Iran Broke the Truce. Trump Broke NATO's Script.

Iran asked for a pause in the fighting to bury its dead — then spent the truce hitting tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s answer came from the NATO summit in Turkey, on camera: “Let’s just finish the job.”

But the strikes were only half of yesterday’s show. While the missiles flew, Trump put Greenland back on the table, ribbed Zelensky about Poland, and floated F-35s for Erdogan — with Europe reduced to watching from the cheap seats.

Barbara and Susan’s read: this isn’t a war story. It’s the machinery built to run the world through oil money coming apart — and the alliance created to protect that machinery just got new management.

NATO was set up as the enforcement mechanism to enforce imperial policies.
— Susan Kokinda

Susan traced it from the arsenal of democracy through the House of Lords’ own admission that the “rules-based order” only works if America enforces it. Trump just declined the job — and if you still think Israel runs him, watch what happened when he offered Turkey those F-35s anyway.

The IRGC is just an instrument of empire... an instrument for permanent warfare around oil as a resource and oil money.
— Barbara Boyd

From the strikes to the midterms, here’s where the two hours went.

REPLAY — Thursday, July 9th

Here’s what we covered (links jump to that moment in the broadcast):

“I May Be Gone Too”: Trump’s Own Words Adam opens with the raw clip reel: Iran’s first two leadership tiers gone, 350% inflation, a blockade that worked — and a president saying out loud that he’s their number one target.
Barbara: The Petrodollar Framework Comes Apart Why we’re “in the Middle East” at all: the post-1971 oil-money loop through the City of London — and Erdogan, “the Muslim Brotherhood with an army,” invited to work Trump’s board of peace instead.
Susan: What NATO Was Actually Built For The post-war arc from Churchill to the budget-rental motorcades in Turkey — and JD Vance setting libertarian hair on fire by naming Hamilton and the American System as policy.
Your Questions: If Iran Is “Decimated,” Why Are Ships Still Burning? Diana, David, Craig, Don, and Kathleen push back. Barbara: drones are cheap and the cells are scattered — the real squeeze is economic, down to the IRGC’s London property portfolio.
Four and a Half Months Is Not a Forever War Susan counts on her fingers: no boots on the ground, no occupation coming — and Bessent’s tell that half of Treasury’s work is now national security.
David in the UK: Can Trump Save the World from Globalism? YouTube warns UK creators the government wants official outlets boosted over them. Barbara: that depends on you — an overwhelming midterm win is what gives Trump the mandate to keep going.
Greenland, the Caymans — and the Golden Dome Kevin and Steve ask which territories Trump actually wants. Susan connects Greenland to the SDI revival and the laser test at White Sands; Barbara on ending the MAD era entirely.
Where Does Trump’s Worldview Come From? Susan Hogan asks. Barbara: a New York builder with an MIT uncle who talked nuclear strategy at length; Susan: opera, Lincoln — and the American spirit the World Cup visitors keep marveling at.
“No New Wars” — So What Is This? Samantha insists Trump broke his word. Barbara: a police action with one limited objective — no imposed government, no Shah’s son, the exact opposite of Iraq.
Dallas After Labor Day: The Midterm Convention Chad heard “constitutional convention.” Susan: it’s the RNC’s two-day economic showcase — and a Convention of the States is an enemy operation, not a shortcut.
Election Integrity: Slim Margins Are the Weapon Greg and Steve on the machines. Barbara: fraud lives in close races, and the SAVE Act plus turnout kills it. Susan reports from Wayne County, where 2024 was called by 10:30 pm.
Sneak Preview: The Blue State Blues Flyer Steel past Japan for the first time in 27 years, rare-earth magnets at scale, Pell Grants for the trades — the new PAC flyer is at the printer, and bootcamp members get it first.
Flush Out the Rats Slab’s read on Trump’s method. Susan: hit the drug boats and watch the phone lines light up in the Caymans — force the enemy to show his hand, then pick your targets.
Why Putin Wants Trump to End Ukraine Potato Tuber and Catherine ask. Barbara: NATO needs the war and Trump doesn’t — and Putin trusts no one else. Susan’s tell: State just scheduled Ukraine’s reconstruction conference for November.
Closing: The Choice Facing Iran’s People Ed’s question. Barbara: the funeral crowds were theater — the regime is fractured, and the road out runs through the Abraham Accords.

Too Big to Rig Starts With You

The thread through both hours: every control point Trump dismantles abroad has a twin at home — the censorship push, the mail-in machine, the psywar designed to keep you scrolling instead of organizing.

The key to the midterms is get out the vote... Getting your second cousin who might forget to vote because it’s not in the headlines to vote is absolutely critical.
— Susan Kokinda

The Blue State Blues flyer is at the printer and should be in hand by the weekend. Sign up for Monday’s bootcamp and you’ll be the first to know when it’s ready to order — then get it onto your block.

🗽 America 250 Founding Fathers Collection

Hamilton’s system is back in Washington — by name, from the Vice President’s own mouth. Wear the founders who built it and start the conversation.

SHOP THE COLLECTION

Next Midterm Bootcamp — Monday, July 13th

This is where the new flyer drops first — and where 400 activists from nearly every state compare notes with Susan live on Zoom. If the show got you thinking, this is where thinking turns into doing.

See you next Thursday.

Adam Sturman
Producer, Promethean Action
https://x.com/AdamSturman23