Thomas Knapp

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”

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 president Donald Trump … Continue reading “War Crimes Pardons: A Terrible Memorial Day Idea”

“If Iran wants to fight,” US president Donald Trump tweeted on May 19, “that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again.” The “threat” Trump appears to be responding to is a statement from Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that “[w]e are certain … there will not be a … Continue reading “A US War on Iran Would Be Evil, Stupid, and Self-Damaging”

May 3 was World Press Freedom Day. The annual observance usually focuses on the World Press Freedom Index published each year by Reporters without Borders. Break out the champagne! The United States ranked 48th of 179 countries this year, falling three places from 2018. A day earlier, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in court in … Continue reading “Julian Assange: An Opportunity for the US and the UK to Change Direction on Press Freedom”