Originally posted April 10th, 2026

At American Greatness, Victor Davis Hanson thinks that President Trump’s wording may have been a bit “sloppy.” Trump promised, “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Some might cringe before calling his wording something else.

Trump warned that if the Iranian regime did not cease blocking the international Strait of Hormuz, he would hit its dual military=civilian infrastructure. Etc.

What Trump obviously meant was that the murderous civilization/culture of radical Iranian theocratic Islam would cease to exist and wouldn’t come back once power plants and transportation systems crucial to the regime’s survival were cut off.

How do we know that? According to VDH, unlike previous wars, writes VDH, the US has never targeted dual-use infrastructure—not in bombing ISIS, not in removing the Venezuelan thug Nicolás Maduro, not in the 2025 bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and not in the present war—with the exception of a key bridge central to the regime’s efforts to reposition missile assets to avoid air strikes.

What Trump obviously meant was that the murderous civilization/culture of radical Iranian theocratic Islam would cease to exist and wouldn’t come back once power plants and transportation systems crucial to the regime’s survival were cut off.

War Crimes?

By all means, let the investigation into war crimes begin, challenges VDH. “Help is on the way” was aimed at the Iranian people.

The purpose of the five-week war has been 1) to selectively target the regime’s command and control and military assets and 2) to diminish its threats abroad, while weakening and humiliating the mullahcracy at home—so that soon the Iranian people might at last be able to overthrow the odious theocracy.

Trump’s crotocs recpgmozed their political advantage, tagging Trump as a Strangelovian madman, no different from the Nazi criminals in the docket at Nuremberg.

Some less unhinged accuse Trump of being unpresidential. Whom? Donald Trump?

Do his critics no longer buy into the argument of “dual use”? The juice powering an evil enemy is its roads, bridges, fuel, and electricity. To disable them supposedly shortens the war and the killing.

Examples in Recent History

• In World War II, we leveled a dozen Japanese cities because the Tokyo junta had outsourced the assembly of weapons to urban neighborhood workshops.

• The US joined the British in leveling Dresden by targeting German transportation.

Will the left, wonders VDH, now remove the iconic names of Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman from our buildings and monuments?

• Truman ordered every bridge and hydroelectric plant in North Korea to be incinerated during the Korean War.

• Under Lyndon Johnson/Richard Nixon, their administrations annihilated most of its civilian infrastructure in efforts to force the communists to negotiate.

• In the 42-day bombing campaign in the First Gulf War, it targeted power stations, roads, bridges, and dual-use government buildings.

Should we go back, asks VDH, and Trotskyize its strategic architects—George H. W. Bush and Gen. Colin Powell?

Perhaps Sen. Mark Kelley, among Trump’s fiercest critics, should be post facto investigated by the International Criminal Court, given the fact that, in 1991, he was a pilot in an air force that frequently hit bridges and other dual-use targets.

• Bill Clinton’s gambit wrecked all the bridges on the Danube and often left more than a million civilians without power.

• VDH wonders if we will indict Barack Obama for ordering more than 500 targeted predator assassination hits on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border without Congressional authorization, strikes that ended up killing four American citizens?

• Perhaps we can reinvestigate Samantha Power, Hillary Clinton, and Susan Rice, the architects of the 2011 “unlawful” and Congressionally “unauthorized” seven-month bombing of a mostly inert Libya.

• While we are at it, let’s reexamine Obama, who snubbed the 60–90 War Powers Act window, which required him to obtain congressional authority to continue that mindless devastation.

Not Just Incoherent, Crazed

The left-wing and paleo right fury has far exceeded any legitimate critique of strategy and tactics, accuses Mr. Hanson.

It has now become not just incoherent but crazed, since it appears that many despise Trump more than they do the murderous Iranian regime.

Donald Trump, the Boogeyman
Debbie Young

When Your Survival Guy goes to Key West, FL, I don’t spend a lot of time on Duval Street, but when I do, it’s most likely because we’re going to a favorite dinner spot, Antonia’s. This is our home away from home because we’ve been dining here for over 30 years.

Our other top spot is Onlywood Grille near the waterfront on the corner of Caroline and William. You will be treated well by Giuseppe on the floor and Justin behind the bar. Be sure to say hello.

Speaking of the waterfront, there’s plenty of live music to be found, especially at Schooner Wharf. And if you’re looking to get out on the water for sunset or adventure, you have plenty of options to choose from. One of our favorites we took years ago was with Danger Charters for a day of snorkeling, kayaking, and sailing.

Be sure to check out the sound check set at the Green Parrot on weekend nights at 5:30 pm. It’s more than just tuning the instruments and testing the sound gear.

Action Line: Tell me about your adventures, where you’re letting yourself spend money a little foolishly after saving ‘til it hurt all those years. It’s time to live a little and enjoy all that hard work. Email me your stories at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

Read the entire series here.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.

Are You Spending Your Money Foolishly? (Part 8)
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

At the Institute for Political Economy, Paul Craig Roberts wonders what drives Trump to war with Iran. He writes:

Trump has revealed time and again that he took us to war against Iran for Israel. Trump thinks no oil price is too high to pay to protect Israel from an alleged “Iran threat.” It was Israel, not Iran, that started the war. It is Israel that has nukes with which to threaten Iran. Why doesn’t Trump think this is bad?  It is Israel that is the aggressive state with nukes, not Iran.

Why can’t Trump focus on representing Americans? What drives Trump to put America’s military, budget, lives, and weapons to the service of Israel and to risk collapsing GDP and soaring inflation from interruption of oil and fertilizer shipments? Trump really makes no sense. Perhaps he thinks he is president of Israel.

Read more here.

What Drives Trump to War with Iran?
Richard C. Young

On his Real Scott Ritter substack, Scott Ritter explains that Iran has won the war. He writes:

The United States and Israel took a gamble when launching their surprise attack on Iran on February 28 of this year. To the extent that they were consulted beforehand, America’s Gulf Arab allies did so as well.

They lost.

No discernable political or military objectives were attained by the practitioners of perfidy—neither regime change, missile suppression, nor control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Instead, the anti-Iranian cabal was compelled to seek a ceasefire that left Iran in total control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, throttling both regional and global economies by blocking the transit of the very energy that they rely upon for their functioning, and its military intact, capable and defiant, able to deliver devastatingly damaging blows to their enemies lairs.

Read more here.

Did Iran Win the War?
Richard C. Young

Boeing and the US Navy have completed the first test flight of an operational MQ-25A Stingray, marking a key milestone toward integrating unmanned aircraft into carrier operations. During the two-hour mission, the aircraft successfully demonstrated autonomous taxiing, takeoff, flight, landing, and command responsiveness through the Navy’s ground control system.

The flight validated core systems, including navigation, flight controls, and safe coordination with mission control, representing a major step toward carrier-based deployment. The MQ-25A is designed to provide autonomous aerial refueling, extending the range of carrier air wings and freeing up manned fighters like the F/A-18 for strike missions.

This achievement advances the program toward future carrier qualification testing and reflects growing US Navy efforts to integrate unmanned systems into naval aviation operations.

MQ-25A Stingray Takes First Flight Toward Carrier Deployment
Steve Schneider

A US military exercise called Operation Clear Horizon, inspired by Ukraine’s battlefield tactics, exposed major gaps in American counter-drone defenses. Special Forces used advanced, hard-to-jam drones in a realistic assault, revealing challenges in tracking, coordinating, and defeating diverse UAV threats.

The exercise prompted shifts in Pentagon strategy, including adopting unified drone-tracking systems, prioritizing defenses against long-range and low-cost drones, and accelerating procurement of new counter-UAS technologies, reports Patrick Tucker of Defense News.

Officials say the rapid evolution of drone warfare—driven by commercial innovation—requires faster adaptation and closer integration of offensive and defensive systems. Tucker writes:

In a September exercise on a Florida airfield, members of the 10th Special Forces Group launched a drone assault that mirrored the “spiderweb” attack that Ukraine had recently staged against Russia. The defenders were counter-drone troops from across the U.S. military, trained for a week on tech that the Pentagon has spent billions to develop.

U.S. counter-drone efforts haven’t been the same since. […]

The September exercise in Florida showed that U.S. drone defenders needed a way to combine the data coming in from far-flung radars, drones, and counter-drone systems.

Read more here.

Florida Exercise Mimicking “Spiderweb” Attack Forces Pentagon Rethink Counter-UAS Approach
Steve Schneider

Ukrainian company BlueBird Tech has announced the launch of a new rocket development division focused on building domestic air defense systems. The effort aims to create interceptors capable of countering drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, while reducing Ukraine’s reliance on limited foreign supplies.

The initiative aligns with Ukraine’s broader strategy to strengthen domestic missile production and improve the affordability and scalability of air defense. BlueBird Tech has already begun recruiting specialized engineers and expanding development efforts across multiple undisclosed missile-related projects.

Company leadership says the long-term goal is to rethink missile development, focusing on mass production and cost efficiency, similar to how Ukraine scaled its drone industry. The first results of the program are expected in the coming years.

Ukraine’s BlueBird Tech Launches New Rocket Division for Air Defense Systems
The Editors

US Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, along with Congressman Nick Begich, announced that two additional Coast Guard Arctic Security Cutters will be homeported in Alaska, expanding US Arctic presence and national security operations. The move builds on broader icebreaker expansion plans and earlier testimony suggesting up to four cutters could be based in the state.

The decision is supported by major federal investments, including funding in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act for Arctic Security Cutters and multi-billion-dollar allocations for new icebreakers, aircraft, and Coast Guard fleet modernization. More than $3 billion has also been directed toward shoreside infrastructure and homeporting facilities. Below is an overview of the delegation’s work to bring more Coast Guard assets, personnel, vessels, infrastructure, and investments to Alaska.

Securing U.S. Coast Guard Construction and Infrastructure Funding for Alaska Installations: Since 2015, Congress has appropriated about $1.408 billion for infrastructure and construction-related projects in Alaska to support new and existing Coast Guard assets, giving many communities throughout Alaska significant investments in their infrastructure and local housing.

Securing Historic Investments in America’s Icebreaker Fleet: Through the FY 2025 budget reconciliation bill, the Alaska congressional delegation secured $4.3 billion for the procurement of two new Polar Security Cutters, with substantial progress toward a third, marking the most significant expansion of heavy icebreaking capability in U.S. history. The delegation also worked to deliver $3.5 billion to procure three Arctic Security Cutters, the nation’s next-generation medium polar icebreakers. Additionally, they championed $816 million for more than ten new light and medium domestic icebreaking cutters. Beyond icebreakers, the WFTCA included major investments across the Coast Guard’s fleet: $1 billion for approximately 10 Fast Response Cutters (FRC), $4.3 billion for approximately 9 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC), $2.2 billion for approximately 40 MH-60 helicopters, and $1.1 billion for approximately 6 HC-130 aircraft. Critically, these efforts are backed by over $3 billion for shoreside infrastructure to support the homeporting of these assets, including the $300 million for the homeporting of the Storis in Juneau.

Officials say the investments aim to close the US icebreaking gap, strengthen Arctic readiness amid rising competition, and boost Alaska’s infrastructure, jobs, and long-term economic development.

Commissioning of the US Coast Guard Cutter Storis – August 10, 2025

Two New Icebreakers to Be Homeported in Alaska
Steve Schneider

The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner traditionally is where liberal comedians skewer conservative politicians. Liberal journalists usually laugh. This year was different, Matthew Hennesssey explains in the WSJ.

Before the shooting started, the expectation was for President Donald Trump to turn the tables on attendees during his first White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt promised it would be funny, definitely entertaining. Some expected Trump to treat the evening “like the vanquishing of an opponent.”

Alas, notes Mr. Hennessey, “ ’twas not to be.”

That particular speech is unlikely ever to be given. The good guys with the guns stopped it from proceeding.

At this juncture, Mr. Hennessey steps back, and readers are asked to do the same. Imagine how a dispassionate historian of the future would look up this “dramedy.”

Trump comes out of nowhere (Queens is a nowhere part of NY City), although, unlike most of us, he’s got a rich daddy. Donald “was given a small fortune and he grew it into a big one” before he “hustled himself into a position as the premier nouveau riche real-estate man in the world’s most dynamic city.”

Trump, Flat-Out Busted

Donald became famous because he was rich. Then he lost it all. But wait. Here he comes again. Famous again. And richer still.

In 2011, Trump decided to show them, to make them regret laughing at him.

A Hero’s Journey

In 2015, he ran again, “against a large field of seasoned professionals, who called him crass, crude, dumb. They said he was unfit, unsound, un-American, and just plain un.

Next he took down a powerful politician who was the candidate of destiny. Hillary Clinton was herself the main character in a different type of hero’s journey.

History is contingent. Nothing is written. She lost. He won. Here we are.

What did Trump’s victory incite? Confusion and rage.

The elites he had defeated refused to accept him as the nation’s leader.
They hounded him. They conspired to jam him up on false charges of collusion with a foreign power. They impeached him. Twice.

Nevertheless, he persisted.

He vowed to come back. His enemies resolved not to allow it. They also acted stupidly, throwing the book at him in the courts, lying to the people about his successor’s mental fitness, doing what they could to smear him, to rule him out. Again they called him crass, crude, un-American, unfit.

Others raged against him. Assassins tried to kill him. Maybe thrice, maybe more.

Yet the people lifted him up again. Not the good and the great people. The low and dirty ones, the rabble. The forgotten men and women. They flocked to him as the pointy-heads gasped in horror. The hoi-polloi put him back in the highest office in the land. He holds it still.

No one knows where the journey ends. We’re in the thick of it. Hubris takes care of most heroes during their lifetimes. The hated—and Mr. Trump qualifies—must then survive the verdict of history, which is often delivered by the pointy-heads. The jury will undoubtedly be out for a long, long time.

You have to admit. It’s a hell of a story.

One Hell of a Story
Debbie Young

Yesterday, after buying some Peter Millar shirts and shorts at Assortment, Inc., we stopped by Uva Wine Shoppe to see our friend Mark. If you’re looking for the best selection of drinkable wines in Key West, FL, this is for you. Mark knows what he’s talking about, and as important as the wine is, it’s nice to have a chance to get caught up with him from last time.

Be sure to ask about his selection of rosés, and whatever wine varietal you thirst for. Add some cheeses and the like to make a good night better. You’re in Key West after all. Cheers.

Action Line: Tell me about your adventures in Key West, or anywhere else. Email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.

Read the entire series here.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.

Are You Spending Your Money Foolishly? (Part 7)
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy