“The capture of Nicolas Maduro in January 2025 and elimination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran in theory might have sounded like relatively low-cost endeavors to eliminate pesky U.S. adversaries and Chinese/Russian partners from the Western hemisphere and from the Middle East. By eliminating the person at the top, the theory probably went, the U.S. could deal a decisive blow without having to commit to nation building afterward. Fans of The Sopranos might call it the Phil Leotardo Doctrine, after Tony Soprano’s final antagonist during the show’s run — the boss of the New York crime family who ordered the death of not only Tony, as boss of the New Jersey family, but also his underboss and consigliere. ‘We decapitate, and we do business with whatever’s left,’ Leotardo notoriously declared in the penultimate episode.” (03/03/26)
“The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four of its top officials for ‘direct operational support’ of the M23 rebel group that has seized large swaths of territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rwanda has long rejected allegations from DRC, the United Nations and Western powers that it backs M23 and its affiliated Congo River Alliance (AFC), which captured key cities in the mineral-rich east, including the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces last year. The US Department of the Treasury said on Monday that the rebels’ gains would not have been possible without Rwandan backing.” (03/03/26)
“On Friday, the Pentagon declared AI company Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk,’ a designation never before given to an American company. This unprecedented move was seen as an attempt to punish, maybe destroy the company. How effective was it? Anthropic isn’t publicly traded, so we turn to the prediction markets. … Why have the markets shrugged off this seemingly important event? Partly it’s because Anthropic seems likely to win on appeal. Hegseth has said the government will keep using Anthropic for the next six months (undermining his case that they’re a national security risk) and has signed a substantially similar contract with OpenAI (undermining his case that their contract terms were unworkable). The prediction markets think the courts will be sympathetic …” (03/02/26)
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Cory Massimino
“Many things have been written about Rothbard’s legacy for libertarians more generally, but what about left-libertarians in particular? Rothbard’s legacy? For left-libertarians? Most left-libertarians and most Rothbardians would recoil. Rothbard is usually viewed as either a right-wing villain or right-wing hero. Often, the right-wing classification has merit. But it’s more complicated than that. People mostly overlook Rothbard’s left-wing tendencies. These are most obvious during his brief time on the New Left, but they are not isolated to that period. In the spirit of other ideological audits of canonical libertarian thinkers from a left-libertarian perspective, I offer the following audit of Murray Rothbard.” (03/02/26)
“The trial of four former high-ranking officers of the Argentine navy began Tuesday for their alleged responsibility in the sinking of the ARA San Juan submarine in 2017 that resulted in the deaths of its 44 crew members. A court in the southern province of Santa Cruz is presiding over a trial where the defendants face charges of dereliction of duty, breach of official obligations and aggravated negligent destruction — all of which carry prison sentences. All the defendants maintain their innocence. Although the military officers face trial, no high-level political figures — including the president at the time or a Cabinet member — have been prosecuted for the November 2017 disaster.” (03/03/26)
“Despite his presidential campaign promises to put America first, Donald Trump didn’t seem to upset his media allies too much when he bombed Iran last June, or when he sent Delta Force to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. But those engagements were limited, free of American fatalities, and didn’t appear to produce much in the way of immediate consequences for Trump or the country. Even white nationalist Nick Fuentes became an old-school Monroe Doctrine imperialist. Trump’s latest attacks on Iran this weekend, however, have given rise to a much more negative reaction in right-wing media.” (03/02/26)
