On 17 February 2026, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with the Judge about the negotiations to end the Ukraine war and produce a peace agreement — kabuki theater in my view — and the negotiations to end the Iran crisis short of war — more kabuki theater.
Reagan liked to opine that the Soviet Union was "the focus of evil in the modern world", and George W. Bush famously declared that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea constituted an "axis of evil." Well, if presidents of the USA can render such judgments, that opens the door to all the rest of us, and as far as I'm concerned, the "tag team" of Israel and the USA are the focus of evil in this moment of the modern world, and together constitute today's "axis of evil."
Gee, the same "Canadian-in-name-only" David Frum who is currently trying to distance himself from the Trumpty Dumbdy Debacle. No Zionist Repuglican punditry-bucks to be made when Forrest Drumpf can't shut up.
Just shows which side of the Rothschild/Adelson Oligarchic Divide Frum imagines himself to be. Appears he's with Carney and the Rothschilds. Not that he'd admit it.
Some of us are so ignorant of culture that we have no idea what kabuki theatre is! Fortunately, thanks to people like Professor Mearsheimer, I at least have a reasonable grasp of geopolitics. :-)
I was jesting of course... but kabuki's not dissimilar to western theater in form, though in practice it goes on much longer, is "boring"/much slower, and as an acquired taste is slightly incomprehensible to western audiences. Sometimes on the other hand it can be spectacular - I once saw a performance in which a "kami" (a ghost-like elemental spirit) character, alone and sitting motionless on stairs in the center of the stage, vanished so fast my eyes couldn't quite process it and my brain couldn't figure out how it was done.
Professor Mearsheimer is always a beacon of light amidst the dislocation of the American and, more generally, Western intelligentsia.
Israel is an insignificant country geographically, demographically, economically, and militarily. It functions as a regional power because the American political doctrine regarding the region is based on the idea that the jewish state is a useful instrument for projecting American power in the Middle East. In the "special alliance," the puppeteer is the USA. While it is true that the puppeteer's foreign policy doctrine is heavily influenced and greased by the american jewish lobby, the key lies in the US foreign policy doctrine.
Israel has been the ideal puppet. With its messianic-paranoid vision, it is only capable of conceiving its security in totalitarian terms, which pushes jewry toward perpetual war. They do not understand compromises or agreements with their adversaries. They believe that security consists of the annihilation of all "gentiles." A project of fanatics and madmen that has always failed throughout history.
It seems that today, the US is beginning to realize that its alliance with Israel produces nothing but negative dividends that run counter to the national interest. Every geopolitical alliance has its expiration date inscribed upon it, conditioned by the historical dynamics of the reconfiguration of powers in the world. History is full of the corpses of geopolitical alliances. The case of Israel and its rabbinocracy is no exception.
It is true that today the White House is in the hands of “ultra-Zionists” who are trying to prolong the doctrine of the “special alliance” through real estate development projects in both southern Lebanon and Gaza. An impolitic and simplistic vision, typical of a ludicrous character like Trump. The US president does not have the means to sponsor these projects and believes that others will put the necessary resources in his hands to carry them out, while “Trump and Associates” appears as the promoter and commission agent of such a brilliant scheme. How clever Trump is! some say.
Have a knot in my stomach about Iran as you seem to think war is inevitable as 9 million people are now deciding the fate of nearly 390 million. I fear for the world where my children must now live.
Right now it is a pedophile psycho ring from Jeff Epstein ring that runs America and US Citizens are powerless slaves! These psychos will start war with Iran and we the peasants will pay the price!
Your description of the negotiations as kabuki theater resonates strongly, especially the emphasis on amateurism and the degradation of professional statecraft.
Where I would introduce a slight tension is this: the problem seems deeper than individual ineptitude or even exceptional domestic influence. What your note implicitly reveals is a system that can no longer reliably produce strategic arbitration at all.
Even when interests align internationally, and even when presidents are not seeking escalation, the U.S. decision-making process appears structurally vulnerable to capture, personalization, and veto by narrow coalitions.
In that sense, the striking incompetence you describe may be less a deviation from an otherwise functional system and more a symptom of institutional erosion — a state that retains power, but has lost much of its capacity to discipline itself strategically.
That, to me, is what makes “America First” so unstable: not that its logic is wrong, but that the system increasingly struggles to execute prioritization consistently.
Food for thought: "What your note implicitly reveals is a system that can no longer reliably produce strategic arbitration at all." Insightful post. And terrifying. During the '70s and '80s I was sure the verdict on Vietnam was 'settled'. Against interference in the other countries' affairs, forced regime change and misunderstanding - and suppression - of nationalist aspirations. Boy, was I wrong. Iraq was initiated with even more direct, incredible and false justifications. We got through the Cold War without nukes, but in the 21st century failed to understand why Russia rejected a foreign military alliance (NATO) deployed on its borders. Israel was rebuked by Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush for actions it took at odds with US interests. Yet, it's been Carte Blanche for Israel ever since Oslo. "A state that retains power but has lost...capacity to discipline itself strategically"? You betcha! Trump is 'merely' the full personification and executer of it.
To me, the answer’s clear, and these aren’t peace processes at all. They’re holding patterns before whatever the next phase will be.
Everyone’s buying time, managing headlines, repositioning assets, and waiting for the next escalation window. The talks are there to make the next move look inevitable.
Professor James Petras, 89, world-renowned sociologist, public intellectual, and scholar of Latin American politics and global economics, died peacefully on January 17, 2026, in Seattle, WA, surrounded by family. A prolific scholar and activist, he devoted his life to challenging power, imperialism, and inequality.
Professor James Petras, 89, world-renowned sociologist, public intellectual, and scholar of Latin American politics and global economics, died peacefully on January 17, 2026, in Seattle, WA, surrounded by family. A prolific scholar and activist, he devoted his life to challenging power, imperialism, and inequality.
And what is your view of the theocratic cult of the rabbinocracy that governs Israel? What is your view of the messianic cult of perpetual war until all Gentiles are wiped out?
None of that exists in Iran. It only exists in Western propaganda.
More like you have had 'your opinion' fabricated and installed by the CIA/Mossad/MI6-fed MSM. Or perhaps your connection to that propaganda machine is far closer? Langley or Tel Aviv zip-code? If hiding in Tehran as Pompeo claimed, I wouldn't buy any fresh veggies.
I find all religions a waste of time, an ideological ring-in-the-nose for any Oligarch or politician to tug on to direct the self-assembling tax-donkeys.
But it's not up to me which brand of religious straitjacket people willingly wrap themselves in.
The AIPAC/Rothshcild/Adelson theocratic fascists in Washington and Tel Aviv thank you for your simpering sycophancy.
Try as you might to move the spotlight off the Rothschild Class, it ain't working .
I'm saying it is up to the Iranian people to decide what gov't or ideologies they wish to live under/with. You DO know that the Iranian parliament has specific representation for non-Islamic religions, right? Or is that a detail you don't want known?
I sincerely hope the Iranian people's choices don't end in authoritarianism as all theocracies inevitably do. But for now, like Orthodox Russia, their religion is a unifying force in the face of unrelenting abuse from the failing US/ZATO/Rothschild Empire.
I have no problem with a religion that is truly 'peaceful'. Benign delusions harm no one. Maybe one day humanity will craft and implement such an elusive ideology, but right now, religions are by definition hate-machines dressed in fancy robes and deceptive language. Believe and OBEY, or God's minions on Earth will impoverish and/or kill you.
The Iranian people have repeatedly demonstrated they do not want to be ruled by the mullahs. The mullahs consistently respond with arrests, torture and murder.
Why are you pretending the mullahs have popular support?
Thank you, Professor Mearsheimer, for clearly and concisely explaining the causes and consequences of U.S. actions in the war in Eastern Europe and the tensions in the Middle East. I wish you a long and productive life.
Mearsheimer for President... you have my vote since we all know you have NOT visited the wall & given in to the satanists.
Reagan liked to opine that the Soviet Union was "the focus of evil in the modern world", and George W. Bush famously declared that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea constituted an "axis of evil." Well, if presidents of the USA can render such judgments, that opens the door to all the rest of us, and as far as I'm concerned, the "tag team" of Israel and the USA are the focus of evil in this moment of the modern world, and together constitute today's "axis of evil."
The puppet GW Bush did not coin that “axis of evil” smear — Zionist neocon jackarse David Frum did, and was quite proud of himself for it
Gee, the same "Canadian-in-name-only" David Frum who is currently trying to distance himself from the Trumpty Dumbdy Debacle. No Zionist Repuglican punditry-bucks to be made when Forrest Drumpf can't shut up.
Just shows which side of the Rothschild/Adelson Oligarchic Divide Frum imagines himself to be. Appears he's with Carney and the Rothschilds. Not that he'd admit it.
Didn't know that. One learns something every day.
Withdraw all US military bases and personnel from Israel. Withdraw all US made/sponsored weapons from Israel. Then let Israel attempt to conquer Iran.
Perfect 👍🏼
What has kabuki theater ever done to you to make you so hostile to it?
;)
Some of us are so ignorant of culture that we have no idea what kabuki theatre is! Fortunately, thanks to people like Professor Mearsheimer, I at least have a reasonable grasp of geopolitics. :-)
I was jesting of course... but kabuki's not dissimilar to western theater in form, though in practice it goes on much longer, is "boring"/much slower, and as an acquired taste is slightly incomprehensible to western audiences. Sometimes on the other hand it can be spectacular - I once saw a performance in which a "kami" (a ghost-like elemental spirit) character, alone and sitting motionless on stairs in the center of the stage, vanished so fast my eyes couldn't quite process it and my brain couldn't figure out how it was done.
I got it 👍🏼😄😉
Speak for yourself....
LOL! :)
Professor Mearsheimer is always a beacon of light amidst the dislocation of the American and, more generally, Western intelligentsia.
Israel is an insignificant country geographically, demographically, economically, and militarily. It functions as a regional power because the American political doctrine regarding the region is based on the idea that the jewish state is a useful instrument for projecting American power in the Middle East. In the "special alliance," the puppeteer is the USA. While it is true that the puppeteer's foreign policy doctrine is heavily influenced and greased by the american jewish lobby, the key lies in the US foreign policy doctrine.
Israel has been the ideal puppet. With its messianic-paranoid vision, it is only capable of conceiving its security in totalitarian terms, which pushes jewry toward perpetual war. They do not understand compromises or agreements with their adversaries. They believe that security consists of the annihilation of all "gentiles." A project of fanatics and madmen that has always failed throughout history.
It seems that today, the US is beginning to realize that its alliance with Israel produces nothing but negative dividends that run counter to the national interest. Every geopolitical alliance has its expiration date inscribed upon it, conditioned by the historical dynamics of the reconfiguration of powers in the world. History is full of the corpses of geopolitical alliances. The case of Israel and its rabbinocracy is no exception.
It is true that today the White House is in the hands of “ultra-Zionists” who are trying to prolong the doctrine of the “special alliance” through real estate development projects in both southern Lebanon and Gaza. An impolitic and simplistic vision, typical of a ludicrous character like Trump. The US president does not have the means to sponsor these projects and believes that others will put the necessary resources in his hands to carry them out, while “Trump and Associates” appears as the promoter and commission agent of such a brilliant scheme. How clever Trump is! some say.
Have a knot in my stomach about Iran as you seem to think war is inevitable as 9 million people are now deciding the fate of nearly 390 million. I fear for the world where my children must now live.
If “Iran isn’t a threat to the U.S.” is true, then a U.S. war with Iran can only be about something other than U.S. security.
😉 About $$$ that people like Lindsay Graham get???
What about Separation of Church and State,
Separation of Officials from Bribery,
excision of Foreign Agents acting on behalf of Foreign Regimes?
...Revolutionary ideas for sure
Right now it is a pedophile psycho ring from Jeff Epstein ring that runs America and US Citizens are powerless slaves! These psychos will start war with Iran and we the peasants will pay the price!
Your description of the negotiations as kabuki theater resonates strongly, especially the emphasis on amateurism and the degradation of professional statecraft.
Where I would introduce a slight tension is this: the problem seems deeper than individual ineptitude or even exceptional domestic influence. What your note implicitly reveals is a system that can no longer reliably produce strategic arbitration at all.
Even when interests align internationally, and even when presidents are not seeking escalation, the U.S. decision-making process appears structurally vulnerable to capture, personalization, and veto by narrow coalitions.
In that sense, the striking incompetence you describe may be less a deviation from an otherwise functional system and more a symptom of institutional erosion — a state that retains power, but has lost much of its capacity to discipline itself strategically.
That, to me, is what makes “America First” so unstable: not that its logic is wrong, but that the system increasingly struggles to execute prioritization consistently.
Food for thought: "What your note implicitly reveals is a system that can no longer reliably produce strategic arbitration at all." Insightful post. And terrifying. During the '70s and '80s I was sure the verdict on Vietnam was 'settled'. Against interference in the other countries' affairs, forced regime change and misunderstanding - and suppression - of nationalist aspirations. Boy, was I wrong. Iraq was initiated with even more direct, incredible and false justifications. We got through the Cold War without nukes, but in the 21st century failed to understand why Russia rejected a foreign military alliance (NATO) deployed on its borders. Israel was rebuked by Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush for actions it took at odds with US interests. Yet, it's been Carte Blanche for Israel ever since Oslo. "A state that retains power but has lost...capacity to discipline itself strategically"? You betcha! Trump is 'merely' the full personification and executer of it.
If the rest of sewerplanet are vassal states of the MERICAHS then it could make sense. Then we are all ameri-canned like Campbell soup.
Planet American dystopia!
Screw everyone and sell your grandma, or your grand child. IF IT MAKES MONEY AND YOU PAY TAX IT IS LEGAL.
To me, the answer’s clear, and these aren’t peace processes at all. They’re holding patterns before whatever the next phase will be.
Everyone’s buying time, managing headlines, repositioning assets, and waiting for the next escalation window. The talks are there to make the next move look inevitable.
Professor James Petras, 89, world-renowned sociologist, public intellectual, and scholar of Latin American politics and global economics, died peacefully on January 17, 2026, in Seattle, WA, surrounded by family. A prolific scholar and activist, he devoted his life to challenging power, imperialism, and inequality.
Professor James Petras, 89, world-renowned sociologist, public intellectual, and scholar of Latin American politics and global economics, died peacefully on January 17, 2026, in Seattle, WA, surrounded by family. A prolific scholar and activist, he devoted his life to challenging power, imperialism, and inequality.
https://paulokirk.substack.com/p/naked-gazafication-just-another-step
Overthrowing the theocratic death cult that governs Iran can take many forms.
The mullahs will fall
And what is your view of the theocratic cult of the rabbinocracy that governs Israel? What is your view of the messianic cult of perpetual war until all Gentiles are wiped out?
None of that exists in Iran. It only exists in Western propaganda.
Gee, how about some real analysis to show how wrong 'your opinion' is...
https://sonar21.com/peeling-back-the-us-information-operation-in-iran/
More like you have had 'your opinion' fabricated and installed by the CIA/Mossad/MI6-fed MSM. Or perhaps your connection to that propaganda machine is far closer? Langley or Tel Aviv zip-code? If hiding in Tehran as Pompeo claimed, I wouldn't buy any fresh veggies.
Simping for theocratic fascists again?
You really don't pay attention do you?
I find all religions a waste of time, an ideological ring-in-the-nose for any Oligarch or politician to tug on to direct the self-assembling tax-donkeys.
But it's not up to me which brand of religious straitjacket people willingly wrap themselves in.
The AIPAC/Rothshcild/Adelson theocratic fascists in Washington and Tel Aviv thank you for your simpering sycophancy.
Try as you might to move the spotlight off the Rothschild Class, it ain't working .
And yet here you are defending an islamic theocracy.
I'm saying it is up to the Iranian people to decide what gov't or ideologies they wish to live under/with. You DO know that the Iranian parliament has specific representation for non-Islamic religions, right? Or is that a detail you don't want known?
I sincerely hope the Iranian people's choices don't end in authoritarianism as all theocracies inevitably do. But for now, like Orthodox Russia, their religion is a unifying force in the face of unrelenting abuse from the failing US/ZATO/Rothschild Empire.
I have no problem with a religion that is truly 'peaceful'. Benign delusions harm no one. Maybe one day humanity will craft and implement such an elusive ideology, but right now, religions are by definition hate-machines dressed in fancy robes and deceptive language. Believe and OBEY, or God's minions on Earth will impoverish and/or kill you.
The Iranian people have repeatedly demonstrated they do not want to be ruled by the mullahs. The mullahs consistently respond with arrests, torture and murder.
Why are you pretending the mullahs have popular support?
Thank you, Professor Mearsheimer, for clearly and concisely explaining the causes and consequences of U.S. actions in the war in Eastern Europe and the tensions in the Middle East. I wish you a long and productive life.
Israhell and funding genocide 1st. America last!
The Trump Administration is Amateur Hour.
Yeah but with a formidable nuclear arsenal. That's what's scary in all this.
That's not "a yeah but".