You can tell how bad levels of starvation now are in Gaza – as the population there begins the third month of a complete aid blockade by Israel – because last night the BBC finally dedicated a serious chunk of its main news program, the News at Ten, to the issue. But while upsetting footage … Continue reading “Starvation in Gaza Is So Bad Even the BBC Is Covering It – and Reporting It All Wrong”
Revolving Door: Why Can’t Trump Quit the Neocons?
Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review The term “revolving door” has long been used to describe the practice of Washington lobbyists and defense contractors circling in and out of government, enriching themselves as they impoverish and debase the country they are ostensibly here to serve. Today I’m using the term to refer to something … Continue reading “Revolving Door: Why Can’t Trump Quit the Neocons?”
The Deep State’s Favorite Columnist Just Turned on Bibi
Thomas Friedman’s message to President Trump, published in The New York Times, cuts sharper than most of the foggy, ideologically neutered op-eds that clutter that paper. It is, quite simply, one of the most brutally honest assessments of America’s relationship with Israel in years – from Thomas Friedman, of all people: an institutionalist and a … Continue reading “The Deep State’s Favorite Columnist Just Turned on Bibi”
Free Speech for Me, Deportation for Thee
On May 1, when this site published my OpEd, “The Marketplace of Ideas Only Works if We Leave the Doors Open,” I expected it to be the least controversial piece of my life. It was an old-fashioned, red-white-and-blue libertarian defense of free speech for everyone, regardless of citizenship or viewpoint. It got one supportive comment … Continue reading “Free Speech for Me, Deportation for Thee”
What to Make of Trump’s Mixed Messages
In negotiations over wars in areas all over the globe, the Trump administration has been sending inconsistent messages. At times, the statements from the White House are so mixed that it is no longer clear what message the President is trying to send. Soon after Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. would not … Continue reading “What to Make of Trump’s Mixed Messages”
What Will Trump Find in the Middle East This Week?
President Trump’s return to the Middle East this week, the first since his first-term 2017 visit, will take place amidst great turmoil. It is a region that bears little resemblance to the Middle East of 2017 and it appears, at least from media reporting this past week, that the Trump Administration has some understanding of … Continue reading “What Will Trump Find in the Middle East This Week?”
New Appeals Briefs Filed in USS Liberty FOIA Lawsuit
On Monday, April 7, 2025, the opening brief in Kinnucan v. NSA et al. (no. 24-7642) was filed in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal seeks to reverse a US District Court decision that a 57-year-old report in the possession of the National Security Agency (NSA) is a Congressional record not subject … Continue reading “New Appeals Briefs Filed in USS Liberty FOIA Lawsuit”
Famine in Gaza: Will We Continue To Watch as Gaza Starves to Death?
The situation in Gaza today starkly highlights Israeli exceptionalism. Israel is employing the starvation of two million Palestinians in the blockaded and devastated Gaza Strip as a tactic to extract political concessions from Palestinian groups operating there. On April 23, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described the current humanitarian … Continue reading “Famine in Gaza: Will We Continue To Watch as Gaza Starves to Death?”
Turkey: A Rogue US Ally’s Territorial Conquests
We often hear U.S. and NATO spokesmen claim that they believe in a rules-based international order. They don’t. The United States and its NATO allies have stressed repeatedly that Russia’s use of force to seize portions of Ukraine is reprehensible. They were emphatic on that point in 2014 when the Kremlin responded to the West’s … Continue reading “Turkey: A Rogue US Ally’s Territorial Conquests”
US Change in Tone May Not be to Ukraine’s Benefit
The Trump administration warned recently that, if progress is not made in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, they could walk away from the talks. On April 18, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘you’re foolish, you’re … Continue reading “US Change in Tone May Not be to Ukraine’s Benefit”