Given the utter failure of the United States to achieve any of his Iran war aims, President Trump’s “No More Mister Nice Guy” social media post today seems comically pathetic. But In Donald Trump’s defense, American history is replete with tough-talking Presidents promising to kick ass and take names. In 1823, James Monroe famously told […]

Apple CEO Tim Cook may be stepping down, but one thing still makes the Executive Chairman of the company’s board of directors sleep “with one eye open.” That one thing? A Chinese blockade or invasion of Taiwan. Why? Because Taiwan produces 90% of the world’s high-end computer chips. Almost all of that comes from one […]

In a stunning turn of events Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a breakthrough agreement with America’s NATO allies to deploy a “massive” Anglo-French armada to force open the Strait of Hormuz and escort ships through the world’s energy choke point now controlled by Iran. Under the terms of the deal, France and the UK will […]

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 […]