Free Republic

In early March, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had already “won” the war against Iran but still had to “finish the job.” Months later, as fighting escalates across the region and diplomacy is stalled, the “job” remains unfinished with no end in sight. Trump on Wednesday said that “hopefully we are toward the end of the war” and suggested that Iran wants to make a deal. But that optimism is belied by what’s happening on the ground—and there’s little evidence that Tehran is eager for an agreement. The United States has had military successes in the...

To hear some U.S. officials tell it, Greenland is a treasure trove of crucial minerals ripe for the taking. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, for example, has hailed how “Greenland sits atop vast reserves of rare-earth elements,” while U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has pointed to the territory’s “incredible natural resources.” “It’s our national security. It’s critical minerals,” then-incoming U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz declared when discussing President Donald Trump’s designs on the island last year. As Greenland has yet again entered the global spotlight amid Trump’s annexation threats, so too has the island’s mining potential for rare earths, the...

As the U.S. military escalates its posture around Venezuela—with naval deployments in the Caribbean, B-52 overflights, lethal strikes on alleged drug boats, and confirmed CIA covert operations—advocates of regime change are reviving a dangerous analogy. Many have pointed to the United States’ 1989 invasion of Panama and toppling of dictator Manuel Noriega as proof that swift, surgical operations can get the job done. In private conversations with several current and former U.S. officials, they have nodded toward this parallel. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who just last month was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has appealed to the United...