Hillbilly wisdom: You can beat a lesser opponent physically on a daily basis but you cannot beat an opponent mentally without his consent. Will or can the Strait be opened with military strength? It can be opened at least temporarily but if the U.S. Maintains a presence in the region there will be continued violence, a loss of human life and eventually an ecological disaster.

An escalation of force will draw more and different countries into the conflict. The world will suffer because of the collateral damages as trade will be impacted- more to other countries than the United States, which is viewed by some of as the instigator of this conflict/ war.

Each side feels that their position is justified. From an economic stand point, what is better: an increase of near forty dollars a barrel that goes to all producers including previously sanctioned countries or a fee of a dollar a barrel going to Iran?

The United States could save nearly a billion a day with no additional loss of life. The possibility that the whole region (civilization) could be destroyed needs to be weighted against the loss of pride over a war that did not need to happen. Trump could claim he stopped another war! If a conflict is considered a war, he will only start another to increase his record as the peace president. Americans have the ability to stop Trump’s aggression.