On September 14, US president Donald Trump tweeted (of course) the suggestion of a US-Israel “Mutual Defense Treaty,” citing a call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hopefully there’s less going on here than meets the eye: The tweet may...
Trump Didn’t Start the War in Afghanistan, But He Owns It
National Security Advisor John Bolton became the latest American casualty of Washington’s 18-year war in Afghanistan on September 10, fired by US president Donald Trump shortly after Trump announced that he had planned, but was canceling, a meeting with Taliban...
War in All But Name as US State Department Offers Bribes to Pirates
If at first you don’t succeed, spread some money around. The Financial Times reports that the US State Department is offering cash bribes to captains of Iranian ships if they sail those ships into ports where the US government can seize them. The offers are...
Afghanistan: In Search of Monsters To Not Destroy
America, John Quincy Adams said in 1821, “goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” That’s as good a summary ever spoken of...
American Politicians Use Jews as Pawns To Excuse Their Meddling in Israeli Elections
On July 23, the US House of Representatives passed (the vote went 398-17, with five voting “present”) a resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. The resolution was an outrageous condemnation of the freely chosen economic...
North Korea Nuclear Freeze? Finally, a Realistic Proposal
As President Donald Trump met with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un for the third time at the end of June – becoming the first sitting US president to visit North Korea – the New York Times ran a piece suggesting the appearance of a new option on the proverbial...
One Cheer for Trump on Iran
On June 21, President Donald Trump informed the world (via tweet) that after getting US forces “cocked and loaded” to carry out strikes on Iranian targets the night before, he had canceled those strikes at the last minute rather than prospectively kill 150...
Instead of a US Peace Plan for the Mideast, How About a US Peace Plan for the US?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo describes the Trump administration’s plan for peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs as “unexecutable.” President Trump says Pompeo “may be right.” Good! As addiction counselors say, the first step is...
‘Spying’: Comey Doth Protest Too Much
“We didn’t ‘spy’ on anyone’s campaign,” writes former FBI director James Comey in a recent Washington Post op-ed. “We asked a federal judge for permission to surveil” former Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, but...
War Crimes Pardons: A Terrible Memorial Day Idea
On May 16, 2008, near the town of Baiji in Iraq, 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna, US Army, murdered a prisoner. That was the verdict of the jury in his 2009 court martial, anyway. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but paroled in less than five. On May 6, 2019, US...


