Our Own Ruling Class Desperately Wants to Lose This War

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What’s more treacherous and treasonous than wishing your own country gets defeated in war, especially by a bunch of goat-molesting seventh-century pagan savages whose primitive mindset is matched only by their grotesque perversions? Well, the disgusting perversions part is merely a collateral reason why members of America’s donkey party seem to have such an affinity for Iran’s rulers – the mullahs, with their bizarre bestiality and grotesque handmaiden dogma, and the San Francisco Democrats, with their furry-friendly gender-spazz grossness, collectively share the worst figurative collective browser in the history of ever. Yet, it’s more than their joint commitment to degeneracy that binds them together in a desire for America to lose this campaign. The Democrats hate America, and they think it will help them politically if America can be humiliated. But more than that, seeing America lose also satisfies the evil lurking inside them.

It’s not just about Donald Trump. That’s where people get confused. Oh, they hate Donald Trump, to be sure. He is aesthetically displeasing to them, rejecting their carefully curated image of what it means to be in the American ruling class. It’s not just his style, but his attitude. They find him vulgar and crude because he ignores their complex and emasculating social conventions that enforce collectivist commie conformity. They also hate him because he has money, and much of our ruling class really doesn’t – for example, most regime media scribblers would double their income if only they knew how to do plumbing or drive a truck. There’s a gulf between their prestige and their pay, and Trump’s flagrant celebration of his own riches generates the greenest of envy.

But they also hate him because he’s a class traitor. He understands them because he was one of them until he got tired of them, and he has nothing but contempt for them. He knows they’re weak, stupid, and greedy, and he won’t honor their pretensions to intelligence and competence. Trump was a guy who had to build tall buildings. He either did it right, or the buildings fell. His opponents build nothing. They talk and write. They suffer no consequences for failure, and his critique of their fecklessness is the closest they’ll get to accountability. They hate him for that.

But that’s all personal. That’s why they hate Trump as an individual. But Donald Trump also operates as an avatar for the normal Americans he represents. What the ruling caste really hates is you. They hate normal people. They hate people who devote themselves to faith, family, and the Flag. They have to. They need to hate you because, through hating you, these unaccomplished hacks find a purpose and meaning. They don’t go out and slay dragons. They go out and nag people on Twitter. We, on the other hand, largely live real lives. Many of us are veterans – and we have seen it get real. Occasionally, someone in the ruling class does a tour in the Army and milks it forever – Happy March 29th, Vietnam Veterans Day, to the hero of the Tet Offensive, Senator Dick Blumenthal! – but being in the military is dirty and icky, and you’re stuck with people who are also dirty and icky. You know, Americans.

They do jobs where they talk and despise Americans who have jobs where they sweat. Remember, among our ruling class, the ultimate gig is to sit and run your mouth. Look, there’s nothing wrong with running your mouth for a job – I do it – but if that’s the only thing you’ve ever done, that breaks your mind. I’ve worked at McDonald’s, been fired from Denny’s for gross incompetence, been a private in the army, and jockeyed rental cars at San Francisco Airport, where everyone in the lot was either a college student on break or a convict on parole. Your past is probably similarly colorful. But the color of our ruling class’s past is flat white. They went to the University of College, then they started writing somewhere, and that’s it. They never sweat, never bled, and probably never drove a car with a stick shift or a V8.

We are not the same. They were the student government geeks and drama dorks in high school. As all adults know, adulthood is simply high school writ large. Much of our ruling class is collectively trying to get revenge on us for never getting invited to drink Coors behind the gym in high school.

Barack Obama gave the game away with his clinging to their guns and religion quote, as did Hillary Clinton with her basket of deplorables gaffe. Our ruling class, to which the Democrats are devoted – the party hasn’t been a workingman’s party since back when everybody agreed that a man can’t menstruate – distinguishes itself by its great self-regard rather than by its great achievements. It has no great achievements. What has our ruling class achieved in the last 60 years? Vietnam? The Iranian Revolution? The Iraq War? The Wall Street collapse? Obamacare? Grindr? Our ruling class has failed and everything. Is there anyone out there who thinks the world is better now than it was in the 80s? Certainly not anyone who lived in the 80s. Sure, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union collapsed, but that was despite our ruling class, thanks to the efforts of Ronald Reagan, who is a lot Trumpier than the Trump haters will ever give him credit for. Yet despite failure after failure after failure, our ruling class still believes they are geniuses.

We, normal people, know the truth, and our failure to genuflect to our alleged betters grates at them. How dare we! We, normal people, are the essence of America, and that makes our ruling class hate America. It seems strange that they would hate what they seek to rule over, but Satan does, so why not The Squad? Understand that they are powered by an all-encompassing contempt for people like you and me, and our patriotism and love of country require that these people despise their own country. America is bad, they believe, built on a foundation of racism, genocide, and transphobia, and all sorts of other badnesses. Since none of them has a religion, this ideology has to serve as a substitute. We are their heretics, their demons, their anti-wokes, and they want us to pay.

Which means they want our country to pay. They were positively giddy when a lucky drone shot killed a half-dozen Americans. They were delighted when a random missile hit took out one aircraft on the ground in Saudi Arabia. They are hoping against hope that they can somehow turn a military campaign of unprecedented skill and daring into a disaster. In the first few days of this war, we decapitated the entire Iranian government. We shattered their nuclear program. We destroyed their air force, sank their navy, and generally blew the snot out of anything worth blowing the snot out of. Our planes fly through their skies unmolested. The Democrats and their allies among the disaffected grifter class are reduced to claiming that Iran’s ability to fire the occasional missile indicates America has been completely defeated. They are aided in this propaganda initiative by the regime media, which got the memo. They must turn this victory into defeat, and they’re trying to do it. They’re not doing it very well, in the sense that anyone who is not a complete moron sees through it. But then again, nearly half of America voted for Kamala Harris, so America has a significant moron problem.

They want us to lose because they think America, and therefore Americans, deserve defeat. They also want Trump to lose because they think it’s going to help them politically. So, we now have our ruling class largely rooting for these retrograde barbarians to somehow pull victory from the jaws of defeat. And the regime media will help; no matter how this ends, all the networks and the newspapers are going to tell you that this war was a failure. But you know how you know it’s not a failure? Because there’s no head ayatollah running around. The former one got blasted to bits. His son probably did too; right now, his legendary impotence is the least of his medical concerns. Oh, and the fact that all of Iran’s ships are resting at the bottom of the ocean, there are no planes left, and they can only squeeze off a couple of shots from random drone and rocket launchers every day, is a pretty good indicator of victory. Never in history has there been such a comprehensive defeat of an entire modern nation in such a short time.

Still, people in our own country wish for our defeat, and if those wishes aren’t granted, they’ll try to manufacture a defeat. It’s bizarre to see so many Americans so eager for America to lose, but that’s where we are right now. We’ve got Americans who want Americans to lose a war to a generational enemy with American blood on its paws. They ought to be ashamed of themselves, but they have no shame. Shame goes hand in hand with accountability, and they can’t accept the idea that they are accountable to anyone other than their own class. But just remember what’s happening here. Remember how much they must hate you to want their own country to be defeated by a bunch of fanatical freaks. And govern yourself accordingly. 

Kurt Schlichter

Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all. 

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A Foolish NATO Was a Big Loser in the Iran War

NATO endures on American backing while many allies demand U.S. action abroad but withhold it when asked, exposing a widening gap between rhetoric and responsibility.

NATO members are not legally required to join any member’s military operations that are not formally sanctioned by the alliance or not aimed at protecting the homelands of the membership.

But they often do just that.

Some NATO members joined the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq on the theory that, in the post-9/11 environment, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were dangers to all Western security.

They followed the precedent set by America’s 1999 intervention in the distant Balkans, leading a three-month NATO campaign to dismantle Slobodan Milošević’s often bloody ambitions of a Greater Serbia. The U.S. also joined the 2011 U.N.-approved, and French- and British-inspired, NATO “coalition of the willing” bombing campaign in Libya.

That effort proved a seven-month misadventure—especially since the targeted Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi had given up his nuclear weapons program and was desperately trying to cut a deal with the West.

When NATO members in the past have operated unilaterally to defend their own national interests, they have often called on the U.S., as NATO’s strongest member, for overt help.

For nearly 40 years, the U.S. had offered logistical, intelligence, reconnaissance, refueling, and diplomatic support to the French in their unilateral and postcolonial efforts to protect Chad from Libya and, later, Islamists.

During the 1982 Falklands War, a solitary Britain faced enormous logistical challenges in steaming halfway around the world to eject Argentina from its windswept and sparse islands.

U.S. aid was critical to the effort.

So America stepped up to help with intelligence, reconnaissance, the supply of some two million gallons of much-needed gasoline, and crucial restocking of Britain’s depleted Tomahawk missiles.

The American tilt to Britain prompted anger from most Latin American nations of the shared Western hemisphere, as well as from many Hispanic American citizens at home.

No matter—Ronald Reagan rightly saw the importance of solidarity with a NATO member and a long-time American ally. So he gave Britain a veritable blank check for American aid.

Currently, America has not asked NATO members to help bomb Iran—even though Europe, not the U.S., was in range of Iranian ballistic missiles, and soon perhaps nuclear-tipped ones as well.

Europeans are far more vulnerable to Iranian-inspired Islamic terrorism. They are more reliant on foreign oil from the Middle East, some of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

All the U.S. had initially asked for was basing support in disarming a common Western enemy that, for nearly half a century, has slaughtered American diplomats and soldiers and tried to kill a U.S. president and secretary of state.

Oil prices soar 10% as Trump’s Iran war speech stokes fears of further escalation

Oil surged 10% Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump warned of further military aggression against Iran in the next two to three weeks, dampening hopes for an imminent de-escalation in the conflict.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May were up 10% at $110.21 a barrel as of 8:13 a.m. ET. June futures for international benchmark Brent crude rose 8% to $109.25 per barrel.

Trump in his speech attributed the increase in oil prices to the “Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.”

He said the U.S. will “hit” Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks during a national address on Wednesday, while adding that the war won’t last long and discussions with Tehran “are ongoing,” leaving a diplomatic resolution on the table.

“We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast,” he said.

George Efstathopoulos, portfolio manager at Fidelity International, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that markets had braced for a “binary outcome,” expecting the president to either signal his plans for a war exit or further escalation and prolonged uncertainty — “clearly we seem to be on the latter path right now.”

Efstathopoulos expects the speech to further fuel the risk-off sentiment as investors wait for uncertainty to subside.

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which used to see a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows through, has effectively ground to a halt since the U.S.-Israel war against Iran began on Feb. 28, sending energy prices soaring in one of the world’s most devastating energy crises.

Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was unlikely to resume anytime soon, said Giles Alston, political risk analyst at Oxford Analytica.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. position on what you do to get your oil out of and through the Straits of Hormuz is now something which Washington has largely washed its hands off. This is now something for those who take oil through the Strait to sort out for themselves,” he said on CNBC on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Iran had asked for a ceasefire, briefly raising hopes for more oil tanker movement through the waterway, sending oil prices lower.

Iran’s “New Regime President” has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, a request that will only be considered if the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” Trump said. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

The Islamic Republic, however, has denied Trump’s claim, saying that the waterway won’t be reopened based on the U.S. leader’s “absurd displays” and that the key transit route remains “decisively and dominantly under the control of the IRGC Navy.”

The two sides have frequently contradicted each other’s claims about the existence and status of peace-deal talks since the war started. Trump has also sent conflicting signals, reportedly saying negotiations were close to producing a peace deal, but the U.S. was also prepared to escalate fighting by sending thousands of troops to the region.

Brent oil dipped below $100 per barrel for the first time in a week after Trump said Tuesday evening that he expected the U.S. military to wind down operations against Iran in “two or three weeks” and appeared to be declaring victory even without a negotiated deal with Iran. “We’ll be leaving very soon,” he said.

CNBC

Trump Oversaw Record Levels of Domestic Energy Production in 2025

Last year saw a record of 714 million barrels of offshore oil produced, according to a press release from the Interior Department. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum underscored that the United States is tapping into its true energy potential.

“President Trump has made it clear that America should fully develop its abundant energy resources in a way that strengthens our economy and benefits American families,” Burgum said in a statement.

“By providing regulatory certainty, streamlining processes and encouraging responsible development, this administration is unlocking the full potential of our domestic energy resources — supporting job creation, lowering energy prices, strengthening energy security and maintaining strong safety and environmental protections,” he added.

The release notes that the administration’s policies, which include regulatory efficiency and providing energy developers with more certainty, have led to a boom in offshore project investment. The increase in investment is especially abundant in the Gulf of America.

“American energy leadership is a cornerstone of our economic strength and national security,” Burgum noted.

“This record production reflects the hard work of American energy workers and the strength of our offshore resources, helping drive economic growth, support good-paying jobs and deliver affordable, reliable energy to families and businesses,” he continued.

The record energy production makes good on one of Trump’s core campaign promises in the 2024 cycle. In February 2023, when he was the lone candidate in the Republican field, he pledged to “bring back a pro-American energy policy at long last.”

“I will deploy a team of warrior lawyers to hunt down every unnecessary regulation in the federal registry that hampers domestic production and we will wipe them off the books,” he said in a campaign video at the time.

“Nobody has more liquid gold under their feet than the United States of America, and we will use it and profit by it and live with it, and we will be rich again, and we will be happy again and will be proud again,” he went on to add.

Iranian President Warns IRGC of Economic Collapse Within Weeks Without Ceasefire

TEHRAN — March 29, 2026 : Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned senior leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Iran’s economy could face total collapse within three to four weeks if a regional ceasefire is not achieved, according to informed sources cited by Iran International.

The warning reflects growing internal divisions between Iran’s civilian administration and military leadership as the ongoing conflict enters its fifth week, intensifying both economic strain and governance disputes.

Internal Tensions Over War Strategy

The reported disagreement centers on the direction and management of military operations. President Pezeshkian is said to have directly criticized IRGC Chief Commander Ahmad Vahidi over continued escalation, including cross-border strikes that have contributed to mounting regional tensions and domestic economic pressure.

The divide became publicly visible on March 7, when Pezeshkian issued a video message apologizing for what he described as “fire at will” attacks by Iranian forces on neighboring countries. He instructed that such operations cease unless directly provoked. However, military activity reportedly resumed shortly after the broadcast.

Sources indicate that Pezeshkian has since demanded that executive and operational control over conflict-related decisions be returned to the civilian government. This request has been rejected by Vahidi, who instead attributed the country’s economic vulnerability to the administration’s failure to implement structural reforms prior to the conflict.

Further complicating the power balance, the IRGC has reportedly expanded its influence within Iran’s security institutions. The Guards are said to have pressured the president into appointing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, an IRGC-affiliated figure, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council—effectively reducing civilian oversight in strategic decision-making.

Economic Indicators Show Widespread Strain

The political dispute is unfolding against a backdrop of severe and accelerating economic distress. Iran’s economy, already weakened by sanctions and structural inefficiencies, is showing signs of systemic disruption under wartime conditions.

Banking infrastructure across major cities has been significantly affected. Many ATMs are either out of cash, inaccessible, or non-functional, while digital banking platforms—including those of major institutions such as Bank Melli—are experiencing repeated outages.

Public sector finances are also under pressure. Reports indicate that government employees have not received regular salaries or benefits for up to three months, affecting a large segment of the workforce.

Inflation, which had already reached between 105% and 115% for basic goods in February, has continued to rise since the onset of the conflict. Shortages of raw materials have disrupted factory operations, further constraining supply and pushing up prices of essential commodities.

Poverty levels have increased sharply. Data cited by economists and state-affiliated institutions suggest that more than 40% of the population now lives below the absolute poverty line, with the figure exceeding 50% in Tehran.

Currency Devaluation and Shift Toward Dollarization

The Iranian rial has undergone a significant loss of value, accelerating a shift toward informal dollarization in domestic markets.

By late 2025, the exchange rate had weakened to approximately 1,430,000 rials per US dollar, compared to around 800,000 earlier in the year. The sharp depreciation has eroded purchasing power and undermined confidence in the national currency.

As a result, key sectors of the economy—including real estate, rental markets, and automotive transactions—are increasingly being conducted in US dollars rather than rials, reflecting a structural shift in pricing practices.

Fiscal Pressures and Budget Adjustments

To manage wartime financial demands, the government’s 2026–2027 budget relies heavily on inflationary financing and increased taxation.

Oil revenue, historically a central component of Iran’s fiscal framework, has declined sharply. Its share in the national budget has fallen to approximately 5%, down from 32% in the previous year. To compensate, authorities have raised taxes by more than 60%, placing additional strain on businesses and households.

The conflict has also disrupted energy infrastructure and oil and gas operations, further limiting revenue streams and affecting supply chains. In several regions, food prices have risen by at least 50% compared to pre-war levels.

Broader Economic Context and Outlook

Iran entered the current conflict period with pre-existing economic vulnerabilities, including high inflation, currency instability, and the ongoing impact of international sanctions. The continuation of hostilities is now compounding these challenges.

According to sources, President Pezeshkian has emphasized that a ceasefire is essential within weeks to prevent further deterioration and maintain basic economic functionality. The warning underscores concerns among policymakers about the limited timeframe available for stabilization under current conditions.

No official confirmation of the reported warning has been issued by Iranian state media or government spokespersons. However, analysts note that prolonged conflict could deepen budget deficits, banking system imbalances, and supply disruptions, reducing the government’s ability to respond effectively.

The situation reflects a convergence of economic stress, institutional friction, and strategic disagreement, with implications for both domestic stability and regional dynamics.

Supreme Court to Decide Today on Birthright Citizenship

Today, the Supreme Court will decide on Trump v. Barbara, a new challenge to “birthright citizenship,” so in that spirit, here are some facts about birthright citizenship from a simple internet search:

The concept of birthright citizenship is based on an 1898 SCOTUS decision (United States v. Wong Kim Ark) when there were no planes allowing the entire third world to rush in, and birth tourism didn’t exist.

Very few countries in the world allow birthright citizenship. European countries don’t allow it, nor do Japan, China, Great Britain, or Australia.

Pew estimates around five million anchor babies are living with parents who are not citizens.

61% of these households are on one or more government welfare programs. Note: It is illegal for non-citizens to receive welfare benefits.

225,000 to 300,000 babies are born each year to mothers who are here illegally. Another 70,000 are born to mothers who are here on vacation. It is generally not recommended for mothers to travel close to their due date, so isn’t that odd? My intelligent guess is most of these mothers did not pay the hospitals for their healthcare.

Why are we promoting birth tourism?

Why are the illegals allowed to stay after the baby is born since they are here illegally?

Democrats want open borders and say we can’t send the parents back because that would separate families. The solution is easy. Get rid of birthright citizenship so this doesn’t happen, and send the babies back to their home country with their parents.

China is really pushing for new babies to be born in the U.S. so they can further influence their control:

Chinese national pleads guilty to running ‘birth tourism’ scheme that helped aliens give birth in US to secure birthright citizenship

A Chinese national pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for running an Orange County-based ‘birth tourism’ business that catered to wealthy pregnant clients and Chinese government officials, charging them tens of thousands of dollars to help them give birth in the United States so their children would get U.S. citizenship.

Why do we openly allow our enemies to infiltrate the U.S.? And, what about this story?

Chinese gaming billionaire reportedly sires more than 100 surrogate kids in US, hopes they’ll marry Elon Musk’s children

A Chinese billionaire who allegedly fathered more than 100 US-born children through surrogacy agencies reportedly hopes the kiddies will one day marry Elon Musk’s children and create a sprawling family dynasty. 

Xu Bo, a 48-year-old wealthy recluse who founded the online gaming company Duoyi, calls himself ‘China’s first father’ and has been hell-bent on siring at least ‘50 high-quality sons,’ according to social-media posts verified as his by the Wall Street Journal.

And here is how the compliant media is covering the issue as they campaign for continuing birthright citizenship in support of Democrats and getting more people to be dependent on the government. They call Trump’s desire to get rid of birthright citizenship controversial instead of calling the original decision controversial. Everything Trump does is called controversial to influence the public instead of informing them. This article by USA Today in my local paper was titled “History bolsters birthright citizenship.”

Bad laws or rulings, regardless of being part of America’s “history,” should be overturned—and birthright citizenship is nuts.

Jack Hellner, American Thinker

Germany: Berlin court imprisons four Muslims for Europe-wide Hamas weapons-stockpiling network

They are preparing for large-scale violent jihad in Europe against Jewish targets. And there are likely to be more attempts, as Stephan Weh, Berlin police union chief, suggested when he said: “As a Western metropolis, Berlin remains a focal point for radical Islamist networks, which today primarily recruit new members and supporters via social media.”

Nonetheless, Weh states that this Berlin court ruling was important, given the precedent it establishes, and especially since Hamas is not a designated terror group under German law. As Western authorities become more knowledgeable about organized jihad groups, they still lag too far behind. They are still reckless about immigration and Islam itself, while jihad terror is regularly committed in its name. It is important to remember in this connection that Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya) means Islamic Resistance Movement.

“Berlin Court Jails 4 Men in Landmark Hamas Weapons Case, First German Ruling Treating Membership as Terror Offense,” by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, March 26, 2026:

Four men were sentenced to prison in Berlin on Wednesday for operating a covert Hamas weapons-stockpiling network across Europe in preparation for potential terrorist attacks — a landmark ruling marking the first time a German court convicted members of the Palestinian terrorist group under the country’s terrorism laws.

The Berlin State Protection Senate — a special national-security chamber within the Berlin Court of Appeal — convicted the defendants of stockpiling weapons for future attacks in Europe, including possible targets in Germany, sentencing them to four and a half to six years in prison for membership in a foreign terrorist organization and related charges.

The court determined the men, aged 36 to 58, had acted as foreign operatives for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and had already helped establish several firearms caches across Europe.

According to official records, the defendants helped build weapons depots as part of “preparations to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in European countries,” with possible targets including the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, the US Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany, and Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport.

German authorities also found the stockpiles were meant for attacks on Israeli, Jewish, or other targets across Europe over an extended period, with sites discovered in multiple countries including Poland, Bulgaria, and Denmark….

Hamas, long supported by the Iranian regime as well as Qatar and Turkey, is designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and several other Western countries, including the United States.

However, the terrorist group has not been officially classified as such under German law, making Wednesday’s ruling especially important because it sets a legal precedent allowing membership in the group to be treated as a criminal offense.

“It’s a clear and important ruling by the Berlin Court of Appeal, even though we know that it does not in itself reduce the danger of terrorist attacks,” Stephan Weh, Berlin police union chief, said in a statement.

“As a Western metropolis, Berlin remains a focal point for radical Islamist networks, which today primarily recruit new members and supporters via social media,” he continued.

Christine Douglass-Williams, Jihad Watch

Iran’s military uses schools and civilian sites during US-Israeli war

Iran’s security and military forces moved personnel, weapons and equipment into at least 70 civilian sites during the US-Israeli airstrikes, an Iran International investigation found, exposing what appears to be a nationwide pattern of using public spaces for military purposes.

The sites span 17 provinces, 28 cities and two villages. Nearly half of them – 34 in total – were primary or secondary schools. Other locations identified in eyewitness accounts and documents reviewed by Iran International included hospitals, stadiums, universities, mosques, parks and government offices.

The accounts were gathered over a 10-day period from March 2 to March 14, 2026, during a near-total internet shutdown that sharply restricted the flow of messages, photos and video from inside Iran.

While Iran International could not independently verify every account, it geolocated visual evidence from seven reported sites, all of them schools.

Civilian sites and battlefield risk

The deployment of military forces at civilian sites “shifts battlefield risks onto civilians,” a regional security source who requested anonymity said, adding that using such locations for military purposes is prohibited under international law.

“When security or paramilitary forces move into schools, hospitals or mosques, they endanger civilians physically, degrade protected civilian services and may turn those sites into military objectives,” the source said.

Under international humanitarian law, civilian sites can lose protected status if used for military purposes, though attacking forces must still comply with rules on distinction, proportionality and precaution.

The source said the legal implications vary depending on the type of site but warned that such practices can strip civilian locations of their protected status.

“Schools are civilian objects; using them as barracks, firing positions, detention sites, or weapons depots can make them lawful military targets, while still leaving the attacker bound by distinction, proportionality, and feasible precautions,” the source said, adding that this “amounts to human shielding.”

At least four hospitals were identified in eyewitness accounts as having nearby or associated military deployments, including Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz and medical sites in Kermanshah and other western regions.

“Hospitals get even stronger protection than schools. Under International Humanitarian Law, they must be respected and protected, but if they are used outside their humanitarian role, such as for a base, observation post, military center, shelter for military-security personnel, or weapons depot, they lose that special protection, although a clear warning is required before any attack,” the source said.

At least three mosques were identified in eyewitness accounts as having been used for military deployments. In the capital, Tehran, this included Rezvan Mosque on March 8 and Chahardeh Masoum Mosque in University Town on March 7, where special police units were stationed.

Malek Ashtar Mosque in Khosrowshah in East Azarbaijan province was also used on March 9, where IRGC forces were relocated.

Mosques are protected as civilian objects and may also qualify as cultural property under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, the source said.

“Using mosques for military purposes is prohibited, but if turned into a military objective, they lose protection, while attacking forces must still take precautions and avoid indiscriminate or disproportionate action,” the source added.

How the reporting was assembled

As authorities imposed a near-total internet shutdown across the country after the outbreak of the war, only a limited number of messages were able to get through filtering systems, while photo and video footage remained scarce.

They Actually WANT a King

Things that Actual Kings do: Confiscate the guns of peaceful people;

Hike taxes, try to tax the same income 2 or 3 times;

Threaten social media companies for criticism of government policies;

Declare martial law and install a totalitarian regime for months or years on the pretext that the 99 percent survivable flu is a global emergency;

Refuse to require voter IDs if it means your candidates will lose;

Force people to send their kids to schools where they’re told that boys are girls and girls are boys, and then force parents to give their children hormone treatments when their children become confused;

Side with violent cults (Iran, Hamas) building nuclear weapons (or threatening executions, such as beheading) to use against people who won’t join the cults, and forcing citizens to pay taxes to subsidize the building of nuclear weapons.

Actually, Kings throughout history, while many of them were very bad, were not as bad as people doing these things today. The people doing these things today are called Democrats. Their behavior is not merely tyrannical; it’s sociopathic and sadistic.

Trump is doing none of these things. In fact, he’s trying to stop many of these things, despite being shot at and legally prosecuted repeatedly by people who ACTUALLY DO THESE THINGS and call Trump a King for trying to stop them from doing these things.

It’s madness beyond the scope of anything historians, psychiatrists or dystopian novel writers have ever needed to consider. Madness seems too tame a word for it.

People voting Democrat WANT a King. They hate Trump because he’s trying to limit the power of government, not expand it. Lowering taxes, reducing regulations, shutting down Cabinet departments, refusing to lock down society for the flu, refusing to let violent Medieval barbarians behead and bomb our civilization, stopping censorship, upholding the Second Amendment, restoring private property rights–these are all the actions of someone who DOES NOT WANT TO BE A KING.

The problem with Democrats is that they want a King. They yearn to be controlled, to be bossed around, to live under an insanely controlling and inept bureaucracy that creates the illusion of being taken care of. They yearn for a Fauci, or a Stalin, a Castro, or a Mao. If they get their way, they will get AOC instead. And won’t that absurd fiasco be the end of their Dream. It’s infuriating and frightening to see leftists (Soros paid and all) throw their tantrums and act out their psychopathic wrecking balls over all our lives. But you can be sure: No matter what happens, no matter what future battles they may manage to win here and there — they will never, ever be at peace.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

Defending Western Civilization from Its Domestic Enemies

We are capable of winning this fight.

When I write about threats to Western civilization, I struggle to find the sweet spot between describing the myriad problems we face and my firm belief that we are capable of winning this fight.  I do not think all is lost.  I do, however, think that it is important for as many people as possible to recognize what our enemies are doing.  

When we are being attacked from all sides — culturally, politically, economically, socially, parentally, morally, religiously, psychologically — it is sometimes difficult to recognize that these attacks are all connected.  Those who wish to destroy Western civilization use every available weapon to hurt us.  When we concentrate on nothing but “bad news,” though, we talk ourselves into premature defeat.  We psych ourselves out.  We give our enemies greater power over us than they have.  

We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening.  We also cannot allow what is happening to intimidate us into silence or cow us into submission.  Ideally, we will become more vocal in articulating exactly what our enemies are doing, find comfort in the growing chorus of voices urging resistance, and become only more confident in our defense of Western civilization.  

Sounding the alarm is not a call for surrender.  Nor should hearing the alarm cause us to tremble.  This is the time for courage and determination.  When our Western ancestors faced similar dangers in the past, they did not hide or run away.  They prepared themselves for hardship.  They prayed.  They retrieved hidden swords from thatched roofs, straw beds, and bales of hay.

In broad strokes, we know what’s happening.  Open borders policies in North America and Europe are sabotaging social cohesion.  Christianity is under attack.  Reason, rationality, and scientific inquiry have been abandoned.  Our shared history is continuously rewritten in ways that turn our ancestors into villains.  Enlightenment ideals fostering individual sovereignty, personal freedom, and maximum liberty have been eroded by the pernicious encroachments of collectivism, Marxism, socialism, and communism.  Virtue is mocked, while sin is celebrated.  Unchecked desire, envy, and instant gratification have supplanted temperance, humility, and self-restraint.  The indulgence of personal fantasy has superseded the pursuit of eternal truth.  Schools, governments, and cultural institutions preach a false and destructive religion requiring Westerners to repent for their “climate change sins” and embrace the doctrines of “multiculturalism” and “diversity” as tenets of leftism’s “faith.” 

Those are the various arrows being shot at us daily.  The damage caused from such sustained onslaught is immense.  Last week, conservative publications around the world carried the sad news of a twenty-five-year-old Barcelona woman named Noelia Castillo Ramos who chose to end her own life with the help of Spanish authorities.  Ramos spent her childhood in Spain’s broken foster system, being moved from one facility to the next.  Spain also uses these facilities to house unaccompanied foreign minors.  A group of these foreign minors brutally gang raped Ramos when she was a teenager. Suffering physically and psychologically, Ramos attempted suicide by leaping from a fifth-floor window four years ago.  She survived but was left paraplegic.  Spanish authorities deemed her “severe mental suffering” sufficient grounds to grant her plea for State-assisted death.  

Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek spoke for many Westerners who have mourned Ramos’s death when she wrote: “The system didn’t fail her, it actively betrayed her.  This girl’s tragic story is a perfect illustration of how the establishment feels about European women.  They first endanger you and then when you need help and cost them too much money, they push you to your grave.”

The life of Noelia Castillo Ramos is a terrible indictment of the malignant forces working to collapse Western civilization.  State-run childcare facilities cannot replace the immeasurable value of a loving mother and father.  Uncontrolled immigration invites predators to prey on our nations’ children.  Western governments’ evil efforts to protect foreign rapists and murderers from public scrutiny have aided and abetted the exploitation and abuse of our most vulnerable citizens for decades.  Because of the State’s complicity and the corporate news media’s silence, the butcher’s bill of victims has only grown.  Ignored and kept hidden, victims are deprived of life-saving attention, counseling, rehabilitation, Christian nurturing, physical recovery, and the salubrious promise of spiritual salvation.  In place of familial protection, social support, cultural camaraderie, and Christian fellowship, the forgotten members of our societies receive the cold indifference of government bureaucracy.  When those most suffering cry out in pain, the same institutions that failed to secure the border or provide for citizens’ safety offer State-sponsored death.  

Discarding the moral and intellectual enlightenment obtained over centuries of work and contemplation, today’s governments have abandoned the hallmarks of Western civilization and reanimated the rotting corpses of paganism, hedonism, idolatry, and child sacrifice.  While Western citizens desperately seek civilizational renewal, Western governments do nothing but fan the flames of the growing inferno.

In the United States, Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is demanding that law enforcement agents who arrest illegal aliens be prosecuted and that illegal aliens who have been detained receive monetary “reparations.”  For decades, Democrats (and Establishment Republicans) have aided and abetted foreign nationals in illegally entering the United States.  Many of these illegal aliens steal American citizens’ social security numbers and commit various forms of identity theft and fraud in order to collect welfare benefits or secure employment.  Democrats wish to reward the criminals and punish their victims.

Criminals who have no legal right to be in the United States — including those who fled criminal prosecutions in their native homelands — go on to commit new crimes while here.  Violent foreign nationals who should not be here have raped and murdered far too many Americans.  Negligent foreign nationals who should not be here have killed far too many Americans while driving cars and commercial trucks across the country.  Far too many schools have been forced to figure out how to teach illegal alien children who cannot speak English or easily assimilate.  Far too many towns and cities have been forced into insolvency while providing ever-expanding social services for illegal aliens whom American taxpayers cannot afford.  Far too many hospitals are overrun with illegal alien patients who delay treatment for and drive up the healthcare costs of Americans.  And now the Democrat Party wants to pay the tens of millions of foreigners who illegally reside here “reparations” for feeling “unsafe.”  

You know who doesn’t feel safe?  American citizens.  At some point, they will be forced to seek reparations from the same government officials who do everything to feed, shelter, and protect foreigners while leaving Americans poorer and less secure. 

In responding to the pro-foreigner / anti-American policies of Representative Jayapal and her Democrat colleagues, one online commenter concluded, “Sometimes seems like only a civil war will save this country.”  That’s a sentiment widely held throughout the West these days.  

Last week, a European Parliament conference concluded that the whole continent is headed for civil war.  One professor argued that “the foundations of Western self-belief, prosperity, and competency” are now broken and that Europe is “on a track for a peasant revolt.”  In response to Western governments’ betrayal of Western civilization, there will be an “uprising in which the ruled seek to punish their rulers for violating their obligations under the social contract, and for changing the rules of the game against their wishes.”  Most of the politicians and academics who participated in the conference do not believe that Europe will survive this century.  Although they expressed various opinions about how the coming chaos will unfold, they reached a common conclusion: “It will be bloody.”

Those of us who wish to defend the West should not scurry and hide.  We should recognize the moment and prepare ourselves accordingly.  Our enemies are everywhere.  That’s okay.  We are everywhere, too.

American Thinker