Why is this the case?

As Lenin wrote in Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism, imperialist wars marked a departure from wars conducted in the prior eras in that they are fundamentally rooted in the expansion of finance capital.

The Sahel kicking out imperialists, establishing their own protectionist bloc, nationalizing resources and their economies, all of which threaten and disrupt the free flowing of trillions of dollars of American capital while shutting them out of the region.

These acts that violate the sanctity of the Free Market must be punished, by any means necessary.

Many neocons came from Trotskyist households who fled the USSR and Eastern Europe who really really hated Stalin and the USSR. They became some of the most fanatical Cold Warriors that rose through the ranks and helped shaped the US foreign policy intent on destroying the USSR.

That’s the point though. You either glass the Middle East right now, or you live long enough to see the Middle East turning towards China. The empire knows that it is only a matter of time, so they have to prevent China from being able to take the region that connects Europe directly to Asia.

As Lenin laid out in Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism more than a century ago, imperialist wars are about the expansion of finance capital. A war with Iran is exactly what the empire needs right now, and even better for them, Israel is going to be the one that that sacrifices itself (like Ukraine) while the empire sits at the sideline.

Ask yourself this: does it matter whether it is Ukraine or Russia who wins the war? It would have been nice to defeat Russia, but that is secondary to the strategic goal of destroying Europe. It doesn’t matter how badly Ukraine loses the war, or how they are “fighting to the last Ukrainian” - it’s all about devouring the European capital.

Putin will fight tooth and nail to keep Nabiullina on. He really likes her for some reasons.