The Greatest Threat to American National Security

If I told you that high-ranking military personnel were losing security clearances and access to critical information, you’d probably expect to hear some sound rationale. Unfortunately, that’s not the case because the current greatest threat to our national security is an Alabama Senator up in arms over abortion policy.

Senator Tommy Tuberville has placed a unilateral hold on nominations and confirmations of military officials because he doesn’t like the Biden administration’s current policy of allowing officers to travel for abortion services. Consequently, the affected military personnel cannot access the classified information necessary for strategic planning.

Abusing power to manipulate outcomes is nothing new for American politics; however, political deadlocks that impede military operations are detrimental and problematic for the country’s security interests. Given the context of the Ukraine War and rising tensions with China, this poses a substantial risk that should not be taken lightly.

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First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Transcript

Hey everybody. Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Toronto, where I finally found something that is taller than me. And to commemorate September 11, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the largest significant national security threat facing the United States. It’s not terrorism from the Middle East. One of the things that we have learned over the 20 years in the war on terror is that most of the militants, most of the Islamists are interested in fighting what they call the mere enemy.

Does it mean that the risk to the United States is zero? But most of these folks are far more concerned with the war that is right in front of them, taking the conflict to sectarian opponents or groups that they think are apostates, who are right there throwing a Hail Mary through a transcontinental flight. That is something that is simply difficult to do and most don’t have the capacity to try.

I also don’t think it’s China. China is dependent on the international system as maintained by the United States. And even if Chairman Xi Jinping’s cult of personality decides to pull the trigger on a war with, say, Taiwan, the United States is not going to engage within sight of the Chinese mainland. It’s going to pull back and shut off Chinese trade.

And since the Chinese import the vast majority of their energy and the inputs necessary to grow their own food, the result would be a massive famine and a de-industrialization with honestly would crush China as a country within a year. That leaves Russia. Now, Russia is obviously a concern, especially with the war in Ukraine. But as long as the war is bottled up in Ukraine or in Russia proper, that it’s not coming for NAITO.

So while this is definitely something to keep an eye on, it is a big concern and has huge implications. I don’t see, at least in the mid-term, as the single largest threat the United States faces. I think that’s closer to home because in the United States right now, we’ve got over 300 top military professionals who can’t even qualify for their security clearances, make it impossible for them to get the information that they need to plan for whatever’s next.

We have hobble ourselves or, more to the point, a specific individual in Congress has done the hobbling. Senator Tuberville of Alabama has put a blanket hold on the nominations on the confirmations of all military personnel as part of a tiff within the culture war. Now, where do you stand on that culture war? That is your prerogative. But in blocking officers from participating in their jobs, if you can’t get confirmed, you can’t get the information, you can’t get clearance and you can’t make a plan.

So we have taken he has taken the single most powerful military force in the world and gutted its leadership’s ability to lead. Which means that either Senator Tuberville is one of the most skilled Chinese agents ever, or he’s the dumbest person in Congress. And if you think of the personalities in Congress, that’s a pretty strong statement. All right, everybody, take care.

Saudi Arabia and Israel Want a US Security Deal

Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has seen the ongoing engagement and security guarantee that the US has with Japan, and he wants a similar deal for Saudi Arabia. MBS will have to offer something pretty attractive to get the US involved in the region again.

As of now, the only offer on the table is formal relations with Israel (in exchange for some undefined concessions to the West Bank Palestinians) and the ~high honor~ of having troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. That’s probably not going to cut it, but it does highlight how concerned the Saudis are about the US pulling out of the region.

Israel is on board with any US involvement, as it would take some weight off their struggling coalition government. But the absence of the Palestinians in all talks up to this point brings into question the seriousness of these negotiations.

This region of the world has been a thorn in the side of the US for decades, and jumping back into the thorn bush won’t be on the calendar anytime soon. If Saudi Arabia and Israel really want to make a deal happen, it’s time to head back to the drawing board.

While some speculate that Xi is moving away from G20 in favor of BRICS, he didn’t even show up to the opening ceremony of the BRICS business forum. So, this announcement doesn’t indicate any political angle; it’s just a reminder of Chinese leadership’s ongoing and accelerating failure.

Xi has purged the Chinese political system of anyone who can form thoughts and potentially challenge his power, leaving him as the judge, jury, executioner, and everything else of importance in China. Even if Xi happened to be the smartest person in the world (which I won’t even comment on), he is still human.

Xi can only do so much alone, and the lack of competence across the Chinese system means that policy stalls wherever Xi is not. While Xi will send a replacement to the summit, concerns over China’s leadership capabilities are mounting, and the question remains – what is next for the Chinese people?

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Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Transcript

Hey Everybody. Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Colorado. And a lot of you have written in asking about ongoing conversations among the Americans, the Israelis and the Saudis about some sort of broad spectrum political and security deal. At the moment, there is it one. It’s not imminent. It’s not even clear what it would be. But the talks are absolutely going on.

So I would just wanted to kind of give you an idea of what is so much at stake, but what the players are thinking. So this is all Saudi Arabia’s idea specifically. Remember Mohammed bin Salman, who was the crown prince? He’s the guy who’s in his thirties who’s running the place. His father, King Salman, is the one who’s probably mentally a vegetable at this point.

So the crown prince really is already in charge of everything. There’s a lot of generational disputes going on which are shaping the talks. But ultimately, what the Saudis want is ongoing American engagement to give them a security guarantee that is on the scale of what the Americans have with the Japanese. The idea is that you station some forces in-country.

Therefore, an attack on the country is considered an attack on the United States and will raise the ire of the military forces of the United States in order to take off and destroy the attacker, who in this case would most certainly be Iran. It’s not clear that the United States is interested at all after 70 years, the United States is finally getting out of the region.

Global war on terror is over. The U.S. is broadly happy with that situation. So in order to get brought back in, the U.S. would have to be offered something fairly significant. And what the Saudis are offering is normalization of relations with Israel. And it’s not that that’s not interesting, but that’s just not anywhere near enough to justify the United States putting its soldiers in harm’s way and beating Iran into a war.

In addition, the Saudis are thinking that just the honor of having military forces in Saudi Arabia would be so high that the Palestinians could get tossed in as a side benefit, with Israel being forced to recognize some sort of shift in authority when it comes to things like the West Bank. This is a long shot. The United States is largely done with the region and the Saudis are basically etching out a position where most other players are the ones who have to give something just for the honor of having a deal with Saudi Arabia.

It screams of Saudi arrogance, specifically by Crown Prince and by himself. Remember that NBC has basically established himself as a bit of a cult of personality, and he’s steadily edged everyone with experience and the older generation out of the system. The talks are being managed by, I believe, one of his brothers. But this is Saudi Arabia. He has like a billion brothers, so that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

In fact, it means that if the talks go sideways, he can always execute his brother and just move on as if nothing happened. So I don’t have particularly high hopes that this will happen. But it is interesting from a few points of view because it shows how insecure the Saudis are as the Americans are pulling back from the region.

Now, on the Israeli side, they think that this is all great. Anything that brings the Americans more enmeshed into the region to something that Israel’s broadly going to support, because that means that their troops don’t have to do it. And Israel is a country of less than 8 million people. So having the superpower do things for Israel is something that Israel’s always been a big fan of, but the U.S. hasn’t.

Now, specifically with the Israelis and the Americans right now, relations are not great, largely because the Kurd government of Israel is a little wackadoo. It’s made up of a series of populist and nationalist and religious parties that are somewhat either hateful or stupid. And the Prime Minister Netanyahu is fully aware of that. He had to make a lot of compromises in order to cobble together this coalition.

He knows it’s not working very well. And if he can get a deal with the United States on anything, it would relieve some of the pressure that Washington has been putting on his government versus Palestinians of housing issues and military deployment and economics and and intellectual property theft. There’s a long list of irritants in the relationship right now.

Anyway, that’s where everyone kind of stands with one other a little bit that indicates that you shouldn’t expect this to get resolved very soon and that it’s not clear from the Saudis just how serious they are or are not about looping the Palestinians into the abyss. The older generation, the one that’s in the process of being shown, the door by members.

They’re the ones who are reasonably dedicated to the Palestinian cause. And if in whatever final communique comes out of this deal, Senate, it works. The Palestinians are included. Then you know that in the U.S. is not nearly as powerful as we all thought, and the older generation still has some breath and life left in them. If the Palestinians get at most a cosmetic concession or not mentioned at all, then you know that NBS is large and in charge because he doesn’t care about Palestinians at all.

And weird because this is the Middle East and this is how it works. At this point, the Palestinians haven’t even been consulted or invited to the negotiation table, which is ironically how, you know, that this may be a serious series of talks. All right. That’s it. If something more comes of this, I’ll let you know. Take care.

The Recruiting Crisis: US Military Adapts to Zoomers

Cadets marching in the military

I’m about halfway through the Geissler Peak Traverse, and the plan for the rest of the day is to head down to Aspen, find the nearest bar and shoot the shit with some strangers…if that sounds like your worst nightmare, then today’s video is about you.

The US military has had recruitment issues for a while, and the next generation reaching the recruitment age (aka those who hate any and all things social) won’t be making it any easier. But this isn’t just a US military issue; this is the leading edge of a recruiting crisis for everyone.

The good news is that we already have a solid understanding of Zoomers. Not just from an inflow to the labor market perspective but also culturally. They are ethnically diverse, open-minded, good with tech, highly educated, loyal workers…but very anti-social.

Adapting to the expertise and preferences of Zoomers will help shape what the US military looks like over the next few decades, and it’s likely a sign of things to come. Making accommodations and adjustments for the next generation will be necessary for anyone looking to attract talent.

The US military lucked out here too. The areas where Zoomers excel are areas that the military wants to expand into. So it’s kind of a win-win. As long as nothing goes wrong…

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Why Is a US – Cuba Deal Inevitable?

Flag of Cuba above a building

Most people would scoff at the idea that Cuba could end the US as a major power, but that small country has something no one else does…

Looking back at the Cuban Missile Crisis, you might think JFK overreacted. In reality, JFK saw the Soviets’ move into Cuba for what it really was – a direct threat to America’s existence. Cuba straddles the access points to the Gulf of Mexico, and if they had the military power to shut it down, the US would be in big trouble.

Since the Cold War ended, I’ve expected a warming in relations with Cuba, and to some degree, they have. Obama struck a (shitty) deal with them, which Trump later repealed. Don’t focus too much on the deal, but consider these actions by opposite presidents an indication that Cuba is top of mind.

Cuba is still grasping onto any major power that will give them the time of day, aka Russia or China, but we all know how those countries are doing. Cuba’s position is simply too critical for the US to ignore, so a US-Cuba deal is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it’s imminent.

Prefer to read the transcript? Click here

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Transcript

Hey everyone. Peter Zeihan here coming to you from the Collegiate Wilderness Forum in a bag a few 14 hours this week. Today we’re going to talk about Cuba. Now Cuba, the island pinches. Access to the core territories of the United States. What makes the United States a world power is not just the fact that it’s basically a continent in size, but it’s got the greater Mississippi right in the middle of it, which overlays the world’s most productive arable land.

Water is the most efficient way by an order of magnitude, to move things around. And so as long as you have a long waterway in an area where you actually have things to ship, you can’t really help but not mess it up. And believe me, we’ve been trying for decades. If you look at the last four presidents who and yet we’re still here.

Now, Cuba, because it straddles the access points to the Gulf of Mexico, has the possibility to end of that to enter the United States as a major power. But that would require a lot more military force than Cuba is capable of producing itself. So the biggest threat to the United States going back well over a century has been that some foreign power will build a partnership with the Cubans that will break American power.

And that’s one of the reasons why JFK reacted so strongly during the Cuban missile crisis, because he saw it rightly as a Soviet effort to on the cheap and the United States. Now, since the Cold War ended and Cuba lost its Soviet sponsorship, I have been expecting a warming of relations and a change in the bilateral relationship for some time.

Under Barack Obama, we got a ham fisted attempt at that. That was basically negotiated over a short period of time with very little buy in from the president because he didn’t like to have meetings with anyone. And what we got was a deal of limited economic opening, minimal political connections, and it was a bad deal. Start to finish.

It was sophomoric. It was lazy, but above all, it was stupid. And so when Donald Trump came in, he killed that deal, saying that, you know, we should have gotten a better deal. And he is right. But then he proceeded to not do a damn thing. And that was sophomoric and that was lazy and that was stupid. But consider in today’s political climate that the two most polar opposite presidents that we’ve had both recognize the opportunity, even if they proved completely incompetent at building something out of it.

So there is movement, there is possibility within diplomacy and economic diplomacy to shift this. Now, the window of opportunity we had after the Castros died is obviously gone. And the new regime, which is the old regime just with like the third stringers, has definitely thrown in its lot too a little bit with the Russians, but the Russians won’t have the money that they used to.

So now the Chinese. Now, if you’ve been following my stuff, you know that I don’t think that the Chinese and the Russians are going to be around all that much longer. It’s certainly not an ability to project power hemisphere away. So this is going to come up again and again and again, again. And hopefully the next time around we will have a competent president who is capable of making a basic deal with a country that has less than 1% of America’s economic and military heft that is right on our doorstep that can’t possibly reach for support.

Gives you an idea of just how little I think of both the two previous administrations. I don’t think that’s going to happen under the Biden administration. However, there are a lot bigger fish to fry right now, and at the moment the Chinese are still there. And as long as the regime in Cuba feels that it has a foreign lifeline, it’s going to grab on with both hands.

So a deal on this is inevitable. Doesn’t mean it’s imminent. All right. That’s it for me. You guys take care.

The Marines Made Some New Toys: Tomahawks on Trucks

Suppose we were taking bets on what’s going to do in China. We’d probably hear about the usual suspects: advanced stages of demographic collapse, failing economic model, or being the country most dependent on open sea lanes and international markets.

All of those are top contenders, but let me throw in a wild card – a bunch of marines in trucks – with four Tomahawks strapped to each truck. I agree if that sounds like a random G.I. Joe creation to you. But this is a relatively new capability for the US, so let me explain how we got here.

Back in the day, the Soviets and the US signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. This kept both sides from developing weapon systems like the one above. If it wasn’t obvious, the Russians have backed away from said treaty.

The lesson here is that if you want to get out of a treaty with the US, that’s fine; just remember that the Americans will also be ditching those restrictions…and the US military has more money, better tech, and will get there faster than you.

And if I was a gambling man, well…

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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What Makes Texas So Successful

Today’s video comes from one of my favorite places in central Colorado – Elk Horn Pass.

Texas is known for many things – cowboys, bbq, oil, and who could forget the Alamo – but none of those are why Texas has been (and will continue to be) the fastest-growing state in the US.

Four big things have helped Texas climb to the top. Thanks to a low cost of living, Texans have been popping out babies left and right, contributing to strong demographic growth. Their proximity to Mexico has bolstered the Texan economy, trade, and manufacturing sector. Texas is a red state with blue cities, so residents can enjoy the perfect regulatory mix. And lastly, Texas has been able to attract businesses from other struggling states.

The past few decades have been great for Texas, but times are changing. Birth rates are falling, the cost of living is rising, immigration is falling off, and the business “stealing” model won’t be the same. This doesn’t mean Texas is collapsing (cities like Houston, El Paso, and Austin have bright futures ahead); things are just starting to slow down.

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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An Iran Deal We Can Live With

There’s finally a deal on the table between the US and Iran that everyone can live with…it even looks like Israel has given it the green light. So what does this deal actually look like?

On the surface, this deal looks like the US is getting back those American prisoners who were unjustly detained and releasing $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds. However, this isn’t just about a few people who got caught with dime bags; it’s about the broader relationship at hand.

We’re talking about Iran discontinuing funds being sent out to their militias, spinning down some of their enriched uranium, coming back under IAEA inspections, and in exchange, the US will enable them to sell crude abroad.

In no way is this a done deal, but some factors are helping to push this along. The big one is the Russian sanctions’ impact on Iranian crude exports and the overall financial situation, which makes the $6 billion offer sound pretty appealing.

We could be looking at the most productive stage of American-Iranian relations since the 70s; all it cost the US was $6 billion of someone else’s money. Sounds like a win to me.

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:

First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.

Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.

And then there’s you.

Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Why Can’t We Trust the Media?

Before I answer the question about what news sources I use, we must understand how the hell our society became so damn uninformed…

Propaganda only works when you have an uninformed society, and if you haven’t looked up in a while, we can’t even agree on what color the sky is anymore. So yeah, propaganda is doing just fine here in the States. But how did we get here?

It all started with the fax machine, which began eliminating the staff that once served as ‘fact-checkers’ for stories before publication. Then email came along and only exacerbated this issue, doing away with any auxiliary staff. It isn’t so much that biases went unchecked (although that happened in spades), but instead that there were fewer eyes and brains to ensure the story was actually correct. The opportunity for the less scrupulous among us to make their version of the world known crept in. (The technical term is “lying”.) And…a lot of people like that. Cue the entrance of charismatic individuals who woo people with deliberate deception.

So if you believe the sky is neon green (or if you’re tired of hearing that it is), maybe check out one of the following news sources: Al Jazeera, France 24, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Straight Arrow News, or local stations. I’m not saying these are perfect, but they’ll get you going on a better path.

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:
 
First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.
 
Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.
 
And then there’s you.
 
Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

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Ask Peter: Is Biden Killing US Energy Independence?

We appreciate the interest and engagement from our followers, but with Peter’s travel schedule and sheer volume of requests, we are unable to answer non-business-related questions via e-mail. If you’d like to join in on the conversation, head over to the community tab on our YouTube Channel

Our next video in the ‘Ask Peter’ series comes to you from just above Loveland Pass at about 13,000 ft. As the Biden administration piles on more drilling restrictions on public land, will America’s energy independence be jeopardized?

Quick backstory on America’s energy journey. The US was a net energy exporter until 1973. Once we used up all the “easy-access” oil, we became the world’s largest oil importer, peaking in the mid-2000s. Then the Shale Revolution changed everything.

Fracking gave the US access to a boatload of new oil (this technology has been around for a while but wasn’t popularized until the early 2000s). Fast forward to today, and the US is once again energy independent (minus a little COVID hiccup).

So will the Biden administration’s new restrictions on public land drilling set us back again? Oil from public lands accounts for such a marginal amount of the total US output that any of these regulations aren’t going to move the needle much. As long as there’s an incentive for these private landowners to be successful, this shouldn’t be a problem…

Offshore drilling is a little different. The quick and dirty is that short-term market moves aren’t the primary motivator in this space, so longer approval periods and stricter regulations aren’t of too much concern.

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:
 
First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.
 
Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.
 
And then there’s you.
 
Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MEDSHARE’S UKRAINE FUND

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MEDSHARE’S EFFORTS GLOBALLY

US and Saudi Arabia Relations: Part 2

Yesterday we covered the key players in the US and Saudi relations. Today we’ll look at the strategic implications of this relationship over the past 40 years and what it looks like moving forward.

Saudi Arabia matters to the US more than many other US allies. Not only are the Saudis massive oil exporters, but they also have strong ties to the world’s Muslim population.

Over the past few decades, the US and the Saudis have partnered up to tackle a handful of critical situations; from stalling the Soviets to the war in Afghanistan to spurring economic growth in Europe and Japan, this relationship has proven vital.

The bottom line is with major players like Russia and China already in motion, the US and Saudis won’t allow ugly politics to get in the way of geopolitical relations. Saudi Arabia is a power center and doesn’t need to be under the American wing, but there’s still a mutually beneficial relationship on the table.

Here at Zeihan On Geopolitics we select a single charity to sponsor. We have two criteria:
 
First, we look across the world and use our skill sets to identify where the needs are most acute. Second, we look for an institution with preexisting networks for both materials gathering and aid distribution. That way we know every cent of our donation is not simply going directly to where help is needed most, but our donations serve as a force multiplier for a system already in existence. Then we give what we can.
 
Today, our chosen charity is a group called Medshare, which provides emergency medical services to communities in need, with a very heavy emphasis on locations facing acute crises. Medshare operates right in the thick of it. Until future notice, every cent we earn from every book we sell in every format through every retailer is going to Medshare’s Ukraine fund.
 
And then there’s you.
 
Our newsletters and videologues are not only free, they will always be free. We also will never share your contact information with anyone. All we ask is that if you find one of our releases in any way useful, that you make a donation to Medshare. Over one third of Ukraine’s pre-war population has either been forced from their homes, kidnapped and shipped to Russia, or is trying to survive in occupied lands. This is our way to help who we can. Please, join us.

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MEDSHARE’S UKRAINE FUND

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MEDSHARE’S EFFORTS GLOBALLY