Why Securing the Strait of Hormuz Is the True Test of American Resolve Against Iran
Today brings a striking convergence: Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery’s New York Times piece and my own column here on jameskay.online arrive the same day, both insisting that Operation Epic Fury must press on to control the Strait of Hormuz. The timing feels providential, echoing 1776—when Thomas Paine’s American Crisis No. 1 hit print on December 19, its rousing prose read to Washington’s army just days later, steeling them for the daring Delaware crossing on December 25–26. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Those words, delivered on Christmas Eve, galvanized ragged Continentals to undertake one of the boldest military gambits in history: crossing an ice-choked river in sleet and darkness to strike Hessian forces at Trenton. The victory was modest in scale—about 1,000 prisoners taken, minimal American losses—but monumental in effect. It shattered despair, revived enlistments, and proved that unflinching resolve could reverse the tide when defeat appeared inevitable. Today, that same spirit is summoned once more. Our frozen river is no longer the Delaware. It is the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow, treacherous 21-mile chokepoint where the Iranian regime has imposed its own tyrannical extortion on the free world’s lifeblood: oil.
From an unlikely pulpit, the New York Times, retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery has delivered the tactical detail that dovetails precisely with the realpolitik I have laid out across this site—from “The Spice Must Flow” to the broader commentary on Operation Epic Fury. In his op-ed today, “There’s Only One Path to Victory in Iran,” Montgomery lays it out with naval precision: the U.S. and Israel have already inflicted devastating blows—15,000 strikes in the first 10 days alone, gutting launchers, missiles, ships, and production sites. At least two more weeks of operations are required to ensure Iran cannot pose a serious military threat for years. But battlefield success alone is not enough. True victory demands physical control of the Strait of Hormuz and the reopening of trade flows. This is the naval endgame to the strategic vision I have championed: secure energy at honest market prices, deny adversaries leverage, and enforce American primacy for a generation.
Should the regime survive the war with the power to close Hormuz at will, disrupting the transit of fossil fuels and other crucial commodities, any declarations of victory by the United States will ring hollow.
The Tyranny Parallel: Britain’s “Power to Tax” = Iran’s Power Over Oil at Market Prices
The tyranny parallel is unmistakable. In 1776, Britain’s asserted “power to tax” was never merely about stamps or tea. It was the claim of absolute authority “to bind us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER”—arbitrary control over colonial commerce, production, and liberty itself. Thomas Paine recognized it as existential slavery: without breaking that chokehold, freedom remained an illusion. Fast-forward to March 2026, and Iran’s regime has weaponized its geography astride the Strait of Hormuz to exert the exact same extortion. Through mines, speedboat swarms, drones, anti-ship missiles, and selective passage—favoring its own tankers or those of “friendly” nations like China while choking everyone else—Tehran has effectively shut down the strait. Fox News reports confirm traffic down over 90 percent, LNG shipments halted, hundreds of tankers trapped on either side, and Brent crude spiking dramatically—well beyond 50 percent in recent weeks, with physical prices for available Gulf crude reaching absurd levels like $154 per barrel for Oman grades amid the dislocation.
This is not passive geography; it is active coercion. Iran’s leadership, now under hardline figures following heavy regime losses, has vowed to keep the strait blocked as leverage, transforming what should be open international waters into a tollbooth enforced by asymmetric threats. Just as Britain extracted economic pain to sustain imperial dominance, Iran now imposes a shadow tariff on global commerce—driving up energy costs, inflating prices, disrupting supply chains from fertilizer to food security—all to prop up its survival and fund its proxy network. The result: roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil transit severed, trillions in annual trade disrupted, and markets roiled. Conservative outlets like Fox News and the Washington Times describe it plainly: Iran is holding the world’s energy hostage. This is precisely why realpolitik demands we secure the spice. Energy must flow at honest market prices, not at the whim of a theocracy that has menaced the region since 1979.
Tactical Validation: Adm. Montgomery’s Piece as the Perfect Dovetail
Montgomery’s piece is the perfect dovetail. He warns against two fatal errors: President Trump prematurely calling off operations—as occurred last summer when an early end to Israel’s campaign allowed Tehran to regroup—and allowing Iran to survive with de facto control of Hormuz. Even after degrading missiles, navy, and production capacity, if the regime retains the ability to mine or swarm the strait, every bomb dropped is wasted. Victory requires endurance through financial strain until the strait is cleared and trade resumes. This aligns seamlessly with the Donroe Doctrine and 2025 National Security Strategy I have referenced repeatedly: multi-domain strikes to decapitate threats, disrupt China’s discounted imports and Russia’s drone supplies, and execute decisive resource denial. Montgomery supplies the maritime urgency: finish the strikes, break the blockade, deny residual asymmetric power. Rare clarity from the New York Times—proof that strategic reality can pierce even biased outlets when a serious naval mind speaks.
The Crossing Is Underway: Operation Epic Fury in Real Time
The crossing is underway in real time. Operation Epic Fury, now in its third week, has been nothing short of superb. Fox News reports from the Pentagon and CENTCOM detail massive progress: over 7,000 targets struck, Iran’s air force and navy effectively neutralized—120+ ships sunk, air defenses flattened. Recent operations include the destruction of 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait, bunker-busters hammering anti-ship missile sites along the shoreline, and continued degradation of naval threats. President Trump has signaled Navy escorts for tankers “very soon,” with Energy Secretary Chris Wright indicating the U.S. could be positioned to begin by month’s end once military conditions allow. CENTCOM messaging emphasizes “short-term pain for long-term gain”: endure the spike in oil prices, refill munitions stocks, and end Iran’s energy blackmail once and for all.
This mirrors Washington’s gamble precisely. The Continental Army faced freezing waters, expiring enlistments, and potential annihilation—yet crossed on Christmas night to strike when the enemy least expected. Today, we cross a mined strait amid drone threats and economic headwinds—on no one’s holiday calendar—because the principle is identical: audacity defeats tyranny. Yes, gas prices sting at the pump. Yes, markets wobble under the strain. That is the trial of souls. Sunshine patriots will flinch at headlines or pump prices; real Americans endure, knowing the alternative is worse: a regime that survives empowered to choke global trade indefinitely.
The Meme That Says It All
That meme captures our heritage in raw, unfiltered truth. It’s not bravado—it’s fact. From Trenton to Hormuz, the message to every tyrant is the same: we will cross whatever obstacle stands between us and victory. No deference to seasons, norms, or short-term discomfort. We’ve done harder things in worse conditions.
The Glorious Triumph Awaits
The glorious triumph awaits those who stand firm. Securing Hormuz means 50-year American primacy: starved adversaries denied cheap oil and supply lines, energy markets stabilized on free-world terms, a Middle East no longer menaced by Tehran. Post-conflict reconstruction becomes possible only after the chokehold is broken. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly—Paine’s consolation rings as true now as then.
We crossed the Delaware in 1776 because Paine’s words reminded us why the fight mattered. Today, Montgomery’s tactical clarity reminds us how to finish it. Operation Epic Fury is our generation’s winter crossing: endure the trial, secure the strait, claim the triumph. The conflict is hard. The glory will be greater. Stand firm—history is watching, and it favors the resolute.
