The Afterburn Podcast

Why Iran Holds the Better Hand Against the US Right Now | Dr. Mike Bosack

The Afterburn Podcast

Show Notes

Today we break down why the US-Iran war reignited over the Strait of Hormuz, why the June ceasefire collapsed, and what a waterway a single drone can shut means for oil prices, escalation, and how this conflict actually ends.

Mike "FLASH" McVay sits down with Dr. Michael Bosack, founder of the Parley Policy Initiative and former Deputy Secretary of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission, to make sense of the current escalation. The conversation covers the five ways wars actually end, the difference between a negative and a positive peace, the good, bad, and ugly of the memorandum of understanding that was supposed to stop the fighting, why the Strait of Hormuz was the flaw nobody was talking about, and why negotiation at this level is a game of poker, not chess.

Dr. Mike Bosack: https://www.parleypolicy.com/

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00:00 Intro

01:40 Bosack's path: maintenance, MQ-9s, and the Korean Armistice

06:36 What the Parley Policy Initiative actually does

10:10 Phases 4 and 5: the "now what" nobody plans for

14:39 The five ways every war ends

19:57 Negative peace vs positive peace

22:45 Inside the negotiating room: the war stories

31:09 The US-Iran ceasefire deal: good, bad, ugly

36:40 Why the Strait of Hormuz is the real crux

44:26 Why it's not really about the nukes

48:56 How allies complicate the deal

55:26 Negotiation is poker, not chess

01:05:41 How this ends: the range of outcomes

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