Don’t be distracted by Donald Trump’s increasingly gymnastic contortions over his Iran war which he alternately declared over just the past week “already won” yet requiring $200 billion in additional funding and the now subject of “very good and productive talks regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” Just […]

As President Trump’s war on Iran enters its third week, here are five points about Tehran’s predictable—and predicted—closure of the Strait of Hormuz: 1. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Trump knew the risk of Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz. He still went to war.” The President brushed off the warning from Joint Chiefs […]

Tragic and horrifying accidents happen in the fog of war. Over the past 30 years, the United States has often offered apologies or even cash to the innocent civilian victims of its military strikes gone wrong. Washington expressed regret and paid compensation during the 1999 Kosovo campaign, after the controversial 2001 collision between an American […]

President Trump on Monday seemed shocked—shocked!—at the rapidly growing economic fallout from his war on Iran. U.S. gasoline prices spiked and markets wobbled as  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iraq announced steeps cut backs on oil and natural gas production. With the Straits of Hormuz effectively closed, France dispatched warships to the region […]

Few tears will be shed if the brutal regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is consigned to the dustbin of history. But President Trump’s call for the Iranian people to “keep protesting” and “take over your institutions” because “HELP IS ON ITS WAY” is doubly dangerous. If Trump’s promise of help is kept, the […]

What would Tehran’s retaliation look like should the United States join Israel’s war on Iran? Well, America’s experience in January 2020 provided a small hint. As you may recall, on January 3rd, President Trump’s orders U.S. forces assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Following the drone strike which killed Soleimani […]

The United States was the world's lone "hyperpower" when President George W. Bush launched his disastrous and unnecessary war with Iraq in 2003. An economic and military hegemon unchallenged by any single enemy or collection of rivals, the U.S. could and did act with impunity in swiftly toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad. But even […]

Historical events occur twice, Karl Marx famously said, first as tragedy and then as farce. But when it comes to the rampant lawlessness of Republican presidential administrations, the record is a succession of national tragedies for the United States. And the damage to America's democratic institutions is no laughing matter. As President Trump, his attorney […]

The passing of President George H.W. Bush this week presented Americans with an opportunity to reflect on a life lived in service to the United States. A child of privilege, at age 18 Bush nevertheless volunteered for the military after Pearl Harbor. A bomber pilot who survived after his plane was shot down, Bush would […]

As President Obama faced the looming re-election campaign in the spring of 2012, he issued a stern challenge to those critics of his approach to the Iranian nuclear program. "When I see some of these folks who have a lot of bluster and a lot of big talk but when you actually ask them specifically […]