Pity the almond tree, especially when it is in full bloom. The bloom of the almond is, in German, Mandelblüt. That is also the name of Israel's chief legal official, called "the Legal Advisor of the Government". The Legal Advisor is appointed by the...
‘Peace Through Strength’ Is a Racket
Donald Trump has embraced the popular “peace through strength” doctrine (PTSD) with his characteristic panache: “I’m going to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody – absolutely nobody – is gonna to mess with...
The Boomerang Effect: How Netanyahu Made Israel an American Issue, and Lost
Despite massive sums of money spent to channel public opinion in the United States in favor of Israel, unmistakable trends in opinion polls are attesting to the changing dynamics of Israel’s support among ordinary Americans. Not only is Israel losing its support...
The US Returns to ‘Great Power Competition,’ With a Dangerous New Edge
The Trump administration’s new National Defense Strategy is being touted as a sea change in US foreign policy – a shift from the “war on terrorism” to “great power competition,” a line that would not be out of place in the years leading...
The Hidden Costs of America’s Wars
Originally posted at TomDispatch. When it comes to America’s wars, more than 16 years later our generals are victorious. Not, of course, in the distant lands where those conflicts grind on unendingly, but in the one place that matters: Washington, D.C. Could...
Security Forces Battle ISIS near Mosul; 23 Killed in Iraq
Airstrikes Target ISIS near Mosul; 15 Killed in Iraq
The Young and the Stupid: Virtue-Signaling Over the Olympics
Oh, the virtue-signaling was hot and heavy as conservative and ostensibly “libertarian” media outlets competed to see who come up with the most self-righteously abusive rhetoric to describe North Korean Politburo member Kim Yo Yong, sister to Kim Jong Un. BuzzFeed...
The US Is Permanently Occupying Northern Syria, and That’s Trouble
When President Barack Obama started bombing Syria in 2014, he enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington, D.C. Americans were appalled by the atrocities of the Islamic State, which had massacred Yazidis, and seized swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq. At the time I...
A Million Dollars a Minute
Imagine you open the faucet of your kitchen sink expecting water and instead out comes cash. Now imagine that it comes out at the rate of $1 million a minute. You call your plumber, who thinks you're crazy. To get you off the phone, he opines that it is your sink and...


