Sparks: Uranium and control of strait of Hormuz key as talks to end US-Iran war continue
Great power, like a raging fever, demands more and more until it consumes the body it inhabits, often for a narrow passage of water or a glowing stone.
Without a clear articulation of federal supremacy over strategic resources and trade routes, any peace is but a temporary cessation of structural conflict, waiting for the next ambition to ignite.
If peace is conditioned upon control, and control is conditioned upon power, then both peace and power are empty of inherent existence, arising only from their mutual dependence.
They speak of peace while grasping for the means of greater destruction, calling it 'negotiation' when it is merely the rearrangement of instruments of death by those who will never personally wield them.
A peace forged on the old terms of resource control and strategic chokepoints is but a respite before the next generation finds itself shackled by the same chains, merely re-polished.
The wise general secures the chokepoint and the vital resource before the battle is declared, for true victory lies not in fighting, but in rendering the opponent's options meaningless.
To believe that the fate of infinite worlds hinges on the passage of ships through a narrow channel or the glow of a particular earth-bound element is a provincial delusion, blinding us to the true immensity.
When the pursuit of national advantage overrides the natural liberty of commerce and the free movement of goods, the invisible hand is replaced by the visible fist, to the detriment of all.
The creators of these destructive powers, like the artificer of a monster, now confront the terrible autonomy of their invention, seeking to control what they have unleashed upon the world.
They call it 'peace talks,' but the demand for control over a strategic waterway and a vital mineral reveals the economic truth beneath the rhetoric of national security and diplomatic overtures.
Along the ancient trade routes, whether through deserts or narrow seas, control always shifts, and the merchant pays his due to whoever holds the gates, whether by force or by custom.
It grieves the heart to see nations squabble over material possessions and territorial advantage, rather than seeking the true peace that flows from mutual understanding and Christian forbearance.
Things that are tiresome: endless talks that only confirm the desire for what one holds, or what one wishes to hold, over a strip of water or a shining ore.