Toppling the regime is unlikely, but degrading Iran's power and restoring deterrence advances U.S. interests—and keeps options open if Iranians rise against their rulers.

Regime change in Iran is only a legitimate objective if Iran's own people lead it — the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan show that toppling a government without a population ready to sacrifice for what comes next leads to lasting instability. The U.S. and Israel can support an Iranian uprising but shouldn't substitute military power for Iranian resolve, and absent a mass uprising, American goals should shift to more limited, temporary weakening of Iran's nuclear and missile ca

After the U.S. demonstrated its resolve and capability in striking Iran, the more important question is whether that action leads to a genuinely transformed Middle East rather than just a temporary military setback for Tehran.

The legitimacy and effectivness of regime change depends on who leads it.

Decades of American counterintelligence failures, driven by an organizational structure that rewards parochialism over collaboration, have cost the nation jobs, endangered service members and let adversaries like China steal trillions in intellectual property.

Decades of mutual distrust have made comprehensive reform impossible. Incremental compromises can rebuild the trust needed to achieve it.

With Larry Hogan out of the 2026 governor's race, Maryland Republicans need a more broadly appealing nominee than Dan Cox if they want any real chance against Wes Moore. Without a viable opposition party, there's no one left to hold Maryland's Democratic leadership accountable as the state faces serious budget challenges ahead.

Governor Wes Moore brought renewed attention to Maryland's flag when he described it as a "contradiction" during a recent interview.

America's hard experiences with regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan instilled a useful humility about the limits of U.S. power, but also an unproductive self-doubt that's now shaping counterproductive policy, including continued support for Venezuela's criminal regime. The real driver of past failures was poor post-conflict planning and the absence of conditions for viable governance, not regime change itself, and the U.S.

Protests and Tragedy in Minnesota Led to a Withdrawal, Not a Government Crackdown.

House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk's early and strong backing of Gov. Moore's push to eliminate Maryland's last competitive Republican district risks squandering the bipartisan credibility she built earlier in her tenure. Democrats pursuing this kind of redistricting, in Maryland or elsewhere, are following the same partisan playbook they've criticized Republicans for using.

Democracy Cannot Thrive on Permanent Alarm.

Larry Hogan's tenure as Maryland's governor — marked by fiscal discipline, working across party lines, and remaining broadly popular in a heavily Democratic state — set a model of pragmatic leadership that Maryland's next generation of leaders should look to as they navigate an increasingly divided political culture.

As the new year begins with familiar partisan hostility — including President Trump's open contempt for his opponents — both parties are approaching a genuine inflection point that will define what comes after Trump. Democrats and Republicans will eventually need to find a way to collaborate to repair the country's political culture, even though neither side seems ready for that work yet.

The 2025 National Security Strategy reaffirms core American commitments like Taiwan's status quo and alliance-building in Asia, but its explicit rejection of U.S. dominance everywhere in the world, coupled with ambiguous language around "outsize influence" for large countries and a heavy Western Hemisphere focus, may inadvertently signal to China that a regional sphere of influence in Asia is more attainable than intended.

Despite decades of dysfunctional politics, small signs of progress in 2025 give reason for hope heading into 2026 — from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's apology for past behavior, to Maryland Republican leaders declining to use a crude nickname for Gov. Wes Moore, to a New Jersey congressional candidate avoiding hyperbolic messaging. Hope matters because its absence is what pushes otherwise good people to give in to cynicism and keep participating in a destructive political cul

The White House Faith Office, meant to give religious leaders a voice in policy, hasn't slowed America's ongoing decline in religious identification. The office won't be taken seriously by an increasingly secular public until it uses its influence to push the administration to change rhetoric and behavior that undercuts its own stated mission.

Maryland Democrats don't need to gerrymander Rep. Andy Harris's Eastern Shore seat out of existence to compete for it — Democrats have won in similarly conservative-leaning districts elsewhere. Senate President Bill Ferguson's refusal to go along with the redistricting push shows uncommon political courage at a time when most politicians choose the expedient path.

President Trump's Ukraine peace proposal, which accepts Russian territorial gains and reintegrates Russia into world markets, amounts to a win for Vladimir Putin even though it doesn't grant him everything he originally sought. Putin's patience and decade-long pursuit of Ukraine stand in sharp contrast to the president's characteristic impatience, and no deal signed from a position other than Russian exhaustion will guarantee lasting peace.

Maryland Republicans undermine their own case against Gov. Wes Moore's redistricting plan when they refuse to condemn partisan gerrymandering happening in Republican-led states. Consistency matters — partisan gerrymandering is never acceptable, regardless of which party benefits, and Maryland Republicans lose the moral high ground by staying silent on their own side's version of it.