News arrives of Iranian oil tankers slipping through a supposedly watertight US naval blockade to deliver crude to Europe. One wonders: was the blockade ever meant to hold, or was it merely a theatrical gesture for domestic consumption? The parallels with the late Roman Empire’s reliance on barbarian foederati to defend its borders come to mind.
Sanctions, much like Hadrian’s Wall, are a declaration of intent, not a guarantee of effect. The Iranians, ever the pragmatists, have simply dusted off the old Phoenician playbook: if the sea is guarded, find a new route, or better yet, a new buyer. The US Navy, for all its might, cannot police every wave.
The truth is that economic warfare is waged not by ships but by bankers and insurers. And when those are willing to turn a blind eye for a profit, the blockade dissolves into a sea of red ink. This is not the fall of a superpower, but the death rattle of a unipolar order that believed its own propaganda.
The tankers sail, and with them, the last shreds of American credibility as a global policeman. The West hums with indignation, but the oil flows. It always does.
