Anti-War President Starts New War. Again.

The Iran bombings, public land selloffs, and the collapse of big city governance

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Anti-War President Starts New War. Again.

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This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch examine the latest U.S. military strike on Iran, unpacking the bipartisan pattern of anti-war campaign rhetoric followed by hawkish foreign policy once in office. They debate whether intervention is ever justified, what escalation might look like, and why Congress keeps abdicating its war powers. The hosts also tackle a listener question about public land sales and libertarian principles. Finally, they survey the baffling state of big city governance and the New York City mayoral primary battle between former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

00:22—President Donald Trump abandons "no new wars" promise

9:11—Vice President J.D. Vance kisses the ring

13:28—Are there any good arguments for war with Iran?

19:57—Israel set off a ticking clock

23:22—Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard contradicts Trump's narrative

26:27—What Congress should do now

36:24—Listener questions: public lands selloff

43:41—Big city governance and the NYC mayoral primary

55:32—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

Mentioned in this Podcast

"Just Don't Call It a War," by Christian Britschgi

"The Attack on Iran Is Unlawful," by Eric Boehm

"Trump Shreds the Constitution By Bombing Iran," by Matthew Petti

"Now Let Us Give Thanks for War," by Nick Gillespie

"Is Trump's America a Reliable Ally?" by Open To Debate

"The Federal Government Owns Too Much Land. Selling It Helps Rural Communities," by Jack Nicastro

"Utah Tells the Feds To Pound Sand," by J.D. Tuccille

"28 Years Later Is Terrifying and Life-Affirming," by Peter Suderman

 

Upcoming Reason Events

• Reason Versus debate: Jacob Sullum and Billy Binion vs. Charles Fain Lehman and Rafael Mangual, June 24
• Reason Speakeasy: Nick Gillespie and Elizabeth Nolan Brown on the MAHA Movement, June 25
• The Reason Roundtable Live in NYC! July 15

 

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• Producer: Paul Alexander
• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

What are we consuming this week?

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• World's Greatest Con: Project Alpha

Peter Suderman

• 28 Years Later

Nick Gillespie

• James

Matt Welch

• I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

---

Comments

[Fat Rush Limpcock (King of the Conservatives)]

Donnie = Big Government, Debt King, Central Planning, Tariff Loving, War Mongering Populist.

The Libertarian Nightmare.

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

Tell us a president in the last fifty years, Pluggo, who was better on those issues, and then explain the "big government" bit. No lying.

Then tell us about how this isn't happening: Israel and Iran agree to ceasefire to bring end to '12 DAY WAR,' Trump says

Trump bombed a nuke site and ended a war probably wasn't something you would have read in your morning talking points.

[Fat Rush Limpcock (King of the Conservatives)]

Big Government? That record $7 trillion spending in 2020, fool. You all have collective amnesia on that.

I saw your little essay on me from the morning links. Yes, I was traumatized by the Bushpigs. Before that we had fairly rational government. Reagan and Clinton were competent. Dubya made me swear eternal hatred to the GOP. Now Donnie wants to Transform the Middle East but certainly he is not as stupid as Dubya was by putting 150,000 troops in Iran.

Donnie is a litttle smarter than poor Dubya was.

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

That record $7 trillion spending in 2020, fool.

Lol. As if anyone forgot that Pelosi made that bill, or that governors across the U.S. were shutting everything down. You're trying to pretend like 2020 was just a normal year or something.

This is exactly why Open Society would never take you back. F-tier propaganda efforts.

Also; Stocks are up.
The market is healthy.
Oil is down.
Buttplug: tRuMp iS dUmB

[Marylandman, Battling for Truth Justice, and the American Way]

He can’t tell the truth. I look forward to his eventual execution.

[Rick James]

Sheeerike Three!

[JesseAz (Prime Meanster of Sarcasia)]

Has the definition of war gotten much looser since Ukraine?

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

In the new Teen Reason libertarianism, reciprocation is now considered 'war.'

Wait until Gillespie tells you what he thinks about concealed carry and shooting back at spree killers.

[Fat Rush Limpcock (King of the Conservatives)]

It depends on who is in office.

Remember Team Red called Obama’s little Predator strike in Libya a “war” even though it was a NATO exercise with France in the lead. JUST LIKE IRAQ! said that stupid “John” who posted here.

Now Donnie gets a pass from his Cult.

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

"even though it was a NATO exercise with France in the lead."

US launched 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, A-10 ground-attack aircraft, B-1B bombers, B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, Harrier II jump-jets, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, P-3 Orions, and both McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 fighters in order to control Libyan ground and skies.
U-2 reconnaissance aircraft operated out of Cyprus, E-8Cs operated from Naval Station Rota Spain. Additionally, Obama imposed a naval blockade with a force of 11 ships

An undisclosed number of CIA operatives were placed in Libya to gather intelligence for airstrikes and make contacts with rebels, which ultimately resulted in the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and the overthrow of his government.

On 3 June 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution, calling for a withdrawal of the United States military from the air and naval operations in and around Libya. It demanded that the administration provide, within 14 days, an explanation of why President Barack Obama did not come to Congress for permission to continue to take part in the mission.

On 13 June, the House passed a resolution prohibiting the use of funds for operations in the conflict. The Obama State department's legal advisor, was called to testify in front of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to defend the actions of the Obama administration under the War Powers Resolution.

He reasoned that under the constitution, the term "hostilities" was left up for interpretation by the executive branch, and therefore the interpretation fit the historical definition of that word.

On 24 June, the House rejected Joint Resolution 68, which would have provided the Obama administration with authorization to continue military operations in Libya.

The Lightbringer's war was illegal, Shrike.

Your whole schtick here relies on people not remembering anything.

[I, Woodchipper]

drops 3 bombs on a bunch of backwards goatherders, leaves.

"we are at war!"

PS not a fan of ME involvement but stop the handwringing for now

[damikesc]

The "war" is already over.

Does anything Reason writes age well?

[Vernon Depner]

This didn't even age well for an hour.

[Gaear Grimsrud]

It's a daily event at Reason. Hard not to laugh. And I have to point out that Trump thanked Iran for warning us about their strikes in Qatar yesterday and said God bless Iran today. They're the enemy in our war or so were told. I don't know if he can pull this off but I've never seen a president in my lifetime say anything like that. Remarkable to say the least.

[Spiritus Mundi]

If true, this will be the biggest pwn in history.

[JesseAz (Prime Meanster of Sarcasia)]

Sullum has had an article go wrong in 3 hours, then the same case he writes an article 8 hours after courts said the sullum view was wrong while declaring victory.

Don't think anyone else at reason can be embarrassed with sullum there.

[Spiritus Mundi]

Not just Reason. Every news outlet and half of the legislative branch pearl clutched "Trump started WWIII." 48 hours the whole conflict comes to an end.

[JesseAz (Prime Meanster of Sarcasia)]

Will help is with the war vs Mexico since they sent troops into the US a while back.

https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/gun-totting-mexican-soldiers-allegedly-enter-us-soil-surround-couple-in-new-mexico/

Since war has no meaning now.

[Marylandman, Battling for Truth Justice, and the American Way]

Mexico needs to be straightened out too. We also need to purge our left. We can’t keep them.

[Stuck in California]

None of them are embarrassed about... well, about anything.

As grandma always said, it isn't the walk of shame if you're incapable of feeling shame. The writers here are all propagandists and sociopaths. Or at the very least narcissists. Nobody with both a conscience and an ability to empathize would be able to do what they're doing day in and day out.

[Ersatz]

Anti-War President Starts New War. Again

...aaaaaannnnd ... stops it

[MasterThief]

Reason pounces.
Man they have some really bad takes that age very poorly.
I don't want war with Iran either, but if we can bomb a few sites to effectively destroy their nuclear abilities and aggressions then that's a huge win. It's still too soon to know how it will all turn out, but so far so good.

[Don't look at me! ( Is the war over yet?)]

“A real man would have kept the fighting going! Trump is a failure !”

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

Breaking: DC district court orders Trump administration to reverse the ceasefire and declare war on Iran.

[Rick James]

and the collapse of big city governance

How do you do my fellow kids? What's up with these bluebig cities?

[Mother's Lament - (Sarc's a Nazi, not even joking)]

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL. On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, “THE 12 DAY WAR.” This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!
DONALD J. TRUMP,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

So sorry that this is happening to you Reason. My condolences.

[Stupid Government Tricks]

What a silly headline.

No one voted for the Hoover Dam either, or almost everything the government has done which is not an enumerated power in Articles I or II.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

8 minutes befor the Marxist retard posted this story, Trump announced the iran/Isreal cheesefire
But reson is no different than the new Turks at this point

[sarcasmic]

waiting...

[Don't look at me! ( Is the war over yet?)]

“The Iranians did it first, so it’s ok?”

[Marylandman, Battling for Truth Justice, and the American Way]

For what? Rachel Maddow’s talking points so you know what to say?

[KARate kid]

I hate Trump. But if there is a ceasefire(that’s a big if and assuming there’s no more bullshit), then this is a win for the US. We(and our allies) are much better off than we were a week before.

If we can get out of this with no further fighting from us, then it’s a win and Trump deserves credit.

[AT]

This is the kind of post where you'd think KMW would exercise some editorial control.

I'm frankly amazed she didn't.

Look, I get pre-writing articles to cover potential outcomes - "Dewey Defeats Truman!" - but running those articles falsely after said outcomes have come to pass? It's like she and Suderman and the other riders in the clown car didn't want to admit that they totally wasted an hour of their lives prognosticating a future that was immediately dispelled.

That's not journalism. That's narrative.

KMW needs to be removed from Reason. Simple as that. Her and anyone else bearing the laughable moniker of any variation of "editor."

[MasterThief]

She has zero journalistic integrity. No corrections issued. Effectively no updates when information proves untrue. They would probably be sued for defamation by tons of people if they were even on the radar.
Even if she was competent at her job and ran a responsible news/opinion site, she has hired people and encourages takes that are far from the ideological mission of the outlet. I can get the same slop that most of these writers push out if I went to VOX or some other far left site.

[VinniUSMC]

Why is Matt Welch still employed here? Still waiting on that red wedding invitation?