The Castle Report

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Darrell Castle provides some options to end the war that Washington is currently fighting against Iran.

Transcription / Notes

OPTIONS TO END THE WAR AGAINST IRAN

Hello this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 1^st day of May in this the year of our Lord 2026. Yes today is May Day but my beat once again is war. This time I am looking for options to end the war that Washington is currently fighting against Iran.

Donald Trump began the U.S./Israel war against Iran apparently because he wanted to deny Iran the chance to build its own nuclear weapon. That was at least the stated reason for starting the war. Suppose you are Iran and the U.S, demands that you dismantle and cease your nuclear weapons development program. Would you have any reason to comply with that demand considering what has happened to other countries in the Middle East.

Acquiring nuclear weapons might be the only way left to prevent becoming a victim of a regime change war. Think about it like this for a moment. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Venezuela, Russia and North Korea have all been demonized by the U.S. in one way or another this century. The only two that remain uninvaded, Russia and North Korea have nuclear weapons and the others do not. The leaders of those countries who do not have nuclear weapons are dead or locked in prison.

I ask myself if the United States would be threatened if Iran were allowed to develop nuclear weapons and my conclusion is that it would not. Israel would be threatened because a nuclear armed Iran would serve as a blocking force to the expansion of Israel and Netanyahu’s plans for greater Israel. If Iran had nuclear weapons Operation Epic Fury would not have happened or at least logic tells me. Why then, other than Bibi’s influence, did Donald Trump launch this war.

He must have been told and must have believed that the Iranian government would collapse and flee in the face of overwhelming U.S. and Israeli air attacks. If he believed that then he must not be a student of history because that theory has never worked throughout the history of air power. It worked in World War II as part of a combined arms attack that involved millions of troops fighting around the world in ground combat. Later wars like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan it was assumed that air power and destruction from the air would make the difference but it did not.

If a belief that Iran could be forced or persuaded to surrender or agree to U.S./Israeli demands as a result of destruction from the air was the cause of the attacks then obviously that was a false conclusion. Perhaps senior U.S. military leadership were and are students of military history and they warned the president that the strategy would fail and that explains in part why so many have been relieved. I admit that I have no inside information that leads me to that conclusion just logic and history.

Having said all that what are the options Trump has in front of him right now. Here are a few that come to my mind but I’m sure there are others I just can’t think of right now. First, he could just pack up and come home ala Ron Paul’s advice to come home and mind your own business. That would mark the end of the unipolar world and an admission that the empire stage of American history is ending and what results it would leave in the Middle East are anyone’s guess.

Second, he could just continue the blockade and the air war in the hope that it would finally work. Third, he could launch a ground invasion of Iran like the other wars the U.S. has fought recently in which air power proved unable to force surrender. Invading Iran with ground troops would be different from the other multi decade wars because I doubt that it could be done with minimal U.S. casualties.

Iran is a much bigger country with very different terrain across the country. It might even require a general mobilization of the American population with a draft and a conversion to war time production. It would most likely involve tens of thousands of casualties with many of our best young people coming home in boxes. In other words that would be one of the stupidest things an American president could possibly do, but they often do things that seem stupid to me.

Fourth, he could resort to the weapons he is trying to prevent Iran from acquiring. He could tell the Iranians that unless they comply with his demands he will use tactical nuclear weapons to destroy their known nuclear and missile sites. He could threaten to increase the intensity and frequency of the attacks until they complied. The results of the fourth option would be so catastrophic that I don’t even need to talk about them. It would forever remove from America the belief that we were once a moral and religious people.

Fifth, he could reach a negotiated settlement and to that end Iran offered a suggestion which was quickly rejected but only in part. Iran suggested that the blockade would be lifted and the Strait would be open for free commerce. That would obviously leave Iran in a position to close it anytime the nuclear negotiations did not go their way. The question of nuclear enrichment would be deferred until some day in the future when the sides would start talking again.

A lot of people would have accepted the settlement offer except that Trump knows what it really means. It would revert the conflict to status quo as if the war had not been fought except for the fact that Iran’s infrastructure along with much of its leadership are gone. The other message the settlement will send is if we close the Strait you cannot force it open with air power or your navy. That message was not one Donald Trump was willing to accept so he said; what part of no nuclear weapons did you not understand.

For now, the war continues and the blockade continues. It appears that the blockade is far more effective than air power proved to be. The blockade is hurting Iran economically to the point they want relief from it so perhaps soon they will relent and the president’s ego could be salved with victory. He admitted when he announced that the settlement was rejected that the blockade was more effective than the bombing. “They are choking like a stuffed pig and it is going to get worse for them.”

Perhaps the analogy of a stuffed pig is not the proper one to use with the Mullahs but that is Donald Trumps style not mine. He went on to say that they want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade but I don’t want to lift the blockade because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. Iran had to do their tough talk as well saying it would engage in “unprecedented military action.”

U.S. Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper said “Right now there are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can’t sell. That’s an estimated $6billion-plus from which Iran’s leadership cannot financially benefit. The blockade is highly effective and U.S. forces remain fully committed to total enforcement.”

The Pentagon’s accounting office announced this week that so far the war has cost about $25 billion in taxpayer money. When I hear that I raise an eyebrow because I have a good idea what it costs to maintain a carrier battlegroup at sea and in-flight operations. I know what it costs to keep a carrier-based aircraft in combat mode let alone a massive B-52 or one of the stealth bombers. Tens of thousands of troops deployed with some 32thousand at least, bombs and missiles dropped on Iran. I just don’t think all that can be done for $25 billion.

The money is one thing but the war has cost at least 15 American lives and about 400 wounded although casualty figures have been very hard to come by. Let’s not forget the billions of dollars reportedly incurred in damage from Iranian missiles to U.S. bases across the entire region. Damage assessment in the Gulf States and in Israel to U.S. property has been almost impossible to obtain accurately so why lie about the $25 billion. If that department lies each year about the trillions that go unaccounted for by the GAO or Government Accounting Office I suppose it’s not a stretch for them to lie about the cost of war.

So, I will assume that the Iranians are politically astute enough to know how this war is affecting U.S. politics. It is terribly unpopular and is a threat to control of the House and Senate. In addition, I spoke to a gentleman the other day who had recently been in Ireland. He said that in the U.S, terms of measurement gasoline was running about $12.50 per gallon and heating oil was unaffordable for most people. That condition probably exists across Europe and would probably make Iran have confidence to just hang on because political pressure will force Trump’s hand. Time will tell if that works or not.

Finally, folks, according to UNICEF about 1800 Iranian children have been killed or wounded by the war on Iran. I don’t know if that number is accurate but if the accurate number is more than zero it’s too many. However, as you are painfully aware my opinion is that this war is a stupid waste of lives and resources and should end as soon as possible. Having said that the men and women fighting it are my brothers and sisters and I stand with them always.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

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Darrell Castle talks about the war against Iran and the efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for the commerce of the world along with the unexpected results being felt around the world.

Transcription / Notes

SOME UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF WAR

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 24^th day of April in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking again about the war against Iran and the efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for the commerce of the world along with the unexpected results being felt around the world as a result of this war.

Let me start with a brief refresher regarding the history of the U.S. war with Iran before I get into unexpected results. The U.S. government back in 1953 started this long conflict by its overthrow of Mosaddegh who was popularly elect and his replacement with the Shah who was always seen as a U.S. puppet. If what I just said is true and I obviously believe that it is, then the U.S. has been in this conflict for 73 years. In 1953 the Korean War was just shutting down so maybe a new conflict was needed in the Middle East to feed the war machine, who knows.

Fast forward to today and we find that often history does repeat but barely is it noticed because it will always be different this time. We have lots of propaganda coming out of the war from both sides and unlike propaganda in earlier wars today’s propaganda reaches the whole world instantly through social media. In World Wars, for example, propaganda was designed only for the home populations of each side. Don’t worry we are winning etc. Except for the Tokyo Rose broadcasts to the U.S. Navy and the Axis Sally broadcasts to the U.S. bomber crews the propaganda was primarily to keep the population’s backs in the war effort.

I am a little tired of war and that is all there is to talk about this week. So, I am taking a break and will look forward to talking to you again next Friday.

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Darrell Castle talks about whether or not the United States should leave NATO and whether that decision would bring about a new U.S./Iran order in the Middle East.

Transcription / Notes:

THE END OF NATO

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 10^th day of April in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat today is once again war but I am so tired of war each week that I have decided to carve a niche out of the unexpected results of our current war and that is NATO and its possible end for the United States.

I’m sure you all know what NATO is but as a refresher it is a treaty (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in which the U.S. along with the other members agreed to come to each other’s aid if attacked. The purpose was to prevent and protect against a Soviet attack in Europe like the NAZI’s had done.

Everything worked fine when there was a Soviet Union to fight and to protect against. The cold war justified the massive defense spending by the U.S. which allowed Europe to rebuild from the war’s devastation and to provide generous welfare benefits to its citizens. The fall of the old enemy, the Soviet Union, triggered a crises in NATO because there was no longer a justifiable reason for its existence.

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Darrell Castle turns his attention away from the pressing issue of war and looks at Christians and Christianity as we near the end of Holy Week.

Transcription / Notes:

THE RESTORATION OF LIBERTY

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 3^rd day of April in the year of our Lord 2026. I’m very happy that I have something to talk about besides war today. This is in fact Good Friday and in honor of that date and with Easter Sunday just a couple of days away I turn my attention away from the pressing issue of war and look at Christians and Christianity as we near the end of holy week.

First, I want to say a few words about the title of this Castle Report and where that title comes from especially since we are currently in the 250^th anniversary year of America. My argument is that the founders rather than trying to build a utopian perfect world were seeking the restoration of liberties they once had. The Declaration, written by Thomas Jefferson but inspired by the thinking and writing of John Locke and by the life and words of Jesus Christ as expressed by Jefferson as nature’s God reflect that desire for the return of liberty.

They had witnessed the excesses of the French Revolution and the results of mob rule or what we today might call democracy and they sought to build something based on the rights of the individual rather than the collective and that is what for individuals is called liberty. They sought a way to protect the lives they had built in their world and the lives they fought for from the reach of foreign imperial rule. That is one reason why I cringe when America today goes abroad to impose its will on others especially when there seems to be no provocation.

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Darrell Castle talks about war and the President’s statement that it is basically over and we won. Is that statement true and what are the most recent developments in Iran.

Transcription / Notes

THE WAR HAS BEEN WON

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 27^th day of March in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking about war today and the President’s statement that it is basically over and we won. Is that statement true and what are the most recent developments in Iran.

What is war but the most horrific thing in which a country, a people, can engage. It is killing on an industrialized scale and from the carpet-bombing campaigns of WWll to the guided munitions of today it is about killing. It is the young men of a country being ordered by the old men of that country to kill the young men of another country but they kill everybody, men, women, little schoolgirls, everybody. Unless done for purely defensive purposes it is immoral and unconscionable. Was Iran an imminent threat to the U.S. No case for that has been made as far as I know. Joe Kent, Counterterrorism Director said there was no imminent threat and his boss, Tulsi Gabbard, refused to state under oath that she knew of such a threat.

Well, last weekend the President said he had quite enough of the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact of the world’s economies, it’s rapid increase in the price of fuel and the price of everything here in the U.S., and its downward effect on his poll numbers. He gave the Iranians 48 hours to open the Strait or he would destroy their power system by attacking power plants.

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Today, Friday, March 20, 2026, Darrell Castle talks about the resignation of Joe Kent as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and especially about the ramifications of the letter he publicly released explaining his resignation.

Transcription / Notes:

GOODBYE JOE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. I will be talking about the resignation of Joe Kent as Director of The National Counterterrorism Center and especially about the ramifications of the letter he publicly released explaining his resignation.

Yes, Joe is gone and I for one will miss him in government because he was not afraid to ask questions and to encourage legitimate investigations into things which didn’t make sense from the official government explanation. First, let’s take a brief look at who he is and how he became Director of Counterterrorism.

He was born April 11, 1980, so next month he will be 46 years old. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after 9-11 and made it through Ranger School where he served with the 75^th Rangers. He requested special forces where he spent his 20-year army career. He served 11 combat tours in the Middle East wars. In 2018 he left the army and became a paramilitary operative for the CIA. He was married to Shannon and they had two children. She was also a military officer and a navy cryptologist and in 2019 while serving in Syria she was killed by a suicide bomber.

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Darrell Castle talks about the fact, proven over centuries, that war is easy to start but hard to get out of and if one gets out, the continuing effects exist long into the future.

Transcription / Notes

THE SHELF LIFE OF THE IRANIAN WAR

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 13^th day of March in the year of our Lord 2026. Once again my beat is war and Friday the 13^th seems like a good day to talk about something so unpleasant. I will be talking about the fact, proven over centuries, that war is easy to start but hard to get out of and if one gets out the continuing effects exist long into the future.

Yes, this is Friday the 13^th once again and we are only two days from the Ides of March which was the date of Julius Ceasar’s assassination on 15 March 44 BC. He was born in 100 BC so by my rough calculations that would make him 2126 years old today. Why talk about Ceasar more than 2000 years after his death, because he has been the gold standard for leaders who became emperors since then. Emperors in Rome, for example, continued to be called Ceasar after his death and today we ask as did Shakespear, upon what meat doth this our Ceasar feed that he has grown so strong.

Our Ceasar today has certainly grown strong. But I submit that his meat is money and especially oil. Reports say that the U.S. has borrowed more than $50 billion per month for the last 5 months and that this war is costing in excess of $1 billion per day. The more important problem is oil and how much does it cost. The price of oil at the pump for the American consumer is what will determine if the U.S. can stay at war indefinitely or will have to declare victory and come home. It’s really hard to just come home when you have demanded unconditional surrender in an undeclared war.

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Darrell Castle talks about the war, declared by President Trump, against the nation of Iran. Does he have Constitutional authority to declare war; why would he do so; and what does it mean?

Transcription / Notes

PRESIDENT TRUMP DECLARES WAR AGAINST IRAN

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 6^th day of March in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is war today and war is obviously the most important story in the world right now as President Trump, unilaterally it seems, decided to make war against a nation that apparently had not harmed the U.S. and was not a threat to the U.S.

Why then did President Trump do it. I’ll give my thoughts on that but first let’s look at what he did. The U.S. spent a few months building up forces in the Middle East region while negotiating or pretending to negotiate a settlement. The U.S. demands became increasingly more difficult for the Iranians to comply with including give up the use of peaceful nuclear power except for medical purposes. Surrender all enriched uranium that you currently possess and allow international inspection. Give up all offensive missiles and drones. Cease all support for your terrorist proxies across the region. Finally, you must change your head of state and give up your oppressive theocratic government.

Well, those are some bitter pills for a sovereign country to swallow and some people believe they were designed to lure the Iranians into complacency while a serious attack was always the plan. The battle forces assembling in the region would have said to me were I head of state in Iran, prepare for serious war. I would have made defensive preparations such as moving my leadership and especially myself to a safe area. Iran didn’t do that and with the Ayatollah’s rejection of the peace proposal on Friday, he was dead within 24 hours.

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Darrell Castle talks about the State of the Union Address by reviewing a few of the things President Trump said and the reaction of his opponents, as well as providing a Constitutional response.

Transcription / Notes

SOTU – A RESPONSE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 27^th day of February in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking about the State of the Union Address delivered last Tuesday by President Donald Trump. I will comment on a few of the things he said and on the reaction of his opponents to those things and then I will do what I am often asked to do and that is give a Constitutional response.

The President spoke for almost two hours the longest speech in SOTU history. He spoke mostly about the achievements of his second term and he mentioned that America is entering a golden age. He emphasized patriotism and heroes and he invited many of them to the speech including the gold medal winning men’s Olympic hockey team.

According to the reports I’ve seen more than 70 Democrats chose not to attend the speech but most of them did and they exercised their choice which was to set and glare straight ahead or occasionally to boo him. He noticed and called them out repeatedly for their failure to muster even the most basic bipartisanship in moments that should have been beyond partisan politics.