Thomas Knapp

By way of marking the western date for Christendom’s most holy celebration, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced  that “at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq.” So much for visions of sugar-plums, etc.  Instead of … Continue reading “War and ‘Democracy’: An Appeal to Self-Interest”

Sherman’s march to the sea, by F.O.C. Darley. Public Domain. “You people of the South don’t know what you are doing,” William Tecumseh Sherman told David F. Boyd in 1860. “This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You … Continue reading “This Christmas, Remember That War Is Hell”

“US officials,” Nahal Toosi, Lara Seligman, and Paul McLeary write at Politico, “are worried that violence in Israel’s neighbors will spiral into a larger regional war.” More specifically, they’re worried that such a war will result in US casualties among US troops across the region. For some reason, though, the Biden administration is flooding the region … Continue reading “When It’s Always The Beginning of History, It Can Never Be the End of War”

Complaining of “media bias,” Hamas spokesperson Dr. Basim Naim denies allegations that its members intentionally murdered civilians and non-combatants in their assault on Israel last week. The operation “targeted only the Israeli military bases and compounds,” he says, and Al Qassam Brigades commanders ordered their troops to “avoid targeting civilians or killing them.” Given the … Continue reading “Murder Most Foul: Thoughts on Moral Responsibility”

Lt. Colonel Joe Plenzler (USMC, retired) writes at Military.com, “the military needs only about 160,000 youth from an eligible population of 30 million to meet its recruitment needs. But after two decades of war – both of which ended unsuccessfully – and low unemployment, many experts believe the all-volunteer force has reached a breaking point.” … Continue reading “Tell It to the Marine: No Draft, ‘Limited’ or Otherwise”

Over the last seventeen months, it’s become customary for those who disagree with US foreign policy on the Ukraine war to preface every objection to that policy with at least one, possibly two, disclaimers. Disclaimer #1: The Russian invasion, they’ll concede, was “unprovoked.” Optional Disclaimer #2: The Russian invasion, they’ll say, was “unjustified.” I understand … Continue reading “Opposing War: No Disclaimers Required”

“A violent drug cartel is suspected of leaving a severed human leg found hanging from a pedestrian bridge Wednesday in Toluca, just west of Mexico City,” CBS News reports. “[T]he trunk of the body was left on the street below, near the city’s center, along with handwritten signs signed by the Familia Michoacana cartel.” Familia … Continue reading “A US War on Mexico Wouldn’t Win the US War on Drugs”

The RESTRICT Act – currently winding its way through Congress – would empower the US Commerce Department to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate and mitigate transactions” that “pose an undue or unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the safety of US persons.” The RESTRICT Act’s more common name in the popular consciousness is … Continue reading “A Counter-Proposal: RESTRICT the RESTRICTors”

On April 14, the US Department of Justice charged Airman First Class Jack Teixeira with copying and sharing information “connected with” or “relating to” the “national defense.” The government alleges that Teixeira is the man behind “leaks” of classified information which worked their way from the Massachusetts Air National Guard to a Discord chat server … Continue reading “Mainstream Media Turn Coats on ‘National Security’ Leaks”

In March of 2003, the United States launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq. The US regime promoted that illegal war of aggression, starting well in advance, through the manufacture and repetition of falsehoods for the purpose of cultivating fear over non-existent threats, and loathing over nonexistent connections between the Iraqi regime an the … Continue reading “Iraq War Anniversary: Never Back Down on the Only Important Fact”