CNN's Smerconish had Admiral James Stavridis on his show this morning with no mention of his full time job at The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU) This nondisclosure occurred for the fourth week in a row (March 7, 14, 21 & 28).
Stavridis is working overtime in his role with Carlyle "focusing on international activities and global strategy" as Carlyle intends to profit from the fighting, as well as the aftermath.
There are three things that I’m watching. Number one: What is the physical location of Steve Witcoff and Jared Kushner? These are the two absolute negotiators that Trump trusts the most. Are they in Geneva or another neutral site? Are they in a plane headed toward Europe? Are they parked in New York? Are they down to Washington for consultations?
Stavridis' other two things are the Marines and the Strait of Hormuz.
Host Michael Smerconish avoided this line of questions but went on to point out insiders profiting from Polymarket bets relative to Trump's various and sundry "excurions" (wars) and financial markets in a later segment.
Special Envoy Jared Kushner is another PEU who has played a significant role in the current conflict. Affinity Partners promotes its ability to read and influence international tea leaves.
Libertarian TechGods turned interventionist once they saw the potential of tapping Uncle Sam's wallet, something known for decades by the more subtle PEU boys.
Palantir’s co-founders, Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, have both publicly argued that conflict with Iran is inevitable, with Lonsdale saying he was hoping to “invest in Iran” after a regime change.
Palantir’s CEO, Alex Karp, predicted war with Iran would prove the worth of the company’s autonomous weapons system.Did Palantir's system target the girls elementary school in Minab, Iran? That answer may never come in our free and open democracy.
Stavridis agrees with the TechGods of Spying:
Iran could still do damage, they could use terrorism, they could use cyber, they could continue to close the strait. But their capability is reduced to a point where, as an investor, I continue to be comfortable in getting into the region.
And all of this, I think, ultimately is going to move the Israelis and the Gulf Arab states closer together. Put those two things together, I think the Gulf remains highly investable.
...the investment opportunities in a post conflict Iran are very high. It’s three times the size of Texas, full of oil and gas, a highly educated population, and a deep sense of history.
Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren. Increasingly, more are one. And they want to go All In on Iran. As for Carlyle, Stavridis noted:
“We’re going to assess the geopolitical risk. We’re going to bake that into our investment thesis” – and in many cases, that leads us to pass on markets where the risk-return isn’t there.Uncle Sam takes the risk, PEUs & TechGods get the return. At preferred tax rates to boot!
