Thomas Knapp

In March of 2018, US president Donald Trump promised “we’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon.” That December, he issued an order to begin withdrawing US troops. Apparently the order never got executed. Most of a year later, US forces remain. Now Trump and his opponents are arguing over his decision to move … Continue reading “Entangling Alliances Make for Forever Wars”

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 just be another mutual publicity back-scratch of the type Trump and Netanyahu frequently exchange when … Continue reading “Trump and Netanyahu: ‘Mutual Defense’ or Just Mutual Political Back-Scratching?”

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 leaders at Camp David to ink a “peace deal.” Firing Bolton is a good start. … Continue reading “Trump Didn’t Start the War in Afghanistan, But He Owns It”

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 funded from a “Rewards for Justice” program authorizing payouts of … Continue reading “War in All But Name as US State Department Offers Bribes to Pirates”

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 the non-interventionist position. US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) disagrees. He … Continue reading “Afghanistan: In Search of Monsters To Not Destroy”

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 actions of millions of Americans. Worse, that condemnation was made on the express behalf of not just … Continue reading “American Politicians Use Jews as Pawns To Excuse Their Meddling in Israeli Elections”

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 table: A negotiated “nuclear freeze” rather than … Continue reading “North Korea Nuclear Freeze? Finally, a Realistic Proposal”

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 people. “Not proportionate,” he wrote, “to [Iranian forces] shooting down an unmanned … Continue reading “One Cheer for Trump on Iran”

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 admitting you have a problem. With addiction, the way out is not “if at first you don’t succeed, try, … Continue reading “Instead of a US Peace Plan for the Mideast, How About a US Peace Plan for the US?”

“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 that’s not “spying.” Before that (unmentioned in the op-ed), we infiltrated an informant into the campaign to gather information on … Continue reading “‘Spying’: Comey Doth Protest Too Much”