Trump’s Iran Warning and the Fight Over the Strait of Hormuz

President Trump has issued Iran a blunt warning: Every time Iranian forces attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant, including potentially those in or near Tehran. The threat comes amid renewed American airstrikes, continued Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, and the collapse of…

War Powers, Warning, and the Weight of Authority

The renewed debate over presidential war powers, sparked by Vice President J.D. Vance’s dismissal of the War Powers Resolution as “fake” and unconstitutional, exposes more than a technical disagreement about statutes. It reveals a deeper conflict over authority, restraint, and accountability in the exercise of force. At stake is not merely how wars are authorized,…

Deterrence, Covenant, and the Cost of Power

One of the dangers of modern geopolitics is that we talk about power almost exclusively in terms of capacity—how many missiles, how much money, how quickly we can move hardware—while forgetting that power, untethered from order and responsibility, has a long track record of going sideways. President Trump’s decision to move forward with a massive…

Operation Rising Lion: Just War or Dangerous Gamble?

Yesterday, Israel launched a large-scale military operation known as Operation Rising Lion, targeting several key nuclear and military facilities deep within Iranian territory. These included uranium-enrichment centers at Natanz, ballistic missile stockpiles, and secret research reactors suspected of developing nuclear weapons capabilities. The Israeli Air Force deployed advanced F-35I Adir stealth jets and long-range drones…