In yesterday’s post, I wrote about how, despite Trump’s bluster and boasts, the US is flailing in its war with Iran, lumbering about like a giant lummox, facing an adversary that is far nimbler than they anticipated, that is able to duck and weave and land counterpunches even as the US is running out of steam with the steady depletion of its offensive and defensive weaponry.

It seems like Iran is adopting the equivalent of the boxing strategy known as ‘rope-a-dope‘, made famous by Muhammad Ali in his fight with George Foreman in 1974. This is the argument made by Jack A. Goldstone, professor of public policy at George Mason University in this article where he compares Ali’s and Iran’s strategies.

Fifty years ago, an aging Muhammad Ali fought a title bout against a younger, stronger, more dangerous and undefeated opponent, George Foreman. Few thought Ali had a chance. Yet he had a strategy that would allow him to knock out Foreman and reclaim the world heavyweight title.

Ali knew that Foreman, a feared heavy puncher, would furiously throw blow after blow. But he also knew that if he could deflect those attacks to absorb less of their force, Foreman would tire himself out, leaving openings for Ali’s sharp jabs and counterpunches. Ali called this his “rope-a-dope” strategy. After leaning against the ropes for seven rounds, seemingly taking Foreman’s fierce blows but mostly avoiding them, Ali sprang into action to stagger and knock out the exhausted Foreman, giving Ali the victory.
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If you follow most mainstream US news reports about the war with Iran, and especially the statements by Trump, Pete Hegseth, and defense department officials, you will hear mainly about how the US is pummeling Iran with its missiles and little about how Iran is responding. The impression given is that Iran has had its offensive and defensive capabilities destroyed, leaving the US able to operate with impunity in the region and is unscathed except for some minor losses.

So one can be excused for being surprised that Iran has not unconditionally sued for peace or outright surrendered. Further puzzling, given Trump’s claim that the US is in control of the Strait of Hormuz, is the report yesterday of Iran hitting tankers that were trying to break the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz under a US aerial escort.

Iran has said it struck two tankers trying to pass through the strait of Hormuz under the escort of the US military as Donald Trump gathered his cabinet to discuss the stalling war and rising prices as midterm elections in the US loom.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday that the “non-compliant oil tankers … were struck and brought to a halt, while four other oil tankers quickly changed course and returned to their previous positions”. The military body said the ships had tried to pass through the strait via an “undeclared route” and under US aerial escort.

Iran and the US have said ships should pass through the strait via two competing routes, with Iran bombing ships that take the southern route, close to the coast of Oman, and the US bombing ships that violate its blockade of Iranian ships and ports.
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Trump has tried to open the strait of Hormuz by force, but increasingly intense US strikes on Iran have yielded few results.

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Trump’s justice department admits that the reason that the Lincoln pool paint was peeling was because it was a botched rushed job and they have dropped the charges against David Hearn, the person they accused of vandalizing it. They released this news late Friday night, since that is when they think no one is paying attention and thus the time to release embarrassing information.

The Justice Department admitted Friday that President Donald Trump’s $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was “hasty and botched,” and it is dropping the criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn that accused him of vandalizing the pool, according to a new court filing from DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

The admissions are an embarrassing reversal for Pirro — and for Trump, who has insisted publicly for weeks that vandals were solely responsible for the severely damaged pool lining, chronic algae blooms and green-hued water at the iconic landmark.

Three other people have been swept up in the administration’s push to blame the pool’s problems on alleged vandals — each pleading not guilty to lesser, misdemeanor charges. Federal prosecutors dropped the charges against at least one of those people as well Friday, according to DC court records.

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