By bombing the Iranian facility linked to South Pars, the largest natural gas field in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar, Trump's Israel bitch in the Middle East has jeopardized Trump's oil-soaked money-making schemes. So now he is angry at his own Zionist hoe, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Donald Trump has gone rogue on his war partner Israel for its attack on a vital energy facility in Iran. The Moron-in-Chief claims Israel did not ask for his permission. He and Israel are obviously playing good cop-bad cop with the credulous Arab Gulf morons: Israel did it, we didn't.
South Pars is considered to be the largest natural gas field in the world. It was bombed by Israel as part of the shooting range orgy that the American Evangelicals are partaking in with their Israeli Zionist buddies. Problem for oil-greedy Trump is that South Pars is shared by both Iran and Qatar, and the latter is one of the decadent ultra-wealthy Arab Gulf states that are, for all practical purposes, the Islamist cognates of Zionist Israel in their incestuous relationship as vassals of imperial Christian America. So when the twin children of America, Qatar and Israel, fight each other, Daddy Trump gets upset.
He is mostly concerned that the war on Iran will ultimately turn against his ambition to siphon off some of that gas and oil for himself and his children whose business deals in the region are raising many eyebrows. Further, his Arab Muslim allies cannot sustain their enmity to Muslim Iran and their love affair with imperial US for too long. Their populations in such glitzy-on-the-surface but vapid-on-substance Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrein etc, all now under the bombs because the imbecile in the Whouthouse, will at some point start asking questions. After all, these populations have agreed to become a kennel for the West because they have sedated their populations with money, brainless American movies, humongous cars and disgusting fast food. If the supply of the latter condiments of high American culture were to start drying up (I heard that 80% of all investments had fled the Gulf because of Trump's war), unrest and dissatisfaction might ensue.
Here is the Moron's verbal diarrhea on the subject:
Donald Trump posts about Israel's strike in Iran. / screen grab
“Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran,” Trump wrote. “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen,” the Idiot added.
It has always been a hallmark of American policy in the region to strike a balance between embracing Zionist Israel's rape of Palestine on one hand, and keeping Muslim and Arab anger at bay on the other.
The argument of whether the US knew or did not know of Israel's attack on South Pars is not interesting because the two bullies sleep together every night. Such an argument between a pimp and his bitch is within the standard norms of fornicating relations. The bottom line is that Trump is distancing himself from his Israeli bitch in order to safeguard the Arab Gulf states' compliance with his dictates. He doesn't want to upset the Gulf Arabs because they have oil and they are rich. His plans to further enrich himself, his family and his billionaire buddies could run aground if he appears to have endorsed Israel's attack on Qatar.
To wit, the Moron said, “I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran", thus revealing his expectations to make money out of Iran's oil and gas once the war is over. It will cost him a lot to rebuild the energy infrastructures on Pars Island.
The latest attacks on energy fields in the Middle East have caused Brent oil prices to rise by over 7 percent to $111.23 a barrel after the strike.
Jesus-freak and MAGA's House buffoon and King Trump's fool - Mike Johnson, a pathetically small (physically and mentally) man from the backward state of Louisiana - is denying the American public the truth on Iran, although superhero Jesus Loveman once told him, "The truth shall set you free". Alas, MAGAs are morons, just like their demented senile King.
Mike Johnson says public hearings "would adversely
affect our mission." (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker)
Yup, secrecy and lack of transparency are usually a recipe for success in wars. Think Vietnam (50,000 conscripted US soldiers killed and several million innocent Vietnamese civilians were killed by bombings, Napalm burnings and Agent Orange sprayings). Asked, "did "the Republican criminal" Dick Nixon hide the mounting death toll in Vietnam?", AI responded:
"Yes, President Nixon and his administration were criticized for
downplaying the death toll and the overall impact of the Vietnam War,
often presenting a more optimistic view to the public. This included
efforts to control information and manage perceptions about the war's
progress and casualties."
As the body bags were landing on US soil, Nixon (impeached GOP criminal) kept the mounting US presence and death toll in Vietnam a secret so as "not to compromise the mission". The "mission" ended up a monumental failure and the Americans ended up leaving Saigon like fearful rats in April 1975 after surrendering the country to the Communists. ================================================= Republican leaders reject demands for public hearings on Trump's war with Iran Scott Wong Wed, March 18, 2026
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said public hearings "would adversely affect our mission." (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker)
WASHINGTON — As the Iran war stretches into its third week, Democrats say they’re done with all of the classified briefings from top administration officials.
They now want public hearings into whether President Donald Trump plans to put U.S. boots on the ground in Iran, secure nuclear material there and how he plans to end the deadly conflict in the Middle East.
Few Republicans agree such hearings are needed. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., went even further, suggesting that public hearings would compromise the operation in Iran.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. who has led unsuccessful efforts to pass war powers resolutions to rein in Trump’s military operations, said that Trump "hasn't given a rationale that’s convincing for this. ... We have now said we’re tired of the classified briefings. We’re tired of hiding this from the public."
“When you keep something in secret, there’s a reason you keep it in secret because you don’t believe it will stand analysis in the light of day,” he said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, agreed. “If this administration thinks it can defend this war — I don’t know how it can — then it should send Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio to the Senate next week for a hearing in front of the relevant committees,” Murphy said of Trump’s secretaries of Defense and State.
If Republicans ignore their demands, Murphy and Kaine said, Democrats will force more votes on Trump's war powers, putting more political pressure on the GOP.
“I think they’ll lose votes in the Senate if they actually have to go in front of the American public and explain why gas prices are so high, explain whether we’re engaged in regime change or whether we’re not, explain how they’re going to get the nuclear weapons and the nuclear material without the ground invasion," Murphy said. "I don’t think they have answers for any of that.”
There’s confusion on and off Capitol Hill about Trump’s strategy with Iran. Who exactly will seize Iran’s nuclear materials? Does the president want regime change? And how does he intend to end Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is causing oil prices to climb?
Just this week, NATO allies and other nations rejected Trump’s pleas to help pressure Iran to end its blockade of the key waterway. The president then wrote: “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”
One key Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who had been privately and publicly urging Trump to strike Iran this year, said he believes Republicans should hold public hearings at the “appropriate” time.
“I think we need to. I think we need to showcase what we did and why we did it, but we’re in the middle of doing it,” said Graham, who is running for re-election this year. “But it’s very important for me to tell people back home, Americans over there have to be over there to prevent the Ayatollah from getting a nuclear weapon.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of Armed Services, said he has no objection to doing public hearings, “but I still want my classifieds.”
And retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., conceded that hearings will happen “at some point” because “we have to learn from our successes; we have to learn from any mistakes.”
But the top two Republicans in Congress — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. — both pushed back on Democrats’ call for public hearings.
Thune said top Trump officials have been holding “plenty of news conferences” with reporters and multiple closed-door briefings with lawmakers. Hegseth, Rubio and others have held separate classified briefings with all members of the House and Senate.
On Tuesday, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, led a classified briefing with a small, bipartisan group of senators.
“I’m not sure what the Democrats’ objective would be in a case like that, other than to try and find some way to embarrass them,” Thune said of hearings. “But honestly, I think the hard questions you’re asking them, we’re obviously asking them in closed sessions.”
Johnson argued that holding public hearings on the war — just weeks after its Feb. 28 start — could harm the U.S. mission there.
“We’re in the midst of a couple-of-weeks-long operation that’s sensitive in its mission and scope, and you cannot go outside of the classified briefing to give to the public the information, because it would adversely affect our mission,” the speaker told reporters Tuesday. “They have well explained this to members of Congress in multiple briefings, both before, during and after the operation commenced.”
After receiving multiple classified briefings, Johnson said he was confident Iran posed an “imminent threat” to the U.S. and that had Trump not acted there would have been “mass casualties of Americans.”
Asked if he plans to hold a public hearing on Iran, Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. told NBC News: “I don’t have those plans."
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said she didn't think public hearings would be that helpful. Things she heard in the classified briefings she had already seen in the news, Lummis said.
“I have learned more about the war by listening to the news than I’ve learned in classified briefings by the administration," Lummis said in an interview. "You all know as much as we know, and so there’s no additive advantage to having hearings."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
=================================================
Meanwhile, the same MAGA Moron from Louisiana wants more money to waste on Trump's war on Iran, despite saying America is not at war
House Speaker Mike Johnson has called for a supplemental spending bill amid President Donald Trump’s escalating war with Iran – despite the fact the speaker has said that the United States is not at war.
“The presumption is we would need a supplemental because we’ve used quite a bit of munitions and we’ve got to replenish the stock,” he told The Independent. “It makes logical sense, I think, to everybody.”
Earlier in the day, Johnson said in his weekly press conference that the war is in its final phases. “This is being watched very carefully, but we're in the midst of an operation that is winding down, according to the president himself,” he said. “We are very close to having the mission completed.” [Yet there's increasing talk of 2,500 US Marines making their way to Iran's coastline and to put "boots on the ground". Not very reassuring statements].
The Center for Strategic & International Studies estimated the U.S. has spent $16.5 billion by day 12 of the war. Tuesday marked the 18th day of the war.
Congress has debated the conflict that was started without legislative authorization. Congress is delegated the power to declare war by the Constitution.
Before the House adjourned two weeks ago, the House voted down a War Powers Act resolution led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Iran. That would have required that the White House inform Congress within 48 hours of troops being deployed and require that troops be withdrawn within 60 days if Congress had not filed a formal declaration of war or authorized the use of military force.
Johnson, on Tuesday, has also defended the fact that all of the briefings around Iran have been classified and there have been no open briefings.
“We're in the midst of a of a couple of weeks-long operation that's very sensitive in its mission and scope, and you cannot go outside of the classified briefing to give to the public the information, because it would adversely affect our mission,” he told reporters.
Despite Johnson’s repeated declarations that the United States is not at war, the White House and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly used the word.
“We’re not at war right now, we’re four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation,” Johnson said a few days after the Trump administration and Israel began their joint attack on the Iranian regime.
The White House has said that the war is in the final phases, while at the same time hinting that troops might be sent into Iran.
Democrats have criticized the fact Congress have had its authority to rein in Trump significantly curtailed.
“Did no one ask whether this Strait of Hormuz would be closed by Iran? Did no one actually ask about what the extent of civilian casualties would be in Iran? Did nobody ask about what military casualties would be on our side?” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland told The Independent. “So this is why it's got to be up to Congress for deliberation and debate and decision, it's not up to Donald Trump or JD Vance or Tulsi Gabbard.”
Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, who is Iranian-American, said Democrats should oppose a supplemental spending package.
“Democrats absolutely should not vote for a supplemental on a war that has again, never been justified to the American people,” she told The Independent.
In [https://lebanoniznogood.blogspot.com/2026/03/can-us-win-war-against-iran.html], I suggested the possibility that the madman imbecile in the WhoutHouse might use nuclear bombs to force Iran to surrender and save himself from a colossal failure, inspired by President Truman's use of nuclear bombs to force Japan to surrender. But unlike 1945, when the US was the only country with a nuclear arsenal, many more countries have a nuclear bomb. If Trump goes ahead with nuking Iran, his fellow dictators in Russia (might nuke Ukraine), China (might nuke Taiwan), Israel (might nuke Lebanon), etc. could follow his example. Let the radiation-laden fireworks begin! ==================================================
Panicked Officials Preparing for Trump’s War Going Nuclear Ewan Palmer Wed, March 18, 2026
Officials at the World Health Organization are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump’s war with Iran could escalate into a nuclear catastrophe.
Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told Politico that U.N. officials are monitoring the region in case the U.S. or Israel targets one of Iran’s nuclear sites, adding that officials are “vigilant” about how far the conflict could escalate.
“The worst-case scenario is a nuclear incident, and that’s something that worries us the most,” Balkhy said. “As much as we prepare, there’s nothing that can prevent the harm that will come… the region’s way—and globally if this eventually happens—and the consequences are going to last for decades.”
Balkhy said WHO staff are preparing for several possible scenarios, including an attack on a nuclear facility or the use of a nuclear weapon. “We are thinking about it, and we’re just really hoping that it does not happen,” she said. Donald Trump said the war aims to to “eliminate the imminent nuclear threat"
As part of those preparations, the WHO is reminding staff of protocols for responding to a nuclear incident, including how to offer guidance to officials about the long-term health risks linked to radiation exposure.
“I think those who read the history of previous incidents, whether intentional or accidental, are very aware of what we’re talking about,” Balkhy said.
Radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was blamed for a sharp rise in thyroid cancer and other diseases in surrounding regions for years after the explosion. As many as 240,000 people are estimated to have died as a result of the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The U.S. and Israel have a nuclear arsenal, but there is no evidence that Iran does. / Alex Wong/Getty Images
In response, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Daily Beast: “President Trump is addressing the long-term threat that the terrorist Iranian regime poses to America and our allies. This is a perfect example of how WHO has become an incredible organization that no one takes seriously.”
Trump has justified the war in Iran by claiming the country is close to acquiring a nuclear bomb—something Tehran has vehemently denied—while also accusing it of plotting attacks on the U.S.
This comes despite the president previously boasting that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities during July 2025 airstrikes.
Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the U.S.
Trump has rejected suggestions that Israel could be the one to use a nuclear weapon against Iran.
“Israel wouldn’t do that. Israel would never do that,” Trump told reporters in the White House East Room.
The president was asked about the possibility of nuclear weapons being used after his cryptocurrency czar, David Sacks, raised concerns on the All-In Podcast about a potential “escalatory approach” in the conflict.
“Israel could get seriously destroyed,” Sacks said. “And then you have to worry about Israel escalating the war by contemplating using a nuclear weapon.”
He cut millions of average Americans out of their jobs. He saved money. He withdrew the US from nearly all its international obligations (UN agencies, etc.). He saved money. He shut down all kinds of programs (equal opportunity, social security, parks, museums, etc.). He saved money. He imposed haphazard tariffs and made some money there (off the back of the average American who is now paying more for everything as a result). He stole other countries' oil to make some money. He saved money by not supplying Ukraine and deserving countries with weapons to defend themselves against Trump's favorite dictator Putin.
He waged wars that are uncessary and very costly. He gave free money to the dictator of Argentina to save his ass. He splurged many billions on colonial Israel so it commits genocide against the indigenous people of Palestine. He splurged on a useless ballroom and other government-owned buildings. He used his office to enrich himself and his family by grafting his businesses onto his supposed peace deals with, and between, other countries. He created clubs (the Board of Piss and others) with paying memberships. He gave a tax break to his billionnaire buddies. He extorted media and universities to force them to comply with his anti-Human Rights agenda.
All together, his "policies" have nearly doubled the national debt. Bottom line: He spent more than he brought in. He, his billionnaire friends, his Zionist handlers and his billionnaire family made money by plunging the country further into debt. The country is now at the mercy of Communist China to whom America now owes a lot of money. For all the promises he made during his campaign, virtually all have had a nefarious impact on the country. Thank you, MAGA morons.
The Trump administration is the textbook example of how ruinous is the Republican's "Small Government" political platform and how stupid is the tricke-down economy they've always advocated, particularly when it is acccompanied by giving free money to the top 1% wealthy Americans and corporations. Since WWII, ALL Democrat presidents managed to reduce the debt and reverse the trade deficit, while ALL Republican presidents managed to send the country further into debt. My fellow Americans, when will you ever learn to never again allow white collar criminals like Trump run the country if you truly want the country to be sustainable and civilized. ====================================================
The national debt just crossed $39 trillion—almost doubling since Trump vowed to erase it Nick Lichtenberg Wed, March 18, 2026
U.S. Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks
during a roundtable discussion with farmers in the Cabinet Room of the
White House on December 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is
expected to announce a $12 billion farm aid package, which includes
one-time payments to those affected by the administration’s trade
policies. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The United States national debt crossed $39 trillion for the first time Tuesday, arriving at the grim milestone less than five months after it first hit $38 trillion in late October—a pace of accumulation that budget watchdogs and academic economists are now calling, with unusual unanimity, “unsustainable.”
The milestone, confirmed in Wednesday’s Daily Treasury Statement, lands amid a politically charged moment: it comes roughly two weeks before the ten-year anniversary of President Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to eliminate the national debt within eight years. Instead, the gross national debt has roughly doubled since Trump first took office—it was $19.9 trillion in January 2017.
“Our moral duty to the taxpayer requires us to make our Government leaner and more accountable,” President Trump wrote in March 2017, as he issued an executive order directing OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to submit a comprehensive plan to reorganize Executive Branch departments and agencies in order to keep his promise to put in place common sense reforms to eliminate waste so that the Government better serves all Americans. “We’re going to do more with less,” Trump said at the time.
“As America soars past $39 trillion in debt, we must recognize this alarming rate of growth and the significant financial burden we are putting on the next generation,” Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told Fortune in a statement. “Borrowing trillion after trillion at this rapid pace with no plan in place is the definition of unsustainable.”
A clock that doesn’t stop
At the current rate of growth, the Peterson Foundation projects that the debt will hit $40 trillion before this fall’s elections—another trillion-dollar jump in roughly the same compressed timeframe. Michael Peterson called the figure “staggering.” The speed of accumulation has accelerated sharply: the debt added its latest trillion in what the foundation estimates is less than five months, a rate of fiscal expansion that has few modern precedents outside of wartime or acute financial crisis.
The milestone arrives as the Congressional Budget Office, in its February 2026 outlook, projected that the federal deficit will reach $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and swell to $3.1 trillion by 2036 under current law. Over that same decade, debt held by the public is projected to surge from 101% of GDP today to 120% of GDP by 2036, eclipsing the previous all-time record of 106% set just after World War II. The long-term picture is even bleaker: CBO’s extended baseline now shows debt rising to 175% of GDP over the next 30 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The $1 trillion interest bill
Perhaps the most alarming dimension of the crossing is what it costs just to carry the debt. Net interest payments on the national debt are projected to exceed $1 trillion in fiscal year 2026—nearly triple the $345 billion in interest the government paid in 2020, at the onset of the pandemic. In the first three months of the current fiscal year alone, net interest payments reached $270 billion, already surpassing the nation’s defense spending for the same period.
Peterson’s statement underscored just how persistent that interest burden will be: over the next 30 years, the government is projected to spend nearly $100 trillion on interest alone—an amount that dwarfs every major federal program. For individual Americans, the Peterson Foundation puts the interest tab at an average of at least $47,000 per person over the next decade. “Interest is the fastest-growing ‘program’ in the federal budget,” Peterson said.
What the numbers actually mean
Not all economists view the headline $39 trillion figure with equal alarm—though almost all agree the trajectory is dangerous. Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model and one of the nation’s foremost fiscal economists, argued that the gross debt number is actually less economically meaningful than debt held by the public, which now stands at $31.3 trillion. The gross figure of $39 trillion, he explained to Fortune, is intragovernmental debt, basically “the left hand of government owing the right hand.” Examples include the Social Security trust fund, and there’s no independent economic significance to this beyond its role as a political signaling device. Still, he added with his trademark understatement, “the fact that debt held by the public has now exceeded $31 trillion is not great.”
“The real problem,” Smetters said, agreeing with Peterson, “is that we are on an upward debt path that is unsustainable.” When you account for both explicit debt held by the public and the implicit liabilities buried in Social Security, Medicare, and other long-term obligations, Smetters’ model puts the true fiscal gap closer to $100 trillion.
The Penn Wharton Budget Model has previously estimated that, without major policy changes, U.S. Treasury debt will become unable to roll over its accumulated obligations within roughly 20 years—a scenario that would force either explicit default on interest payments or an implicit default through inflation. A Credibility Gap in Washington
Smetters has also previously raised pointed concerns about the budgeting apparatus that’s supposed to help lawmakers navigate the crisis. Under rules dating to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, the Congressional Budget Office is legally prohibited from projecting discretionary spending growth faster than inflation over its 10-year window—an assumption that both the CBO and outside analysts agree bears no resemblance to historical reality. The result, Smetters argued, is that official projections “constantly underestimate the growth in the debt,” creating a feedback loop in which lawmakers are lulled into false confidence by numbers their own budget office knows are too optimistic.
The CBO’s current projections, for instance, still assume Social Security will pay full benefits even after its trust fund is expected to deplete around 2032—effectively hiding a major future spending shock from the official forecast.
Politics and the Public
The milestone arrives at a moment of acute public anxiety about federal finances. Nine in 10 Americans say the rising debt is driving up the cost of living and contributing to higher borrowing costs, according to a survey by the Peterson Foundation—a cross-partisan concern that has yet to produce cross-partisan legislative action.
The U.S. fiscal position has deteriorated to what the Peterson Foundation now describes as the worst among peer nations. President Trump’s budget proposal is expected to be released during the week of March 30, setting up a political battle over spending and revenue that will play out against the backdrop of a debt counter that, by Peterson’s clock, will already be ticking toward $40 trillion.
“America faces complex and critical challenges, both at home and abroad,” Peterson said, “and putting our debt on a sustainable path will support a stronger, more secure future.” The good news, he added, is that solutions exist. The harder news is that in the 10 years since the last major political promise to fix this, the debt has only grown.
Check: [ https://lebanoniznogood.blogspot.com/2026/03/can-us-win-war-against-iran.html] on same subject from Monday, March 16, 2026. ===================================================== Going nuclear? Why a growing number of Washington’s allies are eyeing an alternative to US umbrella Amy McAuliffe, University of Notre Dame Tue, March 17, 2026
American allies contemplate a post-U.S. nuclear umbrella future. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Canadians are openly discussing the merits and risks of pursuing a nuclear weapon. Europeans are similarly considering a nuclear deterrent for the bloc. In South Korea, public support for a nuclear weapon is at its highest level on record, and even in Japan some politicians are talking about the once-taboo subject.
Until just a few years ago, few experts would have predicted that these nations – all allies of Washington – might one day join the nuclear club. Since 2006, that club has consisted of just nine countries: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel, with its undeclared program.
The hope of nonproliferation advocates was that nine would be the maximum. But over the past few years, more and more nations are seriously exploring “going nuclear.”
As an expert on weapons technology and former assistant director of the CIA for weapons and counterproliferation, I have watched these developments with alarm.
Perceived national security threats still shape U.S. allies’ views of developing nuclear weapons – with North Korea a key driver for South Korea, China paramount for Japan, and Iran key for Saudi Arabia.
But what has changed demonstrably for many U.S. allies is a newfound skepticism over the credibility of the so-called U.S. nuclear umbrella, which for decades has offered allies an easy way of declining to pursue nuclear weapons. Concerned about the Trump administration’s foreign policy, some nations are considering developing domestic nuclear weapons programs or seeking new deterrence assurances. New nuclear aspirants across the Atlantic
The U.S. deployed the first atomic bombs in Japan in 1945, with the Soviet Union conducting its own successful nuclear test four years later. The U.K. was next to get the bomb in 1952, followed by France in 1960 and China in 1964. Experts believe that Israel first tested a bomb in the late 1960s, while the last entrants into the nuclear club were India in 1972, Pakistan in 1998 and North Korea in 2006.
Experts have long wondered which country might be next. Often, speculation has included U.S. allies such as Egypt, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkey.
For years, such nations were assumed to be under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, a tacit understanding that Washington will defend its nonnuclear allies, including by using U.S. nuclear weapons. Doubts about the credibility of the U.S. nuclear umbrella have existed for years and precede the Trump administration. However, current U.S. officials’ criticisms of NATO, focus on burden sharing, and policy positions on Ukraine have brought into stark relief for allies the need to consider other nuclear options. And with allies now focused on the limits of U.S. security guarantees, the list of possible nuclear aspirants has suddenly grown.
European leaders have crafted their public comments on the issue carefully, focusing on concerns about U.S. reliability in general versus the credibility of the U.S. nuclear umbrella. French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at a French nuclear submarine base in Crozon, France, on March 2, 2026. Yoan Valat/Pool Photo via AP
Rasmus Jarlov, the chair of the Danish parliament’s defense committee, perhaps best reflected the views of many U.S allies in Europe, telling The Associated Press: “If things got really serious, I very much doubt that Trump would risk American cities to protect European cities. We don’t know, but it seems very risky to rely on the American protection.”
In Europe, most public discussion has focused on the concept of a common nuclear deterrent for the bloc under the protection of French nuclear forces. In a major speech in March, French President Emmanuel Macron called for “forward deterrence” involving the temporary deployment of French nuclear-armed aircraft to nine other European countries, including Germany and Poland.
Meanwhile, the Swedish prime minister has had talks with Britain and France about deploying the two countries’ nuclear forces to Sweden during wartime.
But the French pledge does not extend a guarantee to defend allies with French nuclear weapons. Instead, France will use nuclear deterrence to defend French “vital interests,” a purposefully vague phrase. Only time will tell whether Macron’s offer will satisfy European partners – or prevent them from deciding to take matters into their own hands.
There has been growing speculation over whether Poland and Germany might be considering developing their own nuclear weapons. While German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has explicitly ruled it out, Polish leaders’ comments leave the option open.
In early March, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Polish parliament that Poland “must reach for the most modern solutions related to nuclear weapons,” seeming to reflect personal support for Warsaw’s long-term pursuit of a weapon and near-term conversations with the French about a nuclear umbrella.
In Canada, meanwhile, the former chief of the country’s defense staff said in February that Canada should not rule out acquiring nuclear weapons. While the comments drew opposition from the current Canadian defense minister, the discussion of whether Canada would consider “going nuclear” did not seem out of line in today’s global security environment.
Heightened discussions in Asia
Similar discussions among current and former government officials have been percolating across Asia.
For Japan, such talks mark a significant development. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, largely drafted by U.S. occupation authorities after World War II, renounces war. And in 1967 Japan further pledged not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons in its territory — the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles.” A pall of smoke lingers over a scene of nuclear destruction in Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 7, 1945. AP Photo
But the issue is no longer taboo. In late 2025, an unnamed official in the new administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed his personal opinion that Japan should begin discussions about developing nuclear weapons.
These remarks drew an official rebuke from Takaichi. Moreover, Japanese nuclear weapons are unlikely to be in the cards anytime soon, particularly given the sensitivity surrounding Japan’s status as the only nation to directly experience the consequences of nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is reconsidering its position on Tokyo’s nonnuclear principles to discuss allowing U.S. nuclear weapons to enter Japanese territory.
South Korea is a different story. Last year, the foreign minister in the former conservative Yoon administration argued that an independent nuclear deterrent for Seoul “was not off the table,” given the unpredictability of the Trump administration. Left unsaid, but clearly in the background, were concerns about the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
South Korea’s previous nuclear weapons program and public support for reviving it could make a future South Korean nuclear weapon a real possibility, even though the current center-left administration stresses Seoul’s nonnuclear stance.
Yet the public mood has also shifted. A total of 76% of respondents now support an indigenous nuclear weapon, according to a March 2025 poll by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies. That was an increase of 5 percentage points since 2024 and the highest level of public support for Seoul pursuing a nuclear weapons capability since the poll originated in 2010.
Saudi Arabia’s focus on the fuel cycle
In the Middle East, the Washington ally most likely to pursue a nuclear weapon remains Saudi Arabia. In Sept. 2023, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reiterated his public stance that Riyadh would acquire a nuclear weapon if Iran did.
Perhaps more likely is Ryadh’s pursuit of a “latent” nuclear weapons capability, meaning that Saudi Arabia would develop relevant technology and expertise to be able to produce a weapon quickly if it made the political decision to do so. An indigenous capability to enrich uranium would be key. President Donald Trump stands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the White House on Nov. 18, 2025. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File
Indeed, the crown prince has demonstrated an enduring interest in developing a Saudi nuclear fuel cycle. He continues to pursue domestic uranium enrichment, regardless of the state of Iran’s nuclear program.
In November 2025, members of the U.S. Congress wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern that “the administration has revived talks with Saudi Arabia to give it access to U.S. technology and to potentially allow it to enrich uranium.”
The willingness of the Biden and Trump administrations to pursue nuclear deals for civilian power reactors with allies that permit uranium enrichment could assist Saudi Arabia and South Korea in pursuing nuclear weapons. The “gold standard” U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement, called a 123 agreement, prohibits enrichment and reprocessing.
In September 2025, the Pakistani defense minister announced that Pakistan would extend its nuclear umbrella to Saudi Arabia, if needed, perhaps reducing Riyadh’s focus on obtaining formal U.S. security assurances. If genuine, this commitment provides Prince Mohammed the time and protection to develop Saudi nuclear weapons or a latent nuclear capability.
All of these developments suggest that despite decades of nonproliferation experts warning about the expansion of the nuclear club, new entrants are a very real possibility for the first time in decades.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Amy McAuliffe, University of Notre Dame
But the jackass told us during the campaign that "he alone" can fix things and the "US alone" (no Nato) can rule the world... Not only did he fail abysmally to stop his Russian jackass friend Putin's war on Ukraine in 24 hours as he promised, he himself has started two wars and is promising new ones and is begging his forlorn no-longer-allies for help. You see, he's upset not only because his no-objectives-war is failing miserably, but because the stingy penny-counting idiot is spending billions every day on a failed Zionist-prodded entreprise (just like all his life career's failed and bankrupt entreprises)... Americans usually throw quantity on their projects with little quality. Theirs is a country with limitless natural resources, but their people are generally narrow-minded, ignorant and conceited. They can send 400,000 troops with fantasmagoric weapons to invade a puny country, but they typically end up losing. Americans have lots of brawn (that is why they love sports so much; doesn't require too much thinking), but little brain (that is why they hate nerds and intellectuals). MAGA morons, I am sorry, you may be nice people, but you are real morons for believing the criminal orange jackass. I hope you are learning about your own moronic selves by watching your beloved Mega-Moron you elected make an idiot of himself every hour of every day. Worst part: The moron is also senile. That is a double whammy to your bruised egos. I also noticed in some revealing photos that Trump is going bald underneath his flimsy gossamer-like hair which he weaves across to cover his blooming baldness. The man is slowly rotting before our eyes; you know what they say about golfers: They lose their brains after losing their balls!
French General Torches Trump’s Demands for Help With Scathing ‘Titanic’ Comparison Harry Thompson Tue, March 17, 2026
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images (Anna Moneymaker)
A French general has said joining President Donald Trump’s war is like buying a discounted ticket for the Titanic after it had already hit the iceberg.
Retired three-star general and former commander of the French Foreign Legion, Michel Yakovleff, appeared on LCI, where he reeled off all the reasons not to follow Trump into battle.
The president has endured a chastening start to the week after ally after ally—including the U.K., France, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and even China—rejected the idea of offering military support for his war with Iran. Global Insights Journal/Michel Yakovleff/X
“You can’t have an American operation where they’re bombing whatever they can, and then below that, the Europeans doing something else,” Yakovleff said. “No, no, no, it has to be one sole operation, under a NATO flag. I don’t think he’s understood that.”
He then went further, rejecting the idea that European ships would enforce his blockade while U.S. forces nearby waged a broader war all around them. Instead, he said the U.S. needed to make it crystal clear what it wanted from the conflict.
“The Americans have to put this in writing. Not tweets, not things that change every two minutes,” he said. French President Emmanuel Macron has so far snubbed Trump's request for help. / YOAN VALAT / POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Yakovleff then claimed that sending ships to help Trump went beyond simply putting those vessels at risk. Instead, he said it opened the door to becoming involved in the conflict’s politics.
“It’s not a question of military means, the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “It’s that he wants to share the political risk... not the military risk.”
His words echoed those of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said, “What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot do?” the BBC reports. “This is not our war. We have not started it.” U.K. Prime Minister Starmer has also so far snubbed Trump's demands. / Leon Neal / via REUTERS
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil to the rest of the world. Around one-fifth of the world’s supply flows through it in peacetime, but since Trump’s attack on February 28, Iran has warned that ships’ safety cannot be guaranteed.
Tankers have come under fire, leading to a supply chain backlog and at least 17 vessels being hit. Meanwhile, gas prices are soaring.
Yakovleff, who served in NATO roles for seven years, has previously warned that Trump’s attacks on the alliance could destroy it. Smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack. / HANDOUT / ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP via Getty Im
“He would let us down whenever it suited him,” he continued on LCI, before stating, “On the Titanic, it appears the captain wanted to sell tickets off cheaply for the dinner-dance after hitting the iceberg. It’s not the moment to be buying a cut-price ticket for the Titanic.”
“And the last argument is American: you don’t reinforce failure. I learnt that at the U.S. Army War College. You don’t reinforce failure, you move on, you find something else.”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron had already poured cold water on the idea of getting involved in the fighting directly. Instead, he said he would look into organizing a fleet of escorts to help ships navigate the strait, but only after the “hottest phase” of the fighting was over, according to the BBC.
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer struck a similar tone, saying in a news conference on Monday that he was looking at a “viable plan” but was “not at the point of decisions yet.”
Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy boss, Kaja Kallas, told Reuters that “Nobody is ready to put their people in harm’s way in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Welcome to the most violent country on earth during peacetime. Can you imagine what the US would be like if conflict erupts on its soil?
Read through the headlines below and conclude what the "American way of life" is all about in the United Crimes of America.
Check: [ https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/last-72-hours ] for the number of gun-related crimes and mass shootings that occurred in the US over the past 72 hours. Please note that there are 7 pages to scroll through, each page listing some 25 shootings. That makes for at least 175 over 3 days or 60 per day. Note also that many gun-related crimes are never reported. These lists do not include gun-unrelated crimes such as rapes, theft, and all the fine scams that the American genius is capable of. And you wonder where Hollywood trash gets its inspiration from?
None of the crimes below involve migrants or immigrants (who generally stick by the rule of law and keep a low profile in racism-infested America), while US-born white trash feel entitled because they and Trump believe they "own" the country and can commit crimes without fear of deportation or denaturalization. White racists complain that immigrants come to this country to join the welfare rolls, but the criminals below do in fact commit crimes in order to lead an easy comfortable life in America's posh prisons. ==================================================
People - ILLINOIS Special Ed Teacher Christina Formella Allegedly Sexually Abused Her Student. Inside the Shocking Case and 55 Charges Against Her
NY Post - US Young teen girls immediately hit with ‘explosion’ of sexually explicit messages and photos when they sign up for social media
KOLR Springfield - ARKANSAS Marion County, Arkansas deputies arrest three in alleged rape case Deputies have arrested three individuals after a victim claimed she had been raped in Marion County, Arkansas. According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office press release, Steven M. Manson, 35, Steven L. Manson, 56, and Dezerae S. Manson, 19, all of Yellville, Arkansas, have been arrested after a victim reported an […]
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - TEXAS Teen stuck pistol out SUV window, fired into stranger’s head, Fort Worth police say. The victim was upset that the suspect had been firing a gun in the victim’s neighborhood, a witness told detectives.
US Weekly - COLORADO Colorado Bus Driver Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault of a 10-Year-Old Student A Colorado bus driver has been accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old, Us Weekly has confirmed. Robert Charles Watters is being held inside the Jefferson County Jail on $10,000 bond following his arrest Thursday, March 12, on a felony charge of suspicion of committing sexual assault on a child by a person in a position
Associated Press - UTAH Utah woman who wrote a book on grief after husband's death found guilty of murdering him. A Utah woman was convicted Monday of aggravated murder after poisoning her husband with fentanyl and then self-publishing a children’s book about coping with grief.
People - COLORADO Man in 'Intimate Relationship' with Slain Hairstylist Jax Gratton Indicted in Death Probe. Brandon Mumma, 45, faces one count of tampering with a deceased human body and one count of tampering with physical evidence, the DA says
People - FLORIDA Spring Break Marred by Violence as 5 Shootings Erupt Over Weekend Near Daytona Beach, Injuring Cop. The police officer was shot twice but is in stable condition, while the alleged suspect suffered severe burns and is in critical condition
SURFER Magazine - CALIFORNIA
Gang Fight Erupts at Los Angeles Surf Beach as 15-Year-Old Boy Is Shot
Following
an altercation on Saturday night at Dockweiler State Beach – a popular
surf spot in Los Angeles – a teenage boy was shot and hospitalized.
Us Weekly - NEBRASKA
Son Arrested In Homicide of His Father, Who Was Catholic Church Deacon, Says Nebraska Police.
A
man accused of killing his father, a deacon at a Catholic church in
Nebraska, allegedly tried to flee police to avoid being caught,
authorities said. Martin Zak was arrested on Thursday, March 12, on
charges of criminal homicide, felony flight to avoid arrest and felony
theft in connection with the death of John Zak,
WBNS Tegna Articles - OHIO
Fairfield County man sentenced to at least 50 years in prison for sex offenses involving minors
A
Fairfield County man convicted of multiple sexually related offenses
that happened as he worked at a campground will spend at least the next
50 years in prison. Rick Hawley was sentenced Monday after a jury found
him guilty in February of nine counts, including rape, gross sexual
imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Authorities said
the case began in June 2025, when one victim came forward.
Kvue ABC - TEXAS
Round Rock man sentenced to life for child sexual assault after a Williamson
County jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a child.
FOX 6 -Milwaukee - WISCONSIN
A Milwaukee man was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. The 56-year-old man was convicted in a child sexual abuse material case. He was already a registered sex offender when the case was brought.
WZDX - ALABAMA
Indictment: Former Crossville High School teacher faces four counts of sexual abuse.
New
court documents provide a clearer picture of the latest
charges against Billy Carl Jones Jr., the former Crossville High School
teacher booked early Saturday morning following his arrest by DeKalb
County deputies. Jones, 51, is
facing four counts of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony in
Alabama.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal - TEXAS
A former Shallowater ISD band teacher accused of sexually abusing two students multiple times was arrested Thursday. Joseph
Gonzalez, 27, was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a
first-degree felony count of continuous sexual abuse of a child,
according to county jail records.
WSYR Syracuse - NEW YORK Sex offender could face up to 50 years to life in prison. Previously convicted sex offender Ryan Pontello stood before an Onondaga County judge on Monday after a grand jury previously indicted him on 48 counts and accused him of predatory sexual assault against a child. Pontello’s indictment last February consists of 48 counts for conduct allegedly involving six different child victims, ages 3 to 5, from 2022 to 2025.
KLFY Lafayette - LOUISIANA Lafayette Parish murder-suicide investigation underway. The victims have been identified in what appears to be a double murder-suicide that occurred Sunday afternoon. Deputies responded to the 500 block of Braxton Drive in unincorporated Lafayette Parish near Youngsville in reference to three people found dead in a home. Detectives said 36-year-old Brett Richardson shot and killed his wife Kasie Richardson, 33, and their 6-year-old son before turning the gun on himself.
KLFY Lafayette - LOUISIANA
A Scott, Louisiana, man has been arrested and charged with possessing child porn
as part of an ongoing investigation by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s
Office, authorities said. Reed Doucet is charged with two counts of possession of child sexual abuse materials.
WBTW - Myrtle Beach - SOUTH CAROLINA Federal authorities arrested a man charged with murder following a Saturday assault in a neighborhood with a history of violence. Corey Anthony Stephens, 43, was arrested Monday afternoon by members of a U.S. Marshals Service regional task force, officials told News13. He was wanted in connection with the attack, which happened at about 6 a.m. at 541 Ramsey Drive.
KRQE Albuquerque - NEW MEXICO Suspect in shooting that injured Navajo Nation officers faces federal charges. On March 6 in To’Hajiilee, a small community about 35 miles west of Albuquerque, officers received reports of a man, Russell Secatero, shooting at cars and in the air. Investigators say he opened fire at police with an AR-style rifle from inside a closet, while someone was in there with him.
KGET Bakersfield - CALIFORNIA Deputies open fire during standoff with domestic violence suspect: Kern County Sheriff’s Office
Kern County deputies opened fire during a standoff with a domestic violence suspect Friday, officials said. Deputies responded to the 16000 block of Highway 178 in Weldon for the report of domestic violence at about 6 p.m. on March 13. The suspect, identified as Michael Kemmeter, 30, was found traveling westbound […]
12NEWS -ARIZONA Former high school coach pleads guilty to multiple counts of sex-related charges Patrick Battillo was in court Monday where the Phoenix Suns fan known as "Mr. ORNG" pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. The former basketball coach at Peoria High School faces allegations that he solicited sexually explicit photos and videos from five minors, boys ages 15 to 17, three more than previously reported.
....................
.... and many many more crimes (mostly related to underage sex), too many to list all here.... I think FOX News will run out of the few "migrant and immigrant" crimes they've been selectively reporting when Trump's crusade against darkie migrants and immigrants is completed, and will have to report the daily mountain of crimes committed by God-fearing natural-born Americans.
The unsolved contradiction of the Judeo-Christian Fallacy: White Christian nationalists and MAGA supremacists say they love Israel. They freely gift it billions of dollars of American taxpayers money so they continue their joint gang-rape of Palestine. They also have dispatched a deranged ultra-religious southern moron from Arkansas to be the American ambassador in Zionist-raped Palestine. But these same Jesus-loving Americans also hate the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and are avowed neo-Nazis with a very long history of antisemitism.
So what gives?
Now that the fake modern Jews have supposedly returned to the Promised Land gifted by Yahweh to the Hebrews some 3,000 years ago,
Now that these fake Jews have perpetrated their Genocide II against the indigenous 20th century Palestinian people in a reprise of Genocide I of the Bronze Age Canaanite Palestinians by the Hebrew ancestors of the modern fake Jews,
The equally fake American "Evangelical Christians", who hate the Jews because the latter did not accept Bronze Age superhero, Loveman Jesus, as the friggin' Messiah, await His Second Coming to Palestine. As soon as Superhero Jesus Loveman beams himself back to Palestine from his celestial hideout up above the clouds (he may have been a neighbor of Superman), the Evangelical mongrels expect their allies, the Jews of Israel, to convert to Christianity and accept Jesus as the f - - - - - Messiah. If they don't, the American bible-belt southern morons, led by Mike Huckabee from the State of Fartensas, and supported by Donald Dumb, and armed with their Manifest Destiny and their AR-15s courtesy of the NRA and the Second Amendment, will slaughter their friends and allied Jews who refuse Jesus as their personal savior.
I think the MAGA Christian morons and the Zionist Jews should sit down as good allies and discuss this major disagreement before it's too late. The End of Times is near. Armageddon is hurtling towards earth, with all its fire and brimstone. Jesus has been detected riding a chariot of fire as he prepares to re-enter the earth's atmosphere. The meek and mild Jews stand to suffer a second Holocaust at the hands of their beloved American neo-Nazi MAGA allies. ====================================================
University of Florida moves to deactivate College Republicans after report of antisemitic behavior Associated Press Mon, March 16, 2026
FILE - University of Florida students make their way through a crosswalk near the campus landmark Century Tower in Gainesville Fla. (AP Photo/Rob C. Witzel, file) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The University of Florida says it's deactivating the campus College Republicans as a registered student group after being notified that some members engaged in antisemitism.
The deactivation effort at the University of Florida campus marks the second time this month that a public university in Florida has taken action against a Republican group accused of being involved in racist or antisemitic behavior.
Earlier this month, Florida International University in Miami launched an investigation into a group chat started by an official with the Miami-Dade chapter of the Republican Party that included violently racist slurs, antisemitic comments and misogynistic language. The chat involved students and several top conservative leaders at Florida International University.
Officials at the University of Florida said over the weekend that they had been informed by the Florida Federation of College Republicans that the federation had disbanded the Gainesville campus' chapter after determining that some members had “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture.”
When the Florida Federation of College Republicans is ready, the university will assist with reactivating the campus chapter under new student leadership, UF officials said in a statement.
Last fall, New York’s Republican State Committee suspended a Young Republican organization following the release of a group chat that included jokes about rape and flippant commentary on gas chambers.
THE AMERICAN BULLY HAS NO FRIENDS LEFT. HE IS IN DEEP TROUBLE BUT THEY WON'T HELP HIM BECAUSE HE'S SUCH AS ASS.
Donald Dumb is like a spoiled child who kicks and bites the other kids and doesn't understand why they won't play with him. It reminded me of a song I first heard sung by Diane Keaton in the movie "Reds", a song that the Allies-No-More of the US no longer want to sing along with the imbecile bully the dumb American people elected to be their leader.
I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard By H.W. Petrie and Philip Wingate (1894)
[Original excerpts) I don't want to play in your yard, I don't like you any more, You'll be sorry when you see me, Slid-ing down our cellar door,
You can't holler down our rain barrel, You can't climb our apple tree, I don't want to play in your yard If you won't be good to me.
[Modified verses] We don't wanna join your Iran war We don't like you anymore We are tired of your antics And your senile semantics
You can holler like a madman Please don't can't call us anymore We don't wanna join your war games If you won't be nice to us.
Trump Finds Out That After Insulting Allies Forever, They Don't Feel Like Helping Him S.V. Date Updated Tue, March 17, 2026 at 12:34 AM GMT+2·5 min read
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump may be learning the hard way that berating, insulting and threatening America’s traditional allies for years makes persuading them to bail you out of a jam more difficult.
NATO countries have been cool to Trump’s demand they send warships to help the U.S. Navy safeguard the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening to the Persian Gulf that oil tankers are currently unwilling to transit because of the threat posed by Iran, which Trump and Israel began attacking two weeks ago.
During a question-and-answer session with reporters Monday at the White House, Trump continued complaining that other nations — none of whom was consulted prior to the start of the air attacks — were not “enthusiastically” responding to Trump’s request.
“They should be in here very happily helping us,” he said. “They should be jumping to help us because we’ve helped them for years.”
Trump has spent many years, from even before his first term, calling other NATO members freeloaders and mischaracterizing the alliance as a form of protection scheme in which other nations were supposed to pay “dues” to the United States.
“Trump doesn’t understand how alliances work. He wants what he wants when he wants it. It’s just that simple,” said John Bolton, one of Trump’s national security advisers in his first term who disclosed that Trump had planned to withdraw from NATO had he won reelection in 2020.
After he returned to office last year, Trump disparaged NATO member Canada and said it should be the 51st state while also threatening a military seizure of Greenland from Denmark, another NATO ally. The Greenland threats, even as they were largely mocked as unserious in the United States, provoked a monthslong crisis in Europe.
Now, after attacking Iran without first seeking any input from those and other allies, he is expressing dismay that they are not eagerly sending ships and service members to ease the global energy calamity he himself created, which has caused domestic gasoline prices to jump more than 70 cents a gallon.
A man holds a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump after a news conference against Trump's demands to multiple countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 16. via Associated Press
Trump on Monday again repeated his false claim that NATO would not stand by the United States: “I always said when in need they won’t protect us.”
In fact, the alliance’s mutual defense clause, spelled out in Article 5 of the charter and which states that an attack on one nation is treated as an attack on all, has only been invoked once: following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Trump, however, speaks as if Article 5 language requires its members to join with the United States in an offensive war of choice, which it does not.
“He’s so confused. He never did understand NATO,” said Jim Townsend, a former staffer at the Defense Department and NATO and now with the Center for a New American Strategy, a center-left think tank.
Jan Techau, with the Center for European Policy Analysis in Berlin, said he’s not sure Trump much cares about the treaty’s actual language. “He looks at dependencies, power relationships. If he thinks he can put pressure on NATO members that way, he does it,” he said.
Thus far, that effort seems to be falling short.
“What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot do? This is not our war, we have not started it,” German defense minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Monday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while saying he supports a plan to reopen traffic through Hormuz, said the United Kingdom would not be “drawn into the wider Iran war.”
One of the least oppositional voices, ironically, came from Denmark, the nation Trump was directly threatening just months ago but which is home to a large commercial shipping fleet. “We must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters as he headed into a European Commission meeting to discuss a response to the Hormuz Strait situation.
Trump claimed Monday that “numerous” nations were going to send warships to the strait to help get tanker traffic moving through again but refused to say which ones.
He then continued a pattern of contradictory statements that call into question his understanding of his own war. He demanded help with his Iran war and its global consequences while simultaneously claiming he didn’t need any such help. He claimed he had “obliterated” all of Iran’s military, including its fleet of mine-laying boats, but then said he understood why ship owners still do not wish to send their vessels through.
“Every one of them is gone,” he said of the mine-laying boats, “but it only takes one.”
Trump also revealed yet more evidence that he had not fully appreciated the risks he was taking when he began the largest U.S. war in two decades. “They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he said of Iran’s decision to attack its neighbors that host U.S. military facilities. “So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”
Mental health professionals continue to argue that Donald Trump’s behaviors are part of what they call “malignant narcissism” syndrome.
It is commonly known as gaslighting, the psychological manipulation by narcissists to
make their victims question their own reality, memory and perceptions.
Everything that goes bad for Trump, he gaslights his moronic followers by blaming the "bad" on Democrats and also on Republicans who get tired of him. For example, Trump says that there is no real affordability crisis; it's a hoax cooked up by democrats even though his own morons out in the boonies of America are suffering from his inane policies.
Psychologists say Trump applies a tactic known as:
DARVO: Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender. This way, he thinks he can avoid responsibility and acccountability. He first denies, then attacks the opponent by reversing the roles to portray himself as the victim and the opponent as the criminal. He learned DARVO from Roy Cohn, his mentor.
Another example is how Trump made the case for his tariffs on other countries by saying that it was these other countries who have abused, exploited and humiliated America. So he imposes tariffs to punish them. He's done it with women who accused him of sexual abuse. He's doing it now by blaming Ukraine for having been invaded by his fellow criminal Putin.
In their 100-year history of raping Palestine, Trump's Zionist friends have excelled at DARVO. Israel is the only foreign colonial invader that continues to claim it is a victim of its own indigenous Palestinian victims. Israel is in fact the last colonizer to still be extant some 80 years after the dismantling of all colonial empires.
Psychologists further say that DARVO puts the real victim on the
defensive and makes them feel like they need to explain themselves,
defend themselves or question themselves. Throw just enough doubt around and the victim is made to be culpable in public opinion while the perpetrator is given some leeway and becomes the victim, which allows them to continue their harmful behavior because they now see themselves as
wronged or victimized.”
Another absurd example of the Trump administration using DARVO was back in January when Renée Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. JD Vance called Good a “domestic terrorist” and reposted a social media post that described Pretti as an “assassin.
But the Guinness Book record for the use of DARVO over a long haul is owned by the Zionists in their rape of Palestine. For the past century, Zionist invaders of Palestine have dehumanized the indigenous Palestinians - they do not exist (said Golda Meir), they are human animals, terrorists, barbarians, etc... whom Netanyahu is trying to civilize - whose country they stole, whose children they killed, whose homes they demolished and whose people they scattered across the region in squalid refugee camps. They then told the world that they, the Zionists, are the victims of the Palestinians.
The
women were among medical staff at Shifa Hospital's Cardiovascular,
Medical and Research Center who treated severely wounded Gaza Palestinians severely maimed by Israeli bombardments during the Israeli Gaza Genocide.
Two nurses detained in Gaza City after treating wounded Gaza civilians were tortured and
repeatedly raped by Israeli security agents in custody, according to an
exclusive report by NGO observers on the ground in Palestine.
Both
nurses suffered severe internal injuries and underwent major surgeries
after their detention. One
reportedly had part of her intestine removed, while the other allegedly
underwent a hysterectomy due to the extent of her injuries.
There have been scores of reports of Israeli security officers and prison guards raping and sodomizing both male and female prisoners in their custody.
The families of the two nurses had to pay money and the two victims of Israeli torture were made to sign statements meant to conceal the abuse and blame it on
“terrorists”.
It is further alleged that security forces stormed the hospital before the ceasefire agreement, ordered staff not to treat wounded civilians, and later beat
medical workers who resisted. According to witnesses, several female nurses were arrested.
The allegations come amid longstanding international concern over Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees, many of whom are in arbitrary detention and are never charged with any crimes. These detentions are explicitly justified as securing "hostages" to be exchanged during prisoner swaps. Amnesty International and UN investigators
have previously warned of torture, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests,
and forced confessions in Israeli custody.
See for example, [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/]
Yes, they are US-born and White. They're probably so-called "Evangelical Christians". And they're from the state of Texas. They're neither migrants, nor immigrants.
How can Trump, he who can do everything and anything for the first time ever in the history of mankind, not address the scourge of US-born American criminals (uh... like him) preying on children?
These two abject human beings could in fact be pardoned by their fellow pedophile squatting in the Whouthouse because he can stand in their Florsheim shoes, while he hunts down non-white Americans to keep the "whiteness" and the "christian" blood of the country from being sullied and contaminated by people with dark skin. Accordingly, I suppose Trump believes that only white people can rape white children and stay in this country. ================================================
Former substitute teacher and boyfriend face 38 child sex charges as bond nears 9 million Greg Wehner Mon, March 16, 2026
A former Texas substitute teacher and her boyfriend are now facing a combined 38 child sex crime charges, with their bonds set at nearly $9 million.
Madison Paige Jones, a former substitute teacher in the Midlothian Independent School District, and her boyfriend Zackery Dondlinger were first arrested in December after Midlothian police launched an investigation into allegations involving a 5-year-old child who lived in Jones’ home.
Jones’ bond was initially set at $90,000 and Dondlinger’s initially reported at $250,000, but after the additional charges were filed earlier this month, their bonds increased dramatically.
Jones faces 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact and three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure. Madison Jones, 30, was arrested by officers with the Midlothian Police Department on Dec. 19, 2025. (Fox News)
Dondlinger faces one count of sexual performance by a child under the age of 14, 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact, three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure and one felony warrant.
Dondlinger’s bond is now set at $5 million, while Jones’ bond stands at $3.8 million.
NBC affiliate NewsChannel10 in Amarillo reported that court documents show Midlothian police were called to the home of a woman on Dec. 17 who identified herself as a friend of Jones. Zackery Dondlinger faces several child sex crimes in Ellis County, Texas.
The woman told officers she was concerned about Dondlinger’s behavior toward a 5-year-old child who lived in Jones’ home. Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship at the time.
According to the documents, Jones allegedly told investigators Dondlinger directed her to sexually assault the child and that she carried out the acts. The documents also state that Jones told authorities Dondlinger had sexual fantasies involving the child.
Affidavits obtained by the station say Jones described the sexual acts to investigators and told police she recorded videos of the abuse and sent them to Dondlinger through Snapchat.
A Texas substitute teacher was arrested and charged with multiple felony offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child on Dec. 19, 2025.
Investigators later seized Jones’ iPhone while executing a search warrant, and an affidavit reportedly states the phone contained a message from Dondlinger that supported Jones’ account of acting at his direction. Authorities also seized an iPad from Jones, while two iPhones were taken from Dondlinger at the time of his arrest.
Jones was first arrested Dec. 19 after police began investigating a report two days earlier of a potential child sexual assault.
Detectives later identified Dondlinger, 37, as a second suspect in the case, and he was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with sexual performance by a child, according to the Midlothian Police Department.
Midlothian police previously told Fox News Digital that Jones and Dondlinger had been in a dating relationship.
The Midlothian Independent School District said Jones is no longer employed by the district and confirmed she had worked as a substitute teacher on four occasions during the previous year. School officials also said they have no information suggesting the allegations are connected to Jones’ work or occurred on school property.
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