Good morning! Today is Friday, September 4th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Day one hundred and eighty-eight of the Iran War brings fresh Iranian strikes on U.S. assets in Kuwait and the UAE, a reported American bombing of an Iranian wedding party, and gas prices at four dollars and fourteen cents a gallon. J.D. Vance takes the White House podium for the first time since Karoline Leavitt's exit, dodging questions on when the war ends, refusing to disown Tucker Carlson, and asking Americans for patience on the economy. Ted Snider dissects Trump's self-proclaimed "biggest oil deal in world history" in Venezuela, arguing the Pentagon's seizure of sixty-five billion barrels amounts to plunder that will neither lower pump prices soon nor survive Venezuela's own constitution. and now for the details. We begin with the Iran War, now in its one hundred and eighty-eighth day. Iran launched fresh retaliatory strikes on Thursday, targeting American assets in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, in open defiance of President Trump's warning that any retaliation would be met with, in his words, an attack that would leave very little of the Islamic Republic remaining. The new strikes extend a tit-for-tat cycle that resumed Sunday night, when U.S. forces hit targets on Iran's Larak Island, breaking a month-long pause. Tehran said it was responding to what it called America's crimes against the Iranian people. As Andrew Day reports for The American Conservative, U.S. forces were responsible for a deadly bombing of a wedding party in southern Iran on Tuesday, according to a New York Times analysis. A six-year-old boy and at least four others were reported killed. Day notes conflicting signals from Washington on how long the war will last. The Wall Street Journal reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is quietly extending troop deployments, suggesting the conflict could drag into next year, even as Trump privately tells senior aides he favors declaring the war over. Reuters reports that aides are urging the president to keep the conflict contained through the November third midterms, with the White House prepared to escalate afterward. The war is already biting Americans at the pump. Brent crude was trading near ninety-seven dollars a barrel Thursday, and the average U.S. gasoline price stood at four dollars and fourteen cents, up from two dollars and ninety-eight cents on the eve of the war. At the White House, Vice President J.D. Vance led the first press briefing since Karoline Leavitt's departure as press secretary. As Luke Nicastro reports, Vance was asked whether the Iran War would end before the midterms, and he conceded he did not know the answer, adding that reporters would have to ask the Iranians. Vance also disputed the characterization of the conflict as a war, saying that right now there is no active shooting. Pressed on his relationship with commentator Tucker Carlson, who has been sharply critical of the administration's Middle East policy, Vance declined to distance himself. He called Carlson a friend, saying he would not throw friends under the bus over political disagreements, and adding that doing so would be a terrible place for the United States to go. On the economy, Vance defended the administration's affordability record, arguing that America's inflation problem was not created in a day and that rebuilding the foundation of the middle-class economy would take time. Turning to the Western Hemisphere. President Trump announced last week what he called the biggest oil deal in world history, securing majority U.S. control of more than sixty-five billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela. The deal follows the American raid on Venezuela and the removal of its president in January, after which Washington effectively took control of the country's oil industry. Under the arrangement, the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital takes a thirty-five percent stake in a company run by Venezuelan oilman Alejandro Betancourt López, who is currently under investigation in Switzerland and Spain for money laundering and tax fraud. The U.S. is guaranteed twenty percent of the oil at production cost, first refusal on the rest, and veto power over the company's board. As Ted Snider writes for The American Conservative, the administration is selling this as relief for American drivers, with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1982. But Snider cites Miguel Tinker Salas of Pomona College, who says the only immediate output would come from mature fields still requiring millions in fresh investment, while other fields would take billions and years to produce. Economist Francisco Rodríguez calculates that the promised tax revenues amount to just three dollars and twenty-two cents per barrel, less than five percent of the current price. Snider also notes that Venezuela's constitution treats oil resources as the inalienable public domain, raising legal questions

Good morning! Today is Thursday, September 3rd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. With Democrats poised to potentially flip the Senate this November, one man could hold their razor-thin majority hostage: Pennsylvania's John Fetterman, whose fervent backing of Israel and Trump's Iran war has already sunk his party's war powers resolutions at least a dozen times. U.S. Central Command struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets along the Strait of Hormuz as the Iran war entered its 187th day, with Trump dismissing negotiations and again floating regime change while Brent crude climbed to $95.25 a barrel. President Trump formally nominated Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, a Vietnamese-born retired Navy captain and two-time failed candidate, to lead the service four months after John Phelan's ouster. and now for the details. We begin with the ongoing war with Iran, now in its 187th day. U.S. Central Command announced that American forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets along the Strait of Hormuz late Tuesday, hitting air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, and communications facilities. CENTCOM said the strikes were a response to recent Iranian attempts against commercial shipping in the strait and against American service members. Iran had reportedly struck two Saudi supertankers on Monday, killing at least two people. Tehran retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones aimed at targets in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and Iranian sources claimed the American strikes killed civilians, including at a wedding in Sirik. President Trump published a post on Truth Social Tuesday evening dismissing the idea of negotiations with Iran and again floating regime change as his desired outcome. As Jude Russo reports for The American Conservative, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln put in at Pattaya, Thailand, after 250 days without a port call in the Persian Gulf region. Brent crude opened at $95.25 a barrel, and AAA reported a national average of $4.12 per gallon of regular gas. Turning to the midterms, now just over two months away. With President Trump's approval numbers slumping and the Iran War dragging on, polling suggests Democrats are positioned to take the House, and control of the Senate is also in play. Republican-held seats in Maine, Texas, Alaska, and Ohio all appear vulnerable, while Democrats are working to hold Michigan. If Democrats capture four of those five races, they would emerge with a 51-to-49 majority. But as Spencer Neale reports for The American Conservative, that majority may exist in name only, because of one man: Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. Fetterman has broken sharply with his party, backing Trump's Iran war and staunchly defending Israel. He has voted against Democratic war powers resolutions at least a dozen times, single-handedly killing several. He's appeared on Fox News 56 times since the start of the year, and told NBC News in July that he'd switch parties if Democrats "officially become the anti-Israel party." A new Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, and Siena poll finds 73 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans view Fetterman favorably, compared to just 22 percent of Democrats. Neale writes that even if Democrats sweep the close races, they could wake up in January with a majority they cannot actually command. President Trump on Tuesday formally nominated Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao to lead the Navy, four months after the ouster of former Secretary John Phelan. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Cao a "true warrior" and urged the Senate to confirm him swiftly. Cao, born in Saigon in 1971, served as a U.S. Navy officer with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia before retiring as a captain in 2021. He made unsuccessful bids for the House in 2022 and the Senate in 2024, and was confirmed as Under Secretary of the Navy last spring, becoming acting Secretary in April. Spencer Neale reports that a date for Cao's confirmation hearing has not yet been set. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 2nd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Jennifer Kavanagh warns that Trump's expanding wars have pushed the U.S. military to a breaking point, with the Iran conflict alone tying down 50,000 troops and consuming a quarter of the Reaper drone fleet, forcing a strategic downsizing rather than more spending. As Trump pivots to "economic D-Day" against Iran, Middle East experts tell TAC the blockade strategy has little chance of working, will harm ordinary Iranians most, and risks a "mow the lawn" cycle of periodic strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. W. James Antle III argues Trump's self-chosen crises—the Iran war and an erratic tariff regime—are deepening the affordability squeeze and leaving his party exposed heading into the midterms. and now for the details. We begin at the Pentagon, where reports indicate that four top military commanders have raised concerns about whether they can resource their own missions while operations in Iran continue. Writing for The American Conservative, Jennifer Kavanagh argues that despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's promise in the 2026 National Defense Strategy to prioritize the most consequential threats, the Trump administration has done the opposite—expanding the U.S. military footprint in Latin America, starting what she calls a disastrous war in the Middle East, and remaining deeply involved in Ukraine. Kavanagh notes the Iran war alone has kept at least 50,000 U.S. service members deployed overseas, and consumed 25 percent of the U.S. fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, along with numerous aircraft and significant portions of the air defense network in the region. She points out that in Europe, U.S. presence remains essentially unchanged from January 2025, and intelligence and logistical assistance to Ukraine has actually increased, despite rhetoric to the contrary. Kavanagh writes that the shortfall is not just a munitions problem but a systemic erosion of American military strength that cannot be fixed by throwing more money at the industrial base. Her prescription: a strategic downsizing of missions and objectives, distinguishing between the interests of allies and those of America, and adopting a truly defensive posture. As she puts it, the United States had a one-war military, chose to fight a war with Iran, and will now face the consequences. Staying with the Iran conflict: President Trump has shifted from direct military hostilities toward what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the president himself are calling "economic D-Day"—an effort to strangle Iran's economy through sanctions and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Andrew Day reports for TAC that Middle East experts are skeptical this approach will change Tehran's calculations. Rosemary Kelanic of Defense Priorities told TAC that Iran will keep fighting despite the economic pain, calling this an existential conflict for Tehran, and noting that capitulation is not a serious option when Trump's demands are so erratic. She gives economic D-Day, in her words, less than a snowball's chance in hell of working, since China, Russia, and Pakistan have refused to cooperate in isolating Tehran. Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy told TAC that economic pressure can severely hurt ordinary people without producing the political outcome Washington expects. Day reports that a Pentagon source told Axios one long-term plan is to "mow the lawn" around the Strait of Hormuz—periodically bombing Iran to keep shipping lanes open. Meanwhile, testimonies from Iranian civil society shared with TAC describe impoverished children losing income after scrap warehouses were shuttered, and residents observing that the main burden falls on ordinary people, not politicians. Turning to domestic politics and the coming midterms: W. James Antle III writes for TAC that as the Iran war hits the six-month mark, President Trump continues to drive the national conversation—but to no obvious benefit for himself or his party ahead of the midterm elections. Antle argues that Trump's political skills are especially unsuited to calming the nation in a period of crisis, and that his current crises—the Iran war and an unstable, erratic tariffs regime—are largely of his own choosing, both worsening the affordability crisis. Antle observes that voters are worried about high gas prices, and that even the late Senator Lindsey Graham's own sister ran a campaign focused on affordability rather than Iran or international affairs. He credits Trump with real accomplishments achieved through brute force—securing the border, routing ISIS, cleaning up parts of Washington—but says not everything can be done that way. Antle's conclusion: Trump has chosen to be a wartime president without a vote of Congress, and both he and the country would be better off if he recognized he is not suited to the role. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanco

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, September 1st 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. On day 185 of the Persian Gulf war, the United States and Iran traded direct fire for the first time since July, sending Brent crude back above ninety dollars as gasoline at home climbs past four dollars a gallon. Jason Jones argues the fashionable warning of a "red-green" coalition is an elite pretext for dismembering the anti-war voters — including Arab Americans who helped deliver Michigan — who put Trump back in office. At Jackson Hole, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh moved against forward guidance, blamed the central bank for 65 months of elevated inflation, and hinted at hikes that could collide with Trump's demands for cuts. and now for the details. We begin with the war in the Persian Gulf, now in its one hundred and eighty-fifth day. Overnight into Monday, the United States and Iran exchanged direct fire for the first time since late July, ending a month-long pause in open hostilities. U.S. Central Command says it struck launchers and troops on Larak Island as Iranian forces prepared to seed the Strait of Hormuz with naval mines. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at American bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Jordan reports it intercepted all incoming fire, while the UAE said it "responded to" a drone attack. President Trump told Fox News the United States will hit back hard. Brent crude jumped more than three percent Monday, back above ninety dollars a barrel. As Andrew Day reports, the exchange comes days after the six-month mark of a war Trump had expected to be much shorter. In the recent lull, the administration had shifted to a strategy of further strangling Iran's economy while trying to help ships transit the Strait. Day notes the cost at home is visible at the pump: the national average price of gasoline stands at four dollars and eight cents a gallon, up from two ninety-eight on the eve of the war. Staying with the fallout from that war, TAC contributor Jason Jones takes aim at what he calls a new elite narrative: the warning of a sinister "red-green" coalition, red for communists, green for Islamists, said to threaten the American republic. Jones argues the labels are being applied broadly and loosely, with "communists" meaning young Americans angry about their economic prospects, and "Islamists" often meaning simply Muslims, or even Middle Eastern Christians with foreign-sounding names. He reminds readers that in 2024, Arab American and Lebanese American voters helped deliver Michigan for Donald Trump. Trump carried Dearborn with forty-two percent of the vote, and gained roughly nine thousand votes across Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck, while Kamala Harris fell twenty-two thousand votes behind Biden's totals there. Jones writes that the second Trump administration's continued support for Israel's campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, and the ongoing war with Iran, represent a betrayal of the anti-war coalition that put Trump in office. He describes the red-green framing as an "inverse color revolution," an attempt, in his words, to persuade Christians to fear their Muslim neighbors, to persuade peace voters that their allies are Marxists, and to dismember the 2024 coalition without ever having to debate it honestly. Jones, writing after a recent trip through southern Lebanon, urges conservatives to hold that coalition together. Turning to monetary policy, new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh delivered his first major address on August 28th at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, and he may have set himself on a collision course with the president who appointed him. As David Brady reports, Warsh used the speech to move against the practice of "forward guidance," the Fed's habit of telegraphing rate decisions well in advance. Warsh argued that markets have grown too dependent on such signaling, and that the central bank needs clean data — including, in his words, the prices and trading volumes of Treasury securities. Brady reads that line as a pointed jab at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose recent buybacks of long-term bonds were meant to push down yields at the long end of the curve. The national debt has now passed forty trillion dollars, and thirty-year Treasury yields recently hit near two-decade highs. Brady notes that Warsh appears aligned with investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who has warned that suppressing the long yield removes the last fiscal disciplinarian the country has. Warsh also placed the blame for sixty-five months of elevated inflation squarely on the central bank, and signaled continued focus on price stability. Markets read that as a hint of possible rate hikes ahead. That puts Warsh at odds with President Trump, who has publicly pressed for cuts. Brady writes that recent Supreme Court decisions should protect the chairman from arbitrary removal, but that the coming Fed meeting will show whether Warsh's inflation-hawk rheto

Good morning! Today is Monday, August 31st 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Ted Snider argues that from Ottawa to Riyadh to Kyiv, U.S. partners are discovering that under President Trump, America's signature is written in pencil, with reversed deals on trade, nuclear cooperation, and Patriot missiles now echoing the earlier collapse of the Iran agreement. On day 184 of the Iran war, top Navy, European, Pacific, and Southern Command leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending Persian Gulf deployments is draining munitions stockpiles and weakening American posture in other theaters, even as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei resurfaces in writing to denounce Washington and Israel. Eldar Mamedov takes readers to Karachi, where Gothic cathedrals, Parsi institutions, Hindu temples, and a Christian jazz band at a French consulate reception reveal a Pakistan whose religious minorities. and now for the details. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took to the airwaves on August 22nd to explain why he walked away from trade negotiations with the United States, exposing Canada to steep American tariffs. Carney offered three reasons: the U.S. proposal demanded compromises on the protection of Canadian culture and the French language; it sought to restrict which countries Canada could trade with; and, at the last minute, American negotiators rewrote items already agreed to. Carney told reporters that under President Trump, America's, quote, "signature was written in pencil." As Ted Snider reports, Carney is not alone in that complaint. Saudi Arabia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, only to see Trump announce the following day on Truth Social that there would be no uranium enrichment permitted, and that the deal was now contingent on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, conditions never agreed to at the table. Ukraine, likewise, was told in July it would receive rights to manufacture Patriot interceptors. Days later, Trump denied he had ever agreed to any such thing. Snider traces the pattern back to Iran. The 2015 nuclear agreement, which international inspectors repeatedly verified Tehran was honoring, was torn up by Trump in his first term. When Iran signaled willingness to negotiate again this year, including suspending enrichment and accepting expanded inspections, the United States instead bombed Iranian facilities and killed Iranian leaders. Snider concludes that for all the boasts about the art of the deal, what emerges is a pattern of broken deals, one that makes partners and adversaries alike question the value of an American signature. On day one hundred and eighty-four of the Iran war, the Washington Post reports that several senior American military leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending operations against Iran risks weakening American defense capabilities in other parts of the world. As Jude Russo reports, the Post cited the mid-August Secretary of Defense Orders Book, the internal document detailing how American military assets and personnel are being deployed. The Navy's top admiral, along with the commanders of U.S. European Command, U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Southern Command, all objected to extending deployments in the Persian Gulf. The Army and Air Force supported extending deployments, in some cases into 2027, but flagged risks to other theaters from the diversion of assets. The warnings come amid a string of reports about the depletion of American weapons stockpiles, particularly missile interceptors and long-range precision missiles. Russo notes that extended deployments have taken a particular toll on quality of life aboard naval vessels. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the war began in February, issued a written statement on the occasion of Muhammad's birthday, calling the rulers of the United States and Israel enemies of the entire Muslim world. AAA reported a national average of four dollars and eight cents per gallon of regular gasoline. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

Good morning! Today is Sunday, August 30th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Scott Greer argues the conservative intelligentsia's "common good" crusade collides with a Republican base that just wants to be left alone, embracing folk libertarianism over any elite-defined collective mission. Daniel Zoughbie urges Washington to abandon the Munich analogy and seek a Treaty of Ghent-style off-ramp from the six-month Iran war, as casualty counts climb and true costs may exceed a trillion dollars. Treasury launches "Operation Economic Outcast" against Banque Misr's UAE branches, while President Trump touts a Venezuelan oil deal he calls the biggest in world history, giving America equity in 65 billion barrels of reserves. and now for the details. We begin with the war in Iran, now grinding into its sixth month, and a call for Washington to look for an off-ramp before the costs climb further. Writing for The American Conservative, Daniel E. Zoughbie argues that the perpetual invocation of the Munich analogy — the warning against appeasement — has crowded out a more relevant lesson: the Versailles analogy. It was the punitive peace of 1919, Keynes warned, that wrecked Germany and cleared the way for Hitler. Zoughbie contends that maximum-pressure economics has a poor track record. Cutting off Imperial Japan helped bring on Pearl Harbor. Embargoing Cuba brought on the missile crisis. Sanctions on Iraq hollowed out its middle class and paved the way for a second war. He points to the War of 1812 and the Treaty of Ghent as a better model — an honest acknowledgment of stalemate, followed by reciprocal steps to restore the status quo. Under such a framework, Washington would pull back its strike groups, and Tehran would readmit international nuclear inspectors. Zoughbie cites former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who told him the Iran war ranks among the costliest foreign policy blunders in American history. Pentagon figures show 624 wounded service members, and while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth puts the tab at $37.5 billion, Harvard economist Linda Bilmes estimates true short-term costs closer to $370 billion — with long-term costs likely pushing past a trillion. Zoughbie closes with John Quincy Adams's warning that America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. Staying with the Iran war, the Treasury Department on Friday opened a new front in the economic campaign against Tehran. Jude Russo reports for The American Conservative that the United States will cut the United Arab Emirates branches of Banque Misr — Egypt's second-largest bank — out of the dollar system as the opening move of what officials are calling "Operation Economic Outcast." The bank has thirty days before it loses correspondence rights with American financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left, and warned that Iran's enablers cannot continue to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar. Treasury alleges that between January 2024 and June of this year, Banque Misr's UAE arm processed roughly $1.8 billion for more than a hundred companies tied to Iranian shadow banking networks. Additional sanctions target the manager of Bank Melli's UAE branch and a Hong Kong trading house. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the Iranian Student News Agency, conceded that the sanctions are biting, telling critics who claim otherwise that "common sense is a good thing." As of Friday's close, Brent crude sat at $89.37 a barrel, and AAA reported a national average of $4.08 for a gallon of regular gasoline. To our south, President Trump on Friday announced what he called, in his words, the biggest oil deal in world history — a public-private arrangement that he says will give the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves, at no cost to the American taxpayer. Jude Russo reports for The American Conservative that Trump credited Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with brokering the deal, which he says more than doubles American oil reserves. According to Axios, the transaction will take the form of a partnership with American companies and the Venezuelan government, which still controls the country's nationalized oil industry. An American source described it this way: "It's not a purchase. They're giving us equity." Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodriguez — who took power after the American ouster of Nicolas Maduro in January — confirmed the agreement, and said it would generate $209 billion in tax revenue for Caracas. The final details of the transaction have yet to be announced, and Axios notes it is not clear the deal has been fully finalized. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

Good morning! Today is Saturday, August 29th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Five years after the Kabul withdrawal, Curt Mills argues Joe Biden's decision to end America's longest war stands as the bravest presidential act of his lifetime, contrasting Biden's honesty with what he calls a more messianic Pentagon now waging war in Iran. Nikos Mohammadi examines J.D. Vance's invocation of Huey Long at an Ohio steel plant, asking whether the Louisiana Kingfish's substantive populism can actually be revived on the right or will remain merely a matter of style. and now for the details. We begin this morning with a reflection on the fifth anniversary of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. On August 29th, 2021, a U.S. drone strike in Kabul killed ten people, including seven children, in what CENTCOM commander Frank McKenzie later publicly acknowledged was a tragic mistake. That admission came amid the chaos of an exit from a two-decade war. In a piece for The American Conservative, Curt Mills argues that, five years on, the decision to leave Afghanistan deserves recognition as the bravest and best act of any president in his lifetime. As Mills writes, Joe Biden got the strategy right, and had been right for over a decade, going back to his time as vice president when he privately considered resigning over President Obama's Afghanistan troop surge. Mills contrasts the Biden Pentagon's conduct with what he describes as a more spiritually dishonest and messianic posture under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, following the American decision earlier this year to enter a new war with Iran. Mills concedes Biden's record was marred elsewhere, particularly on Gaza, on inflation, and on the excesses of the Covid era. But on the core question of ending America's longest war, Mills offers a straightforward verdict: Biden got it done. He also notes that Donald Trump, who negotiated the original Taliban deal, was rolled by his generals on Afghanistan in his first term, and points to the ongoing Iran war as evidence that presidential convictions do not always survive contact with the Pentagon. Vice President J.D. Vance drew attention last week when, speaking at a steel plant in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, he invoked the memory of Louisiana's Depression-era populist governor and senator Huey Long. Vance quoted Long's famous slogan, "Every Man a King," and tied it to the Trump administration's law-and-order and border agenda. The reference set off alarms among neoconservative commentators, libertarians at Reason magazine, and mainstream liberals, who variously accused Vance of flirting with authoritarianism or socialism. Writing for The American Conservative, Nikos Mohammadi walks through Long's actual record: a state governor who built roads and bridges, expanded LSU, provided free textbooks, ran adult literacy programs, opened low-income hospitals, and eliminated the poll tax, all in a Louisiana previously dominated by Standard Oil and New Orleans oligarchs. Long's Share Our Wealth program, Mohammadi notes, likely pushed Franklin Roosevelt toward the more radical Second New Deal. Long also opposed American imperialism abroad. Mohammadi speaks with former TAC senior editor Rod Dreher, a Louisiana native, who recalls his working-class father defending Long as the reason rural families had good roads and schoolbooks. Dreher argues that the only contemporary politician who could plausibly claim Long as an inspiration is Vance himself, though he cautions against leaning too heavily on a figure whose complex legacy requires so much explanation. Mohammadi's piece raises a sharper question as well: whether Long's substantive populism can be revived on the right, or whether it will remain, for now, a matter of style. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

Good morning! Today is Friday, August 28th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Six months into the Iran War, American materiel is depleted, Gulf energy flows remain choked, and Brent crude sits near ninety dollars a barrel, with Jude Russo warning that Treasury's new "economic D-Day" sanctions push may invite escalation rather than a deal. The White House confirms no negotiations are under way even as Qatar's prime minister and Pakistan's army chief shuttle to Tehran, while Pakistan flatly refuses to join the new American sanctions regime. Another U.S. aircraft carrier is steaming toward the Middle East as gasoline hits a national average of four dollars and ten cents a gallon, tightening the war's squeeze on American households. and now for the details. We begin with the Iran War, which today marks six months since it began. As Jude Russo writes for The American Conservative, the most hysterical early predictions have not come to pass, but the reality is grim enough. Enormous quantities of American materiel have been expended without ousting the ayatollahs or extracting any settlement favorable to the United States. Persian Gulf energy flows remain constricted, Brent crude is hovering between eighty-five and ninety dollars a barrel, and Iranian retaliatory strikes have battered American bases across the region to the point that the U.S. military is hesitant to use them. Regional partners are faring worse: Qatari natural gas exports are down ninety-six percent since the war began. The administration's answer is more of the same. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week announced what he called "economic D-Day," ramping up sanctions and hinting that nations refusing to isolate Iran could be cut out of the dollar system. Russo notes that this is the sort of measure a country can only use once, and one that tends to invite serious unintended consequences. He points to the 2022 attempt to cut Russia out of SWIFT, which was supposed to bring Moscow to its knees within a month. Pakistan, which has served as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, has already said it will not cooperate with the new sanctions. Russo's judgment is that the negotiating table is a piece of furniture no one seems to love. President Trump said Wednesday he's "in no hurry" for a deal, and outgoing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spent her final morning at the podium touting "Operation Economic Outcast." Russo warns that if Iran's economy becomes untenable, Tehran may itself take the escalatory initiative, striking American and allied assets, including energy infrastructure. When you give and take in peace, he writes, that's a deal. When you give and take in war, that's a capitulation. Six months in, no end is in sight. Staying with the war, the White House confirmed Thursday that no talks with Iran are currently under way, even as mediators shuttle to Tehran. Jude Russo reports that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, quote, "No negotiations are happening right now, and this will continue until the president feels that maybe they come to the table in a meaningful way." President Trump echoed that message in a Wednesday interview with Al Jazeera, saying he has no timeline and is in no hurry. Meanwhile, Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani visited Tehran Thursday, following a Monday visit by Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir. Pakistan, long a diplomatic channel between Washington and Tehran, said Thursday it will not participate in the new American sanctions. The Pentagon has announced that another aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East for a roughly seven-month deployment. Brent crude opened Thursday at eighty-seven dollars and twenty-seven cents a barrel, and AAA reported a national average of four dollars and ten cents per gallon of regular gasoline — a direct pinch on American families at the pump. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

Good morning! Today is Thursday, August 27th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. With the Iran war now in its 180th day, Iran and Oman appear close to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as the White House launches Operation Economic Outcast to squeeze Tehran's trading partners into compliance. Doug Bandow argues that Russian and Chinese support for Iran is a predictable response to Washington's overreach, and that piling on more sanctions and Ukraine aid will only deepen the hole—the real fix is ending a war he calls obvious and disastrous. Rob York examines why South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung is openly branding Netanyahu a war criminal, and what his push for greater autonomy from Washington means for the U.S.–Korea alliance. and now for the details. We begin with the war in Iran, now in its 180th day. Iran and Oman appear close to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital energy chokepoints. The two Gulf nations announced Tuesday they had discussed a joint temporary navigational corridor and a joint project to clear the Strait of mines. Global oil prices responded overnight, with Brent Crude falling below ninety dollars a barrel. Iran effectively closed the Strait after the U.S. and Israel launched the current war in late February. A framework peace deal signed in June envisioned an Iranian-Omani partnership to administer the waterway, but that framework collapsed after the U.S. worked to create a transit corridor near the Omani coastline, outside Iranian control. Tehran says it won't open the sea passage until Washington lifts its own naval blockade of Iranian ports. Only five commodity vessels transited the Strait on Tuesday, well below the ten-day average of fifteen. As Andrew Day reports, the White House is leaning on economic pressure to force the Strait open on terms favorable to Washington. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at isolating Iran by punishing its trading partners. China, which buys roughly eighty percent of Iran's oil exports, has objected, with its Foreign Ministry insisting bilateral cooperation with Tehran falls within international law. Staying with the Iran war, hawks in Washington are increasingly alarmed by Russian and Chinese support for Tehran, and are calling for a tougher American response, including expanded intelligence and munitions support to Ukraine, sanctions on Beijing, and interdiction of Chinese shipments tied to Iran's missile program. Doug Bandow pushes back hard on that prescription. He argues that Russian and Chinese assistance to Iran is a predictable response to Washington's attempt to run the world, not a shocking act of effrontery. Bandow points out that the United States has done far more for Ukraine against Russia than Moscow is now doing for Iran, and that ratcheting up support for Kiev would only invite more Russian aid to Tehran. As for China, Bandow writes that Beijing sees a weakened president and appears willing to dare further economic escalation, with rare earths and a hoped-for trade deal both at risk. The better response, he argues, is to end the war. Bandow calls the February attack on Iran, launched during negotiations, a mistake both obvious and disastrous, waged without a coherent strategy and premised on the fantasy of unconditional Iranian surrender. Forbearance, he concludes, would reduce openings for Moscow and Beijing to harm American interests, and would let Washington finally put America first in practice, not just in slogan. Turning to East Asia, South Korea's progressive President Lee Jae-myung has been openly denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, labeling him a war criminal, comparing Israel's conduct in Gaza to Nazi massacres and to Japan's wartime comfort women system, and suggesting Netanyahu could be arrested if he set foot on South Korean soil. This from a country that, like Israel, was founded in 1948, signed a free trade agreement with Jerusalem in 2019, and long shared a Cold War alignment with the United States. As Rob York reports, Lee's posture reflects both the damage to Israel's standing since October 2023 and a broader shift in Seoul's relationship with Washington. Lee is not, York writes, the pro-Beijing sellout his domestic critics claim. He has kept ties with Japan warm and wants the U.S. engaged on the peninsula. But he is pushing for greater South Korean autonomy, including transferring wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul and accelerating a landmark nuclear submarine deal with the Trump administration. When President Trump scaled down U.S.–South Korea military exercises, Lee praised the move and used it to press his case for self-reliance. York argues that this drive toward greater autonomy among American partners is likely to outlast Lee's term, and is something Washington should welcome, though he suggests it be handled with more tact than has been sh

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, August 26th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Treasury launches "Operation Economic Outcast" against Iran on day 179 of the war, but analysts warn the sweeping sanctions could escalate rather than replace military conflict as Tehran vows it knows "how to play the game.". Ted Snider argues Trump's tariff threats, annexation talk, and bombing warnings against allies from Canada to Oman have squandered global trust in Washington and ended the era of American hegemony. CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced eight-hour visit to Moscow on Tuesday, the first known trip by an agency chief to the Russian capital since 2021. and now for the details. We begin with the Iran War, now in its 179th day. The Treasury Department on Monday unveiled the long-promised "Economic D-Day" against Iran, an initiative dubbed Operation Economic Outcast. The package widens secondary sanctions to new sectors, imposes penalties on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, suspends licenses for Iranian remittance payments and academic exchanges, and issues new guidance aimed at blocking third-country cooperation with Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the campaign as unprecedented, though he declined to set deadlines for compliance or to single out China, which buys close to 90 percent of Iranian oil. Tehran's economy minister responded that Iran has "our own tools" and knows "how to play the game." As Luke Nicastro reports, some analysts warn the measures could escalate rather than replace military conflict. Iran expert Sina Toosi told the New York Times that the harder Washington pushes third countries to sever Iran's remaining lifelines, the stronger Tehran's incentive becomes to make participation in that isolation costly. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Gaza reportedly killed at least four people Monday, including two children, and the Israeli Defense Forces have struck Gaza on six of the seven days since Jared Kushner's visit last week urging de-escalation. An oil tanker was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman, cross-Strait traffic hit a three-month low, Brent crude is trading around 86 dollars a barrel, and gasoline is averaging 4 dollars and 10 cents a gallon nationally. Turning to the broader diplomatic fallout, Ted Snider takes stock of America's alliances in the age of Trump. Snider invokes the famous line attributed to Henry Kissinger, that it may be dangerous to be America's enemy but fatal to be its friend. President Trump had said he wanted his legacy to be the wars he ended and the wars he never began. But Snider argues Trump will instead be remembered as the president who squandered trust in Washington and ended the era of American hegemony. Canada, America's second-largest trading partner, has been hit with tariffs heavy enough to cripple its economy, and Trump has repeatedly floated annexation as the 51st state. Denmark has faced threats over Greenland. After Spain declined to join the war on Iran, Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Bessent to cut off all trade with Madrid. The Gulf states, who had lobbied against war with Iran, are diversifying away from the American security umbrella—Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a mutual defense pact earlier this month. Oman, a longtime intermediary between Washington and Tehran, has twice been threatened with bombing by the president. And South Korea, described by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a "model ally," now faces reductions in joint military exercises, prompting Seoul to accelerate its push for military independence. Snider concludes that Trump has jeopardized U.S. leadership and made the world a more dangerous place. In a related development on the diplomatic front, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday. As Andrew Day reports, Ratcliffe traveled aboard a military cargo plane and spent roughly eight hours on the ground in the Russian capital, according to online flight tracking data. The purpose of the visit was not disclosed; CBS News, which broke the story, said only that Ratcliffe was there "for meetings." It marks the first known trip by a CIA director to Moscow since 2021, when then-director William Burns warned President Vladimir Putin against attacking Ukraine. The Trump administration has struggled to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, with special envoy Steve Witkoff having made several previous trips to Moscow. Ratcliffe flew from Washington to Riga, Latvia on Sunday before continuing on to the Russian capital. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.