No. of Recommendations: 4
They said it out loud, two years ago, "energy domination".
Predictably, everyone loves it:
Middle East allies expected that in exchange for a $400 million luxury airliner, historic "deals" and flattering headlines, the U.S. military would decisively smash Iran's capability to threaten their oil fields, keep the Strait of Hormuz open for their ships, and preserve the old status quo.
Instead, they got Project 2025 in action: the administration took the plane, pocketed the defense contracts, and then essentially told the region, "Thanks for the ride, but if your ports get hit by drones, you'd better buy some more American-made Patriot missiles to fix it."
In the "America First" calculus, personal flattery and luxury gifts are pleasant "gestures of good faith," but they will never override the raw economic goal of capturing global energy market share at the expense of everyone else—allies included…
The Bottom Line: The Gulf states view U.S. energy dominance as a predatory move. Every long-term contract the U.S. signs with India or Europe right now is a contract stolen from Riyadh or Abu Dhabi. They aren't supporting America's market growth—they are desperately trying to build enough infrastructure to survive it.
