1. Epic Fury
Holy Week began with a 7:26 a.m. Truth Social post from our commander-in-chief:
Two items of note here.
First: Trump is laying the groundwork to declare victory. He claims to have achieved “regime” change in Iran and says the new regime is more friendly to American interests. Further, he sets a single condition for a ceasefire—the return to the pre-war status quo on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Second: Trump says he will order the U.S. military to commit war crimes against Iran if the strait is not reopened.
The last decade has been a learning experience for American citizens. We have learned that:
Some meaningful percentage of our neighbors want fascism.
Our Constitution and the rule of law are approximately run on the honor system.
These lessons have not been enjoyable; I would rather we had not been forced to learn them.
But also: Maybe knowing is better than not knowing? There is an “if you don’t test, then there are no cases” dynamic here. If liberal democracy is weaker and more compromised than we understood, then maybe it’s better to know this harsh truth for a fact?
So in that spirit of optimism, perhaps we’re about to have another learning experience in Iran. If President Trump makes good on his threat, then we will find out whether the U.S. military operates under the rule of law, or if it too has been run on the honor system.
Who’s ready for school?