Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Posting Past Armageddon

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Buried in his book about being a wheeler-dealer, Mr. Trump notoriously advances a notion eerily similar to Nixon’s Madman strategy. Trump likes to keep those with whom he is negotiating ‘guessing.’ He says this often. We cannot be shocked, then, if we’re all kept guessing about his Iran strategy. His litany of flip-flops from early March to the present day has been breathtaking, even for Trump.” (04/08/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/08/posting-past-armageddon/

Thomas L. Knapp

Ignorance and Ignominy

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“So the world’s greatest military power went to war with a poor, medievalist theocracy. It was an incredibly uneven match. … Yet Iran won. The Iranian regime has emerged far stronger than it was before, controlling the Strait of Hormuz and having demonstrated its ability to inflict damage on both its neighbors and the world economy. The U.S. has emerged far weaker, having demonstrated the limitations of its military technology, its strategic ineptitude and, when push comes to shove, its cowardice. We’ve also destroyed our moral credibility …” (04/08/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/ignorance-and-ignominy

Thomas L. Knapp

Jerusalem: Thousands of Palestinians pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque after Israel’s 40-day ban

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem has reopened to Palestinian worshippers after a 40-day closure by Israel. Video verified by Al Jazeera showed Palestinians streaming through its gates early on Thursday morning. Around 3,000 worshippers attended morning prayers. Access had been completely prohibited, or restricted to a few dozen faithful at Christian, Jewish and Muslim sites following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. Israel often imposes restrictions, especially on Palestinian worshippers.” (04/09/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/9/thousands-of-palestinians-pray-at-al-aqsa-mosque-after-israels-40-day-ban

Thomas L. Knapp

What Comes From the Failure to Confront Insanity

Source: The Contrarian
by Jennifer Rubin

“It is not hard to see how we got to where we are. The temptation now will be to rationalize this brush with disaster, even for Republicans to cheer Trump’s ‘negotiating prowess’ or ‘restraint.’ That would be a grotesque error. Dodging one calamity but ignoring the underlying pathology and serial failures that brought us to this point will ensure we have other such incidents. We must not forget that Trump’s threats in and of themselves are war crimes, grounds for impeachment, and a flashing siren that all the enablers, rationalizers, and opportunists who have refused to blow the whistle on a deranged president need to snap out of it.” (04/08/26)

https://www.contrariannews.org/p/what-comes-from-the-failure-to-confront

Thomas L. Knapp

Unhinged Trump Needs a Congressional Intervention

Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

“[G]iven Trump’s threat of inducing civilizational genocide, the American people need to wake up and demand a constitutional solution to this clearly demented president. Things are likely to get worse in the next three years as he ages. The danger of such a rogue executive is why the American founders, in the Constitution, assigned the power to initiate war to Congress, not the president. In a republic, they didn’t think such a grave and solemn decision should be left to one person; instead, it should be voted on by representatives of the people before it is undertaken.” 904/08/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/08/unhinged-trump-congressional-intervention/

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations

Source: AOL

“Donald Trump has broken his silence on a key question [sic] surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire deal. The US president addressed reports about the agreement’s scope in a new interview, and his answer has already drawn sharp reactions from multiple world leaders. US President Donald Trump told PBS News that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Iran. Trump cited Hezbollah as the reason for Lebanon’s exclusion, adding that the situation ‘will get taken care of.’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Lebanon’s exclusion from the deal, according to Axios. Trump also described Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as ‘a separate skirmish,’ PBS NewsHour’s Liz Landers reported on X.” [editor’s note: There’s no “question.” Lebanon was part of the deal as announced. The main purpose of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon is probably precisely to get the larger war going again – TLK] (04/09/26)

https://www.aol.com/articles/donald-trump-says-lebanon-not-072703656.html

Thomas L. Knapp