May
5
2026
Arend van Dam's cartoon shows a gray battleship marked USA, complete with guns and missiles, driven by a figure in a suit at the wheel, as it goes over a waterfall between rocky cliffs under a blue sky. The image captures the essence of strategy failure in the Strait of Hormuz, tying into themes of Iran, ayatollahs, war, battleship mishaps, Middle East conflicts, oil, gas, energy, and economy. Such visuals often poke at misguided military moves, where the ship's plunge represents a dramatic downfall in strategic planning. The dry humor lies in the absurdity of a warship treating a strait like a river rapid, underscoring potential economic fallout from regional tensions. Cartoons like this thrive on clear, exaggerated metaphors that resonate with readers familiar with global news.
