January 17 is the 25th anniversary of the beginning of Desert Storm – George H. W. Bush's first Gulf War against Saddam Hussein's Iraq to liberate Kuwait from his clutches, only to return it to its previous despotic rulers. The victory appeared to be smashing,...
Humiliation and Herd-Think
Libertarian stand-up comic Doug Stanhope has said: “Nationalism does nothing but teach you to hate people you never met, and to take pride in accomplishments you had no part in.” I would only quibble with the “nothing but” part. The collectivist herd-think that is...
Is Iran Taking the China Road?
Is the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, a RINO – a revolutionary in name only? So they must be muttering around the barracks of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps today. For while American hawks are saying we gave away the store to...
Will Iran Nuclear Deal Change US’s Middle East Politics?
The achievement of “implementation day” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), when for both sides the central elements of the nuclear bargain went into operation on Saturday, means that it is going to be a fact of life in global and regional politics for...
Sunni Parliament Boycott over Sectarian Violence; 129 Killed in Iraq
When Peace Breaks Out With Iran…
This has been the most dramatic week in US/Iranian relations since 1979. Last weekend ten US Navy personnel were caught in Iranian waters, as the Pentagon kept changing its story on how they got there. It could have been a disaster for President Obama’s big...
King for a Day – the Rest of the Year, Not So Much
Since 1986, Americans have observed the third Monday of January as a federal holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Schools and communities put on marches and commemorative events. Some workers (sadly not including most of the working poor of all races to whose...
The Politics of the Prisoner Swap
Even as advocates of peace in the Middle East celebrate the release of the five American prisoners held in Iran’s jails, as well as the release of the Iranians – most of them dual citizens of the US and Iran – either convicted of violating US sanctions or charged with...
142 Killed in Iraq; Three Americans Missing
Iran Frees Americans as Sanctions Are Lifted, Frustrating Warmongers Around the World
Iran has freed four dual-nationality prisoners, including an American/Iranian pastor and an American/Iranian Washington Post reporter who had been accused of working for the U.S. to foment regime change in Iran. The release was part of a prisoner swap, in which seven...


