Sundays at Socotra House are always a little unsettled between the breakfast pass through the Galley for a light wake-me-up before attending to holy services or a quick morning work-out at the Gym in the building Mezzanine. That meant the morning production meeting was segmented by who was munching, sipping Flat Yank coffee or leaving as the earliest folks were straggling back from whatever could produce enough spiritual energy to continue the day. Or make it to the lavish but casual brunch with the Eggs Benedict or the Daily Grind adult drinks served only on Sunday mornings.

Similar activities probably already occurred in Tehran, wh
ere the distraction from overseas events is colliding with growing widespread internal unrest here. Supreme Leader Khamenei was holding a clipping about events in Milwaukee in a somewhat startling press appearance yesterday. President Trump had announced that violence against protestors in the streets of Iran’s largest cities would provoke a reaction from the United States.

Reports this morning on the Flat Screen on the South Wall of the Conference Room are that the total killed in five Iranian cities has passed 2,000. That suggests a response may be a matter of this morning’s discussions. Depending on which side of the Greenwich Meridian the meeting is being held, the logistics get a little complex.

We had our own meeting here in Fairfax, since Vic had been on an Indian Ocean excursion on USS Midway when it deployed from Japan in response to the overthrow of the Shah 47 years ago. He worked on target lists for retaliatory strikes then, and has a hankering to use them. There was restraint at the time, and the matter is again under discussion this second week of January in a still-new year. We are hoping it will not be stillborn.

Our segmented meeting was marked by comings and goings, munching and sipping along the way. The domestic stuff was first up. Demonstrations were reported across the country on Satuday. Pouring rain kept those discussions mostly inside but the volume was robust. The continuing unrest has now been revealed to be conducted by some scruffy people being paid to follow scripted playbooks produced by the people managing the funding streams cloaked in the web of organizations that funnel hundreds of millions to provide paychecks to the trouble-makers.

“When we were off Iran in ’79 we were told to concentrate on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command installations. Then we were told to look generally ominous, and finally go back to Japan and wait to be told what to do. That was the tail end of the Before Church segment of the discussion for those who prefer the early service and be first in line for Brunch. The Iranian mess is tabled in the Recent Syrian Strikes in which an ISIS-associated gunman killed two Iowa National Guard soldiers and their American translator.

That prompted Vic to make his guess. “They might be loading up the Warthogs and the Strike Eagles to pummel IRGC targets in Iran. the assets are already forward to do it. But this is now personal in scale. Why not look at some leadership targets? Men sitting in a room like this who might be considering whether a drone grenade is going to fly through a window and land in the lap of the Supreme Leader?”

Miles nodded slowly, then raised his hand for attention. “I think we have moved into a more personal phase of the response. Like the shootings at Kent State on another war. Things are in motion in several directions. There was an announcement about Cuban finances after the Venezuelan oil meeting at the White House yesterday. There could be action there.

“Yeah,” said splash. “The Caribbean has the oil swirl with Venezuela, Cuba, Columbia all in the mix and the Cartels in Mexico. the Taiwan thing appears a little cooler but could heat up quickly. And we are in a session of Beat the Clock here, If you are going to enjoy Brunch fully, I recommend a nap in the afternoon to get your rest before what is going to start tomorrow, with the paid protestors- the PP’s- hitting the streets as the folks on the Hill start fighting about the nine Appropriations bills on top of ObamaCare that need to be passed in the next two weeks. Or the Government will shut own again.”

“Suppose one of our retaliatory strikes has a mishap? Could that result in an escalation abroad and at home?” Splash did not appear ready to go to war this morning. Nobody else did, though a few drone strikes had a certain appeal. Miles looked a Melissa for her view on things, She shook her head so her hair made a blond cascade over her shoulders.

“I say we have a drink when we get back from church or gym. Then we can iscuss the psychological effect of deadlines on institutions.”

Holly yawned and stretched from her shoulders. “And the difference between procedural calm and strategic panic.”

“Yeah. Or vice versa. It is going to start getting busy tonight. There is a lot to cover in two weeks.”

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com