The MAGA Isolationist Mirage
Operation Midnight Hammer demonstrated the U.S. military's awesome power and dealt Iran's nuclear ambitions a severe setback. It also ignited a debate at home. Was the assault on Iran's nuclear facilities a betrayal or a furtherance of President Donald Trump's 'America first' agenda?
Neo-isolationists argued Mr. Trump abandoned his MAGA base and predicted the immediate outbreak of a great Middle Eastern war. They were wrong on both counts. No ground war has erupted. Nor is one remotely likely. And there's clear evidence that Mr. Trump acted in accord with his domestic coalition, which seems in reality interventionist-minded.
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CNN
9 minutes ago
- CNN
Why Trump's strikes on Iran will leave North Korea more determined than ever to keep its nukes
As American B-2 bombers streaked over Iran, targeting facilities tied to Tehran's nuclear ambitions, policymakers and analysts in East Asia were already grappling with a critical question: What signal does this send to North Korea, a country whose nuclear arsenal is far more advanced than Iran's? Experts warn Washington's military actions may harden Pyongyang's resolve to accelerate its weapons program and deepen cooperation with Russia, as well as reinforcing its leader Kim Jong Un's belief that nuclear arms are the ultimate deterrent against US-enforced regime change. Despite yearslong efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, the Kim regime is thought to possess multiple nuclear weapons, as well as missiles that can potentially reach the United States – meaning any potential military strike on the Korean Peninsula would carry vastly higher risks. 'President Trump's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities will undoubtedly further reinforce the legitimacy of North Korea's longstanding policy of regime survival and nuclear weapons development,' said Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University. 'North Korea perceives the recent US airstrike as a preemptive military threat and will likely accelerate efforts to enhance its own capability for preemptive nuclear missile attacks,' said Lim. That acceleration, analysts caution, could come through Russian assistance, thanks to a blossoming military relationship the two neighbors have struck up in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Since its formal establishment in 2024, North Korea's strategic partnership with Russia has become a vital economic and military lifeline for Pyongyang amid ongoing Western sanctions. 'Based on the strategic alliance between North Korea and Russia, Pyongyang is likely to move toward joint weapons development, combined military exercises, technology transfers, and greater mutual dependence in both economic and military terms,' Lim said. North Korea has sent more than 14,000 soldiers and millions of munitions, including missiles and rockets, to aid in Russia's invasion, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), an initiative made up of 11 United Nations members. In return, Russia has provided North Korea with various valuable pieces of weaponry and technology, including air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, electronic warfare systems and refined oil. These actions 'allow North Korea to fund its military programs and further develop its ballistic missiles programs, which are themselves prohibited under multiple (UN Security Council resolutions), and gain first-hand experience in modern warfare,' the report found. In Kim's eyes, recent US military actions in Iran follow a troubling logic: countries without nuclear weapons, from Iraq and Libya to Iran, are vulnerable to US-led intervention, said Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. North Korea, having already tested six nuclear devices and developed long-range missiles, sees its arsenal as non-negotiable. According to Cha, Washington's airstrikes against Tehran's nuclear assets will likely leave a lasting impression on the Kim regime. 'The strikes on Iran will only reaffirm two things for North Korea, neither of which play well for US policy,' he said. 'One: the US does not have a use-of-force option for North Korea's nuclear program like they had in Israel for Iran. Two: the strike only reaffirms in Kim Jong Un's mind his conviction to pursue and maintain a nuclear arsenal.' And the contrast between Iran and North Korea is stark, particularly in terms of nuclear capabilities. 'Pyongyang's nuclear program is much more advanced, with weapons possibly ready to launch on multiple delivery systems, including ICBMs,' said Leif-Eric Easley, an international security professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, referencing intercontinental ballistic missiles which can travel around the globe, far further than any missiles Iran possesses. 'The Kim regime can threaten the US homeland, and Seoul is within range of many North Korean weapons of various types,' he added. Iran, by contrast, has not yet developed a deliverable nuclear weapon and its uranium enrichment had remained short of the threshold for weaponization, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency's latest assessment. It had also pursued years of diplomacy with the US and Western powers over its nuclear program, diplomacy that was supposedly still in play when Trump ordered B-2 stealth aircraft to drop 'bunker busting' bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities. North Korea is believed to possess between 40 and 50 warheads, along with the means to deliver them across the region and potentially to the US mainland. 'An attack on North Korea could provoke the risk of full-scale nuclear war,' Lim of Kyungnam University warned. He added that under the US-South Korea alliance treaty, US military action against North Korea would also require prior consultation with the South Korean government, a step that carries political and legal implications. There are also external powers to consider. Unlike Iran, North Korea has a formal mutual defense treaty with Russia, 'which allows Russia to automatically intervene in the event of an attack,' Lim underscored. This matrix of deterrents – nuclear capability, US regional alliances, and Russian backing – likely insulates Pyongyang from the kind of unilateral military action Washington exercised in Iran. In the end, said Lim, the strike on Iran might not serve as a deterrent to proliferation but as a justification. 'This attack will deepen North Korea's distrust of the US,' he said, 'and is expected to act as a catalyst for a shift in North Korea's foreign policy, particularly by strengthening and deepening military cooperation with Russia.'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Get rid of these insane violations': Ted Nugent tells DNR at Michigan Capitol
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Rock musician and Michigan native Ted Nugent testified in Michigan's Capitol earlier today about the 'need for accountability at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.' Nugent spoke to the Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources, and the Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government. 'I want to set the table clear, there are some people in this room here that are stupid enough to listen to the lying anti-hunting media, that have lied and falsely accused me of violations. I abide by the law,' said Nugent. 'Before I go deer hunting, I buy a deer license. I examine where I can deer hunt and with what weapon. My dad raised me with the discipline of conservation, marksmanship, safe gun handling, and the perfection of venison as the healthiest diet in the world,' added Nugent. Nugent went on to call Michigan the 'laughing stock of the nation,' saying that families often come up to him with horror stories of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issuing unjustified tickets. Nugent goes on to highlight his , which promotes the 'healing powers of nature, the natural highs and stimuli of an outdoor lifestyle, and the definitive discipline of the 'aim small, miss small' mystical flight of the arrow for a higher level of awareness and ultimate quality of life.' Nugent claims that the DNR and the Natural Resource Commission (NRC) have violated their 'moral duty,' calling the organizations' wildlife management practices 'insane.' 'When I started hunting, some man thought he had control over whether I hunted out of a tree or not. Is that man in attendance here that has control over my tree climbing? No man has control over my tree climbing,' said Nugent. He claims that his advocacy helped remove this law. He also disputes the law in several counties across that state that hunting is illegal on Sunday. 'Who is the man that can intervene between God's nature and my recreational sporting spirit connection to the good earth?' He claims that his advocacy helped remove this law as well. 'I beg you, on behalf of the good people that come up to me every day, get rid of these insane violations,' said Nugent. Nugent claims that the DNR and NRC have 'chased families out of the sport over absolutely insane anti-nature, anti-science regulations.' In his closing statement, Nugent calls the DNR and NRC 'the enemies of conservation in Michigan. I implore you, in the once great state of Michigan, the once number one hunting state in the nation. Let's return it to that responsible, conservation, wise-use ethic. Other speakers expressed their concerns regarding current DNR and NRC polices. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
Florida Rep. Kat Cammack says her office was evacuated due to death threats
Rep. Kat Cammack said late Wednesday her offices were evacuated due to "imminent death threats" against her and her family. The Florida Republican said on X the threats began after a recent Wall Street Journal story about her experience with an ectopic pregnancy last year. She told the paper that emergency room doctors were hesitant to treat the life-threatening complication because they were worried about running afoul of Florida's strict six-week abortion ban — an incident she blamed on "fearmongering" by opponents of the state law. "Since then, we've [received] thousands of hate-filled messages and dozens of credible threats from pro-abortion activists, which law enforcement is actively investigating," Cammack wrote in her post, which also included screenshots of several social media comments. Cammack added on X, "To those spreading misinformation: I did not vote for Florida's heartbeat law; I serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, not the Florida Legislature." Cammack's post did not specify which congressional offices were evacuated. CBS News has reached out to her office and the U.S. Capitol Police for more details. Concerns about medical treatment for pregnancy complications — including ectopic pregnancies — have spiked since 2022, when the reversal of Roe v. Wade led dozens of states to ban or heavily restrict abortion. State-level abortion bans generally allow for exceptions when a mother's life is at risk. And officials in Florida and other states say terminating an ectopic pregnancy — a condition in which an embryo implants outside the uterus — is not considered an abortion. But critics argue confusion about those exceptions has put patients at risk, as medical providers may be wary of taking action that could later be found to violate their state's abortion ban. Florida state regulators issued a notice last year that said "abortion is permissible at any stage of pregnancy in Florida to save the life and health of the mother," including for women with ectopic pregnancies. Meanwhile, threats against members of Congress, judges, prosecutors and other public officials have grown in recent years, federal law enforcement agencies say. The Capitol Police said it investigated 9,474 "concerning statements and direct threats" last year against lawmakers, their families and their staff.
