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Saturday’s Final Word – HotAir

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April 4, 2026
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Iran Operation Won’t Be a Forever War – PJ Media

In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings, sometimes all of our tabs are misgiven …





Ed: The only “law of war” we are undercutting is the premise that we must never fight to win. The IRGC is not just a military force; it is a terror network that controls the entire military-industrial base in Iran, and which is entirely oriented to supporting its terror strategies and tactics. In a war, the military-industrial base is a legitimate target. I wonder what Sick thinks of the strategies and tactics we employed in World War II, or what war we ever fought that didn’t include the targeting of the military-industrial base of our enemies, including in the Civil War. He should read Richard Frank’s “Downfall” to learn what the actual norms of war are. 

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Donald Trump on Truth Social: Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Ed: Tick. Tock. The deadline on the ultimatum remains. It appears that Trump will proceed with his planned expansion of attacks on the IRGC’s industrial capacity to include their energy production. The economic crisis will reach existential status for the regime at that point, and at least some of them see the writing on the wall. Don’t be surprised if the next 48 hours bring rumors of power struggles in Tehran. Will the Artesh step up?

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he said: i don’t know who’s winning but i know iran has already lost. i asked him what does it mean. he said “they’re now using their women in our streets, they’re doing rallies of cars filled by women and children only, going allover the city with the islamic republic flags, reciting their quoran interpretation through speaker. […] the regular army is fully disarmed because else they will stage a coup’

i then asked him if he feels like topling the regime is out of reach or not. he told me that yes, it still is but with a caveat. “if it was just them it wouldn’t have been out of reach, but they have imported mercenaries from iraq. and under each bridge there are search stops, each with 3 people tops. afraid, very paranoid – but at the end, it’s three people. […]  for the people to march and take control, yes, it is still definitely out of reach. but with any tiny amount of weapon distribution it’s gonna happen. […] people are behaving different, not like people under missiles. they are planning and they a sitting ready. people on the street talk about their list of government employees that they are gonna attack.”





Ed: Read on to see how the humiliation of the IRGC is playing with the populace. His source says the propaganda worked after the Twelve Day War, but it’s not holding up this time. If we can get small arms to the populace, especially in Tehran, this regime will fall. That’s a mighty big “if,” of course. 

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WSJ: Trump’s remark follows Friday’s events when the U.S. suffered two downed warplanes. A search-and-rescue effort is under way for a crew member from one of the aircraft.

Trump huddled for multiple hours with senior aides Friday, discussing how to respond. He initially told NBC News that the developments wouldn’t affect the course of the war.

The president has previously threatened to escalate attacks on Iran if it didn’t reopen the strategic waterway, only to back off after insisting Tehran showed openness to a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. On Friday, Iran rejected Washington’s latest offers to make a deal.

Ed: And the fire on the two planes hasn’t changed the course of the war. Trump made that clear today. The ultimatum stands, and Trump warns that he will follow through. The tactics may change, but the war strategy hasn’t and likely won’t. Trump seems convinced to follow Curtis LeMay’s advice, which – not coincidentally – can also be found in Richard Frank’s “Downfall.” And for that matter, Chester Nimitz’s alternative plan for Japan, which sounds a lot like what Trump and Pete Hegseth have in mind for Iran.

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You see, a competent leader uses generals like a basketball coach uses players.  Bench them, swap them out, shift them to different positions based on how they stack up against the opposing team.  They are players who fill positions as the coach deems best.

But our problem is those organizational charts, and the ranks, where the inclination is to view their jobs as positions in a social hierarchy, like they were dukedoms or baronages granted by the king until promotion or retirement.  So for over half a century, the US only removed generals for cause, and that cause was almost always a sex scandal or getting quoted saying the wrong thing by the press.  No generals were being relieved for failure to perform, no matter how badly they were bungling things.  They were just rotated in for a one year command stint, and there they stayed no matter what.





Ed: If nothing else, this is a hygienic exercise that reminds these ‘barons’ that the US military answers to the civilian government, not the other way around. Ironically, this is a major contrast to our enemy at the moment, whose civilian government has been taken hostage by the IRGC military/terror apparatus. That’s why we don’t let generals set policy or war aims. Also, one has to wonder how many of our generals and admirals have experience at winning wars and not just achieving status through seniority and politicking. 

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CBS Sacramento: For years, California leaders accused oil companies of price gouging.

Instead, a six-month-long CBS News California investigation revealed a complicated reality shaped by state policies, refinery closures, and global supply risks that uniquely impact California’s isolated fuel market. …

California is now outsourcing to Asian refineries to make more of California’s special gas blend. Environmental standards aren’t as strict in Asia, and the refiners have to ship the gas back to California halfway around the world. In addition to increased pollution, transporting gas across the Pacific can take weeks, which agency heads and oil industry executives agree leads to delays and supply volatility, increasing the risk of price spikes during local refinery outages or global shortages.

The current Middle East conflict is highlighting the concern, as China has already stopped exporting fuel due to shortages in Asia. Meanwhile, the oil industry argues that proposed regulatory changes could make it more expensive for oil companies to continue refining in California, ultimately incentivizing outsourcing more refining. 

Ed: This has been blindingly obvious to everyone other than Democrats in California. It’s not even THAT complicated a reality. California has passed so many onerous taxes and regulations that it cannot fuel itself or even provide for its own electricity on a reliable basis. The big number in this report is that 55% of the price at the pump in California is created by California itself. The rest of us in states with rational energy policies understand that every time we see the price difference. (Via Instapundit’s Ed Driscoll)





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A lot of pride here is at stake. But given that I am not American or European, what I can provide is an Asian perspective. The whole thing looks very different as there are no blood ties or cultural nostalgia to pull me either way. Because of distance, the default Asian lens on America has always been colder, clearer, and far more pragmatic than the European one.

Ed: This is the must-read essay of the day. It offers an excellent and fresh outside look at why the NATO alliance is unraveling. I would add, though, that the issue here does relate to fundamental values that have been changing in Europe ever since the mass migration of Muslim refugees began in 2011. Other than that, Chen has put her finger on something significant. 

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Tony Perkins at the Washington Stand: War, therefore, is a tragic but real feature of a fallen world. The Bible does not ignore it — it regulates it. From these biblical principles, Augustine of Hippo articulated what would become known as Just War Theory, later refined by Thomas Aquinas. This framework has guided much of Western moral reasoning about war for centuries, recognizing that while war is never ideal, it may at times be necessary to restrain evil and protect the innocent.

Which is why recent comments from Pope Leo XIV in a Palm Sunday homily are both puzzling and concerning. He stated, in part, that Jesus “rejects war” and does not listen to the prayers of those who wage it.

Was the Allied effort in World War II — undertaken to stop Adolf Hitler and the atrocities of the Third Reich — contrary to the will of God? Were the prayers of leaders and soldiers, offered in humility and desperation, somehow rejected?

Ed: There is a legitimate pacifist element to Christianity, but one that relates more to personal relations and evangelization, not the nature of nations and threats. It’s very easy to fall on either side of this balance, with the impulses to simply appease and use protests while evil ascends, or to claim that “God wills it!” as an excuse for war. The proper theological answer is closer to Perkins’ line here, which is why the Just War Doctrine developed in the first place. That gets overused too, but in the case of a maniacally apocalyptic cult massacring its own people to protect their plan to start a nuclear Armageddon to have their messiah emerge from the smoking ruins, I’d tend to let that doctrine play out a bit before eschewing it. 





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Ed: The PMF has been pouring across the border for days now, ostensibly delivering aid but also a large number of militia forces. Looks like the Israelis and/or the US decided to disincentivize that recruitment. Here’s more on the PMF’s occupation of parts of western Iran.

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Jerusalem Post: State media in Iran have published images showing Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters entering Khuzestan, provoking anger and revulsion among many Iranians, who say these proxy forces are repeatedly brought into the country to kill protesters and defend the ruling system.

On Tuesday, Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of the ruling establishment, wrote in a post on X/Twitter, a platform that has been blocked for ordinary Iranians for years, thanking the “Muslim people of Iraq” for standing by the people of Iran in what he called this “unjust” war. He also wrote, “I warmly shake the hands of the people, officials, and fighters of Iraq in Mesopotamia.”

Although domestic media have not disclosed how many PMF fighters have entered Iran, residents of Khuzestan say at least 1,000 armed members of the force, carrying its official flags, have entered the province under the guise of a “relief convoy,” arriving with vehicles and military equipment. …

A resident of Khorramshahr told The Media Line early Wednesday that people were deeply angered and distressed by the arrival of Shiite PMF forces, with some saying Khorramshahr had once again fallen under Iraqi occupation 44 years later. 

Ed: The IRGC is getting desperate. They are pulling their tentacles back into Iran, and they clearly anticipate a popular revolt in the near future. 

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Ed: Yes, I had this in yesterday’s Final Word, but Kirn’s observation is worth noting. It wasn’t just the headline, but the premise for the article itself. And no one at the New York Times caught it. 





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CBS Miami: The incident began when the father and his children were leaving the park when Zeeshan approached them. After the family confirmed they were Jewish, Zeeshan began shouting and berating them, according to the arrest report. The father told officers he pulled out his firearm only after repeatedly telling Zeeshan to back away.

Police took Zeeshan into custody near 84th Street and Hawthorne Avenue. The suspect can be heard asking, “For what reason?” in the body camera video during his arrest. …

The father who pulled the gun is not facing any charges, as police determined he was acting in self-defense and protecting his children.

Ed: Your feel-good story of the week. 

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Ed: Hence the necessity of Israel as a Jewish state. 

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Ed: I’m a fan of his work and of his integrity. 

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Ed: Rob is one of the first friends I made in my blogging career, and I am delighted that he will come into the Catholic Church tonight at his Easter Vigil Mass. That’s one topic in my Easter Reflection, which will go up after midnight ET. In the meantime, a happy and blessed Easter to all of our readers, their family and friends, and to all the world!


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