Sheldon Richman

In a cliché-ridden foreign-policy speech delivered at the State Department on Thursday, President Joe Biden declared that "America is back" – on the global stage, presumably, as policeman of the world, but certainly not a disinterested policeman. The problem is that it never left. Despite some uncouth rhetoric and regular New York Times headlines regarding … Continue reading “Imperial America, Which Never Left, Is Back”

Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausevitz famously said that “war is a continuation of politics by other means.” I think we can reverse this: politics is war by other means. The ultimate aim of politics (in the narrow sense of the word; there’s a more elevated philosophical sense) is what Frederic Bastiat called … Continue reading “A Defense of the Peaceful Transfer of War-Making Power”

Here’s something constructive Trump could do before leaving office at noon on January 20: he could order – demand, insist – that all classified intel and other documents related to the origin of the Russia/election investigation be declassified and released to the public forthwith – unredacted. From what has already gotten out, we know that … Continue reading “Declassify the Russiagate Papers!”

When actor Seth Rogen, an atheist of Jewish heritage, announced that he no longer supports Israel – “I was fed a huge amount of lies about Israel my entire life” – he was criticized for his apostasy. (Being an atheist does not constitute Jewish heresy, but breaking with Israel does.) Then, during a call with … Continue reading “Regarding Seth Rogen: Some Feelings Ought To Be Hurt”

When Peter Beinart, a self-described liberal Zionist, abandoned the two-state resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict and embraced one state with equal rights for all, he quickly drew the ire of orthodox Zionists, some of whom went so far as to describe Beinart as a “Nazi” who favors a single state as the “Final Solution” for the … Continue reading “Prophetic Anti-Zionists”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who remains under a cloud of personal corruption, had more or less promised to annex some of the West Bank in July. He’s let his deadline slip, we’ve been told, because he doesn’t want to proceed while his buddy Trump is preoccupied with other matters. He must need the cover, … Continue reading “To Annex or Not To Annex – Is the Question Moot?”

Trump has vetoed Congress’s effort to keep him from going to war against Iran unilaterally. Nothing remarkable there. We’ve come to expect such things from the fraud who posed as antiwar. What’s interesting is that Trump has reminded of what a narcissist he is. That fact is so much a part of the landscape that … Continue reading “L’etat C’est Moi! (I Am the State!)”

Anyone old enough to think about "America’s" role in the world ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. For example, one ought to be able to argue firmly against U.S. intervention in other countries without feeling obliged to downplay or deny the real crimes that the tyrant du jour … Continue reading “The Nonintervention Principle”

Americans’ free-speech and other rights are being violated by state laws aimed at stifling the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Movement against Israel’s illegal rule of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both conquered over half a century ago. Twenty-eight states have enacted anti-BDS laws or executive orders that prohibit state agencies and state-financed … Continue reading “Anti-BDS Laws Violate Our Freedom”

The fundamental flaw at the heart of Trump’s Palestine/Israel plan, presumptuously titled Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People, is that Trump – like his predecessors – believes that the Israelis are the aggrieved party and the Palestinians are the not-fully-human aggressors inherently unworthy of even the … Continue reading “Trump Would Make Palestinian Subjugation Permanent”