The Geopolitical Earthquake of the Iran War

October 12, 2026
John Feffer
The Iran War has claimed thousands of lives, most of them in Iran itself. The war has cost Iran as much as $300 billion in economic damage. For its part, the Pentagon spent nearly $44 billion through mid-September to wreak that amount of havoc. For advocates of the war—but no one else—that’s a good return on investment.

Trump’s Destruction of the National Security Process

October 12, 2026
Melvin Goodman
In 1947, the U.S. Congress passed the National Security Act, which created the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Central Intelligence Agency.  These institutions were often misused during the worst days of the Cold War and, more recently, in the Global War on Terror.  Nevertheless, there are historical records on the decision making that took place, and there were successes in such fields as arms control and disarmament as well as the building of national security alliances in Europe and Asia.