Episode 24: Chokepoints and Consequences: From the Strait of Hormuz to Cuba’s Edge

The world does not shift all at once. It moves through pressure points.In this episode, we begin in South Asia, breaking down the rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the TTP's growing influence. What looks like a regional issue quickly reveals itself as something larger, tied to instability, borders, and the quiet persistence of insurgency.From there, we turn to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, where history reminds us that chokepoints have always shaped the outcome of conflict. The Colonel walks through a powerful but underexplored idea: what if the answer is not confrontation, but circumvention? By leveraging existing infrastructure such as the Habshan pipeline in the United Arab Emirates and a northern pipeline route in Saudi Arabia, there may be a path to reduce reliance on the strait altogether. It is not simple or cheap, but it changes the leverage equation in a meaningful way.We widen the lens to explore how strategic waterways have shaped warfare over time and what that might mean for the Strait of Taiwan as global tensions continue to build.And then we end somewhere unexpected. Cuba. Quiet, strained, and sitting just ninety miles off the U.S. coast, it may be closer to a turning point than most realize.