Donald Trump has issued a fresh verbal attack against Pope Leo XIV ... read more
Scott Anderson: The American and Israeli bombing of Iran failed to provoke either a popular uprising against the regime in Tehran or its capitulation, however painfully slow Mr. Trump and his advisers have been to acknowledge that. read more
Christopher Caldwell: It would be wrong to say the United States is trapped in the war it started. It has options. But it is now going to pay a very steep price, no matter which of them it chooses. read more
Donald Trump told a Florida crowd that it is "treasonous" to say the US is not winning the war in Iran. The US president was speaking at The Villages in Florida, the world's largest retirement community, when he made the remarks. read more
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear May 29 for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a panel spokesperson said Wednesday. read more
"I personally prefer the forcible removal of all current residents of Gaza and the annexation of Gaza and its repopulation by us."
From "Protocol of the Wannsee Conference, January 20, 1942"
The Chief of the Security Police and the SD then gave a brief review of the struggle conducted up to now against this foe.
The most important elements are:
a) Forcing the Jews out of the various areas of life (Lebensgebiete) of the German people.
b) Forcing the Jews out of the living space (Lebensraum) of the German people.
In pursuit of these aims, the accelerated emigration of the Jews from the area of the Reich, as the only possible provisional solution, was pressed forward and carried out according to plan.
On instructions by the Reich Marshal, a Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration was set up in January 1939, and its direction entrusted to the Chief of the Security Police and the SD. Its tasks were, in particular:
a) To take all measures for the preparation of increased emigration of the Jews;
b) To direct the flow of emigration;
c) To speed up emigration in individual cases.
The aim of this task was to cleanse the German living space of Jews in a legal manner.
www.yadvashem.org
History, not as simple repetition but as nasty rhyme.
Based on the various accounts of "intelligence reports," there probably isn't a clear picture (outside a tight circle in-country) of what's going on with Iran's nuclear affairs. At this point, Israeli estimates should rate on a par with the answers you receive from a Magic 8 Ball (Trump merch version: www.officialtrump2024store.com). Right up there with Trump's yapping.
Tangentially, more than a few times I've wondered if the Iranians had as much of the sort of material they allegedly possessed, why hadn't one or more dirty bombs not already detonated in one or more choice locales? I suppose Israel's possession of nuclear weapons is the opening response. But there are conditions under which that fact alone might not provide a sufficient deterrent.
Scribbling with a Sharpie on this map (www.visualcapitalist.com) cannot alter the fact that on this planet the primary maritime choke points are: the Strait of Hormuz, Panama Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, Cape of Good Hope, Bosphorus Strait, Suez Canal, Bag-el-Mandeb Strait (Red Sea), and Straits of Malacca (South China Sea).
The Iranians are teaching Trump, who lost his war of choice the second he opened his mouth up about it on Feb. 28, a lesson. Or they would be, if he was educable. Which he doesn't appear to be. So the rest of us get to absorb the consequences of his ignorance, hubris, and dementia.
No wonder Republicans would rather see their fascist regime cancel out the midterms than let the voting take its natural course.