U.S. policy toward Iran is frequently sold as a reaction to urgent threats. In practice, it behaves more like a system: narrative escalation, economic coercion, covert pressure, and then the steady normalization of “military options.” The pattern repeats because it is...

The U.S. government says its “war on terror” protects freedom. In practice, every new intervention narrows the perimeter of freedom at home. The language of confronting evil abroad has become a cover for expanding state power, channeling public money to defense...