The clip above is from the excellent team at Breaking Points News, which I am a big supporter of.
In this clip, Krystal Ball speaks to Trita Parsi, an Iranian-born Swedish writer and political analyst who is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He’s also the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council. If you want a transparent understanding of foreign policy, I highly recommend you visit their site.
The world of foreign affairs can be a mystery to many because there are so many moving parts at any given time. There’s no better example than this illegal war with Iran, and it’s important that we take the time to source reliable analysis of information that is outside the sphere of a narrative that the Trump regime is desperately trying to control. I think the Quincy Institute is one such source, as outlined in the definition of their objectives. Of which this is the lead point:
The foreign policy of the United States exists to secure the safety and well-being of the American people while respecting the rights and dignity of all.
Foreign policy should therefore derive from serious consideration of the public interest, accounting for the diversity of American society. It should not be driven by the preferences of a narrow elite in Washington. American foreign policy should change as American society and the world change.
Time and time again, US arrogance leads to consequences that even an idiot can spot. Trump started this illegal war without consulting any allies, and now that he’s in trouble, he expects those same allies to provide help to keep the Straight of Hormuz open.
He made the imbecilic mistake of insisting that it was in their interests to help the US now, despite having ignored it. What he didn’t grasp is that none of the allies has declared war on Iran, so they can speak to Iran directly to secure passage for their shipping.
Chinese and Indian ships are already being allowed passage, as are their own ships. All Iran has to do is block the passage of ships that will benefit U.S. interests. The truth is that Iran knows any restriction on the flow of traffic through the Straight of Hormuz pushes oil prices up, and the longer that chokehold is in place, it damages Trump both domestically and geopolitically.
This has now become the dumbest war in American history. Trump is burning a billion dollars a day, killing innocent Iranians, while the Israelis do their thing, bombing hospitals, schools and causing an environmental catastrophe.
Meanwhile, more US service personnel are returning in body bags. Trump’s answer threatens the press and attempts to control the narrative that nobody believes anymore.
Were it not so tragic, it would be a farce.
God help America, because if this continues and he puts troops on the ground, it will be like sending lambs to the slaughter. It will make Vietnam and Iraq seem like a walk in the park.
The really frightening thing is that in Trump’s mind, he’d rather sacrifice hundreds of American troops than admit defeat and look bad. It’s just who he is.
Update on the Political Truth Portal
This week has been a real road-to-Damascus moment for me, and I have learned some important lessons. When I decided to expand my attention to providing a new set of free public resources in the form of what has now been finalised as The Political Truth Portal, I knew it would be a challenge to do on my own, but until this week, I had no idea how much of a challenge it would be.
It’s not because it’s beyond my capability, but because there are only 24 hours in a day. I have had this project on the drawing board for a very long time now, in some shape or form, in my head. However, over the last seven days, I have become both elated and terrified. The pieces were all put together in my head and in copious notes written late at night, and this has been the week that has made me realise what a big job it is to bring those notes to life, but equally it’s highlighted what a contribution it can make to this important fight.
It brings with it a sense of responsibility that I know I am placing entirely on myself. After all, life will go on with or without the existence of this new resource, and I suspect, beyond me, nobody cares that much, so I shouldn’t be putting so much pressure on myself. It’s something I have done all my life; I think it’s a result of my being on the autism spectrum, and as such, attention to detail is a curse I am forced to live with. It’s served me well over the years in business, and in retirement, I can’t just switch it off.
I eat, drink, and sleep US and geopolitics, and I love every minute of it. The Political Truth Portal has now become like a new baby; as with all newborns, I want the very best for it. In striving to achieve this, I have come to realise this week that implementing it in a highly structured way takes more time than I originally had thought, so I have had to adjust my approach. The assumption is always that putting the right infrastructure in place will expedite the process, and to some degree, that’s true, but the devil is in the details.
Delivering the vision I have for this project requires absolute focus, and that’s my superpower in many ways. However, on a practical level, operating a site at scale requires time-consuming implementation; there is no magic bullet. My days start at 6 am and end at 8 pm, and I’m loving every minute; the days fly by, and that’s the problem. 8 pm arrives, and I’ve only achieved a quarter of what I had expected. As a result, I’m running a week behind, but on the upside, I’m so happy with what has been achieved to date, and I’m glad I have taken the extra time to get it right.
I can promise you that once it’s rolled out, you will see why it took so long. So here’s my thinking: I’m going to stop putting pressure on myself, and it will take whatever time it takes. The great news is that my new investment in production facilities has really paid off big time, as you will see shortly with the introductory film I have produced.
I’m now really confident that I can produce video content in a fraction of the time it has taken in the past, and this opens the door to more effective visual messaging that can be deployed across social media. It’s hard to emphasise how important this is for achieving extended reach for critical messaging, which will be crucial in the run-up to the midterms.
I’m very mindful that the work of the last week has come at the expense of my not writing as many of my usual pieces here, and that, after all, is what people expect and support. I want to assure you that this is purely a temporary measure, designed to enable me to do the important work on the portal. The intense workload will likely last another week, maybe 10 days, but I will continue to do as I have this week, write shorter pieces accompanied by important video clips like the one featured in this piece, to maintain the important information flow people have come to expect.
Your support is absolutely mission-critical to both me and this project, because I can assure you that once you are able to use the resources the new project will provide and share them with voters, I believe together we can help move the dial. This will not be just another website; it will deploy a technology model that I have had on paper for the past three years. It will provide users with access to fully searchable resources and messaging that can be quickly filtered by issue or policy, it will feature key stats and a curated library of fact-checked information and video content, both existing and original.
The hard work of building a secure database framework on which to hang all the dynamic content is now complete. This is the relentless, heavy-lifting part of the project, done in the dark behind the scenes to make the magic happen when you visit and use the site. The one thing I have learned over the past six years is how to best engage people who don’t live in the political bubble we inhabit as political junkies. It’s why visual messaging is absolutely mission-critical.
I think you will see from the upcoming short film that I have created to introduce the project that the best messaging connects emotionally with the viewer. The new portal will build a library of non-time-limited content, as well as, of course, event-driven content. It will be available for users to download and use in their own messaging, along with new short, narrative-driven clips. I want the site to have both a public-facing element and include secure resources for digital activists and advocacy groups.
It will roll out slowly and methodically. The plan is to have the whole project fully implemented by the end of this midterm cycle. Features will be gradually introduced, including the ability to search for incumbent candidates to instantly check who funds them, with cross-references to the votes they cast on legislation. This will allow analysis of who they represent and how dark money influences their vote. There are significant challenges in identifying, for example, AIPAC money, which is often supplied through third-party donors. Dark money on both sides of the aisle is a constantly moving target, but this is the type of thing we want to create tools for, and I’ve created a database model to facilitate that development.
The project will be a living, breathing democracy-support tool that will evolve to meet the information needs of anyone simply looking for facts, while also supporting grassroots democracy activists and supporters to better construct messaging. We need to make critical thinking easier by bringing information together in a single, easy-to-use space for those who are inevitably time-poor from simply trying to survive. The user experience will be the key to participation.
It will not have escaped your thinking that this is potentially a monster that could eat me alive. Be assured, I am very aware of that. In the long term, I won’t be able to do this on my own. I see my role here as creating the framework and data model to facilitate a modular expansion of the project, as trusted friends are brought on board. This is why a slow rollout of resources is mission-critical.
Of course, the proof of the pudding is always in the eating, and I fully respect that words are cheap; that’s why rolling it out slowly during this cycle will introduce its value to this existential fight we are in for the preservation of democracy. It’s easier for people to jump on board when they can clearly see its value to counter the threat we face. It’s also about understanding the scaling requirements for serving visitors and using data-driven resources. Proving the model is a key primary objective. This is, as I have said before, a self-funded project. supplemented by Substack paid subscribers and small-dollar donations. The last thing I want is sponsorship, because I don’t want any compromise on the vision.
The project is made possible because there is no financial imperative attached to it. It’s political philanthropy as it should be. Uncompromising and focused on the sole goal of helping to create a better, safer society in which we celebrate diversity and embrace the value that it brings to our lives. Social ambition must not be a dirty word, and the audacity of hope should be the ambition driving us to create a better tomorrow for the next generation. A generation who have been so badly let down by our refusal to hold politicians and the political elite accountable.
Nobody is going to bombard you with begging emails, because if I have to beg to get support for this project, then what are we doing here? The idea behind using Substack as a funding vehicle is perfect. Nobody is asking you to pay a premium to become a paid subscriber; you pay no more than for any other publication, indeed, less than others with the same goal. There’s no paid chat channel; everything is free, regardless of whether you support the project. There’s no hidden agenda, just a genuine attempt to work for the common good.
By becoming a paid subscriber, you become a stakeholder in what I hope will be one of the defining projects of the current election cycle. I have also opened the project up to one-off small donations for those who might want to contribute. You can make a donation, should you wish to do so, by using this secure link. As always, I stress that becoming a paid subscriber is about supporting my work, not the ability to read it, because my extensive library of articles will always remain free to all to read and comment on.
What I do want to recognise, however, is the generosity of those who have chosen to become paid stakeholders in what I do, so I’ll begin in April by sending out a special newsletter to explain how your contribution makes a difference. In addition, I’ll be hosting webinars to gather your feedback on the Political Truth Portal as it rolls out. I absolutely value your contributions that have allowed me to take what I do to the next level.
On a broader level, I’ll also be hosting open-house webinars, so all Truth Matters subscribers can ask questions and gain insights into what is being rolled out as the year progresses. These are very exciting times, and as I’ve said many times, you make this all possible, and your continued support means the world to me.
In conclusion, I would just ask for your patience while I put together the last pieces of the jigsaw before opening the curtain on months of painstaking work. It should all be wrapped up by the end of the month, and then you can begin exploring on your own.
Kind Regards
Martin
