William Astore

June 22, 2026

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. An argument the Trump administration is using to justify massive increases in war spending is that the U.S. military is short on munitions. What a surprise! After the Iran War, attacks on Yemen and Somalia, supplying Israel with all sorts of air defense missiles as well as […]

Matthew Hoh

June 22, 2026

Rome ruled mankind, but it was also its cesspool and its seeping ulcer. It reeked of death and corpses. Death’s shadow lay over its decomposing life… All that passed for life in this capital of the earth seemed suddenly like some kind of mad processional for capering buffoons, a dance of mindless clowns, and a […]

Trita Parsi

June 21, 2026

Reprinted from Trita Parsi’s Substack: Tom Switzer had John J. Mearsheimer and me on his podcast earlier this evening to discuss the latest in the US-Iran talks. John and I agree that the structure of the situation leaves neither side with any choice but to seek a deal. Trump is looking at a complete global […]

William Astore

June 21, 2026

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. I love getting The New York Times daily summary of the news. It makes for great hilarity. Here’s today’s example: Top News Lebanon Emerges as Weak Link in U.S.-Iran Deal to End War The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, once seen as a secondary front to the […]

John Mearsheimer

June 20, 2026

Reprinted from John’s Substack: On 19 June 2026, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with the Judge about the central issue of the day — the Memorandum of Understanding that Iran and the United States worked out to put an end to the war between them. There is no question that Iran won the war […]

Nolan Denaro

June 19, 2026

Flanked by French President Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump triumphantly signed the official U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday night in Versailles. This move reflects a dramatic shift in tone from the president, who decided to take steps toward ending this war with Iran amid economic and military pressure. The statements from the Trump administration […]

Benjamin Abelow

June 19, 2026

Why I’m Writing I’m writing to recommend a remarkable discussion between John Mearsheimer (an endowed professor of political science at the University of Chicago) and the influential, religiously conservative, hawkish Russian nuclear strategist, Sergey Karaganov. The discussion was hosted and moderated by Professor Glenn Diesen (University of South-Eastern Norway). You’ll need a bit of patience […]

Daniel McAdams

June 18, 2026

As if there were no Congressional business awaiting our elected officials’ attention, Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) set his sights on the very document to which he raised his right hand and swore to defend: the US Constitution. Speaking at the Florida Holocaust Museum, Sen. Scott argued that a scheduled June concert by musician Kenye […]

Mitchell Dell

June 18, 2026

The United States has a long history of launching foreign wars, but the logic that drives these interventions – and the harm they inevitably produce – deserves closer scrutiny. When insecurity can be artificially manufactured and war proceeds without democratic consent, the American people are left bearing the burden of decisions made in the service […]

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

June 17, 2026

 Things aren’t going so well these days for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. While his partner President Trump is working actively to end the war with Iran by inking a memorandum of understanding to halt the fighting, American public opinion of Israel continues to plummet. That is no surprise — Israel’s war on Gaza has now […]