4 h. ago Like George W Bush, Trump has started a reckless war based on a lie | Mohamad Bazzi

The Iraq war was built on a lie. Now history is repeating itselfIn May 2003, George W Bush landed on the deck of a US aircraft carrier to deliver a triumphant speech, declaring that major combat operations in Iraq had ended – six weeks after he had ordered US troops to invade the country. Bush spoke under a now infamous banner on the carrier’s bridge that proclaimed, “Mission Accomplished”. It would turn into a case study of American hubris and one of the most mocked photo-ops in modern history.As Bush made his speech off the coast of San Diego, I was in Baghdad covering the invasion’s aftermath as a correspondent for a US newspaper. It was clear then that the war was far from over, and the US was likely to face a grinding insurgency led by former members of the Iraqi security forces. It would also soon become clear that Bush’s rationale for invading Iraq was built on a lie: Saddam Hussein’s regime did not have weapons of mass destruction and was not intent on developing them. And I...

Politics

18 h. ago 'Lies, bombs, broken promises: Trump’s reckless lurch to war puts UK in firing line'

Trump's move was taken without congressional approval. It came without debate, without explanation, and in direct contradiction to the very campaign promise that helped put him back in the White House

Events

22 h. ago Top Republican turns on Trump after 'unconstitutional' strikes on Iran as MAGA warns against starting World War III

'This is not Constitutional,' wrote Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who last week made preparations to introduce a resolution under the War Powers Act.

Events

4 d. ago Trump accuses Obama of wanting war with Iran in resurfaced clip

Footage of Donald Trump accusing then-president Barack Obama of wanting to start a war with Iran in 2011 has resurfaced amid reports that the US president is considering launching attacks on Iran.

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Netanyahu’s Iran war: long planned, recklessly pursued – and perilous for all | Editorial

Israel’s strikes against Tehran risk spiralling conflict, flout legal norms and may permanently bury the last chance for nuclear diplomacyIn late 2020, Gen Mark Milley – then chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff – urged Donald Trump not to attack Iran and to ignore pressure from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pushing hard for military action. Mr Trump backed down after the general warned that attacking Iran would start a war, with the risk of US officials being “tried as war criminals in The Hague”.Five years on, Israel’s prime minister has the fight with Tehran that he has spent decades preparing for, bolstered by Mr Trump’s claims that international law no longer applies. After all, why worry about red lines when The Hague’s already got a warrant out for you and your allies pretend not to notice? It helps when the US treats the international criminal court like a rogue actor. Mr Trump has even gone after the court’s judges and prosecutor for ...

Events

8 d. ago Netanyahu outplayed Trump on Iran. Now the US risks being mired in another war | Mohamad Bazzi

If Trump wants to be the peacemaker he claims to be, he must negotiate a new deal with TehranBefore dawn on Friday, Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes against more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and air defense systems. The surprise Israeli attack also killed some of Iran’s most senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Iranian regime called it a “declaration of war” – and western powers raced to prevent a wider regional conflict that could draw in the US along with other countries in the Middle East.While the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims that he’s trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the attack is as much intended to blow up ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Donald Trump’s administration. While Trump’s overall foreign policy has been a disaster, for months he had resisted Netanyahu’s pleas to give Israel a green light to attack Iran, with US assistance. Trump insiste...

Events

1 week ago I was a Republican – the party I believed in no longer exists | Paolina Milana

I didn’t leave the Republican party lightly. I left because it left meI’m writing this not as a Democrat or an Independent, but as someone who, for most of her life, was a proud Republican.I voted for Ronald Reagan and admired his belief that “character counts”. I believed in personal responsibility, faith and country – and the Republican party seemed to reflect those values. I even rooted for George W Bush during the chaotic “hanging chads” recount in 2000, not because I thought he was perfect, but because I believed he would lead with decency and conviction.Paolina Milana is a first-generation Sicilian American with journalistic roots and the author of several books, including the memoirs The S Word and Committed, and most recently, The Caregiver Chronicles Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Inflation likely ticked higher last month, though Americans may be spending less to travel

U.S. inflation likely picked up a bit last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs start to bite, but lower prices for gas and possibly for air fares and used cars may limit the overall increase

Economics

1 week ago Keir Starmer begs Trump White House to start 'phasing in' UK trade deal this week with Britain's car and steel industry still in limbo over tariffs

The Prime Minister dropped in on a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street on Tuesday.

Economics

1 week ago Blix Not Bombs review – former UN weapons inspector revisits the Iraq war

Greta Stocklassová’s documentary films Hans Blix, aged 97, and asks about his role in the war, WMD, and why his world of diplomacy has now disappearedAt the age of 97, entirely lucid, still writing books and physically spry enough to be shown swimming in a Norwegian lake, former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has given an extended interview to the Czech-born Swedish film-maker Greta Stocklassová about his life and times, about George W Bush Jr, Saddam Hussein and the weapons of mass destruction that were not there. The result is insightful and a vivid time capsule for the grim and mendacious era of the “war on terror”, during which Blix was tasked with discovering the truth about Saddam’s supposed weapons. The film is also unexpectedly spiky, with Blix at one stage threatening to walk out, as Stocklassová presses him on his apparent fence-sitting, then as now, insisting on an absence of evidence for WMD but also reluctant to commit himself definitively to this being evidence of abse...

Events

2 w. ago ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’: Trump echoes notorious Black Lives Matter quote over LA anti

President’s message about anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles harkens back to George Floyd protest remark that was condemned for its dark history

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s crypto ventures may be his most dangerous moneymaking scheme | Mohamad Bazzi

The US president is leveraging his position for personal gain by exploiting an industry known for lack of transparency and fraudThroughout his business career, Donald Trump sought new ways to leverage his name to make easy money. He ran an airline, a university and a winery. Thanks to The Apprentice show that made him a reality TV star, the US president slapped his name on real estate projects around the world built by other companies – along with Trump-branded steaks, vodka, deodorant and bottled water. Many of these businesses ultimately failed, but Trump rarely invested his own funds and he still walked away with hefty licensing fees.Today, as the most powerful person in the world, Trump has found perhaps the easiest way to profit off his name: cryptocurrency. Days before his inauguration for a second term on 20 January, Trump’s family business launched a meme coin, called $TRUMP, which is a type of digital currency often connected to an online joke or mascot. It has no inherent ...

Politics

2 w. ago Governments scramble to understand Trump's latest travel ban before it takes effect Monday

Governments of 12 countries whose citizens will be banned from visiting the United States starting next week are scrambling to understand President Donald Trump’s latest move to resurrect a hallmark policy of his first term

Politics

2 w. ago How Nintendo dodged Trump’s tariffs and saved the Switch 2 release

Fortunate timing and government hesitation allowed the Switch 2 to come out on time, but the headache isn’t overNintendo fans across the US are breathing a sigh of relief as they tear apart the boxes housing their new Nintendo Switch 2 video game consoles. On-again, off-again trade tariffs implemented by Donald Trump, which precipitated pre-order delays from Nintendo, made the 5June release date of the highly coveted hardware feel more like a hope than a certainty. A potential price hike up from $450 loomed over launch day, but would-be buyers’ fears did not come to fruition.Nintendo’s maneuvering around Trump’s tariffs isn’t over, though – far from it. The Japanese console maker managed to luckily launch its device squarely within a 90-day tariff pause issued by the president. If tariffs on countries like India and Japan return to the levels proposed during Trump’s “Liberation Day” speech at the start of April, however, experts say Nintendo will have to limber up for yet another de...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump promises to hike steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% starting Wednesday. Here's what we know

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to hike nearly all of his tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to a punishing 50% on Wednesday, a move that would hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers

Politics

3 w. ago Even Trump started to doubt Musk and DOGE’s promise to cut $1 trillion, report claims: ‘Was it bulls***?’

President reportedly expressed skepticism about Elon Musk's pledge to slash government spending

Politics

3 w. ago AP PHOTOS: The Black hair industry imports products from China. Here's what tariffs mean

Black women are starting to pay more for their hair care because of the Trump administration’s tariffs on goods imported from China.

Culture

3 w. ago The Black hair industry imports products from China. Here's what tariffs mean for braids and wigs

Black women are starting to pay more for their hair care because of the Trump administration’s tariffs on goods imported from China

Politics

3 w. ago Trump to revoke visas for nearly 300k Chinese students as Rubio announces 'aggressive' crackdown

The Trump administration will start revoking visas for some Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday.

Politics

4 w. ago Whatever happened to Elon Musk? Tech boss drifts to margins of Trump world

The president’s billionaire backer was ever-present at the start of Trump’s term but is now pulling back from politics – and Republicans want to keep it that wayThe Oval Office was crowded, with reporters cautioned not to collide with the Resolute Desk. Standing beside them, dressed in black, was Elon Musk, billionaire ally of Donald Trump and head of his government efficiency drive.“Elon is from South Africa – I don’t want to get Elon involved,” the US president told his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, during a discussion about crime against white farmers. “He actually came here on a different subject: sending rockets to Mars. He likes that better.” Continue reading...

Politics