Sparks: Strait of Hormuz: Iran, US seize ships

Another storm in a narrow sea, where men mistake the seizure of a vessel for the control of their own fate.

Fear of appearing weak and interest in controlling the narrows drive these actions, not the speeches about peace.

Modern diplomacy is the art of rushing away from a peace agreement while loudly announcing one is not rushing.

Let them seize what they will; the names of those who fret over these trifles will be as forgotten as the cargo they fought for.

If a nation downplays the seizure of ships as insignificant, then it must also admit the insignificance of its own power to prevent it.

The supreme art is to choke an opponent's trade without ever touching a single ship.

Observe how the vortex of a single seizure pulls all other vessels into its swirling, predictable pattern of reaction.

One wagers infinite ruin on the certainty of a bluff called over finite pieces of floating steel.

A slight variation in the local application of force yields a profound shift in the ecology of global trade.

It is a peculiar form of patience that announces its lack of haste while the world watches its ships get taken.

A most modest proposal: that we define peace as the continual seizure of each other's property.

This blockage in the world's vital channel is a fever, a humoral imbalance between fiery pride and watery commerce.

Another dose of the old medicine, a temporary relief that feeds the ancient sickness of mutual suspicion.

They will tear down a dozen ships to prove a point before asking why the point needed proving in the first place.

All this friction and waste, when the true power lies in transmitting energy across the globe without any such obstructions.

The consent for this conflict is manufactured in the dry docks of public opinion long before the first ship is seized.