Source: The American Conservative
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

“This is not a partisan affair. Experts in military strategy, regional history, and current power dynamics in the Middle East — as well as American politics and geoeconomics — are struggling to make sense of the U.S.–Israel war launched on February 28 and warn that its escalatory spiral is spinning out of control. But just like when the bloom was off the rose in late 2003, when the insurgencies and sectarian violence started emerging in Iraq and it was becoming clear that the Bush administration had no plan for ‘what’s next,’ the cheerleaders and shills are rushing to battle stations today to do everything to maintain some sort of rationalization for the disaster unfolding right before our eyes. This time, these messaging force-multipliers, tied directly or otherwise to the political and military machinery behind this war, shouldn’t get off so easily.” (03/25/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/todays-handmaidens-of-war/

Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano

“Last week, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to rescind the broadcast licenses of media entities that do not relate events in Iran or Ukraine as the Trump administration would like them to be related. He also attacked The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for the same reasons. This followed by one day a verbal attack on CNN by the Secretary of Defense who made known his bitter unhappiness with CNN’s coverage of the Iran war. Yet, CNN is not regulated by the FCC, which only regulates broadcast media — not cable or streaming; and newspapers, thanks be to God, are totally unregulated. So, what’s going on here? What’s going on is chilling.” (03/25/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/03/24/free-speech-for-me-but-not-for-thee-2

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Many nations that have emerged from internal conflict – Rwanda, Colombia, Indonesia, to name a few – have anchored their national reconciliations in acts of mercy. In its own peculiar way, Venezuela might now join this group, nearly three months after the United States removed its dictator, Nicolás Maduro, by force and charged him with narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. Most of Mr. Maduro’s colleagues remain in power in a deal made with U.S. President Donald Trump in the name of stability and a sharing of oil wealth. Yet the regime has also begun releasing political prisoners – just how many is in dispute. … Many of the political prisoners violated no law, or at least none based on democratic rights. And the proceedings for their release from prison are conducted in front of judges tied closely to the regime.” (03/24/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0324/A-morsel-of-mercy-that-might-save-Venezuela

Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison

“If the reported details are correct, the so-called plan includes many of the same unrealistic and maximalist demands that the administration has been making for the last year. It was based on the U.S. proposal from 2025 before the June war. It is hard to see why Iran would agree to such terms now when their government has more leverage than it had before. Strange as it may seem, the Iranian government is negotiating from a stronger position because of the war and the ensuing economic shock. If there is ever an agreement between the U.S. and Iran in the future, it will likely be on more favorable terms for Iran than if the war had never happened.” (03/25/26)

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/iran-cant-accept-trumps-absurd-plan

Source: The Hill
by Kevin Igoe

“Most political consultants will tell you that a quality they treasure in their clients is the ability to stay on message. In the world of political communication, that means limiting the opportunity for the mainstream media to talk about issues not in your candidate’s best interest and instead driving home a poll-tested and winning message. The more the candidate ‘stays on message’ the less opportunity there is for the media to cover the campaign in a less favorable light. Trump is by far the most accessible president in my lifetime. In contrast to his predecessors, he takes questions from the media seemingly every day. … All of Trump’s expounding on a wide range of issues should be a good thing. But it is not. Why? Because when a president answers multiple questions in a day, the White House loses control of what the media reports during that news cycle.” (03/25/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5798604-trump-media-control-loss/

Source: Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin

“Two protesters were arrested on the first day of Queensland’s ban on the slogan ‘From the river to the sea.’ Authorities enforced the restriction as part of new rules regulating protest speech related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which also cover the chant ‘globalize the intifada.’ Offenders could face up to two years in prison. The first protester arrested was Liam Parry from Students for Palestine, who spoke at a march against the law outside the state parliament house. Parry reportedly gave a talk about the phrase, disputed the claim that it was antisemitic, and ‘discouraged others from chanting the slogan.’ Another protester was arrested for wearing a shirt with the message ‘From the river to the sea.” (03/25/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/from-the-river-to-the-sea-is-now