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Iran Front and Center: 60 Tons of Explosives Sent Towards Israel

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentFeatured HighlightsRisk Analysis

Iran Front and Center: 60 Tons of Explosives Sent Towards Israel

The Israel-Iran War is soon to enter its 7th month even though last night was the first face to face confrontation between the two countries.

There was much less panic in the air on the “Israeli street” than one would expect after Iranian threats over the last week. I was clearly wrong in my assessment that Iran would not want to start something big with Israel and risk having a chunk of their strategic power degraded but it is hard predicting what fanatics will do. The question is if the utter failure of the attack will bring Iran shame in the Muslim world or if the fact that they sent missiles and drones will be counted as a “victory” even if no damage was done to Israel. Or it could be that Iran was counting on Biden-Blinken holding back Israel from responding and sure enough, NBC is reporting exactly that:

President Joe Biden has privately expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.

Last night at about 8:15pm IDF Homefront Command announced that all schools and all educational activity would be cancelled until further notice, angering parents everywhere. A few minutes later they announced that 10’s or hundreds of drones were launched from Iran and on their way to Israel. The news reported that it would take 8-10 hours to arrive, sparking this to make its round on the Whatsapp groups in this very interconnected country:
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Google maps also cooperated:

Friends and family in Jerusalem and surrounding areas were awakened by alarms and scurried to the bomb shelters, children in their arms. There were alarms also in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the Northern Negev dessert. Apparently, the main targets were two air force bases. One was hit by one missile and minor damage was done and the other was untouched. One 7 year old Bedouin girl was critically injured from pieces of a rocket that was shot down. The headline ought to read: Shiite Missile Critically Injures 7 year old Sunni Girl. 

The effectiveness of Israel’s air defense system seems to have surprised even the Israeli Air Force and special thanks has to be given to President Ronald Reagan for ignoring the comics and media (but I repeat myself) and many scientists and engineers (the experts!) as they made fun of his Strategic Defense Initiative and called it “Star Wars” – claiming that it was something undo-able and dangerous even to talk about.

Then Senator Joe Biden, using his favorite word, “provoke”, is quoted in this 1985 NY Times article:

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, pressed hard for reassurance about whether the proposed defensive weapons might be fired by mistake, thus provoking the Soviet Union to launch a real attack.
 

The Biden foreign policy theory for the last 40 years or more is based on not “provoking” your enemy, no matter the cost and appeasing your enemy at any cost.

Special thanks to the U.S armed forces who shot down numerous drones as did the U.K’s air force as well as Jordan’s. There might have been other Middle Eastern countries involved as there is an unofficial regional air defense system set up with Abraham Accord countries and others not part of the Accords. 100% of the suicide drones and 100% of the cruise missiles and 92% of the ballistic missiles were shot down by Israel’s layered “star wars” system. 

If the IRG is honest with themselves, they will understand that they have been defeated. A combination of 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were shot at Israel at once and no drones and no cruise missiles got through. Of the 110 ballistic missiles shot at Israel, 101 were intercepted and only one reached its target. Israeli defense firms closed higher in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange trading today. I imagine Iran’s potential clients are having second thoughts. China too, must be wondering about their own offensive and defensive systems.  

So where does this leave us now?

The War Cabinet assigned to Netanyahu, Gantz and Defense Minister Gallant needs to decide on an Israeli response. I am not sure that Israel has the firepower to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites on its own and there is almost no chance we will see U.S B52’s involved.

So the most obvious target is probably off the table.  It seems that the U.S Administration is pressuring Israel not to respond at all and to leave things as they are. This should not surprise anyone who has been awake for the last six months.

Israel and Iran have been at war for the last 6 months – one could say for the last two decades. This was clear to everyone except Biden-Blinken who could have shortened the war and the suffering by punishing Iran for their attacks on US sailors and soldiers.  Instead, they appeased Iran and released $10 billion to them essentially letting Iran hit Israel with this money.   

 The Scroll is reporting that:

We are now waiting to see how Israel responds. Although an unnamed “senior Israeli official” has been quoted promising a “significant response” to the attacks, Iran appears to have pre-cleared the attacks with the United States via the Oman diplomatic backchannel. And according to Roi Kais of Israel’s Kan News, a U.S. official told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya on Friday, “the United States will take part in the response to the Iranian response if Tehran escalates the situation inappropriately”—which means that the United States tacitly approved an appropriate level of Iranian escalation, such as, we don’t know, a “symbolic” drone-and-missile attack.

The United States has also, as Barack Ravid reported Friday, demanded to “have a say before decisions are made about any retaliation by Israel.”

If true, that is cynicism taken to the ‘Nth degree’. True enough, the United States needs to watch after its own national interests, but is it possible that the U.S government considers Iran its equal and Israel its vassal? Were Israel faced with a missile attack from China an argument could be made that U.S interests take precedence over Israel’s – but Iran? The Iranian economy is in shambles, the Rial is at record lows, its only economic lifeline comes from China, bankrupt Russia, the $10 billion Biden gave them and illegal activities. As Israel just showed– Iran’s vaunted missile force is worth less than advertised. We have not even spoken about the way it treats women and gays and how it treats opponents to its theocracy, how it spreads terror throughout the Middle East and Africa, how it helps Russia destroy Ukraine, how it is a key player in the global drug trade and money laundering.  

We have also not spoken about its foothold in the Western hemisphere and its attempts to infiltrate the United States itself via the porous southern border. 

Worst of all, if the Scroll story is correct, it shows how Biden-Blinken don’t understand what the office of the Presidency of the United States is. It is not just another head of state or head of government, but rather the President’s warnings ought always to be backed up with actions. Biden’s “Don’t Speech 2.0” was laughed at by Iran in public, for all to see. And the Biden-Blinken response is to tell Israel, “don’t”.

Ignoring Biden-Blinken for the moment, Israel must think deeply about its response. It is clear that any response will be followed by more of the same from Iran. Israel must think a few moves ahead and not just attack for the sake of attacking or it will be in the middle of yet another war of attrition. The end of the multiple rounds of attacks must leave Israel in better strategic shape than it is now and must leave Iran substantially weaker.

Whatever Israel decides to do, it must degrade Iran’s military capability by destroying its weapons and bases and killing as many IRG officers as possible. Israel should not bomb the power stations in Tehran or do other non-military strikes. Air force bases, missile silos and Iran’s navy should be targeted in such a way that degrades capabilities. They could start by sinking the Iranian spy ship that is helping the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Israelis seem to think that by “allowing” Iran to attack them it gives them many diplomatic credits, but we already know that these “credits” do not last long.  Whatever Israel does, it ought not to play the “message” game. Its attacks ought to provide tactical advantages in the coming months and not just “warnings to Iran” and “messages to Hezbollah”.

But let’s not ignore Biden-Blinken for a moment.  What if they decide to threaten Israel that if Israel retaliates the US will sit on their hands? 

This would be the time for Israel to do a little threatening of itself. The worst thing for a sitting President running for re-election is a summer gasoline price spike. Israel could certainly threaten to destroy Iran’s oil facilities and help push the price of oil. High gallon gasoline prices this summer will lose Biden more votes than he can gain in Dearborn, Michigan. In exchange for leaving Iran untouched, Israel can demand a free hand in Gaza, including Rafah as well as in Lebanon.  

Would that be worth letting Iran off the hook? It might. Iran was defeated in this battle, but it still believes it will win the war. Giving Israel free reign to destroy Hamas and then Hezbollah means that Iran will lose the war, too. Without Hezbollah, Iran will lose its most important asset in its overall goal of destroying Israel, chasing the US from the Middle East and establishing Shiite dominance in the region. It would turn October 7th into the day that Iran started on its road to defeat.

Israel needs to be opportunistic and aggressive in its dealings with its allies and its enemies. It has to let its allies know that it too is playing the long game and that it will not only hurt those who hurt it – as Netanyahu loves saying – but that it will destroy all who even try to harm it.

More importantly it needs to show its enemies with actions and not with words that threatening Israel means you will be destroyed. 

The Biden-Blinken team must be told in no uncertain terms that Israel is not a vassal.  The end result of this war cannot only be the destruction of Hamas, it must also be the destruction of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regional power. By sending over nearly 60 tons of explosives to Israel, they have put themselves front and center.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

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AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Wonders for the 12th of April 2024

by with No Comment AMT MarketsArtificial IntelligenceFeatured Highlights

AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Wonders for the 12th of April 2024

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10. Free Press: Brazil and the Lula de Silva government are cracking down on dissent in social media. ‘X’ – formerly Twitter – led by Elon Musk is fighting back and refusing to cooperate as Brazilian ‘leadership’ attempts to intimidate the ‘loyal opposition’ in the legislature.

9. GROOT: Nvidia is working on ‘humanoid’ robotics. Project GROOT was presented by Jensen Huang at the GTC Conference. The synergy between machine learning, semiconductors and robotics is an evolution taking place before our eyes. Tesla is involved in similar research as it works on Optimus.

8. Hot Chocolate: Speculation in Cocoa has brought the commodity above 10,400.00 USD per metric ton as of this writing. Questions about gravity and hypersonic speculative values are logical at this juncture.

7. Seclusion: Do humans still need each other? People are relying on their mobile devices for social interactions. Robotics with AI capabilities will make our existence potentially more lonely. Open source software DOBB-E will be part of this future as household chores are taken care of by ‘machines’.

6. Iran: Those with holiday excursion plans which include Teheran this weekend may need to check on ticket availability due to the possibility of flight cancellations.

5. Fed Liberty: President Joe Biden this week spoke about an interest rate cut coming from the Federal Reserve this year, yet Consumer Price Index statistics are demonstrating escalating expenses. Current U.S government leaders may want to spend less on ‘vote buying’ via student loan forgiveness and think about conservative fiscal practices. Why should Americans who choose not to attend universities pay for those who did via higher taxes? Are Fed and Treasury officials still independent?

4. Risk Averse: Gold is within sight of 2,400.00 USD this morning. In the meantime U.S bond yields have inverted completely except for the 30-Year issue. Financial institutions are showing nervous behavioral sentiment.

3. USD Centric: Forex has seen reactive trading this week as financial institutions begin to conclude the U.S Federal Reserve’s monetary policy ‘over time’ will remain disturbingly difficult and full of doublespeak.

2. Caution: Mixed results are flourishing in the major U.S stock indices as the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 touch late March values, and the Dow Jones 30 has returned to February levels. Higher than anticipated interest rates are causing turbulence.

1. Energy Illusions: As the prices of food, transportation and housing escalates isn’t it time governments start to question their ‘green’ policies which are making the costs of energy production more expensive? We all want a clean planet, but logical strategies must be applied to create efficient use of resources.

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AMT’s Dubious Dozen Forex March 2024 Sentiment Outlook

by with No Comment AssetsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

AMT's Dubious Dozen Forex March 2024 Sentiment Outlook

The Dubious Dozen is comprised of nations who are wealthy or should be, and face criticism because of domestic and sometimes international policies. As the reader you are free to differ from the AMT opinions, which are admittedly subjective. The ratings and outlooks are not delivered as trading advice, but as a viewpoint to inform. The work presented is a living document. The nations and currencies listed, and data and critiques shall change monthly according to points deemed important.

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AMT Dubious Dozen March 2024 Forex Sentiment Outlook

AMT’s Dubious Dozen Monthly Forex Sentiment Outlook has a scaled ratings table, listing nations and currencies that are judged to have concerns regarding outlooks due to behavioral sentiment factors within financial institutions and among citizens, based on economics, transparency, and risk concerns about government fiscal policy, and ‘leanings’ toward autocracy. Metrics like inflation, gross domestic product, direct foreign investment information, debts and budgets, and foreign currency holdings which are gathered from various public sources will sometimes be presented.

AMT also tries to judge the trust level the citizens of the nations have in their domestic currencies via exchange rates, black market FX factors, and alternative assets held to guard against potential risks – like digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and gold.

A lack of credibility in a ‘fiat’ currency is dangerous and often leads to black markets for Forex in search of safe-haven currencies like the USD. The lack of a credible domestic currency also leads to price inflation because people selling goods fear the value of the domestic currency is losing value rapidly. Rampant inflation also leads to a desire to sidestep taxation on occasion.

Problematic inflation and inability to collect taxes may open the door for certain countries to contemplate and potentially initiate Central Bank Digital Currencies in order to control domestic economic activity. It is not a coincidence that China, Iran, among others are considering implementation of CBDC’s. The potential of CBDC’s by governments could allow for draconian laws for citizens of certain nations. The ability for a government to check on how all money is used via a centralized blockchain could lead to a more authoritarian landscape.

Quick Insights of the Dubious Dozen Nations Listed:

Argentine Peso (ARS): The election of President Javier Milei has started to ignite changes within fiscal policy and has created hope among international observers of a less corrupt Argentina. However, many obstacles still must be overcome by the newly elected leader and the government, and many economic issues will take patience from the public to improve. Patience has not been a classic virtue in Argentina, unless one considers the ability to accept massive corruption and go on with everyday life as a supreme power.

Brazilian Real (BRL):  Concerns regarding potential fiscal policy changes hover over the existing government which leans towards a socialistic bent and has shown a tendency to align itself with some of the most autocratic governments. Some businesses and investors are anxious about the potential of government mismanagement to develop under President Lula da Silva. The listing of Brazil will create catcalls from some, but the fear in some circles is what might happen if fiscal policy which is led by a socialistic government becomes too populist. For the moment the BRL appears to be under control, which is a good thing. However, the Brazilian Real should be kept in sight for any signs of nervousness.

Chinese Yuan (CNY): The domestic economy remains troubling and fragile. Deflation abounds. Manufacturing, electrical usage, real estate, export numbers should be monitored by observers. Government policy, and transparency reliability due to political control by the Communist Party is problematic. Concerns are causing a backlash among many foreign investors who are looking elsewhere for long-term business endeavors, when they have the ability to divest. Stats: IMF expected GDP for China in 2024 is 4.6% for 2024. China is suffering from current monthly deflation around minus – 0.80%.

Egyptian Pound (EGP): Corruption is problematic within national institutions, bureaucracy issues plague businesses due to interference. Central bank independence is in question as the government faces a litany of fiscal problems. Worries persist about a devaluation for the EGP in order to try and get inflation under control which is currently near 26.5%. The Egyptian Pound is viewed as highly vulnerable.

Iranian Rial (IRR): The nation remains mired under international sanctions. The government practices a heavy hand regarding domestic policies which carry the threat of prison and worse because of the ability to oppress the general population. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard which has several branches of ‘service’ helps the ruling government dominate and benefits monetarily, which makes the Iranian leadership and its ability to rule comparable to a mafia. The current inflation rate in Iran is estimated to be around 32.5%. Unemployment in Iran is estimated to be above 10% and 60% of the total economy is believed to be centralized by the government.

Nigerian Naira (NGN): Corruption remains a troubling part of Nigeria. Although it is a massive exporter of commodities including ‘energy’, and has a dynamic demographic, government policy is highly questionable. Nigeria’s GDP is estimated to be around 3.46% as of December 2023. A problem for Nigeria is its shadow/informal market economy, which is estimated to be nearly 58.2%. Corruption and an inability to legitimately collect taxes hurts the government’s finances and its citizens. The Nigerian Naira is weak and is losing credibility.

Pakistani Rupee (PKR): Economic concerns regarding export and import disparities are a major factor in the lack of foreign currency reserves. A new government has been elected in Pakistan which has been able to form a ruling coalition. Issues regarding corruption remain troubling. Pakistan has also formed a stronger relationship with China, particularly as they search for strong economic partnerships, but this may leave them vulnerable politically. The IMF is a large factor in the current valuation of the PKR. The currency has been stable for a handful of months but needs monitoring.

Russian Ruble (RUB): Although the war with the Ukraine battles on, Russia has found a way to continue to create growth within its economy even in the midst of sanctions. The nation has found other ways to trade and acquire products from abroad via ‘new’ trading channels largely coming from Central and Eastern Asian routes. Russia’s government is seen as highly one dimensional and rules with an iron fist.  Russia’s economy appears to have grown at a remarkable rate of 3.6% during 2023. Core Consumer Prices were about 7.15% higher as of January 2024 per annum. Vladimir Putin has played a rather impressive game of economic poker with the ‘West’ in light of the Ukrainian war, much to the chagrin of his critics.

South African Rand (ZAR): The African National Congress has been in power nearly 30 years. Concerns about mismanagement and corruption abound which are believed to influence questionable fiscal policy. The South African economic outlook is weak due to problems regarding reliable electrical supply, logistical problems at ports, and bureaucratic interference led by government policy which leans towards central controls.  A large amount of immigrants from other African nations are still coming to South Africa as a cheap labor source, but professionally trained people are still unfortunately leaving South Africa via emigration in large numbers. The South African Rand has been within the grips a long-term trend of losing value, and while not entirely vulnerable its credibility is becoming shakier.

Turkish Lira (TRY): A thriving business and manufacturing base exists in the nation. However, inflation due to fiscal policy in Turkey remains an impediment for corporations which are forced to deal with a currency that many within the nation are worried about because of its incrementally weaker outlook which has been noteworthy for a handful of years. There are concerns about current government leadership regarding transparency and a tendency to interfere in Turkish Central Bank decisions. Financial institutions and their corporate clients have a difficult path as they try to mitigate the constant threat of high inflation in Turkey due to questionable fiscal policy.

Venezuelan Boliver Soberano (VES): The failed socialistic nightmare continues to cause squalor in Venezuela. If you want to see the potential of where the VES is headed look to Zimbabwe and the years that a combination of despotic rule under the guise of socialism has delivered. Venezuela should be a rich and successful country due to its natural resources, but it is led by a band of thieves. The black market rate of exchange if it can be found in cities like Caracas is much higher than the ‘official’ listed rate of the government. The VES has little to no credibility.

Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWD/ZWL): The nation is still trying to fix the problems caused by government mismanagement under the authoritarian leadership of Robert Mugabe which led to hyper-inflation and the destruction of the economy. Zimbabwe has a long way to go and issues to overcome to achieve the reintroduction of a domestic currency which does not suffer from a lack of faith from its citizens, which have led to a wide abandonment of the Zimbabwean Dollar and demonetization.

A national currency that is tradable internationally does not exist, the government is aiming for another attempt at monetization in 2025 if economic stability is created. The Botswana Pula (BWP), USD, and ZAR are among other currencies that are used and accepted by the population to transact business. The government tries to monitor all FX exchanges after years of misrule, but this does not stop a vigorous black market. There is an accepted perception the current leadership is trying to fix the massive problems which have created havoc in the nation for a few decades, but the road back to normality is still perilous.  

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AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Raindrops for 16th of February

by with No Comment AMT MarketsArtificial IntelligenceFeatured Highlights

AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Raindrops for 16th of February

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10. Bitcoin is trading within sight of 52,000.00 USD, the digital asset was trading near 38,700.00 on the 23rd of January, which is over 34% in less than a month. That’s a lot of air in the balloon folks.

9. Gold: The precious metal has climbed above 2000.00 USD, this after a drop to 1985.00 USD on the 14th of February. Sentiment is uneasy.

8. Not April Fool’s Day: Iran has announced ‘plans’ to build a naval base on Antarctica, after declaring ‘property rights’.

7. WTI Crude Oil: The price of the commodity continues to battle the 77.00 USD level. Higher energy costs will not be looked on favorably by inflation hawks.

6. U.S Treasuries: Yields should be watched today after having provided anxious results this week, U.S equity indices will continue to react to the ‘bonds’ market.

5. Nvidia: After delivering superlative results in 2023, the company has announced the release of Chat with RTX, which allows independent AI chatbot capabilities to interface with your own documents, videos, etc., providing insights from personal queries.

4. Chinese Property: Investments dropped by over 9% in 2023. China’s government faces a clash between socialistic ideology in order to help the market versus practical supply and demand realities.

3. U.K: Gross Domestic Product numbers came in with negative results yesterday for Britain, the combination of recessionary GDP and stubborn inflation is stagflation. Bank of England faces a difficult decision. Will the BoE get proactive and cut interest rates before the Federal Reserve? GBP/USD is below 1.25800 this morning.

2. Data: Stronger than expected U.S CPI statistics caused bedlam on Tuesday, but yesterday’s Retail Sales came in weaker. The ‘disappointing’ consumer spending numbers were likely welcomed by the Federal Reserve and financial institutions. Producer Price Index statistics will be published today, surprise inflation results could jostle financial markets.

1. Forex: Day traders witnessed whipsaw results early this week and should remain cautious going into this weekend. Patience will be needed as USD centric outlooks adjust to nervous shifts in behavioral sentiment.

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An India-Israel Alliance: Prospects to Serve Global Freedom

by with No Comment BusinessCorporateFeatured Highlights

An India-Israel Alliance: Prospects to Serve Global Freedom

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author.

We wrote a few weeks ago in response to Nassim Taleb’s claim that Israel was fragile due to its over-dependence on the United States, and we came to the conclusion that in general he was correct although not in every aspect Is Israel a Fragile Country?.

Also, we compared Israel’s fragility with that of other free or status-quo countries (as opposed to revolutionary countries like Russia, Iran and China) and thought that Israel was certainly not more fragile than other free countries in difficult neighborhoods.  We then gave a general outline of how the free-status-quo world might look should we actually see the end of America’s commitment to global freedom The Day After Pax Americana.  

I would like to examine in a more detailed way about Israel and India and how their potential relationship could be a model for this world. With the U.S reluctantly and belatedly responding to attacks from Iranian backed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and their stubborn resistance to attacking Iran itself each free or status-quo country needs to look into its own defense. The U.S also needs to see how it can help midwife these alliances so as to guarantee a free world after their voluntary end to the Pax Americana.

Israel will need  to expand its reach and move towards a more anti-fragile existence without damaging the all important U.S relationship. We can’t underestimate the importance of the U.S relationship to Israel and how important it is to maintain and even expand it – but as the U.S political landscape is changing and as the elite part of the younger generation is, for some reason, excusing violence against Jews in general and Israel in particular, Israel needs new strategic partners if it is to thrive and move at least part of the way towards anti-fragility.

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Israel’s relationships with the Arab world, the Abraham Accords along with its older peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt are dependent upon dictators remaining in power. The most vocal and belligerent voice against Israel by a government in the (non-Iranian influenced) Arab comes from Jordan and the most vocal and belligerent non-governmental voice in the (non-Iranian influenced) Arab world probably comes from Egypt. These treaties are all important and they are based upon the self interest of the current rulers of the countries (which is a good thing), but no one can know how long they can last and how firm they really are.

Israel also has a strong and growing relationship with Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean and have joint military exercises together. Their navies and air forces train together and even their ground forces have joint exercises but neither of those two countries have the economic, military or diplomatic heft that Israel needs.

If Israel is looking for a second strong ally but one that itself lives in a dangerous neighborhood then the place to turn to is India. With the largest population in the world, a democratic government and a growing economy, India is the ideal strategic ally for Israel. Both are countries that live in dangerous neighborhoods, are working democracies and have experience dealing with terrorism. India, under with the premiership of Narendra Modi already has a strong relationship with the Israeli military. Israel has sold more than $600 million worth of military equipment to India (second only to Russia) and the two militaries have cooperated on anti-terror policy. The Israeli navy also reportedly has close ties to the Indian navy including submarine exercises in the Indian Ocean. Israel already has nearly $5 billion in trade with India (import and export) and it is time for Israel to start purchasing basic military supplies from India. India has five domestic manufacturers of the standard 155 mm artillery shells and it has large small arms industry – this should be an alternative to total dependence on the U.S for this standard equipment.

There is now a consensus in the country that Israel needs to broaden its military manufacturing and acquisition and the best way to do this would be to expand its relations with India. In order for this to make sense the time has come for Israel to say a very big “thank you very much” to the United States for the $3.9 billion in military aide it gets annually and instead purchase directly from the U.S and other sources.   India could also help in building factories in Israel – which could even be operated by Indian nationals through Israel’s guest worker program.

The military cooperation should be expanded to the air-force as well as ground forces.  There ought to be joint officer training, just as there is now with the U.S and some European countries. There should be a process in place that will eventually lead to a freedom of the seas treaty in the waters between India and Israel’s Gulf of Eilat. This should include cooperation between naval, air and anti-missile forces. 

The foreign worker program should also be expanded. Israel is trying to free itself from dependence upon Palestinian labor – from both Gaza and the West Bank – and India and Israel have been talking about an expanded guest worker program. Currently there are Indian citizens working as aides to the elderly and disabled and that needs to be expanded to construction and agriculture. 

Israel is a small country with around 10 million people and due to its large birthrate and legal immigration there is a lack of new housing construction in the country. The guest worker program in place with countries like Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and others allows workers to work for up to five years and earn much more than they can earn in their home countries. They are provided with the same health care as Israeli citizens (paid for by their employers) and are even given pension benefits which they take with them when they return to their home countries. Israel could probably host up to 100,000 Indian workers a year.  

Scientific and student cooperation should be increased. This will not only help both countries develop important technology in areas such as healthcare and biotech, but will help India and Israel retain some of the scientists that would otherwise emigrate to the U.S and U.K. The exchange programs at university science and technology departments could lead to the creation of world class companies in the respective fields. 

Finally, cooperation regarding the capital markets could help both countries develop world class markets. India has the potential to be a global financial center in the coming decades and Israel, while far from being a financial powerhouse could be a link to European markets and investors with the time zone 1-2 hours ahead and close connections with those markets. 

The United States will be Israel’s main ally for the next few decades but it will be healthy for both countries if Israel was able to share interests – political, diplomatic, cultural and military with another major country. While France was that country until 1967 no European power has the position or the disposition to ally with Israel. India is democratic and attained its independence at the same period Israel did and from the same (then) major colonial power.  Also, both countries have overcome their socialist beginnings to thrive on the global economic stage. 

Now is the time for Israel and India to take the next step on the road to a true alliance. If we have truly reached the end of the Pax Americana, then this can be an example to the rest of the free-Status-quo world on how to manage without the vast power that is the United States. If somehow America shows the will to continue to lead the free world an Israel-India alliance will only contribute to the freedom that a continued Pax Americana protects. It would be helpful in any future conflict in the Pacific and the alliance could expand to the Gulf countries, East Africa and maybe even Egypt. 

Economically and technologically the obvious expansion would be towards South Korea and Japan. Militarily, it could aide and potentially replace the U.S naval presence in the Persian Gulf and allow it to concentrate its forces more in the Pacific. We are not talking here of a relationship that will replace the U.S military tomorrow or even next year. 

This is a long term process and requires the governments, corporations and individuals in both countries to be aggressive in turning a relationship into an alliance.  And it will require the cooperation and encouragement of the United States which will have to agree to support this and similar alliances even if it does not agree with all the tactics used in a moment of crisis.     

It is time to start looking forward and to stop depending on the goodwill of the American people as America, too faces major fiscal, strategic and military challenges of its own. 

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

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Regional War Spreads: Will Blinken Wake Up to the Reality?

by with No Comment Featured HighlightsRisk AnalysisRisk Management

Regional War Spreads: Will Blinken Wake Up to the Reality?

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author.

Despite the denial of reality by the Blinken State Department the Middle East war gets hotter and spreads eastward (even without) Israel’s intervention. After spending years appeasing the Iranians the world is now faced with the results of that policy. 

Iran has trained and funded terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank where the high intensity battles continue. In Lebanon-Israel there are close to 100,000 Israelis displaced, and it seems more Lebanese have left the area south of the Litani as heavy rocket, tank, artillery and air attacks continue from both sides of the border. Attacks have intensified against Israel from Syria and Yemen, and Iranians and their militias are attacking U.S forces in Iraq and Syria. Turkey, Russia and Syrian forces continue bombing areas of northern Syria and now both Iran and Turkey are bombing Kurdish lands.  

We know what is going on in Yemen and the surrounding seas with global shipping coming to a standstill there, and diminishing Suez Canal traffic is slowly crippling an already disastrous Egyptian economy. The U.S and the U.K have been forced to bomb Houthi areas, but this of course is after the total failure of the Blinken foreign policy of ‘ending’ the war in Yemen by cutting arms sales to the side that was pro-West while encouraging Iran to continue funding, arming and training of their Houthi allies.

A new front has now opened between Pakistan and Iran. We spoke earlier of the Sunni-Shiite war heating up, but it has spread faster and more violently than we expected. 

Over the last few days fighting on the Iran-Pakistan border has heated up. It started with heavy fire between the Pakistani group Jaish ul-Adl and Iranian border guards in the Sistan-Baluchestan border area, and included the assassination of Iranian Hussain Gwadanfur on the Khash-Saravan road.

In other clashes between Iranian and Pakistani forces at least two Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) soldiers were killed, and the IRG has shot rockets into Pakistan hitting Turbat and surrounding areas near the coast.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement claiming that they “undertook a series of highly coordinated …. precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran”. At the end of the press release they speak of Iran being a “brotherly country” with “great respect and admiration for the Iranian people”. It seems that Pakistan does not want to publicly admit that official Iranian forces were involved in the attacks.

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What is incredible about Iran is that they have now attacked three nuclear armed states – the U.S, Pakistan and Israel – without fear of retaliation. We can only imagine what the Revolutionary Islamic Republic of Iran will do once they too have a nuclear weapon.

We are in a regional war with fighting going on daily from Pakistan to Libya. Iran, not Israel, is at the center and is the cause of nearly all the fighting and tough statements and tough actions need to be taken against Iran – not Israel. Senate majority leader Schumer has been quoted as saying that he wants to put extra conditions upon the sale of arms to Israel, but where was he when Obama sent planeloads of cash to Iran and Biden-Blinken released further billions in November of 2023? Where are the conditions placed on a terrorist state?  

The Biden-Blinken foreign policy of appeasing enemies and threatening allies that is at the core of its operation continues apace. First with the cutoff of arms to Saudi Arabia and their Yemeni allies in order to “end the war” and then to “advice” the Ukrainians not to provoke the Russians, and next heavy pressure on Israel to ‘surrender’ to Hamas by leaving them in power.  

One can make deals with countries that are interested in their people. One cannot make deals with terrorist groups or revolutionary states that are looking to upend the global order. That is Iran in a nutshell. 

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/

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AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Flakes for 19th of January 2024

by with No Comment AMT MarketsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

AMT Top Ten Miscellaneous Flakes for 19th of January 2024

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10. Music: Come On, Come Over performed by Jaco Pastorius. The bass playing on this song is magnificent.

9. Cybersecurity: Prospect of quantum computing is making Central Banks nervous, quantum development will impact blockchain and make current payment systems vulnerable and perhaps obsolete. Post-quantum cryptography development is vital.

8. Frigid Weather: Tesla owners have dealt with battery power failures as winter temperatures have plummeted in Chicagoland and elsewhere. EV energy solutions need to improve.

7. China: Over the past 11 months FDI (foreign direct investment) has dropped more than 10% in the nation, an estimated short fall of 145.51 billion USD. China’s Foreign Direct Investment release has seemingly been pushed off to next week. Shanghai Composite (SSE) near 2832.28.

6. Energy Sector: WTI Crude Oil still priced politely as ‘interactions’ with Houthis flare. Natural Gas values remain near lows while North America suffers from a deep freeze.

5. Risk Assessment: Iran and Pakistan, although expressing ‘brotherly love’ for each other, have exchanged missiles across their respective border aimed at extremists.

4. U.S Treasuries: Inversion has almost ended completely, 5-Year Notes up to 30-Year Bonds yields have returned to ‘norms’.

3. Gold: Price of the precious metal near 2027.00 USD having bounced higher after challenging the 2000.00 vicinity on Wednesday.

2. Data: Consumer Sentiment reading via University of Michigan on the schedule today, this could provide impetus to markets that appear to be waiting for the next big push.

1. FX Volatility: USD strength has pushed the greenback towards important mid-term resistance in Forex as many day traders are likely still fighting the trend.

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Thin Holiday Markets Await FX Speculators

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentCommoditiesFeatured Highlights

Thin Holiday Markets Await FX Speculators

Traders who want to pursue speculative positions this week need to understand that market conditions will be extremely thin. While the USD has certainly taken on a ‘softer’ dimension and financial institutions are demonstrating solid risk appetite, this week’s trading could produce lackluster choppy conditions.

Economic data will be light this week due to the ongoing Christmas celebrations, and the New Year’s holiday which will come next Monday. Forex markets can produce trading opportunities in the near-term for folks who want to wager on changes of direction, but some of the trajectories may be dubious and reversals could loom. Entry orders are urged for participants because spreads between bids and asks will likely be wide.

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Gold Three Month Chart as of 26th December 2023

Gold remains within its higher price boundaries as the USD produces weakness, but betting on the precious metal this week could also be dangerous. Gold has certainly been trending upwards, but short-term speculative positions by large players could make the commodity agitated the next handful of days if they try to take advantage of light volumes. Day traders without significant bankrolls should be careful.

While economic data will be released, it is doubtful how much impact the reports will have on the broad markets. Active traders should monitor the coming statistics, but they should stay ‘more’ alert for possible outside influences which could shake confidence and shadow the rather optimistic behavioral sentiment which is currently being demonstrated.

News via international shipping should be given attention as the Houthis and Iran rattle their swords. While experienced traders will not be flustered by noise, the potential for escalating violence should be given attention.

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USD/JPY Three Month Chart as of 26th December 2023

Tuesday, 26th of December, Japan Core CPI via the BoJ – inflation data from Japan has been published today and the Consumer Price Index came in below expectations. The USD/JPY remains on a downwards trajectory and should be given consideration.

Wednesday, 27th of December, U.S Richmond Manufacturing Index – this report being ‘highlighted’ shows the minimal amount of data being published this week. A decline versus the previous month’s negative outcome is expected. The likelihood that significant trading will be ignited via the results of this publication is almost nil.

Thursday, 28th of December, U.S Pending Home Sales – the data is expected to show a gain of 1.1%. However, it is next month’s report which will get more attention, this as investors look to see if the Fed’s soft monetary policy stance which was heard in mid-December, helps boost the housing market in the coming weeks. This immediate report however is likely to be met with a rather quiet reaction.

Friday, 29th of December, U.K Nationwide Home Price Index – this economic report like yesterday’s U.S housing numbers is destined to have little influence on short-term trading results. The GBP/USD will not be affected by this report in any great manner.

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Preventing WWIII: Part 2 – Reviving Western Deterrence

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentFeatured HighlightsRisk Analysis

Preventing WWIII: Part 2 - Reviving Western Deterrence

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author.

Aggressive Western Action Can over-extend China and Revive Needed Deterrence.

Some cliches are just correct, in spite of their being cliches – “if you want peace, prepare for war” is one. But really it should be “if you want to avoid war, deter war”.

Therefore, it is not clear to me why there is opposition by some in the Republican party to fighting Russian aggression in Ukraine. For some, I guess it is a knee jerk reaction against Biden administration policy while for others it seems to be a general loathing of American involvement in the world. 

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Each is understandable on its own but does not take into effect the appeasement of Russia will have on Western deterrence around the world – including in the Western hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific. While most Americans understand that Russian control of Ukraine threatens the main Western European countries, the key to Russian imperialism really is in the south. Historically, Russia has always tried to find a warm water port to call its own. For nearly four centuries Czarist Russia fought Ottoman Turkey so that Russia could expand its territory southward and have a warm water presence in the Mediterranean. Currently, a Ukrainian presence in the Black Sea denies Russia even the opportunity to pressure modern Turkey to abide its wishes.

A Russian victory in Ukraine would mean dominance of the Black Sea by the Russian Navy and directly challenge Turkey to appease Russian power by giving them free passage through the Dardanelles to the Mediterranean. That in itself would not be worth much to the Russians without a port in the Mediterranean, which they currently have. That they have one goes back to the disastrous decision by the Obama administration to invite Russia back into the Mideast in order to take care of Syrian chemical weapons. This came, we all remember, when the Syrians laughed at Obama and crossed his “red line” about using chemical weapons against its own people. We might also remember when then Secretary of State John Kerry (the one who was never right on a single foreign policy issue ever) who, first demanded that Syria turn over all chemical weapons in a week, then reassured them that even if we attack it will be “unbelievably small”.

In 1973-4, Henry Kissinger brilliantly took advantage of the Israeli-Arab War’s outcome with Israel’s surrounding the Egyptian 3rd Army in the south and controlling the road to Damascus in the north, by brokering a cease fire on both fronts. This led directly to the expulsion of Russia/Soviet Union from the Middle East. While Russia continued friendly ties with the murderous Assad family – first Hafez and then his son, Bashar, they did not have a military, air or naval presence there. Due to this longstanding relationship with Assad’s Syria, Obama and Kerry thought it a brilliant idea to have them come in and do the dirty work that they didn’t want to do – prevent Assad from gassing his own people. 

As Russia came in and established air and sea bases in Syria and introduced the infamous Wagner group to carry out its brutal ground operations, Russia slowly started to strengthen its position in the region. While slyly allowing Israel to attack Iranian arms shipments meant for Hezbollah while pretending to be its ally, Russia formed a close  relationship with Iran. Wagner, which fought hand in hand with Hezbollah in order to prop up the Assad regime (and attack American forces fighting ISIS) is now rumored to be training Hezbollah in the use of Russian anti-aircraft systems. 

In addition, reports last week that an Iranian Ilyushin 76 cargo jet has now landed in one of the Russian air-bases they established after Obama’s kind invitation to return to the Mideast. This plane, filled with Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah has been unable to land in regular Syrian airports or bases because Israel continuously puts them out of service. Knowing that Israel would never attack a Russian base – this is a safe haven that Russia gladly supplies. 

When free countries unite in warfare there is usually one joint goal  – that they are all united to defend freedom – that is why they fight together.  While autocratic and totalitarian regimes fight together it is usually a combination of a negative goal – disturbing or destroying the current world or regional order – as well as the goal for each power in itself. Currently, the joint goal in the Mideast (of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea) is to hurt the main ally of the US in the region – Israel, in order to weaken and embarrass the US. For Iranians, they also want Israel destroyed. For Russia, they want Israel weakened so they can replace the US as the power broker in the Mideast. For China, it is to dismantle America’s control of the flow of oil and, eventually, the replacement of the USD in the global economy with the Yuan.

Ukraine is important in this calculus because, as we said above it gives Russia complete control of the Black Sea and will pressure Turkey – whose NATO membership is uses only to its own advantage – to break permanently with the West. While the Chinese theory is that the two fronts the US is supplying arms to, Ukraine and the Mideast, are tying it down and expending its resources it would otherwise use in the Pacific, in truth, an aggressive strategy on both fronts would be to over-extend Russian and Chinese resources in order to keep China from moving on Tiawan. A credible threat of destruction or even marginalization of the Axis allies in the Mideast – including (besides the soon to be gone Hamas) Hezbollah, Shiite-Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria, as well as Iran itself combined with a major offensive in Ukraine will tie down Axis resources and possibly prevent a Chinese blockade or attack on Taiwan.   If its two main allies need full supply and full readiness to be able to respond to credible and massive attacks by Ukraine, Israel and the US, China itself might have to expend resources to prop up its own allies. 

Add to that a major show of naval force in the Indo-Pacific by Japan, India, Australia and South Korea combined with US forces will give China the choice of destroying their own wavering economy by attacking or blockading Taiwan or in maintaining peaceful Pacific trade routes while trying to prevent the collapse of its Axis allies. 

An immediate and radical change in policy can restore Western deterrence quickly.   Re-arming Ukraine and leaving Israel to do its job without pressure to stop in Gaza and to respond forcefully in Lebanon will send a strong message. Biden brought two carrier groups to the Mideast and told Hezbollah, “don’t”. But they did.  

In spite  of that  US Secretary of Defense Austin told Israel that its response to Hezbollah aggression in the north is “provoking” them.  

And the US hesitates even against Iranian proxies. Just now, the NY Times has reported that Biden-Blinken have turned down a Pentagon plan to be more aggressive in response to Iranian attacks against US forces in Syria and Iraq for fear of “provoking Iran” (this seems to tell us that the Austin complaint from Austin to Israel is really from Blinken).  

Iran never seems to fear provoking the US.   

Israel fooled itself by thinking Hamas was deterred by its destruction of an arms factory or two (as the US is doing now in Iraq/Syria) when proper deterrence would have meant them knowing we can and will go into Gaza and destroy their underground city as Israel is doing now. Instead, media fear mongers, backed by Israeli ex-Generals on the payroll of the US progressive left (via cushy think-thank jobs) combined with policy directives by successive governments have told us and Hamas time and time again that Israel cannot destroy Hamas as the cost is too high. I don’t want to speak too early, but that seems to have been as wrong as their assurance that Hamas is deterred since they want to drink white wine in the evening overlooking the Mediterranean while watching their children play innocent video games.

It is time to stop calling for cease fires and repeating UN hypocrisy and to start being aggressive and provocative in the defense of freedom. 

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

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Broader Alliances: Sustaining Economic and Political Power

by with No Comment Featured HighlightsRisk AnalysisRisk Management

Broader Alliances: Sustaining Economic and Political Power

The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author.

If the United States decides to abandon its role as the premier global superpower and shall only be a Pacific and Atlantic power, withdrawing as defender of free seas, free trade and freedom in general, its democratic allies will have to start looking elsewhere for broader military alliances. This large group of nations would have to defend their interests against a revanchist China tied to Iran, Russia, North Korea and many of the Latin American countries – possibly including Brazil, and South Africa who have questionable politics and outlooks.

Eastern Mediterranean Alliance: A Strong Sea Power

Here is a speculative, yet reasonable look at the future of the free world. Let’s start with the Eastern Mediterranean where the two major powers are Israel and Turkey. One cannot deny that both these countries outclass all others regarding military might in the region. Israel’s air force is second to none and its navy is becoming a strategic necessity as it needs to defend its natural gas fields miles offshore. It now has six submarines that are capable of projecting power anywhere in the Mediterranean and even into the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. Turkey is currently a NATO member, but it is not clear that this will outlast the first half of the 21st century.

There is currently an informal alliance among Israel, Greece and Cyprus (both NATO countries) via joint military exercises and intelligence sharing. The Israeli navy and air force train regularly with Greece and its special forces train in the Cyprian mountains with its army. It would be in all three countries interests to formalize a treaty – if not of mutual defense, at least of mutual aid during times of war. All three of these countries are democracies and all three have mutual economic interests.

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A formalization of this alliance makes sense now and if there is a NATO collapse it turns into a necessity for Greece and Cyprus. Adding Egypt (although it would be the only non-democracy) to this group would only strengthen the alliance and keep Turkey at bay. A post-Erdogan Turkey that is comfortable with its Islamic character and its modern society could even join this grouping with Israel as a potential peacemaker between the historic Greek-Turkish rivalry.

This alliance without Turkey is a powerful force in the eastern Mediterranean, and this alliance with Turkey could neutralize a nuclear Iran. A Post-Hezbollah Lebanon which is in the interests of all of these alliance members (including Turkey and Egypt), could become a reality and another member.

A New Alignment: The United Border Nations

What about Eastern and Central Europe? Poland is rapidly becoming the major non-nuclear European military power. Within the next few years it will outshine Germany and the U.K and rival France. It is quite clear, nuclear weapons aside, Poland would probably defeat Russia in a number of weeks, if not days if a conflict were to ignite.

Whether the Russian-Ukrainian war ends in a Russian defeat or in some sort of face saving armistice, Russia will not lose its aggressive nature or nuclear capabilities and it will inevitably become aligned more closely with China and Iran because of its current political nature.

The important new alignment will be categorization of ‘countries bordering Russia’. A new alliance of Poland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Baltic states – Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia together would have the land, sea and air power necessary to deter and defeat, if necessary, any Russian imperialist expansion. Even with closer ties to China it would be difficult to imagine that, over the next 50 years, Russia would be a threat to this alliance. Adding Ukraine to this grouping would make a powerful force. Its joint population of over 100 million people, while not quite Russia’s 150 million – would be a formidable adversary, especially as the technological skills of these countries is first world and continuing to improve. Adding the other former Warsaw Pact countries like Czech, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria can only increase its potency.

Unlike the Eastern Mediterranean alliance mentioned above, this would have to be based on a mutual defense treaty in order to properly deter any Russian-Chinese-Iranian attack. Linking up, informally with the ‘new’ Eastern Mediterranean Alliance would create a powerful grouping of free countries against any attempt by authoritarian adversaries. Adding an economic aspect to these border nations and an alliance with the Eastern Med group with free trade zones would create a strong challenge to any attempted Chinese hegemony.

Asian Border Nations Group: Potential Look Ahead at Potential

If we were to unite the Eastern Mediterranean and Border Alliances to an admittedly non-democratic Asian ‘stans nations, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with a joint population of around 80 million, we are beginning to see the creation of a multi-cultural alliance that extends from the Arctic Ocean through Central Europe, Northern Africa and into Asia.

The Crucial Partner in Order to Balance Power: India

Which leads us to the Indian Ocean; a dominant India can help control the sea lanes from the Persian Gulf to the Bay of Bengal and down to Australia. An Indian-Australian alliance, along with Israel would create a democratic economic and military force that would keep China and Iran from dominating the region. This would require an Indian navy that is not only large, but effective also because it would hold a main responsibility for patrolling the seas from the Persian Gulf up to Australia strongholds.

As India also reaches its potential as a global manufacturing giant, it will be a force to be reckoned with. Including into this potent mix of nations, is the possibility of adding authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states; along with Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia who have strong ‘western’ economic interests and would create a formidable bulwark against China’s imperialist Belt and Road project.

Without the need to project naval power worldwide the Unites States could use it massive naval, air and ground forces to take better control of the Pacific Ocean along with Japan, South Korea and Australia.

If we add countries like the Philippines and Vietnam, then China would be deterred from further aggression. The only other region that would fall under American responsibility would be the Atlantic Ocean – the shipping lanes to Europe, West Africa and the Mediterranean. Along with the UK and France there would be no challenger to the control of the Atlantic. This could also lead to a revival of the old Monroe Doctrine and maybe free South America from the destructive influences of Iran, China and Russia.

The Global Economy and Free Trade Zones with a Stable USD as Reserve Currency

What does all this mean for the global economy? The free world along with its less than free allies who fear China, Russia and Iran could still maintain a U.S dollar based world. Free trade zones amongst and between the various alliances along with a revival of manufacturing led by a technology revolution using AI, quantum computing, renewable energy and space exploration could lead to a global resurgence of free countries that could stop the authoritarian appetites of Russia, China and Iran in its tracks. This can only happen with a stable reserve currency the ‘West’ can rely upon which is the USD.

Potentially a U.S freed from being the sole defender of freedom in the world, would help get America’s fiscal house in order and allow it to focus on being a dominant economic power. Is there a future for the ‘free world’ without a United States that projects power globally? Currently, a U.S withdrawal from global military assertion would certainly cause the end of freedom (economic and political) in the world for many nations. However, with the new alliances described above and a fiscally responsible United States, freedom could yet make a comeback.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.