Chuan'er is now in a bit of a rage-fueled meltdown. We're almost at April 6th, which is the ten-day deadline he TACO-ed once before. If he TACO-s again this time, it'll be a complete embarrassment. But with how hard it is to even locate a pilot right now, and without fully securing air superiority, plus the mountainous terrain of the Iranian plateau, any attempt to land and fight a ground war would be an even bigger military disaster. It's hard to imagine what it would look like if 2,000–5,000 troops were wiped out in one go or hundreds were captured. This is clearly a war fought at the wrong time, in the wrong place, against the wrong enemy—a war that should never have happened. It's already completely disrupted the trajectory of America's original national destiny. For those of you who've been following this for over a month, you should understand by now: the U.S. has been coasting on its Cold War legacy, using assets originally prepared for a world war against the Soviet Union to fight weaker enemies in conflicts like the Gulf War and Iraq War, which made it look like divine intervention. But in reality, Iran is the strongest enemy the U.S. has faced since the Cold War. Iran isn't Venezuela or Cuba—it can even produce 1 million cars a year. Anyone with a basic understanding of industrial systems knows what that means. Hoping Iran will run out of missile stockpiles is unrealistic. The fact that Iran can still launch liquid-fueled missiles shows the resilience of its entire supply chain. The difficulty of dealing with a mid-sized country like Iran, which has been under decades of sanctions, clearly shakes the foundation of U.S. military hegemony. Honestly, compared to the petrodollar, East Asia, Latin America, and even Europe aren't really core interests. Judging by Trump's recent moves against his cabinet members, there's a high chance he'll end up scapegoating his subordinates. But given his well-known autocratic personality, the "emperor is good, it's just the treacherous ministers around him" narrative might not do much to sway his base. After the April 6th deadline, the likely strategy will be to continue escalating strikes (targeting energy facilities, bridges, power plants) to create a narrative of keeping promises, rather than directly parachuting in or landing troops and sinking deeper into the quagmire. But the biggest suspense right now is still the missing pilot. If he ends up in Iranian hands, he could become a major bargaining chip.