In a shocking and unprecedented affront to American religious freedom in general and the nation’s 70 million Catholics in particular, President Trump on Saturday delivered a message celebrating “Reformation Day.” Marking the anniversary of the day on which Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-Five Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany, Trump […]

The United States has marked International Religious Freedom Day every October 27th since President Bill Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act into law in 1998. It is altogether fitting that we do so. After all, as President Clinton explained upon signing the Act, “The United States was founded on the right to worship freely […]

Given the utter failure of the United States to achieve any of his Iran war aims, President Trump’s “No More Mister Nice Guy” social media post today seems comically pathetic. But In Donald Trump’s defense, American history is replete with tough-talking Presidents promising to kick ass and take names. In 1823, James Monroe famously told […]

Americans are right to worry about the growing cost of Donald Trump’s disastrous war of choice against Iran. As tragic as the toll is in tens of billions spent, 13 U.S. service members killed and hundreds more wounded, the opportunity costs are even more horrifying to contemplate. That is to say, the stunning depletion of […]

Apple CEO Tim Cook may be stepping down, but one thing still makes the Executive Chairman of the company’s board of directors sleep “with one eye open.” That one thing? A Chinese blockade or invasion of Taiwan. Why? Because Taiwan produces 90% of the world’s high-end computer chips. Almost all of that comes from one […]

In a stunning turn of events Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a breakthrough agreement with America’s NATO allies to deploy a “massive” Anglo-French armada to force open the Strait of Hormuz and escort ships through the world’s energy choke point now controlled by Iran. Under the terms of the deal, France and the UK will […]

Don’t be distracted by Donald Trump’s increasingly gymnastic contortions over his Iran war which he alternately declared over just the past week “already won” yet requiring $200 billion in additional funding and the now subject of “very good and productive talks regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” Just […]

As President Trump’s war on Iran enters its third week, here are five points about Tehran’s predictable—and predicted—closure of the Strait of Hormuz: 1. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Trump knew the risk of Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz. He still went to war.” The President brushed off the warning from Joint Chiefs […]

Tragic and horrifying accidents happen in the fog of war. Over the past 30 years, the United States has often offered apologies or even cash to the innocent civilian victims of its military strikes gone wrong. Washington expressed regret and paid compensation during the 1999 Kosovo campaign, after the controversial 2001 collision between an American […]

President Trump on Monday seemed shocked—shocked!—at the rapidly growing economic fallout from his war on Iran. U.S. gasoline prices spiked and markets wobbled as  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iraq announced steeps cut backs on oil and natural gas production. With the Straits of Hormuz effectively closed, France dispatched warships to the region […]