Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: The Atlantic
by Matteo Wong

“Whether it means to or not.” (03/06/26)

https://archive.is/nxWLW

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Katherine Thompson

“This week efforts under the War Powers Act to check President Trump’s unconstitutional and unauthorized war in Iran failed on a mostly party line split in both the House and the Senate. The result isn’t all that surprising. The naivety, however, on the role of Congress in matters of war is staggering. Congress is in desperate need of a civics refresher.” (03/06/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-war-powers/

Source: Washington Post
by George F Will

“Other than among his devotees, Donald Trump has only the trust and empathy he has earned: none. It is too late for him to prudently increase Congress’s buy-in with his Iran policy by consulting it. So, the language and processes of law are the only arrows in his critics’ quivers. Those are, however, unavailing. Courts will not intervene where Congress is, as a practical matter, precluded by presidential nimbleness. There are many kinds of wars, and as many ways for presidents to evade Congress.” (03/06/26)

https://archive.is/cDQk8

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes

“Switzerland is the freest country in the world, according to the Human Freedom Index. Small in territory but giant in institutional autonomy, it has built a decentralized, monetarily stable, and deeply participatory democracy, all outside the European Union. While Member States have no alternative to the uniform directives designed in Brussels, Switzerland negotiates sectoral agreements according to its national interest and the democratic consent of its citizens. The new ‘Bilaterals III’ package, whose entry into force depends on approval by the Swiss Parliament and possibly a referendum, is a reminder that there is an alternative to the European integrationist ‘one size fits all’ model. Switzerland’s institutional architecture limits central power.” (03/06/26)

https://fee.org/articles/free-nation-by-choice/

Source: Quillette
by Aaron Sarin

“When Xi Jinping gloated about the ‘chaos’ that rules world affairs, he hardly had in mind a cacophony of drone strikes on Beijing’s energy partners in the Gulf. Nor did he envision the sudden closure of a chokepoint through which China gets half its oil. The president saw great opportunity in the general turmoil and supposed multipolarity of the age: a chance for the CCP lion to rise. If Washington has its way, it will be the lion of Persia, instead, that emerges triumphant—a long-oppressed people rising to retake a stolen country.” (03/06/26)

https://quillette.com/2026/03/06/a-strike-against-beijing-epic-fury-iran-china-trump/

Source: Persuasion
by Quico Toro

“American military planners in the Pentagon have been wargaming scenarios for attacking Iran more or less non-stop since 1979. One major reason president after president stopped short of launching an attack was the frightening realization that the Islamic Republic could always choose to shut down the Strait of Hormuz …. American strategists cared a lot about the way Iran destabilizes the Middle East. But they cared about energy security, too. Which is one reason why every president from Jimmy Carter on took one look at the war option presented by the Pentagon and said, ‘yeah, no.’ So what changed? … a bunch of geology nerds working for a handful of U.S. energy firms figured out a way to inject water into shale formations at high enough pressure to dislodge the hydrocarbons embedded in the rock.” (03/06/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/shale-gas-might-have-tipped-trump