The United States is at war with Iran. American service members are dead. Iranian leaders are dead. Civilians, including Iranian schoolchildren, are dead. The region is destabilizing. Oil markets are rattled. The Strait of Hormuz is under threat. And now the President and his senior military advisors state that they are not ruling out sending […]
As he has done frequently in both his presidencies, President Trump stretches presidential powers to great lengths without regard for the Constitution, the Congress, the American people, or our allies. Yet, he is observing the letter of the law in this naval and air attack on Iran. It is worth examining this issue. Starting with […]
President Donald J. Trump oversees Operation Epic Fury at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL National-level warfighting strategies are defined by the objectives established by the commander-in-chief, in this case, Donald Trump. The end state desired, assuming the chief executive of the nation did not misspeak, appears to number three: (1) to ensure that Iran can never […]
On Saturday, 28 February 2026, President Trump declared war on Iran. He may not have been thinking about the likelihood of destabilization of that whole region. He may not have considered that attacking Iran would make oil prices, and therefore US prices for gasoline, skyrocket. He may not have wanted the attack to turn into […]
“Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”“A republic…if you can keep it.” ~ Benjamin Franklin, to Elizabeth Willing Powel after the 1787 Constitutional Convention. America is celebrating 250 years of democracy in 2026 while ironically facing what may be its most serious existential challenge ever. This quarter millennium milestone should be […]
Though bruised and battered and in a state of exhaustion and semi-shock, we have survived the first year of Trump 2.0, so now we only have to make it for three more years. If this first year is anything to go by, though, by January 2029, when Donald Trump, as he did in 2021 when […]
Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell joins former senior CIA operations officers and to reflect on post 9/11 overcorrection towards counterterrorism. They assess the current “might makes right” approach to foreign policy and weigh the arguments for and against efforts for regime change in Iran. Mr. Morell also explores how we can strengthen U.S. intelligence, […]
Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell joins former senior CIA operations officers Jim Lawler and John Sipher to reflect on post 9/11 overcorrection towards counterterrorism. They assess the current “might makes right” approach to foreign policy, and weigh the arguments for and against efforts for regime change in Iran. Mr. Morell also explores how we […]
Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, […]
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag, home of the German parliament in Berlin, burned to the ground following an arson attack. Using the fire as a pretext, Hitler, then the German Chancellor, induced the German president to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties. The suspensions led to mass arrests of political opponents and […]