Chris Hedges, Stephen Walt and Ryan Grim on the Limits of U.S. Power in Iran
At the Vancouver Web Summit, I participated in a panel with Ryan Grim and Stephen Walt to discuss the Iran War and the wavering of U.S. hegemonic power in the region.
Photos
U.S. Forces Move Through Southern Iraq
IRAQ, MARCH 21: U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division 3-7 infantry Corporal Charles Johnson, (L) from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, shows his squad an Iraqi flag captured during an raid on a Iraqi border post late the day before March 21, 2003. (Photo by Scott Nelson/Getty Images)
Islamic State/Iraq/Syria: A masked Islamic State soldier poses holding the ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria. ISIL publicity image, 2015
Islamic State/Iraq/Syria: A masked Islamic State soldier poses holding the ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria. ISIL publicity image, 2015. (Photo by: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT - Signs reading ‘out of stock’ are displayed at a gas station amid rising petrol prices in Manila on March 9, 2026. The price of the main US benchmark for oil surged more than 30 percent on March 9, 2026 over concerns that the Middle East war could create prolonged supply disruptions. (Photo by Jam STA ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
Elliot Abrams Preparing to Testify
(Original Caption) Washington: Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams prepares to testify before the House and Senate Iran-Contra Committees. Abrams denied he led a special three-member committee that included Oliver North that directed aid and arms drops for the Nicaraguan Contras during a time official U.S. aid was banned.
Robert Kagan
Flickr by Paul Morigi
President Trump Departs Washington For Trip To China
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 12: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in front of the American flag to the press as he departs the White House on May 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) hands over a letter to US President Donald Trump as they meets at the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 7, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) visit the Western Wall Tunnels, underneath the Jewish holy site, in the old city of Jerusalem on September 14, 2025. (Photo by Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Nicolas Maduro Transported To Court Hearing
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 5: Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
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TOPSHOT - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton departs the stage following the third and final US presidential debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump (background) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. (Photo by Paul J. Richards / AFP) (Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
New York City Marks 23rd Anniversary Of September 11, 2001 Attacks
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: (L-R) Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, greets Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump as they joined family and friends at Ground Zero honoring the lives of those lost on the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Robert Kagan
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TOPSHOT - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fire test missiles during the first phase of military manoeuvres in the central desert outside the holy city of Qom, 02 November 2006. The Islamic republic fired its longer-range missile on exercise for the first time today as it began 10 days of war games amid a mounting standoff with the West over its nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/FARS NEWS (Photo by FARS NEWS / AFP) (Photo by -/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT - An Israeli soldier rides in the army Merkava main battle tank at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on November 6, 2025.(Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
UAE And Allies Condemn ‘De Facto Closure’ Of Strait Of Hormuz By Iran
RAS AL KHAIMAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - MARCH 22: Bulk Carrier, Belray, in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz on March 22, 2026 in northern Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
While I was never a supporter of this Lunatic and have had major misgivings about several past Administrations, this current one actually makes me feel physically threatened by their Blatant and Overt Corruption, Theft and Danger to ever decent American. I simply don't understand how our Congress and US Military sits back and does absolutely nothing. Treading very softly regarding upholding the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, this absolute Non-Sense of Blanket Immunity for all Crimes committed during his tenure Must be re-examined. It started under Biden, which I found appalling but this Orange Clown has brought it to levels of disgrace we as a Nation have never witnessed before.
God Help Us All.
Thank you for the discussion. I previously read the scholarly article Prof. Walt wrote with Prof. Mearsheimer on the Israel lobby and recommend it to other readers. I also wanted to update information Chris provided in a previous report about two Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists who were kidnapped and detained by Israel, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila. Following a six-day detention and representation by the legal rights organization, Adalah, the two were released and deported back to their home countries. Spain and Brazil had sent letters demanding their immediate release. All subsequent GSF participants have also been released and deported to their home countries after having been detained and abused by Israelis. Many suffered broken ribs and other injuries, and others alleged sexual abuse, including rape. At least some of the allegations are being investigated by the participants’ home countries. More needs to be done. (Chris had previously called for protests at the Israeli embassy in DC and the consulate in NY regarding the illegal detention of Abu Keshek and Avila).