Ely Ratner, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs and now a principal at the Marathon Initiative, joins Jordan, Bryan Clark, and Justin to make sense of the Iran ceasefire and where US-China competition goes next.

We discuss:

Why the MOU reads as a loss: the blockade comes down first, Iran keeps its missiles and its "nuclear dust," and a younger, harder regime learns it can take American firepower and wield an oil weapon

The "bullshit détente" with Beijing and whether reindustrialization can carry a China-competition message without sounding hawkish

Output metrics over input metrics, the seven-year force-posture problem, and what Ratner wishes he'd moved into the "break glass" category at the Pentagon

RoboCom: the pros and cons of standing up a new combatant command

Plus Crassus at Parthia, and why chasing parades is a bad idea unless you're the ny knicks

suno song: https://suno.com/s/scu8twGj01AIOYSL

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ChinaTalk

WarTalk with Ely Ratner on Iran War Peace …