An eerie quiet hangs over Ras Al Khaimah’s industrial port. Usually a thriving maritime hub of the United Arab Emirates, now ships stand docked and silent. Not far out along the hazy horizon, a backlog of hundreds of tankers have lined up in recent days, halted along a waterway flooded with danger.
Any vessel heading past Ras Al Khaimah out to the Arabian Sea must traverse the world’s most treacherous strip of water for shipping today: the strait of Hormuz. Just over 20 nautical miles from Ras Al Khaimah, two oil tankers heading for the strait were attacked by Iranian missiles this week, one catching fire.
It is one of the many consequences facing Gulf states as they are pulled deeper into a war that they did not start and had diplomatically tried to prevent.
For decades, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Oman have allowed US military bases, infrastructure or access on their soil, and have been among the largest buyers of American weapons and technology. In return, the US has stood as the Gulf’s closest and most significant military partner and protector.
But now, Gulf states have growing concerns over the relationship, analysts say, after Donald Trump was seen to wilfully torpedo peaceful diplomatic negotiations in favour of starting a war in the Middle East.
The reason that every other US president has ruled out war with Iran is exactly because of this tactic. It takes a group of really ignorant, egotistical, and foolhardy leaders to melt through the layers of decision making that underlie such a course of action.
The more Trump screams on social media and Hegseth bully pulpits while whining about media coverage, the worse this war is going. Look for more avoidable Air Force and Navy incidents, more dead American soldiers, and a civilian bloodbath that will take decades to unravel the implications of.
Fuck the Americans involved in this war,nobody asked them to join the army and they’re aware who and why they are fighting for
Joining the US military is just signing up to murder brown people at the direction of the oil industry and war profiteers. Been the way for at least half a century.
That’s not very class conscious of you.
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Unfortunately? You guys voted that shitbag
Those countries have been directly funding Donald Trump and are all littered with American bases. They are absolutely involved.
Maybe stop allowing America to use your country as bases to terrorize and control your neighbors?
They fucking love America. How do you think they can move $100 million cargo ships full of oil around on a daily basis!
You were talking about a bunch of dictatorships that use their Neighbor slave labor to suck oil out of the ground and concentrate trillions of dollars in the hands of a few people
I hate to say this but as a former US military officer I am 100% behind Iran. The Mango Mussolini started Operation Epstein Fury as a distraction and the buzzards need to come home to roost. I am sorry people are getting killed but Iran is not going to stop now that their leader and 180 little girls have been killed.
These “Epstein Files” are just a distraction from the real intent of what’s going on over there.
You lie down with dogs, you get fleas.
If you don’t like being a target, get the US bases out.
They should make the pertinent conclusion that US bases don’t protect them, that US is only standing by Israel.
Those bases were originally built to protect them from soviet imperialism
Now its being used to forward Israeli imperialism.
The irony.
Those bases were built to protect oligarchs economic interests, nothing more.
Protection for Petro dollar oil dies here. Trump is destroying American dominance on the world stage, it’s wild to see.
Petro dollar is worthless.
It’s been replaced with the pedo dollar, do try to keep up.
Australia needs to cancel our leases of American bases in Australia. Even if you think we should be aligned with the US only having Australian bases on Australian soil is in our best interests. This war has shown that any host country of American bases will be subject to attacks not only on those bases but on the host country’s own military and civilian infrastructure.
Yanks out!
Let’s not forget the last prime minister who tried that was Whitlam, and what then happened to him is no coincidence. The CIA reaches far and wide unfortunately.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it again. Unironically who would they even put in charge if they were to try it today. Labors position now is unassailable compared to what it was in whitlams time. A snap election right now would just be a labor victory, probably greater than the one it just had, the total annihilation of the coalition and the ascendence of one nation to opposition status before it immediately implodes along with the liberals and nationals.
Pauline, perhaps? Seriously though, I get infuriated every time I think of Pine Gap and wish the government had the guts to shut it down, especially as it makes us complicit in many of the US’s attacks around the world.
Are the Europeans learning the lesson?
right and when are they going to say “thank you”.
Seriously tho 🤣 Iran bombed the fuck out of them and now they can’t sell oil. Sorry I can’t find my compassion for the petrostate dictators. May they lose all their ill gotten gains.
Let me cry crocodile tears and play the worlds smallest violin for the poor lil ole petrol states
This is possibly the one thing that will get Cheeto to pay attention. OPEC oil boys getting mad
Not after he declares himself Acting President of Iran
As a thought exercise, I was considering what the other countries in the middle east could have done to avoid this conflict.
I ended up with nothing reliable. They did not have sufficient power to address the problems in the Iranian regime. And even if they could, the US would likely just be attacking the next state on Israel’s hit list and cause similar problems.
The only thing that might have gotten close, is to outspend the Zionists in their interference in US politics.
They could have not funded him. They could have not propped him and his family up.
They thought they had a useful idiot.
They did, but he was still an idiot.
As a thought exercise, I was considering what the other countries in the middle east could have done to avoid this conflict
They could have closed down the American bases that Trump is using to attack Iran. That would have done the job.
If your running that thought experiment it’s not just the Arab states funding trump and America.
Those same states could also have curtailed Iran’s influence in the region as well including removing funding for the various military and terrorist groups they all have a hand in.
Frankly they have raked in the money while others suffer and now they are suffering because of it.
Meanwhile the orange toad is using the money they gave him to further his own agenda and using their countries as pawns.
This has nothing to do with what they could have done to Iran. Iran didn’t start this war, Trump (and Israel) did, and every single one of those countries has financially supported Trump.
They got the US leader they wanted. Now they have to accept that they are living in his demented reality.
MBS and other Gulf dictators were begging Trump and Israel to attack Iran. They are now being served a good example of FAFO. In particular, I hope MBS and MBZ go down in flames. They are the worst of this inhuman scum.
They should start adding convenience fees to US oil.
The US is absolutely defenseless against hidden fees and surcharges.
