Is It 1914 in America?
Mr. Touval, a foreign-policy analyst, wrote from Tel Aviv.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
War planners imagine that a regime can be decapitated into collapse, whereas external attack often does the opposite — binding a battered state more tightly to a society newly united by injury, humiliation and rage. They imagine that destroying conventional assets would settle the matter, as if legitimacy, wounded sovereignty and collective anger were secondary rather than the war’s actual terrain. Planners who took their adversary’s self-understanding seriously — rather than discounting it as propaganda — might have anticipated that an attack would not weaken the regime’s narrative but instead fulfill it. They might also have foreseen the paradox that systematic decapitation does not produce negotiators. It removes them.
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Trump himself appears to be wary of letting his Iran misadventure drag on. The Wall Street Journal reports that he wants a speedy end to the war, and at times he seems to be begging Iran’s leaders to make a deal. “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK,” he posted on Thursday morning. You could almost see the flop sweat wafting off him. Yet despite all the reasons America shouldn’t escalate its war with Iran, there’s a good chance it will.
Friday, March 27, 2026
Malcolm Morrison's Comment to WSJ editorial: See the mission through to what? That has been the problem from day one of this war - what are the objectives, define victory, how do you intend to pull out? What comes after you have destroyed their government (hoping against hope America learned anything from Iraq)? And the 2000 troops mentioned - the US would need a great deal more than that to even invade Kharg. This war was amateurly prepared by Trump and he has to deal with the consequences.
Don’t Let Iran’s Hostage-Takers Win
Stopping the war weeks short would vindicate their Hormuz strategy
ET
President Trump’s war with Iran is testing the limits of his unorthodox diplomatic style as he grasps for a deal to end the conflict shaking the Middle East and the global economy.
Standoff With Iran Raises Fresh Doubts About Trump’s Freestyle Diplomacy
A jumble of emissaries — a friend, a family member, a dove and a hawk — on the Iran crisis reflects President Trump’s improvisational approach.
Reporting from Washington
Thursday, March 26, 2026
The ugliest possibility is a great unwinding where catastrophic economic damage causes countries to seek self-sufficiency, perhaps by building regional spheres of influence that provide resources and markets. This would be drastic, but not unprecedented: When interdependence collapsed during the Great Depression, aggressive powers conquered enormous empires in hopes of creating self-contained prosperity and security against their foes.
One quarter of the Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 disapprove of his Iran policy, and this disapproval is especially high among groups who moved strongly toward him during that election: 56% among young adults, 62% for Hispanics and independents. These statistics signal more than a political threat for Mr. Trump and the Republicans who must face voters this fall. They represent a challenge to the democratic legitimacy of the most solemn decision that a nation can make. It’s up to the president to conclude this war in the way that does the least damage to our national interest—and to the people’s waning confidence in their public institutions.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
It's time Markets reckon that Trump has a credibility gap.and that he is just pulling Iran peace talks out of his ass
Stocks Fall in Choppy Trading as War Drags On: Markets Wrap
Traders continue to juggle headlines around the US-Israeli war against Iran after Trump signaled a possible end to hostilities on Monday following what he described as productive talks. The positive sentiment from those comments faded after Iran denied substantive discussions, while the Wall Street Journal reported that US allies in the Persian Gulf may join the campaign against Tehran.
Sunday, March 22, 2026
This time, the danger isn’t financial engineering. It’s that our financial system has attached itself to the vulnerabilities of our physical world — power grids, water, land, supply chains — and created hazards that markets have no framework to analyze. Our models for detecting risk look at prices, volatility and correlations. They have no instruments for reading a grid failure, a drought or a severed supply chain. By the time warning signs show up in market data, the damage will already have been done.
I Predicted the 2008 Financial Crisis. What Is Coming May Be Worse.
Mr. Bookstaber is the author of “A Demon of Our Own Design,” which in 2007 warned of the potential for a financial crisis.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
The country in Europe that most seems to appreciate this is Ukraine, of all places. President Volodymyr Zelensky has dispatched his experts on drone defenses to the Gulf, and that could well save American lives. The military in Europe most threatened at home is the one most willing to help the U.S. abroad. Mr. Trump might keep this in mind before pressuring Ukraine into a bad peace with Russia.
“We see little relief for the deepening energy crisis as more energy facilities come under fire,” RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Helima Croft said in a note. “Administration officials have spent considerable manhours working to convey to market participants that the disruption will be short-lived as the war will soon wind down. Yet nothing points to a limited engagement at this juncture.”
Friday, March 20, 2026
The Pentagon satisfied with its Patriot missiles rebuffed Ukrainian specialists that had come to demonstrate their expertise with drones and had simulated, coincidentally, countering an Iranian attack. Now, eight months later, the region’s allies—from Saudi Arabia to Jordan, passing through Israel—are discovering a new equation: No one can indefinitely fire Patriots costing more than $1 million each against Shahed drones that cost $10,000.
America Bombs Iran, and Zelensky Suddenly Holds Aces
‘You don’t have the cards,’ Trump said a year ago. Today U.S. allies implore Ukraine for drone help.
ET
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Mr. Trump is currently considering two actions that would almost certainly require ground action by American or Israeli forces: Taking over Kharg Island, where Iran loads most of the oil it produces onto tankers, and the underground site at Isfahan where it stores most of its 970 pounds of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel. Mr. Trump told reporters that he was unconcerned that such moves could commit U.S. forces to a Vietnam-like boondoggle in Iran. “I’m really not afraid of that,” he told reporters. “I’m really not afraid of anything.”
Trump Says U.S. Does Not ‘Need or Desire’ Help From Allies on Iran
President Trump has faced mounting criticism over the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran from allies and even members of his own administration.
Karoun Demirjian and David E. Sanger
Reporting from Washington
Friday, March 13, 2026
Despite President Donald Trump’s blustering that America benefits when oil prices surge, crunch time is fast approaching for both the war and the energy market. He either ends the conflict quickly, or sky-high energy costs will force him to do so. The oil market may not have the same fearsome reputation as the bond market but, trust me, it can be equally savage in twisting a politician’s arm.
When the first cruise missiles began detonating inside Iran, the strikes had all the hallmarks of previous successful US military campaigns — unstoppable, overwhelming force delivered without warning. But as the conflict extends toward a third week, the US war effort is showing unexpected signs of strain against an adversary whose military budget is smaller than the GDP of Vermont — but which has an arsenal of missiles and drones unlike anything the US has ever faced.
Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts US Military Under Unprecedented Strain
As the conflict extends toward a third week, an arsenal of attack drones and ballistic missiles has helped make Tehran unlike any adversary the US has faced.
By March 10, 2026 at 5:38 PM EDT
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