Daniel Lazare

What’s a political strongman to do when his economy is weak and another round of financial turbulence is on the way? When political support is languishing and a series of budget-busting construction projects has people shaking their head in dismay? The answer is obvious: he invades another country in order to distract attention and give … Continue reading “Erdogan’s Excellent Syrian Adventure”

How’s this for a nice little nightmare? Imagine that Iran responds to another Qassem Soleimani-style provocation with a missile barrage that sinks a $40-billion aircraft carrier with 6,000 personnel on board. The US response is ferocious. But then comes the unexpected: a nuclear-tipped SLBM, or submarine-launched ballistic missile, that scores a direct hit on central … Continue reading “Tactical Nukes: Armageddon on the Installment Plan”

What’s the point of winning the world if you lose your soul in the bargain? So asks Matthew 16:26. But Democrats have managed to do both. They’ve lost the world by allowing Donald Trump to emerge stronger than ever from the impeachment debacle, and they’ve lost their soul by spewing out war propaganda every bit … Continue reading “Soul vs. World: Democrats Lose Both”

People should remember the past in order to avoid making the same mistake twice. The trouble is that they usually remember the wrong things and therefore end up making ones that are even worse. Take last week’s epic gathering in Jerusalem to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The commemoration, which drew … Continue reading “Holocaust Hypocrisy: Hawks Use Legacy of Auschwitz To Push War”

All the usual suspects are praising Adam Schiff’s marathon two-and-a-half-hour Senate speech on Wednesday to the skies. Neocon columnist Jennifer Rubin calls it "a grand slam" in the Washington Post. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin describes it as "dazzling" on CNN. New York Times columnist Gail Collins says it was "a great job" and that Schiff … Continue reading “Adam Schiff’s Very Scary Warmongering Speech”

Jason Crow, the ex-Army Ranger turned congressman whom Nancy Pelosi has named as one of seven impeachment managers in the trial of Donald Trump, has dropped a broad hint about what angle Democratic prosecutors will pursue: it will be about national security and protecting our troops. "This is about the abuse of power, it’s about … Continue reading “Democrats Invoke Cold War Narrative To Push Impeachment”

Who’s to blame for downing Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752? Everyone’s pointing the finger at Iran. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that it must take "full responsibility," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is demanding an official apology, while even Iranian protesters are calling on Supreme Leader Ali Khameinei to resign. "Regime change is in the … Continue reading “Who’s To Blame for Flight 752?”

Joe Biden’s statement that “President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox” by assassinating Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was not inaccurate. But it skirts an all-important question: who created the tinderbox in the first place? The answer, of course, is the United States. In the long history of imperial folly and … Continue reading “Who Created the Persian Gulf Tinderbox?”

This is soooooo boring. For nearly a week, Washington has been consumed by reports that Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up dirt on Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden. The furor began on Wednesday, Sept. 18, when the Washington Post disclosed that Trump had said something to an unknown foreign leader that “was … Continue reading “Another Day, Another Scandal. What the ‘Trump-Ukraine Collusion’ Is Really About”