Posted originally on CTH on March 7, 2026 | Sundance
President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Vance and other dignitaries participate in a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover AFB for the arrival of six servicemembers killed in Operation Epic Fury. The solemn and silent ceremony is presented below:
O Keeper of the dawn and dusk, hold them beneath Your steadfast wing.
Let the dust of distant roads not dim the light within their eyes.
When the night leans heavy on their shoulders, be the quiet fire in their hearts.
When the wind carries the scent of danger, be the shield they cannot see.
Guide their steps through shadowed valleys, let courage rise like rivers in their veins.
Bring them home to open arms and gentle laughter, and for those who cannot return, wrap them in the eternal peace that no battle can disturb.
Posted originally on CTH on March 7, 2026 | Sundance
Overnight last night, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a statement apologizing for attacks against neighboring countries and claiming that some attacks were carried out independently by regional commanders without directive due to loss of communication.
President Pezeshkian further stating the Temporary Leadership Council in Iran had ordered a halt to attacks on other countries unless their territory is used to attack Iran.
Within hours the remaining elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rebuked the statement by President Pezeshkian saying the IRGC would continue attacking any/all gulf states as needed. This was followed by the Iranian clergy saying their president was “weak, unprofessional and totally unacceptable.”
Obviously the political, military and religious elements within Iran are not on the same page. However, at around 6:00am this morning, President Trump reacted to the original statement by Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian:
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries. They have said, “Thank you President Trump.” I have said, “You’re welcome!”
Iran is no longer the “Bully of the Middle East,” they are, instead, “THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,” and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse! Today Iran will be hit very hard!
Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time. Thank you for your attention to this matter! ” ~ President DONALD J. TRUMP
Two carrier strike groups are currently on station in the region as the ongoing conflict with Iran continues. The USS Ford (CVN-78) just passed through the Suez Canal and has assumed position in the Red Sea. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is operating in the Arabian Sea, according to the latest USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.
The USS Ford departing their position in defense of Israel, would seem to indicate the threat analysis has been greatly diminished. Moving the Ford group and the Abraham Lincoln group into proximity seems to indicate they are positioning to support the maritime transit and guardian program through the straits of Oman.
These maritime moves are taking place as the U.S. and Israel shift their attack profiles toward new Iranian targets.
Posted originally on CTH on March 7, 2026 | Sundance
[Full Backstory Here] – President Trump secured the border, began repatriation efforts, targeted narcotraffickers, confronted narco-terrorists, targeted Mexican drug cartel leadership, leveraged the DOJ to indict regional actors, pushed China out of control in the Panama Canal, took out Nicholas Maduro, took control of Venezuela oil production – both for the security of the U.S. and benefit of the Venezuelan people, removed the discounted oil benefit for China and reasserted stability in the Western hemisphere.
Then, with all that in place, he turned toward Iran…. but, proactively planned for a ‘Shield of the Americas Summit’ before the Iran operation began and scheduled it for today while Operation Epic Fury continues. WATCH:
Posted originally on CTH on March 7, 2026 | Sundance
We like the deep weeds, most do not. The geopolitical ramifications of the U.S. confrontation with Iran are vast and complicated; however, to encapsulate one of the most interesting dynamics consider this ‘tldr’ statement to open the discussion with your friends: Right now, Russia is like Amazon during COVID-19.
What follows is not me saying President Trump and President Putin are holding nightly conversations, discussing steps or details, or even obliquely coordinating measures as Trump eliminates the generational threat posed by Iran.
However, I am saying that given the nature of all contact and communication between Trump and Putin, including extensive contacts by their representative emissaries, both Putin and Trump are well aware of each downstream effect from the Iranian confrontation.
Two days after the U.S./Israel began Operation Epic Fury, President Vladimir Putin said Russia should consider shutting down oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments to the EU in advance of the previously scheduled April deadline date when the EU would stop purchases.
♦ First, remember ‘force majeure’ contract nullification is in place for every producer, supplier and transporter in the middle east. Second, with shipments from the Gulf of Oman greatly reduced, LNG prices along with oil prices are increasing rapidly. The result – ships filled with oil and LNG currently on the water are diverting in real time as international bidding for the content of the ships take place.
If Putin stops selling LNG to Europe, and Europe cannot get LNG from the Gulf of Oman, and China/Asia are LNG dependent (not exporting), then where is Europe going to get the LNG to replace what Russia will no longer provide?
Answer: The United States, and to a lesser extent, Norway.
[SIDENOTE: now does President Trump continuously smacking Great Britain about shutting down their North Sea oil and gas operations take on context? Geopolitical foresight? I digress. END SIDENOTE]
The European Commission’s decision to phase out and ultimately stop purchasing Russian oil/gas was made in 2025 prior to the Iran conflict triggering. Europe’s replacement plan included increased LNG purchases from the U.S., Norway and middle east; the latter supply option is now void.
Europe’s decision to stop buying oil/gas from Russia puts them in a very precarious position. The supply option for Europe is suddenly very limited, and Putin’s statement about stopping the flow early was obviously made with this understanding in mind.
Answer: The United States, and to a lesser extent, Norway.
[SIDENOTE: now does President Trump continuously smacking Great Britain about shutting down their North Sea oil and gas operations take on context? Geopolitical foresight? I digress. END SIDENOTE]
The European Commission’s decision to phase out and ultimately stop purchasing Russian oil/gas was made in 2025 prior to the Iran conflict triggering. Europe’s replacement plan included increased LNG purchases from the U.S., Norway and middle east; the latter supply option is now void.
Europe’s decision to stop buying oil/gas from Russia puts them in a very precarious position. The supply option for Europe is suddenly very limited, and Putin’s statement about stopping the flow early was obviously made with this understanding in mind.
[Go back to the sidenote above. Without question President Trump already knew that an LNG supply restriction from the middle east would disproportionately hurt Europe. Both President Trump and President Putin would understand this geopolitically obvious fact/reality.]
If Europe now has to purchase more LNG from America (at higher prices) President Trump’s leverage over Europe increases. If both oil and LNG prices increase substantially, the price of oil/LNG currently on the water increases.
[SIDENOTE #2 – Previously the EU confiscated their holdings of the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund, value €210 billion held in Euroclear and another €50 billion from other G-7 countries; total €260 billion. From those seized assets the EU created a €90 billion loan scheme to Ukraine with no repayment mechanism, because the EU predicts Russia will be forced to pay reparations for war and the negotiated settlement will deduct the €90 billion loan scheme from the balance.
Hungary, a Trump ally, is currently blocking the transfer of funds; but this payment scheme -created by the EU holding the assets- underpins why the EU will not permit the conflict to end without their approval. END SIDENOTE]
♦ To increase distribution of oil/gas “currently on the water” President Trump and Secretary Bessent have dropped the sanctions against Russian oil and LNG. India and Southeast Asia, not coincidentally both with new U.S. free trade agreements, are suddenly bidding customers for previously sanctioned oil/gas.
Here it is important to note that ‘sanctioned’ oil and gas sales were done in the transactional currencies of the selling and buying country (see BRICS). However non-sanctioned oil/gas, traditional OPEC market oil/gas products, are bought and sold using petrodollars. If Russia is suddenly allowed to sell to OPEC market customers, then petrodollars will likely back the transaction. Who wins, Putin (higher prices) & Trump (leverage and petrodollar). Who loses, the EU.
Now, you know how much I love timelines to explain things…. So consider:
On August 15, 2025, Vladimir Putin and President Trump met in Alaska. One of the key points that followed the meeting was both Trump and Putin discussing a realignment of strategic interests surrounding energy development.
On August 18, 2025, three days after the Alaska meeting:
Two days ago, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the easing of sanctions against Russian oil/LNG exports, specifically toward Asia in order to relieve some of the global supply constraints. {SOURCE} Yesterday, Moscow announced the redirection of Russian oil/LNG exports to Asia {SOURCE}.
“Our companies are considering opportunities, without waiting for further restrictions from Europe, to conclude new long-term contracts with our partners and redirect some of the gas from Europe to other countries, including India, Thailand, the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.
♦ Before February 28, European Title Transfer Facility (TTF) liquified natural gas traded around 35 euros per megawatt hour. As of March 6, TTF settled at 52.81 euros, a 50 percent monthly surge in the value of LNG to Europe.
Asian Japan Korea Marker (JKM) spot cargoes, the benchmark LNG price assessment, are trading above $20 per million BTU, with Bangladesh paying $28.28 for emergency deliveries.
The difference between Russia selling LNG to hostile Europe or selling Russian LNG to friendly Asia at post gulf crisis premiums is the widest it has been since the post pandemic (2022) ‘Build Back Better” energy crisis.
Russia supplied 13.8 million tonnes of LNG to Europe in 2025. The EU is phasing Russian gas out: short-term contracts banned beginning in April, full LNG ban by year end 2025, pipeline gas fully banned by 2027.
Russia is not fighting the EU bans; Russia is finding new customers at higher prices. Every tonne Russia redirects to Asia before the EU ban was scheduled to begin creates a potential long-term contract at a premium price with a buyer who will not legislate Russia out of the relationship.
Qatar and all shippers and suppliers declared force majeure after Iranian drones struck Ras Laffan facility on March 2, 2026. Approximately 20% of global LNG went offline. Asian buyers are now bidding against Europe for every tanker “on the water.” Russia has a lot of supply on the water and the ability to put a lot more into the market quickly.
Hormuz is closed, at least temporarily, through forced reinsurance withdrawal triggered by the U.K (Lloyds insurance market). And Russia, the one major energy exporter whose supply chains run through neither the Gulf nor the Strait, is the only non-western producer that can deliver to Asia without navigating a war zone.
Right now, Russia is to energy supplies for Asian customers as Amazon was to U.S. consumers during COVID. Both selling to an isolated and captive customer base, who were regulated out of options.
SUMMARY:
(1) Upon reelection President Trump told all U.S. energy providers to “drill baby drill” and maximize energy production. Trump then deregulated the industry for maximum efficiency: Secretaries Burgum (Interior), Wright (Energy) and Zeldin (EPA).
(2) Trump then meets with Putin in Alaska Aug 15, 2025. Three days later, Aug 18, 2025, Putin restarts Russia’s flagship Arctic project, the LNG export facility via the Northern Route to Asia.
(3) President Trump then signs contracts with Finland for the urgent start of Arctic icebreaking ship manufacturing in the USA and emphasizes the prior conversation about taking over Greenland which infuriates the Danes and EU.
(4) President Trump then triggers the Venezuela operation, captures Nicholas Maduro and -in addition to other benefits- forms a new strategic oil development relationship with the interim Venezuela government. Russia stays silent.
(5) President Trump then triggers Operation Epic Fury against Iran; completely changing the geopolitical landscape that surrounds energy partnerships. Energy flows through the Gulf of Oman are impacted.
(6) President Trump then removes specific sanctions against Russia permitting Russian oil and LNG to be sold (in petrodollars) into the Asian market. Meanwhile, the European Union is forced to increase LNG purchases from the United States.
Sure, it could all be just coincidence… or not. One thing is certain, the FIVE-EYES opposition do not think all of this downstream benefit that flows to Russia and the USA is coincidental. The FIVE-EYES opposition see all of this as a strategic realignment between the USA and Russia, and they are going to do everything in their power to stop it.
Now does this sudden news story make sense?
You see that "WP" on the end of it? That's Washington Post.
WaPo is the outlet for the direct CIA shaping narratives. There is usually no truth to the statements as narrated.
The CIA, like the other members of the 5 eyes, wants maximum conflict with Russia at all times. https://t.co/kjiTTlar6A
(Reuters) – “Russia is ready to divert oil to India to offset Middle East supply disruptions, with about 9.5 million barrels of Russian crude in vessels near Indian waters and able to arrive within weeks, an industry source with direct knowledge told Reuters. The source declined to say where the non‑Russian fleet cargoes were originally headed but said they could deliver to India within weeks, giving refiners rapid relief.”
Posted originally on CTH on March 6, 2026 | Sundance
Today at 4:00pm ET, President Trump will participate in a ‘save college sports’ roundtable event at the White House. Various leaders and athletes from college sports will assemble to discuss the topic. The media will be present and likely to ask questions about current events. Livestream links below.
Posted originally on CTH on March 6, 2026 | Sundance
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers remarks to the assembled press pool and answers questions outside the White House. As Leavitt notes, President Trump expected the Iran conflict to last 4 to 6 weeks on a schedule and the operation is ahead of schedule.
President Trump has instructed the U.S. military to completely dismantle and destroy the Iranian military apparatus, including the Iranian navy. That operation will continue until the Iran military is totally destroyed. WATCH:
Posted originally on CTH on March 6, 2026 | Sundance
Do you remember this moment during the 2015 republican presidential debates when all of the candidates were on stage and leading control outlet Fox News (Bret Baier) purposefully asked the candidates:
…”is there anyone on stage, unwilling tonight, to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the republican party, and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person. Again, we are looking for you to raise your hand now if you won’t make that pledge tonight.”
[The moment in video is here] The need for control is a reaction to fear. The question was intentionally constructed to create both an optic and a narrative Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and the republican party were purposefully shaping. Collectively the professional republicans were desperately afraid Donald Trump would run as an independent candidate.
I bring us back to that moment because it is the key to understand where we are even today. This was the core of the matter. This is the “trillions at stake” aspect. This is the economics of the thing as it first manifest.
Why did Donald J Trump stand against them all?
For many years before that moment, a small group of us had been outlining why it was urgent for MAGAnomics to take charge of the U.S. economy; because underneath both wings of the UniParty in Washington DC was a system that few understood.
♦ Prior to 2016, the United States Chamber of Commerce (U.S CoC), a private K-Street lobbying consortium, were the negotiators for every single trade deal done from the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
The U.S. government (USTR, POTUS and Congress) was the trade stakeholder who signed the agreements; however, the actual nuts and bolts of what the trade deal included, the terms and conditions, were negotiated by the US CoC.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce represented the corporate interests of their Wall Street clients. After all, the corporations paid the CoC and the business model of the CoC is dependent on the corporations.
This is the larger background for how decades of trade agreements ended up with offshoring, the Rust Belt, diminished domestic manufacturing, and increased corporate profits. This is the core mechanics of how a U.S. manufacturing economy was shifted to a “service driven economy.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was writing the trade deals. The CoC would then fund the politicians who would approve the trade deals. The CoC would also finance the presidential candidates.
When President Trump ran for office in 2016, his trade, manufacturing and economic policies were against the interests of the entire business network that controlled trade. The U.S. CoC poured money into Hillary Clinton’s campaign and their main GOP partner in the enterprise, Mitch McConnell.
When Trump won the election, he completely shut out the CoC from any involvement in U.S. trade negotiations. Trump literally put himself, Wilbur Ross, and Robert Lighthizer in control.
The CoC was apoplectic but powerless to stop this action. CoC President Tom Donohue could not even get an appointment to see President Trump in the White House.
The only thing the CoC and Tom Donohue could do was to fund anyone who would assist them in removing the existential threat that Trump represented. That’s what they did.
With the CoC removed from influence, President Trump, Wilbur Ross and Robert Lighthizer began the painstaking process of taking the Wall Street profit tentacles off U.S. trade policy.
In essence, President Trump put the interests of the American citizens back into the top priority of the U.S. govt, as it pertained to the biggest of all big picture items, the U.S. economy. That’s why in 2018 and 2019 the U.S. economy was on fire with growth.
All of that MAGAnomic background remained in place when President Trump retook control in 2025, and now we are starting to see the positive economic effects again resurface. However, that collective UniParty opposition still remains, albeit significantly diminished by the refusal of President Trump to move away from America-first policy.
The core of the opposition to all of President Trump’s actions, remains almost exclusively an outcome of the economics of policy the DC system no longer controls. It’s about the money. It will always be about the money. The division we are encountering in the MAGA ranks, is specifically driven by those same financial interests who opposed candidate Donald Trump a decade ago.
When it came to trade policy, economic policy, tariff policy and the confrontation with China, there was not one iota of difference between any of the 17 republican candidates in that 2016 election.
There was not one degree of divergence from the traditional corporate economic policy of the 30 years that preceded that moment on stage. Every one of the republican candidates aligned with the CoC message.
♦ CTH had previously identified our assembly as “The Last Refuge” specifically because there was no information space, no website, no organized group, no podcast, no functional assembly who understood the basic problem and simultaneously rejected the noisy pontificating baseline notion that our status was doomed to remain as a “service driven economy.”
We rejected that notion here. So too did Donald J Trump, and subsequently we championed him.
His intention in this MAGAnomic regard has never wavered, flinched or diminished. President Trump has focused on delivering real, actionable economic benefits due to a radically shifted policy approach toward jobs, trade and the underlying blue-collar economy.
As President, Donald Trump has never stopped being Main Street First in all policy outcomes.
What we are witnessing now with the division, derision and conflict goes right back to that original set of policy distinctions.
In 2016 we did not use the term “influencers,” but they existed inside every team for every republican candidate. Dick Cheney’s daughter worked for Ben Carson. Mark Levin’s son worked for Ted Cruz. The daughter of Fox News Executive Producer for Political Content, Bill Sammon, worked for Marco Rubio.
All of those campaigns and every person in the professional republican apparatus that worked inside those campaigns had one very unique thing in common, they all adhered to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce constructs of economic policy.
Not a single candidate ever mentioned China as a strategic economic threat until Donald Trump kept hammering it. Not a single Republican ever said economic security was national security, until Donald Trump made it core policy.
Remember this core difference when you see all of these voices who backbite, bitch, complain and protest that Donald Trump is not focused enough on American interests; it’s bullshit. It is all bullshit.
Not a single republican candidate ever cared about any of this stuff until Donald J Trump made it his mission in life to fundamentally restructure the economics of everything. This is still his primary focus, and if you watch him work you will see it unfold in the outcomes of every single policy, even the foreign policy engagements.
President Trump is delivering a global shift, a multigenerational shift, in the return of U.S. power and financial WEALTH to our nation. And, he’s unbelievably good at it.
The U.S. and Israel have been targeting deep underground missile sites within Iran, with strong success. Iranian counterstrikes, missile & drone launches are down 80 to 90 percent according to Pentagon officials.
Additionally, the Israeli military has reported they dismantled an underground bunker system in Tehran used by regime leadership. Originally the bunker was used by slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei underneath the leadership compound in central Tehran. The bunker was targeted by 50 Israeli fighter jets and subsequently destroyed.
President Trump announced via Truth Social that he will not seek any terms with Iran other than unconditional surrender.
Meanwhile, in a somewhat predictable move, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced the U.S. will lift some sanctions on Russian oil exports in order to mitigate shortfalls. India will be permitted to purchase additional Russian oil for use in their refineries. The gasoline end products will then be sold into the market.
BESSENT: “President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded.
To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.
India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage. (more)
Strategically, it has always appeared that President Trump wanted to remove the sanctions against Russia as part of a negotiated peace deal with Ukraine. However, the intransigence of Ukraine and the EU had blocked that move. I would anticipate at some date the U.S. will use the opportunity of global need as a justification to permit more Russian oil to be sold into Western markets.
This approach will not make Ukraine or the EU happy; however, it could be structured to put petrodollars back in control of Russian oil sales. That approach would further weaken China and the BRICS assembly who have been purchasing energy products in domestic exchange currencies.
The U.S., Venezuela and Russia could increase output and replace the missing oil production from the middle east region. This would stabilize markets. Although, the politics of that approach would face stiff opposition.
What seems very likely is that Bessent, Rubio and Trump have a plan. If there’s one person in U.S. politics who understands how to use oil to financially mitigate any geopolitical impacts, it’s President Trump.
Keep an eye on Russia. Ignore the western media narratives and look for direct source information on Russian oil activity.
Posted originally on CTH on March 5, 2026 | Sundance
I’m working on a deep explainer for the behavior of China as it relates to ongoing U.S. strategic military operations. More to come soon. In the interim, Carl Higbie from Newsmax outlines how China is spending domestically inside the USA in order to try and stimulate opposition to the Iran confrontation. WATCH:
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