Here's what I think about how Marco Rubio is doing:

Margaret Brennan opened Face the Nation this morning with the following: "Iran apparently blinks after threats from President Trump for a major joint U.S. and Israel attack on Iranian soil."

From yesterday's NYT story, "In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear".

I see Annie Jacobsen has produced another disaster book. Given her track record, I don't plan to read it. I'll leave it up to these two experts.

Gigi Gronvall@ggronvall.bsky.social · 5d ago

Smart take from @progmil.bsky.social "What Jacobsen offers ...is just play-acting. It’s as if someone suddenly woke up to the fact that biological organisms can be deadly and believes that no one else has thought what to do about it. outbreaks." almauroni.substack.com/p/no-one-mak...

J.D. Vance should ask Netanyahu if he ever once has said thank you. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

U.S. general warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel

A shortage of Navy destroyers, used to defend against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, will force the head of U.S. European Command to prioritize the U.S. homeland instead, officials said.

washingtonpost.com

just incredible to watch the US president take Iran's side when my state's water systems are under cyberattack

Let me tell you, having chronicled Pentagon-style war game on attacking Iran nearly 25 yr ago, every single "surprise," "darkening turn," "narrowing option," spreading warfare," "rising casualties," "no easy exit," etc that comes drip-by-drip is EXACTLY why GHWB WJC GWB OBAMA BiDEN did NOT do this

I miss the Department of Defense. Our security is best advanced when we deter wars, not when we start them. That’s defense, not offense. Hope we get back to that mindset.

From today's NYT:

If those are accurate numbers… Holy shit. That’s bad.

From the NYT Magazine article about the transformation of the Heritage Foundation from a deeply wrong-headed think tank that pushed the boundaries of conservative thought but still embraced liberal democracy to a pro-fascist propaganda outlet.

I don't think American elites fully grasp the degree to which the U.S. alienated the rest of the world.

Asia ‘scraping the bottom of the barrel’ as Red Sea oil blockade worsens energy crisis

The Houthi threat to Saudi oil exports comes as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are still reeling from the closure of the strait of Hormuz

theguardian.com

The Obama administration's foreign policy doctrine of "Don't Do Stupid Shit" is looking pretty good right now.

Trump Seems Trapped by Iran War, Even as He Wields the World’s Biggest Hammer

A president who thought there were no limits to his power has discovered several, leaving him more frustrated and erratic.

nytimes.com

Just read a review of Odd Arne Westad's new book, The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History, which I added to my "To Read" list. I'd read and liked one of his earlier books, The Cold War: A World History, but didn't know until just now that he's a fellow Tar Heel!

Checking in on Bret’s analysis from the first half of March

Nicaragua is a tragic example of an authoritarian leader coming to power (or, in Daniel Ortega's case, returning to power) through the democratic process and then, with the complicity of political loyalists, dismantling the nation's democracy brick by brick.

Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, Says He Plans to Abolish Elections

Daniel Ortega has been accused of rigging recent elections in Nicaragua. Now, the authoritarian leader says the nation won’t even hold a vote.

nytimes.com

I just remembered Sam Neill was also in Amerika, the 1987 ABC miniseries that depicted life in the United States after a Soviet takeover. The 14½ hour miniseries was aired to placate conservatives who thought that The Day After (which was only 2 hours long) promoted pacifism.

WP: "U.S. teeters on return to all-out war with Iran after more troops killed"

It is those things. Stephen Miller accompanied you to this event.

"Countries that now view China more positively than the United States include longtime U.S. allies such as Britain, Canada, France and Germany."

China has become more popular than U.S. in much of world, survey finds

China’s global image is on the rise as America’s sours, according to a Pew survey of more than 40,000 people around the globe.

washingtonpost.com

The authors of this article lost me right off the bat when they mentioned "mirror imaging." It is composed of boilerplate arguments that seem to have been copied and pasted from 1980. They contend that the main threat to U.S. extended deterrence is a lack of nuclear options. It's not. Trump is.

Is it just me or does this headline contradict itself?

Ukraine can soon build its own Patriots – but it could take years

Ukraine may soon possess a license the U.S. currently extends to only a handful of allies — but it could be years before Patriots protect Ukrainian cities.

defensenews.com

“Not as bad as Vietnam” remains incredible branding for this illegal debacle of a war.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

COLLINS: The US is bombing Iran again. You've been bombing Iran for months now. Is this just the new normal for the American people TRUMP: Well, we were in Vietnam for 19 years. We're here for four months.

From Trump's National Security Strategy that was released eight months ago.

Trump acknowledged on Wednesday what his administration has been denying: U.S. stocks of key munitions are depleted, largely due to the war with Iran.

The ceasefire doesn’t even matter here: it’s blatantly illegal under international law period. It’s a testament to how bad the U.S. has screwed this up that Iran can do this and not be faced with global condemnation. Before the war they would be.