When you hear about Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Greenland, Venezuela, the Chagos Islands, Taiwan etc….are you left feeling confused ? Can’t join the dots ? Then let’s take a quick walk through the major trade routes, waterways and chokepoints of the world. All will become much clearer ……. 🧵

1. Time is money, resources drive industry, strategic territory is leverage.

For example, moving goods from China to Europe varies greatly by method: Air freight takes 3-10 days (fastest but costliest), rail freight offers a middle ground at 14-22 days, while sea freight is best for bulk but takes the longest at 30-40+ days.

See map 1 below 2. Approx 20-30% of global oil trade passes the Strait of Hormuz. Along with the Suez Canal (connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean), it’s a critical chokepoint impacting Western energy security and global markets.

No oil and gas, no industry.

It is pure stupidity to suggest that the West should just sit back and allow Iran's violent Islamic regime to continue its reign of tyranny. Here are 5 reasons why :

1. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, through which approx 20-30% of global oil trade passes. It’s a critical chokepoint that Iran could disrupt at anytime, impacting Western energy security and global markets.

2. Iran has enormous oil and gas reserves. A stable or cooperative Iran would enhance Western access to diversified energy sources, while instability raises prices and supply risks.

3. The Iranian regime (along with Qatar), trains and funds the so-called "Axis of Resistance" (Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Islamist militias in Iraq/Syria, Hamas/Islamic Jihad in Palestinian Territories). It is directly opposed to Western values of secular democracy and law. These forces have frequently attacked U.S. troops and they disrupt efforts to stabilize the Middle East and counter terrorism.

4. Iran’s nuclear program encourages a regional arms races, directly endangering Western allies like the UAE and Israel.

5. Iran aligns with Russia and China, which gives the regime alternatives to Western controlled routes (e.g. International North-South Transport Corridor) and allows it to bypass sanctions. In addition to the points above, there is no suggestion of The U.S. occupying Iran. There are structures in place within Iran that can allow a transition to a constitutional monarchy and democratic parliament.

The idea that the West should no longer have any military involvement with other countries is naive, over-simplistic and fails to acknowledge the important distinction between short-term intervention and long-term imperialist ambition, or the consequence of leaving power vacuums that will inevitably be filled by those with malign agendas (ie Iran, Qatar, Russia).

Hezbollah is a a worldwide criminal organization that combines jihadist terrorism with drug trafficking and business dealings with Venezuelan drug cartels.

Qatar maintains a close relationship with Iran, Hezbollah's primary and long-standing patron.

meforum.org/middle-east-qu… Meanwhile, Turkey (another major supporter of Hamas), serves as a major transit hub for cocaine originating from or routed through Venezuela (ie from Colombia), primarily destined for Europe.

Multiple reports and seizures link Venezuelan cocaine shipments to Turkish ports, with rising cocaine busts in Turkey coinciding with strengthened Turkey-Venezuela ties under Erdogan and Maduro.

Allegations (e.g. from Turkish mafia figure Sedat Peker) claim political connections facilitated new routes via Venezuela after disruptions in Colombia.

🧵This is extraordinary.

1. The Pope is asked about concerns over Islamic immigration in Europe. He then cites Lebanon, a country that has been destroyed by Islamist militias, as a good example of tolerance and cooperation.

2. Militants from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) established a significant autonomous presence and "state within a state" in Southern Lebanon and Beirut after their expulsion from Jordan in 1970–1971. This presence became a major factor in the Lebanese Civil War.

The Ottoman Empire was an imperial power that ruled over a wide range of territories and people 🧵

1. The Ottomans abducted Greek and other Christian children through a practice known as the devşirme (Ottoman Turkish for "collecting", usually translated as "child levy" or "blood tax"). This was a system of forced recruitment for the Sultan's army (specifically the elite Janissary corps) and bureaucracy, primarily in the Balkans and Anatolia, from the 14th to the 17th centuries. 2. The Process of the devşirme was ruthless, highly organized and designed to create an elite class of soldiers and administrators who would be fiercely loyal only to the Sultan, as they had no familial ties to other existing Turkish nobility who might attempt to gain influence or seize power.

Warning Signs for the West 🧵

1. Armed security and road blocks outside Christmas markets across Europe. 2. Qatar pouring $ billions into the U.S. education system, including years K-12.

The Qatari royal family's net worth is estimated at $335 billion.

Documents submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) reveal Qatar’s deep penetration into the American media landscape, particularly targeting conservative outlets and media figures. ynetnews.com/business/artic… Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani's mother, filmmaker Mira Nair, has received $ millions in funding from Qatari state-backed cultural institutions over 15+ years.

A prominent Qatari royal (Sheikha Al-Mayassa, sister of Qatar’s emir) has also publicly promoted Mamdani’s mayoral bid on social media since June 2025.

Critics, including U.S. foreign policy experts, argue this raises concerns about indirect foreign influence, given Qatar's support for Hamas (a U.S.-designated terrorist group) and its "soft power" strategy via arts and lobbying ($250M+ spent in the U.S. since 2017).

How the West allowed the rise of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism - a brief summary🧵

1. Since 1945, both Western foreign policy and intelligence services including the CIA have (at times) supported or indirectly bolstered jihadist movements, primarily as a strategic tool to counter geopolitical adversaries, starting with the USSR during the Cold War. 2. Cold War Era (1945-1991): The US, through the CIA, supported Islamist groups to counter Soviet influence.

The most notable example is Operation Cyclone (1979-1989), where the CIA funneled billions in aid, weapons and training to Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviet invasion. This included groups with jihadist ideologies and helped foster the rise of al-Qaeda, as it provided resources and networks for jihadists, including Osama bin Laden.

How did Dearborn, Michigan become a center for Islamists in The U.S. ? 🧵

1. Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, played a pivotal role in drawing waves of Arab immigrants, including many Muslims, to southeast Michigan in the early 20th century.

Early arrivals settled near Ford's Highland Park plant (opened 1910), where Muslims from Palestine (1908–1913) and elsewhere built the U.S.'s first purpose-built mosque in 1921.

This migration laid the foundation for Dearborn's transformation into the first Arab-majority city in The U.S. by 2023, with a population now over 109,000, more than half of whom trace their roots to the Middle East. 2. Ford was a well known racist and preferred hiring Middle Eastern immigrants over Black workers for skilled roles, exacerbating racial tensions but boosting Arab settlement.

This influx of Arab workers created a self-sustaining community: immigrants opened mosques, markets and businesses (e.g., gas stations, groceries), reinforced by chain migration from family networks. Later waves (1960s–1980s), fleeing wars in Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine, built on this base after U.S. immigration reforms.

Ottoman & Turkish influence in the Middle East 🧵

1. The Ottoman Empire was founded c. 1299. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, it stretched from the gates of Vienna in Europe to Yemen in the south, across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf, and into North Africa as far west as Algeria. This vast territory encompassed Southeastern Europe (including the Balkans and Greece), most of the Arab world from Egypt to the Persian Gulf, and significant parts of North Africa. 2. The Ottoman Empire hosted the world's largest Jewish population by the end of the 16th century, with approximately 150,000 Jews, which was double the combined total in Poland and Ukraine. By the early 20th century, leading up to WWI, the Jewish population within the Ottoman Empire, particularly in its various territories (ie Palestine, Bulgaria etc.) numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Where is the West going wrong ? 🧵

1. Child indoctrination :
K-12 programs funded by Qatar (ie the Choices Program run by Brown) have reached 1 million students in all 50 US states. Used in approx 8,000 high schools. 2. College indoctrination : Qatar has invested approx $6 billion in US colleges and universities between 2000 and 2021, making it the largest foreign donor to American higher education.

How did we get to a dangerous place where many young people think that hurt feelings are an entitlement to violence and different opinions must be silenced ? 🧵

1. From the late 1960's onwards, left-wing terrorist groups in the West were funded, armed and trained by the USSR. The Soviet Union viewed this as a way to promote its geopolitical interests by destabilizing pro-Western regimes and increasing Soviet political influence.

These terrorist groups included the Weather Underground (USA), the IRA, the West German Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Group), ETA (Basque separatists), Italian Red Brigades (BR), Latin American Shining Path and Tupamaros, ETA (Basque Separatists), French Action Directe, the Belgian Communist Combatant Cells and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. 2. In the Middle East, the PLO was founded in 1964.

The PLO, under the Egyptian Yasser Arafat, collaborated closely with the KGB from the early 1970s, receiving weapons, guerrilla training at Soviet dachas, and logistical aid channeled through factions like the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

This support extended to hijackings (e.g., 82 planes in 1969 alone) and post-1967 anti-Israel campaigns.

The PLO also acted as an intermediary, supplying Soviet arms/explosives to European groups via smuggling routes (e.g., heroin traffickers from the Middle East). The PLO hosted joint training with Red Army Faction (RAF, Germany) and Japanese Red Army (JRA) in Jordan and North Africa; RAF members trained with PFLP in the 1970s.

Modern Terrorism & the Far Left-Islamist Alliance 🧵

1. Airport security, as we know it, began in the early 1970s and was driven by a surge in aircraft hijackings and terrorist threats. The first significant measures were introduced in the US around 1971, following a wave of hijackings (particularly to Cuba) in the late 1960s.

The rise of far left-wing political movements contributed to the increase in politically motivated hijackings. 2. The PLO, supported by the KGB, was founded in 1964. Black September, a breakaway militant faction of the Palestinian organization Fatah, was founded in 1971 to seek retribution on Jordan’s military and to assassinate Jordan’s King Hussein after they forcefully confronted the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during an attempted coup in 1970.

Getting to know Al Jazeera 🧵

1. Al Jazeera was established and is primarily funded by the Qatari government, but the outlet has consistently claimed that it has editorial independence. Al Jazeera Media Network is owned by QMC, the official state broadcaster of the Qatari government. 2. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered Al Jazeera's U.S. based social media division, AJ+, to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in September 2020, due to its engagement in 'political activities' on behalf of the Qatari government.

However, AJ+ has not complied with this order and has not registered as a foreign agent. The DOJ has faced criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups for not enforcing this mandate.

Dark money & influence on US policy 🧵

1. The Tides Network.

Since 1976, Tides has 'scaled more than 1400 social ventures, fueled social change in 120+ countries, and mobilized over $3 billion for impact.'

In 2023 alone, the Tides Network’s total revenue was $627.3 million with total expenses of $1 billion. Several of their 'social ventures' (ie Palestine Legal) are explicitly anti-Israel, promote antisemitic rhetoric and support BDS campaigns in US colleges and elsewhere. 2. Arabella Advisers.

Since 2006, the Arabella hub has overseen a network of nonprofits that have collected $ billions. These nonprofits manage a range of pop-up activist groups that influence US policy. They don’t file IRS disclosures or report their budgets, boards or staff. In many cases, their connection to Arabella goes unreported.

Arabella's nonprofits have given a total of approx $11 billion to anti-Israel protest since 2018. Those nonprofits have supported radical Palestinian activist groups that have been linked to terrorism and agitated against US support for Israel following Oct. 7th.

Ok, let's do this again.

Qatar For Dummies 🧵

1. Qatar is a tiny country with enormous wealth from oil and gas fields. Its 330,000 citizens make up only approx 10 - 15% of the total population, with the vast majority of residents effectively working as slaves ('migrant workers'). 2. While residents can apply for citizenship after 25 years in the country, the process is rarely granted and citizenship is primarily inherited from a Qatari father.

Most of the major conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa have Russian involvement.

Across these conflicts, Russia employs a mix of direct military intervention (Syria), proxy forces like Wagner (Sudan, DRC), and diplomatic intervention (Yemen).

Russia’s regional goals include:

Geopolitical Leverage: Countering U.S. and Western influence by aligning with local actors or filling power vacuums.

Economic Gains: Securing resources like gold (Sudan, DRC) or oil and gas (Syria, Iran) to bolster its economy, especially under Western sanctions.

Strategic Positioning: Establishing military bases (Syria, Sudan) to project power in key regions like the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

Hybrid Warfare: Using disinformation/propaganda, arms supplies, and mercenaries to influence conflicts with minimal direct accountability.

Russia’s actions often prolong conflicts by arming multiple sides (Sudan) or supporting entrenched regimes (Syria), contributing to humanitarian crises. Its use of Wagner also provides deniability. The Russia-Iran alliance has deepened significantly over recent years with strategic alignment against Western influence, military cooperation (especially in Ukraine and Syria), and economic coordination to counter sanctions. The 2025 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty shows clear intent.

It's difficult to create a new State 🧵

1. That's why The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) establishes four legal criteria for statehood: (1) a permanent population, (2) a defined territory, (3) a government, and (4) the capacity to enter into relations with other states. 2. The borders between Israel and Palestinian Territories remain undefined. The 1967 borders of Israel are not formally defined as permanent international borders. From 1948 - 67, Jordan illegally annexed Israeli territory. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel gained territory from Jordan and Egypt in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank), Gaza, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. While the 1949 Armistice Agreements established Green Line boundaries, these were also explicitly stated to not be final borders.

At the end of 1947, less than 3 years after the end of the Holocaust, the leaders of the Western world left Israel for dead.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman, UK PM Clement Attlee and French PM Robert Schuman all placed arms embargoes on Israel as 5 Arab armies prepared to invade. The expectation was that Israel would be destroyed.

In the meantime, The Arab Legion (which formed the core of the Jordanian army) had British commanding officers with Britain providing ongoing training and financial assistance to the Jordanian military. And remember, this occurred after the Western world had already rejected Jewish refugees and the British had introduced strict limits on Jewish immigration to Mandate Palestine.

Many people don’t realise how many times formal agreements or proposals were changed re. Mandate Palestine. But some of the facts are surprising 🧵

1. In 1947, Arab-Palestinians refused a UN backed 2 State division of land on the basis that it violated the principles of national self-determination, even though no previous State of Palestine existed. 2. Land "ownership" was complicated under the Ottoman empire with several different categories of land including tenant farmers, people living on land with informal ownership, and the vast majority of land being owned by the State (ie Ottoman Land).

This means that “official” private land ownership figures in Mandate Palestine should be viewed with skepticism as the vast majority would have been State owned.

Approx 30 million Kurds had expected their own State in the 1920s until territory they inhabited was divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran & Syria as part of the Sykes Picot agreement.

Clans in the region did not just disappear, nor did conflicts and tensions between them. There are still populations of Kurds, Druze, Bedouins, Alawites, Assyrians, Syriacs and Armenians, along with Arabs - and that’s just in Syria. The whole region is highly unstable.

Don’t believe anyone who claims to know how this is all going to unfold.