Politics
/ArcaMax
Thomas Black: The US has enough missiles for this war but not the next one
The decline of missile stockpiles, which spurred the Department of Defense’s arm-twisting in January for Lockheed Martin Corp. and RTX Corp. to boost production, is worsening by the day.
Modern warfare is all about missiles, interceptors, stealth aircraft and drones. Thanks to companies like Lockheed, RTX, Northrop Grumman Corp. and other ...Read more
Editorial: White House offers muddled goals in Iran as Congress again stands aside
Can anyone reading this editorial right now explain, clearly and succinctly, why the U.S. is currently engaged in an open-ended military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran?
If you said yes, congratulations — you’re doing better than the Trump administration. President Donald Trump and his advisers have offered nothing but ...Read more
Jackie Calmes: On Iran, Russia and China, Trump's weakness for strongmen explains his foreign policy
"I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."
— Donald Trump, in his victory speech Nov. 6, 2024
It's bad enough that President Donald Trump has broken that oft-repeated pledge and unilaterally started a war, without engaging either Congress or the American public. And that, by his war of choice against Iran, he has in the most ...Read more
James Stavridis: Iran can turn the Persian Gulf into a minefield
As war rages across the Middle East, every mariner’s eye is on the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway, which connects the confines of the Persian Gulf with the open waters of the Indian Ocean, is effectively shut down.
Normally, about 20% to 25% of the world’s oil and gas flow south from the Gulf and on to markets around the world. As ...Read more
Commentary: For America's 250th, Donald Trump wants a national spectacle over local remembrance
As a teen in a small Illinois town, America’s bicentennial in 1976 fascinated me. The official logo marking the 200 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was omnipresent — on posters in my high school, on clothing and in advertisements. The culmination of the event took many forms in July 1976: fire hydrants repainted in “...Read more
Commentary: University presidents face a 'Star Trek'-like Kobayashi Maru moment
Should university presidents publicly weigh in on the most pressing societal issues of our times? In some academic circles, especially at public universities, it is now common for presidents to adopt a policy of neutrality. For presidents of faith-based universities, taking a position of neutrality can be problematic since the religious order ...Read more
Gustavo Arellano: Too many Democrats in California governor's race? That's a great thing
After months of fretting, California Democratic leaders are now truly freaking out about too many of their own running for governor, potentially allowing two MAGA Republicans to advance to the general election.
Someone find me the world's smallest violin.
It's the latest mess created by a party that has held supermajorities in the state ...Read more
Andreas Kluth: America second, Israel first?
It was bad enough that Donald Trump hasn’t been able to explain clearly why he yet again felt he had to attack Iran, and why now. His national security advisor and secretary of state, Marco Rubio, then inadvertently made everything worse by implying that the president wasn’t so much leading — in the spirit of America First and Peace ...Read more
Commentary: US attack on Iran echoes Russia's invasion of Ukraine
It was beyond disconcerting to hear the Iranian foreign minister on Sunday sounding like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circa 2022. But that’s the comparison that instantly sprang to mind when Abbas Araghchi told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week”: “What the United States is doing is an act of aggression. What we are ...Read more
Editorial: Iran's neighbors aren't happy after being targeted
The United States and Israel ramped up attacks on Iran on Wednesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stating more American assets were headed to the region and the Jewish state taking increasing aim at Iran’s infrastructure, according to news accounts. CBS reported that Iran’s power grid was completely shut down.
Iran’s scattershot ...Read more
Editorial: What Texas tells us about the 2026 midterms
The early political signals emerging from Texas may offer a revealing preview of the national mood heading into the 2026 midterm elections. While one state rarely defines the entire political landscape, Texas often serves as an important barometer for the broader tensions shaping American politics today: polarization, ideological intensity and ...Read more
Editorial: Nuke diplomacy a dud, now's the time for action
“Even before taking office, I made clear that Iran would not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon on my watch.”
Former President Barack Obama said that in 2015. A little over a decade later, it’s apparent that they gave him little heed.
When U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ...Read more
Nolan Finley: Tyranny doesn't end when tyrants are killed
Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.
Regime change efforts by the United States in this century confirm that when despots are toppled, it is likely one form of oppression will be replaced by another.
Instead of peace and democracy, externally driven nation-building most often ends in chaos. One set of bad guys goes, and ...Read more
Commentary: Blocking aid, Israel escalates its cruelty in Gaza
For more than five months, 15,000 boxes of children’s cold medicine and other vital medicines meant for kids in the Gaza Strip have been sitting in a warehouse, awaiting approval from Israeli authorities that never seems to come.
To Israeli officials, the cold medicine I am trying to deliver is a potential weapon. Israeli officials fear that ...Read more
Allison Schrager: Is free trade worth the cost in lives lost?
There is something about manufacturing jobs, and the manufacturing industry, that makes people sentimental. When they think of a factory worker, they think of him (it’s usually a he) as having great benefits, job stability and the ability to support his family. Donald Trump was elected president partly because of his promise, which he is ...Read more
Commentary: Getting rogue truckers out from behind the wheel
You may not recognize Karan Singh’s name, but you’ve likely heard of the problem his case exemplifies: workers who entered the U.S. illegally and began driving massive trucks, even if they were clearly unqualified – creating hazardous conditions for everyone on the road.
Singh, an Indian national, entered the U.S. illegally during the ...Read more
Commentary: What HBO's 'The Pitt' gets wrong about AI -- and what medicine misses
Generative artificial intelligence has already reshaped industries such as computer programming, retail, and manufacturing. In medicine, however, fears of clinical error have slowed adoption.
At present, two-thirds of doctors report using GenAI tools in practice, though half insist that stronger safeguards are needed.
This split — between ...Read more
Parmy Olson: Claude AI helped bomb Iran. But how exactly?
The same artificial-intelligence model that can help you draft a marketing email or a quick dinner recipe has also been used to attack Iran. U.S. Central Command used Anthropic’s Claude AI for “intelligence assessments, target identification and simulating battle scenarios” during the strikes on the country, according to a report in the ...Read more
Editorial: Standing firm: Despite reversal, DOJ is losing on law firms push
The Trump administration can’t even retreat from its unconstitutional attacks on law firms with any sense of dignity.
After months of unsuccessfully arguing for Donald Trump’s farcical executive orders attempting to punish prominent law firms that had worked with his perceived enemies, the Justice Department had apparently seen the light ...Read more
Mihir Sharma: Why you should worry about the other war on Iran's border
Since Pakistan declared “open war” on the Taliban regime in Kabul last week, it has sent waves of jets over its disputed border with Afghanistan. It continued to do so even as Iran, which neighbors both countries, was attacked by the U.S. and Israel and retaliated with drone and missile strikes across the region.
It takes a particular ...Read more




















































