| Kensington Review |
9 April 2026 |
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Cogito Ergo Non Serviam |
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Latest Commentary: Ceasefire at Risk over Lebanon -- The fragile ceasefire in the Middle East is holding, or not. It all depends on whether one believes Lebanon is part of the area to which the ceasefire among the US, Israel and Iran applies. According to Iran, which funds the terrorist Hezbollah organization in Lebanon, and according to the Pakistani PM who brokered the ceasefire, Lebanon is part of the area covered. The US and Israel claim that it is not. Israel has pounded southern Lebanon since the ceasefire started, and it has warned residents of Beirut to leave certain parts of the city. It seems Israel is going to keep fighting there, and the question becomes what will Iran do about it? If Iran strikes back, the ceasefire is over. [9 April] Middle East Ceasefire is US Loss -- Last night, Donald Trump accepted a two-week ceasefire with Iran, a ceasefire proposed by the government of Pakistan. An hour later, Iran also accepted the proposal. This journal welcomes the end of the killing for a fortnight and hopes it will be permanent. That said, the conditions of the arrangement signal a significant defeat not for American arms but for American strategic policy. While the military performed brilliantly (if expensively), the lack of a strategy beyond blowing stuff up has put America in a worse position than when it started the war. While the administration is focusing on the tactical successes, it does so to cover up the strategic disaster the war has become. [8 April] China Wins Middle East War -- Napoleon famously said that one should never interrupt an enemy when the latter is making a mistake. China has followed this sage advice in the last 38 days concerning the war the US and Israel launched against Iran. While the Americans are doggedly blasting Iran so badly that the rubble is bouncing, the Chinese have made sure they are positioned as possible peacemakers and have ensured that their energy needs continue to be met. However, China will mainly benefit from the mistakes the Trump administration has made militarily, economically and politically. [6 April] Trump Speaks, Oils Soars, Stocks Drop -- Last night, Donald Trump spoke for 20 minutes on prime time TV. He read the speech in his uninterested voice with about as much enthusiam as the average person has for dental surgery. It was clearly a job he had to do. It was a weak performance by a man in over his head. As best, he could have rallied Americans to stay the course for the next while as he winds the war down. Instead, he delivered the worst, a confused and self-contradictory monologue that signaled an escalation of the fighting. His is proving that hope is not a strategy. [2 April] Trump Will Escalate or Surrender -- Tonight, Donald Trump will adddress the nation and the world at 9 pm Eastern Daylight Time. The White House has said it will be a major speech about Iran. This is probably something he should have done a month ago to prepare the American people for the war he and Benjamin Netanyahu started. He has only two options at this point, and it is likely he will announce which path he will take when he speaks. By the same token, this is Donald Trump, and he may try to have it both ways (he cannot). Either he will announce that the US is going to put boots on the ground (at least on a few of the Gulf islands) or he will announce that America is winding up its war. That will leave the theocrats in power and in control of the Strait of Hormuz. This path is called surrender. And aptly, he is making this announcement on April Fool's Day. [1 April] © Copyright 2026 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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23 Years Online Volume XXIV, Number 49
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