San Diego's modest 3% water rate increase and Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz are framed as the same story at different volumes: the central geopolitical problem is now securing essential flows through chokepoints you don't control. The non-obvious insight is that the era's defining weapon isn't conquest but demonstrated capacity to interrupt—Iran moved global prices without sinking a tanker—while the tools of disruption (jam-proof fiber-optic drones, cheap autonomy) have grown faster and cheaper than the tools of guarantee. The strategic response everywhere is the same dull wisdom: diversify suppliers, sign long contracts, and build redundancy that looks like waste until the day it looks like foresight.

Topics: Strait of Hormuz, chokepoints, supply chain redundancy, drone warfare, water security