Regarding Fauci: neither a lab leak nor a natural origin of COVID-19 has been either proven or disproven. But how likely is it that Beijing knew it was a lab leak and covered it up--and that no evidence of either that knowledge or that coverup ever appeared in the intelligence record?

This is Trump's most egregious assault yet on American democracy. Understand what he intends to do here: challenge the results of every midterm Congressional election in which a Republican loses a seat. It will be a repeat of January 6 in multiple state capitals.

I remember the excitement of the Bicentennial in 1976. That's why it's especially disappointing that I find it hard to get excited about the 250th: there seems so much less to celebrate with Trump in charge, and with him commandeering the event for his own aggrandizement.

"Washington should be confronting the complex and difficult issues raised by Cheng’s engagement with Beijing rather than dismissing it as appeasement, doubling down on military deterrence, and pretending that the US 'one China policy' remains clear, consistent, and credible."

Paul Heer@pauljcheer.bsky.social · last mo.

KMT leader Cheng Li-wun's visit to the US raised several key questions about Taiwan that Washington needs to confront: nationalinterest.org/feature/why-...

KMT leader Cheng Li-wun's visit to the US raised several key questions about Taiwan that Washington needs to confront: nationalinterest.org/feature/why-...

Why the US Shouldn’t Dismiss Taiwan’s Cheng Li-wun

The Kuomintang’s recent visit to the United States underscores how rigid the US-Taiwan policy has become.

nationalinterest.org

It's hard to grasp the meaning and significance of the White House having been degraded into the worst aspects of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. And to understand how this was allowed to happen.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, SIGNIFYING NOTHING. That's my Trump-Xi take... Few deals. No breakthroughs. But thankfully no US concessions on Taiwan or tech. Hard to call this summit a success, since it didn't really address any US-China structural problems. Yet not a disaster either.

"In the meeting, Trump did not respond to Xi’s comments about Taiwan and moved on to the next topic without acknowledging them at all, according to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive closed-door meeting." (From the Washington Post)

Prediction: Whatever transpires at the Trump-Xi summit this week, it will have a very short shelf life. Then we can all start spinning narratives again until their next meeting.

Is that dark portrait not accurate?

Max Boot@maxboot.bsky.social · 3mo ago

35-year CIA veteran: “The Chinese have a very dark portrait of the United States as a global hegemon that’s declining in power and becoming more violent as it tries to cling to its primacy.“ wapo.st/4wi8aHz

"The preoccupation in Washington and Tokyo with the threat of a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan diverts attention—intentionally or otherwise—away from the erosion and obfuscation of their 'one China' policies." nationalinterest.org/feature/chin...

China Never Promised a Peaceful Resolution of the Taiwan Issue

The United States and Japan risk moving the goalposts of their “one China” policies well outside of their previous agreements with China.

nationalinterest.org

Washington and Tokyo appear to have made their "one China" policies contingent on a Chinese commitment not to use force against Taiwan--a commitment that Beijing never made. nationalinterest.org/feature/chin...

China Never Promised a Peaceful Resolution of the Taiwan Issue

The United States and Japan risk moving the goalposts of their “one China” policies well outside of their previous agreements with China.

nationalinterest.org

Get ready for a kitschy cringey whitewashed Christian nationalist celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/a...

A Peek Into Trump’s Planning of America’s 250th Suggests a Religious Focus

nytimes.com

DNI Gabbard in today's Congressional testimony: “the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president.”

Here's the US Intelligence Community's 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, released today: www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/d...

1/ A new book by Odd Arne Westad, “The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History,” is a must-read on the future of US-China relations. It compares today’s international environment with the eve of World War I, drawing lessons and warnings of immediate relevance. Some key excerpts:

"It is too soon to say how degraded American power will be by the end of this administration."

Jake Werner@jwdwerner.bsky.social · 5mo ago

My new piece tries to make sense of how the fantasy Axis of [Something Bad] caught on in DC despite being very silly. China seems weak because it can’t defend the (imaginary) Axis, so the Blob thinks that open aggression could work if they were at the helm. responsiblestatecraft.org/axis-of-auth...

Stop trying to understand or explain Trump's foreign policy thinking in terms of logic, coherence, insight, or strategy. It's just the functional equivalent of a Magic 8 Ball.

For those Republicans who dismiss Trump's critics as afflicted by "Trump Derangement Syndrome": (1) Are there any things Trump has done that you don't like? (2) What do you think should be done about those things? (3) Why isn't something being done about those things?

Great thread. Operation Epic Fury could also reinforce Beijing's belief that time is on its side with regard to Taiwan: if the US preoccupation with Iran undermines Taiwan's confidence in US attention and protection, it might reduce the possibility that Beijing sees the need to use force.

John Culver@johnculver689.bsky.social · 5mo ago

China probably hopes that the US again becomes bogged down in a long conflict with Iran, but its strategic plans are usually not based on hope. 1/7

Just FYI: Iran is a big country. And its population is 25% that of the United States. Imagine trying to bomb an area this large into submission.

Will he give the Nobel Peace Prize back to María Corina Machado?

Yes! Folks should stop fantasizing that the war in Iran has left China scrambling. See also: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Beijing Doesn’t Think Like Washington—and the Iran Conflict Shows Why

Arguing that Chinese policy is hung on alliances—with imputations of obligation—misses the point.

carnegieendowment.org

Jake Werner@jwdwerner.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Let’s review. 1. DC foreign policy world, projecting insecurities outward, invents the “Axis of Chaos [or whatever]” comprised of the official enemies. They must be strangled because they aim to destroy the rules-based international order; 2. Countries in the nonexistent Axis…

At a time when the Pentagon warns about competition with China, voluntarily pulling U.S. military officers out of the world’s most important research and policy institutions is not a show of strength. It is a strategic retreat. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Why U.S. military officers need to go to Harvard. And Columbia. And …

The civil-military-academic ecosystem is the foundation of American geopolitical power.

washingtonpost.com

Great quote on the PBS Newshour from former US diplomat Alan Eyre: "I think this administration is trying to justify the war the same way Jackson Pollock used to paint. You just throw a bucket of reasons up against the canvas and hope the result looks good."

Hegseth said at the press conference this morning that Trump's decision to attack Iran was "unlike other presidents [whose] foolish policies of the past that recklessly pulled us into things that were not tethered to actual clear objectives."

"For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 8:7

Trump challenged the Democrats to agree that "The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Here's an alternative: "The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not make money for the president's family and friends."

Rubio in Munich: "Our great midwestern heartland was built by German farmers and craftsmen who transformed empty plains into a global agricultural powerhouse." But the plains were not in fact empty. Native farmers and craftsmen had been here for thousands of years.

I keep hearing from politicians from both US parties about what "the American people want" or what "the American people want to know." But many of these are things that I do not want or do not want to know.