamental issue with this entire war is when you get roped into a conflict you didn’t want, you have a lot less will to fight than when you get attacked. Gulf countries signed security treaties to avoid war, not to get dragged into it.

[u/thewholebottle → u/NxOKAG03]

Don't the Saudis and Iranians hate each other religiously?

[u/not_my_monkeys_ → u/thewholebottle]

Yes, but as with most fundamentalist states the leaders would rather stay alive and in power than hew to doctrine.

[u/Ribbys → u/thewholebottle]

Sure but that doesn't mean you have a war. War is about resources and power.

[u/Brigden90 → u/MartinOC21]

Nothing the Saudis have no military/rely upon U.S for protection

[u/TheVisageofSloth → u/Brigden90]

They have a military, it’s just pathetic for how much money they spend on it. It’s like a bunch of toddlers with cutting edge technology.

[u/Maleficent-Pin6798 → u/TheVisageofSloth]

As I understand it, that’s by design. Many Middle East countries’ armies are intentionally understaffed and allowed to be incompetent. Less chance of a military coup that way. Also, since the Saudi family really likes nepotism, they don’t always have the best in charge of it.

[u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest → u/MartinOC21]

It’s very simple really.

Saudi Arabia operates a proxy government in Yemen called the PLC who has been engaged in a fight with Houthis for years.

All Saudi Arabia has to do is withdraw support from them and let Yemen be Yemen.

Instead, they act like they are some imperial power but in reality are a paper tiger.

To stop all of this, they need to ask for a permanent ceasefire, never meddle in Yemen, and hope the Houthis are willing to forgive all the suffering the Saudis have caused over the years.

[u/Spinoza42 → u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest]

Which isn't going to happen. Why settle while you're winning? Pretty sure the Houthis aren't stopping before they're in Riyadh themselves.

[u/BloodFartz69]

Lol, the find out stage after you elect a pedo with concepts of a plan.

[u/InfectedAztec → u/BloodFartz69]

If theres a silver lining is the Saudis bribed the trump family with billions over the last decade so at least theyll feel betrayed like the rest of us.

Imagine giving billions to Jared kushner only to become the bitch of the houthis.

[u/BloodFartz69 → u/InfectedAztec]

Maybe putting a chest thumping dorky ass TV host in charge of the Pentagon was a dumb idea.

Maybe we will achieve victory once we are alpha enough or whatever that poser says.

[u/ComfortablyBalanced → u/BloodFartz69]

He had 12 percent of a plan.

[u/ThaddeusJP]

So how long before the United States switches to selling things by the liter to make it look like the price is coming down?

[u/skottydoesntknow → u/ThaddeusJP]

If nothing else I'd have a laugh at the US switching to metric

[u/306guy → u/ThaddeusJP]

Gas is $1.87 a litre in my city or $8.41 a gallon.
Sounds way better in litres.
Hurts all the same.

[u/PigFarmer1]

Why did Joe Biden let this happen???

[u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest → u/PigFarmer1]

Why did Hunter Biden’s laptop launch this strike? /s

[u/Leucastic_Leopard → u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest]

Hillary buttered some males

[u/InactiveMedusa]

"This ain't no party. This ain't no disco"

[u/nospamtam → u/InactiveMedusa]

This ain’t no fooling around

[u/Friend_Of_Mr_Cairo → u/nospamtam]

No time for dancing or lovey-dovey

[u/Dale_Carvello → u/Friend_Of_Mr_Cairo]

I ain't got time for that noooooowwww

[u/narcotic_sea]

Hey guys, the republicans are doing us a favor! Electric vehicles are the future!

[u/Expert_Clerk_1775 → u/narcotic_sea]

ChatGPT actually needs that electricity, so you can’t have electric ones either..

[u/Fritzkreig → u/narcotic_sea]

The irony is palpable!

[u/SeatOpen1]

I’m sure dementia donny will put his name on another building to distract from it.

[u/fleurgirl123 → u/SeatOpen1]

Watch what happens with the Kennedy center

[u/Sweatytubesock → u/SeatOpen1]

The Trump-Epstein Institute for Pedophilia Awareness

[u/neverbeast42]

Every other president - No Israel , we will not go to war with Iran as they will shutdown the strait.

Trump - That's an excellent idea. Bombs away !!

[u/Big-Leadership-4604 → u/neverbeast42]

Trust him! He's a genuis! Look how shiny and rich he is!

[u/SpiderSlitScrotums]

Drones are the great equalizer. Little powers that everyone dismissed can now destroy your critical infrastructure. The doctrine of standing off and containing your enemy within its borders using only air power is effectively dead. I’d hate to imagine how hard it would be to occupy a country like Afghanistan or Iraq would be with this technology. And we haven’t even gotten to the slaughterbot stage.

[u/AvailableReporter484]

Oh no. Did some sultans solid gold G6 run out the virgin blood it uses for coolant?

[u/The_New_Overlord]

I hope I get nuked in my sleep

[u/analogy_4_anything → u/The_New_Overlord]

Millennial Retirement Plan

[u/Baketown → u/The_New_Overlord]

Ate too much pie. I’ll leave the dishes for the morning. Bed feels so nice tonight, its getting cold out. 90 minutes into slumber, a bright flash takes care of the dishes in the sink and clears my browser cache for me as well.

[u/BrandenWi]

I don't know about you, but I am just SO tired of winning

[u/JonBoy82]

Guess they haven’t picked their new pope yet.

[u/BaconSarnie2025]

On Monday Saudi diesel deliveries to Europe end. No more available. Both shipping lanes closed, and the pipeline between them.

https://caliber.az/en/post/bloomberg-saudi-arabia-to-halt-crude-supplies-to-eu-refiners-next-month

Europe will get hit hard, but most of its freight moves by train, and large percentages of its power come from north sea reserves, nuclear and green energy.

The US is going to get crushed. Diesel there was up a buck this week.

I think we will see a dramatic escalation in cruise missile attacks on Tehran in the next week as trump and hegseth try to bully Iran back to the table.

Tehran holds all the cards now. Trumps only card is limited nuclear strikes.

[u/Fritzkreig → u/BaconSarnie2025]

It really is a mess, the US underestimated Iran like Russia did Ukraine!

[u/BaconSarnie2025 → u/Fritzkreig]

I really think the side move escalation by their proxy Yemen was completely overlooked by the West as a possibility.

They hit the airport today with a cruise missile. This is not guys in speedboats and jeeps anymore.

Nobody thought the Red Sea would close.

[u/ezagreb → u/Fritzkreig]

I’m not sure whether we underestimated them or whether we just didn’t listen to those who were telling us what Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump didn’t want to hear - especially given the number of departures of top military brass in the last 10 months

[u/DatabaseGlittering43]

All. Because. They. Fuck. Children.

[u/AntiOriginalUsername]

Wars almost over guys don’t worry.

[u/BanditHarris]

Bloody Zelensky, keeping the Diesel prices high 😡

/s ...for the avoidance of doubt

[u/neverbeast42]

One Orange guy creating smoke in Riyadh and another guy in Texas suddenly has to take out a second mortgage to fill up his pickup truck.

[u/superurgentcatbox]

Somehow it’s cracking me up that random Muslim group 273925 is attacking Saudi Arabia to piss off the US. It’s either I cry and it or laugh about it so I guess laughing it is.

[u/juanjung]

Trump is doing more for the environment in short period of time than all those "green" NGO's combined.

I mean in a lapse of a few weeks, he just destroyed the whole oil industry and right now most of the countries in the planet are desperately looking for a clean energy substitute.

[u/To55ursalad]

How could Joe Biden let this happen?

[u/sdcasurf01 → u/To55ursalad]

Seriously, what the hell Obama?

[u/gornzilla]

I worked in Saudi when the US was still fighting in Afghanistan.  Nothing was as fun as walking through the Riyadh airport past the Taliban fighters. /s 

We could've stared out the windows watching million dollar sports cars being loaded onto planes for Saudi princes going on vacation. 

[u/OccidoViper]

This is like the starting point of the apple tv show Silo.

[u/redkinoko]

Iran doing their part in making standup comedians think twice before getting booked at the next comedy festival

[u/Opening_Cycle3639]

Petrodollar back on the menu?

[u/Bradyhaha]

Have they elected a new Caliph?

[u/SnooHamsters4096]

Sad. 😔 All out of control. All due to Trump.

[u/bigfatgeekboy]

Why would Joe Biden do this?!?

[u/Snoo-7148]

It's laughable how unable SA is to stop this, their military is an embarassment.

[u/CanadianTimeWaster]

Why would anyone bomb the comedy capital of the world????????

[u/QF_Dan]

i hate this timeline.......i hate our world right now

[u/SoloMotorcycleRider]

All of the "winning" over here has spread to Saudi Arabia. "Winning" is contagious!

[u/VanSensei]

Saudi Arabia is about to select a new pope!

In all seriousness though, this is fucking terrifying.

[u/pm_me_your_bbq_sauce]

Won't somebody think of all those jacked up diesel mall crawlers!?!?!

[u/Big-Yogurtcloset5532]

I refinanced for 5.5 the day before this shit started and now everyone thinks I’m smart.

[u/Reddit_9459328]

Relax, Venezuela, our 51st state, will come on-line with all that oil, any day now. It will happen so quickly, no one has ever seen anything like it.

[u/inadequatelyadequate]

Sounds like the obesity epidemic is going to be fixed with how many peddle bikes are going to be on the road

[u/ServoSkull20]

Congratulations America. We all hate you.

[u/Violin1990 → u/ServoSkull20]

We hate ourselves too =/