The “Christian” West and War in the Middle East

By Nicholas S. Kass

Sunday October 4th, 2026

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the entire world has watched the Middle East endure a spiral of acute instability and violence.  For over a century the region has been plagued by religious, ideological, ethnic, and power conflicts, fueled and molded in good part by states from what was once known as the “Christian” West pursuing mundane, ideological, and blinkered interests of their own. The results, coming to a head amid scant concern and even outright hostility toward the innocent people who have lived on the land for eons, have been disastrous physically, morally, and spiritually.

Today, the Middle East-West Asia region has been forced into an existential crisis and, in the original meaning of that Greek word, a turning point that will have long-term civilizational and spiritual implications across the globe. Some examples from the past 26 years will help illustrate the situation.

A generation ago, the US  war against Iraq destroyed much of that country, energized intercommunal conflict, and destabilized the wider region.  As an unintended but scarcely lamented consequence of that war, the ancient Christian communities there were largely destroyed; only shrinking vestiges of those once-vibrant communities remain. In the ensuing chaos across Iraq and in Syria, the terrorist group ISIS emerged, bent on further destruction of all who opposed it—Muslims, Christians, Jews, Yezidis, secularists, and others alike.

On 7 October 2023, we saw the horrific violence of the terrorist group Hamas in an attack killing 1,200 Israelis, and the Israeli response of unspeakable violence of their own in Gaza, killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians including over 21 thousand children, and dislocating and destroying the homes of millions, including Christians.

Today in Lebanon, we see the application of similar violent methods. There, ancient Christian communities which for centuries have lived side by side with their Shia Muslim neighbors are now being destroyed as a consequence of Israel’s pursuit of what it asserts are its security interests, in part ostensibly by attacking (Shia) Hizbullah terrorists.  So far, according to observers on the ground, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced, including the depopulation of some 63 Christian villages and towns, perhaps never to return. Christians there fear the growth of a Hizbullah state within a state, but also see the Israelis as the aggressors, with longstanding expansionist designs on Lebanese territory.

Meanwhile, the war instigated by the US and Israel against Iran is expanding into vast areas of the Middle East including the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and Iraq and Syria as they struggle to establish stability and rebuild after decades of devastation, potentially inciting intercommunal religious and ethnic violence. That war is also fueling a potential armed conflict between the Zionist, officially Jewish state of Israel and predominantly Sunni Muslim, officially secular Turkiye over (largely Sunni) Syria,which both Jerusalem and Ankara see as key to their security.

Some aspects of this enduring crisis in the Middle East are home-grown and must be solved by the locals themselves. Humans are fallen creatures, and so human frailty and sin are ever present everywhere, in the East no less than the West.

Nevertheless, we must consider that the regional states and political societies operate in a context that has long been shaped in large part by Western and westernizing powers that have dominated the region, which is simply to say that the West is responsible for its actions to the extent that they have contributed to or even created the current crisis. Consequently, going forward Westerners in particular would be well-served first to remember Hippocrates’ admonition to “do no harm.” They should draw on the hard lessons learned, including from the dubious efforts earlier this century to graft Western secularist political and social ideologies onto a region with a rich non-Western civilizational and religious heritage of its own.

And so it is incumbent on the West, born in the Christian faith, to act wisely: to bring an end to war and other short-sighted policies that fuel anti-Western animus across the region, exploit notions of religious freedom to officially promote radical secularist agendas hostile to religious belief, generate suspicions of Christians as fifth-columnists working on behalf of increasingly unwelcome Western powers, and otherwise fuel instability to the detriment of Christians and others in the Middle East.

War, it might be said, is like a fire that burns the wet and dry together; whatever its stated purpose, it ends in death and destruction of human beings and untold damage to  humanity itself.  It is well past time to return to diplomacy, and to consider the welfare of the peoples of all faiths whose lives are being destroyed on a daily basis.

Note: The views expressed are the author’s and do not imply endorsement by any US government entity.

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Nicholas Spyridon Kass is an international business consultant based in Europe.  He served in the U.S. government for 32 years at the White House/National Security Council, State Department, CIA, and most recently (until January 2026) as the acting chairman of the National Intelligence Council in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). He can be found on X and LinkedIn .

Comments 78

  1. I stopped reading after coming upon the phrase “unspeakable violence” committed by the Israelis after October 7. Hamas was directly responsible for the deaths and destruction that occurred; not just for their actions in southern Israel but because it invited the deaths and destruction. These results, Hamas correctly believed, would turn the world against Israel. Placing their arms and warriors in tunnels underground, below homes, hospitals, and other places inhabited by civilians would increase the collateral damage from Israels’s strikes. It might have far more if Israel hadn’t evacuated more than a million persons from areas of military action. If the editor replaces “unspeakable” with “unavoidable,” I’ll read the rest. As for now, I’m happy to see that the writer is no longer the “acting chairman of the National Intelligence Council in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.” He shouldn’t be.

    1. I second N.I. Silver’s response and I too had the same gut churning reaction also to the phrase “unspeakable violence.” Watch the videos and listen to the audios of the “unspeakable violence” perpetrated upon innocent Israeli men, women, children, and babies by Hamas and their “innocent” Muslim Palestinian citizens .
      Where is the real “Kass” when we need him not another apologist. Perhaps you should contact Tucker Carlson or Hasan Piker for more critical analysis.

      3. If you disagree, why do you not do the research to prove him wrong?

        Are your cherished beliefs so sacred that they cannot bear scrutiny? Are you afraid you may find that there are flaws in the way the world is being run?

        Have you considered the possibility that we are being lied to on all fronts?

        Instead of dismissing someone’s opinions and receipts out of hand, stooping to label and group him with those you dislike, DO THE RESEARCH. And do not just accept what you are told as gospel truth. These are politicians. They are all cut from the same cloth, no matter the color of the flag they fly.

        Some of these comments read as though there is no room for discourse on the Right or the Left.

        1. Ivy, where is the part where Hamas continues to keep the destruction of the Zionist (Jews) in it’s charter? Israel has tried and tried again to make peace with the Palestinians here only to face Yassir Arafat’s rejections in the past or more recently the unapologetic attempt at Jewish genocide on 10/7/23. I agree with the other responses here that the vaunted Nicholas Kass is little better than the unapologetic antisemite Tucker Carlson.

        2. Ivy, I consider myself a fair minded, truth seeking person, and I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. We recently memorialized 25 years since the unspeakable events of September 11 2001. I watched all the footage of those planes again and again. I rewatched souls falling to their deaths to avoid being burned alive. Did you? I’m just curious. I also watched the footage of the attacks in Israel, where horrific attacks occurred. Have you? If you have, I cannot fathom your response.

          No additional research needed in these cases. The facts are the facts. Period.

  2. Hmmm. Not a word about the nuclear threat to the world that was eliminated, nor of the continuing efforts to create a partnership for peace with the current Iran regime.

  3. So sad what is happening in the World. Christ will be here and no one knows when and he is in charge. The Christians are being slaughter all over the World and the Muslims are taking control. Sad about how the Americans do not see the World as what it is and are allowing our Country to be destroyed by false information. Trust the Lord put your life in his hands and stay away from Gossip and Evil. God is great. To those that know the History of the Middle East Bravo.

    2. Interesting that you invoke the “God is Great” mantra Ms. Edwards. That is exactly the slogan shouted by the terrorists as they crash airplanes into buildings and commit other despicable acts of mass murder.
      Nothing terrifies me more than religious fanatics (of any religion) that justify their actions with the belief that “God is on my side”. A staggering the amount of evil has been perpetuated throughout history based on that very attitude.

  4. While I respect the experience of Nick Kass on the global machinations of international diplomacy, I certainly didn’t expect this POV from him, nor do I agree.

    Pick your terrorist group: Hamas, Hezbollah, or Houthi. I don’t think any of them want a 2 state solution. They all have the same goal of a “final solution” of eliminating Israel as a country and killing as many Jews as possible. Diplomacy doesn’t work with any of them. I shudder to think of Iran, Iraq, Yemen, or any rogue government having nuclear capabilities.

    War is hell. Sometimes the only way to achieve peace is by demonstrating unwavering strength. I wish the US and Israel would “finish the job.”

      1. People should read the autopsy findings on those massacred on Oct 7th. THATS WHATS UNSPEAKABLE. War is not about playing fair. It’s not a sport. It’s about destroying completely your enemy. Or when they surrendered. Has the perpetrators surrendered. Does NK think the dead civilians in Germany, Italy, Japan and other Axis countries in WWll were war crimes. Did US criticize the Russkis when they terrorized the Germans after war. Again, horrible atrocities, but just maybe the Russkis were getting even for Nazi atrocities.Gimme a break.
        I’ve comment before on the idiocy of war. I am against all war. But when forced on you, well, one must fight back.

  5. Well said Charles. We learned nothing from 9/11 and continue to learn nothing. The complete destruction of Christians is the agenda. The foothold in America grows stronger every day. The complete destruction of Israel has always been the agenda.

  6. Too much of this column reflects the unvetted propaganda coming from the anti-zionist news media and the intelligence agencies that have done so much to sow discord.

    1. I hope JKN loses no readers from this Nicholas Kass column. While agreeing that Nicholas worded his objection to the Israeli response to the Oct. 7 horror extremely poorly, his perspective seems to me to fall within the range of valid analysis to the never-ending Mideast nightmare. We on the right should refuse to turn robotic and censorious as today’s left is. Our range of ideas has more breadth and decency than that. And we have far fewer good sources — an important one of which is JKN.

      1. Mr. Bitteringer- “Our range of ideas has more breadth and decency than that? Really?!

        That’s a pretty amusing statement. You actually believe that?
        JKN is a quality site but the range of ideas is hardly broad, nor is it more “decent” than other outlets. Rather it is mostly an echo chamber for older, very conservative, very opinionated, like- minded, and very decent Americans.
        It could be improved by shedding the superior attitude.

      2. Dave I usually like your writings but your comment today is filled with weasel words and logic, it sounds like you are letting your personal feelings regarding the Kass family cloud your thinking. Taking Nick Kass to task for his erroneous and dangerous point of view is not censorship but a duty. What is censorship and woke is your response to valid criticism.

      3. Honestly David, despite your skillful, amusing and often thoughtful writings, I did not sign up for you. In fact I did not sign up for any of John Kass’ substitute columnists – including his brother – regardless of their considerable expertise and writing talents. I signed up for one John Kass of JohnKassNews. The fact is as judging from John’s podcasts, John’s sharp and critical mind remains largely intact, and he still speaks quite well. And most importantly, there are I believe electronic tools available to transfer such verbal skills to the written word. I would hope John makes use of such tools going forward and returns JohnKassNews to John Kass.

  8. The collapse of the Christian West has nothing to do with Israel’s measured response to Hamas and the monsters of Isis, Hezbollah and the Houtis, but to the Western Quislings and lapdogs of the Red/Green alliance. Witness secular globalists and the moral collapse universal as features of our own undoing thanks to academics and soulless politicians mewling the arms of a corrupt media.

    “The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.” Old Isaiah called the tune long ago for Christians as well as Jews.

  9. All one needs to do is look at the terror network Iran has in place – internally and externally. All the money generated through revenues from the sale of their only asset, oil, used to build a war machine while their citizens come second. If they had a nuclear weapon, no doubt they would use it.

    I remember 1979, that was the beginning of what Iran and its proxies are today. I have zero empathy for their ruling class and hope the end of their reign of terror is over soon. Yes, the U.S. has some responsibility for the instability in the Middle East, but Iran is the head of the snake.

  10. I agree that western nation/culture building in the Middle East is doomed to fail. If the Middle East countries tried to nation/culture build in the US, our country, how would that initiative be met by us in this forum? Human psychology is the same everywhere even though governments & religions differ.

    Learning from history, the British Empire ran into the same regional quagmires a century or more ago. We, the US, need to do better than they did and that means understanding our long-term strategic priorities with the Middle East and then creating and executing appropriate initiatives. More of the same is neither better nor a strategy for success. If we could deal with the Soviets for a half century via a strategy of detente, we can and need to do better in the Middle East.

  11. John sadly must be more ill than we all know and no longer in control of what’s written here to allow this column into his website. You’ve missed one important fundamental premise in international-human affairs….abject evil does indeed exist in this world and is very very different than “unintended consequences” or collateral damage which sadly happen in all war. Do you not agree that when diplomacy fails to stop evil from being perpetrated on innocents, it must be stopped ? I shudder to think what the world might be like today if the allies didn’t stand up and crush Mr Adolph back in the 40’s…his planned approach to ultimate world control via nuclear weapons was only months away too. Shame on you for leaving this thinking and logic out of your one-sided article. You are correct about two things — war ends in death and destruction, and humans are fallen creatures. War is indeed to be avoided if humanly possible. If I see another article like this in John Kass News, I will cancel my subscription.

    1. This is a site for the free expression of opinion and not an echo chamber.

      Mr. Kass has expressed a thoughtful and carefully articulated argument for Western diplomatic energy. I disagree in part.

      You have presented a jejune and pusillanimous whine worthy of CNN and MSNOW.

      You are a clown. You have presented yourself as such. Depart.

      1. LOL Pat Hickey . . I also disagree with parts of today’s JK News column. But I have no intention of canceling my subscription, which is the best bargain in American journalism.
        People who cancel subscriptions should move to socialist Seattle, where leftwing single-party rule controls all media.

        Fair-weather readers should look at the real danger to Christianity and Judaism.
        The danger comes from intense anti-Semitism, harbored deep inside the Democrat party of Pritzker, Schumer and Schiff.
        We don’t hear Jan Schakowsky or Dan Biss denouncing “Squad” leader Ilhan Omar and neo-nazi Squad wannabees who are the latest rage.
        Party fatcats are silent because Democrats need those street thugs and pro-Hamas gangs to win elections.
        Jew-hating socialists have spread their toxic venom across the USA.

        In left-wing Portland Oregon a 5-story university library was ransacked and vandalized by anti-Israeli mobs who set fire to the rare book section, splattered all five floors with Pro-Gaza graffiti, shattered glass displays and destroyed fire alarms & elevators. Repairs took four months.

        Only 32 of the socialists were arrested. Most had charges dropped. Gang leaders enjoyed sweetheart deals with community service at other anti-Semitic organizations. That’s because Oregon Democrats cherish their neo-nazi voters.

          1. Bruce Kleinman . . . I ignore nothing . I’m fully aware all 5 pretend to be devout Jews while selling Democrat Party influence to Islamic fanatics. Included with the filthy five are Jaime Raskin, Jake Auchincloss, Deb Wasserman Schultz and many other liberal fatcats who sold their soul to the anti-Semitic “Squad”. They care nothing about survival of Israelis. All they want is gigantic federal pensions for loafing around Congress year after year while obstructing Republican efforts to protect Israel. They should be ashamed of their betrayal; but none are capable of shame. They don’t worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They bow down to Iranian oil money, Hamas propaganda and rock-star stooges like Macklemore & Susan Sarandon.

  12. I had to read the column twice, just to make sure I was understanding the writing.
    While I disagree with the overall column, Mr. Kass didn’t delve into the issues of the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement which royally angered the Arabs, the hacked up Balfour declaration, the UN and the western interest in keeping the oil flowing; lets face it the west did a lot of underhanded policies to just keep the oil flowing-Pahlavi Dynasty?? Somehow we expect the Arabs to over look this?

    BUT: The PLO and the rest of Arabs eat their own. Recall Black September-talk about biting the hand that feeds it. Or when Yaser Arafat died and the power struggle in Gaza-how many Palestinians got slaughtered by their own there?

    While Mr. Kass can make the statements he made in the column, it would be wise to temper that position by acknowledging more deeply the savagery the Arab states and their proxies produce in the interest of their respective states. Move over the Stern gang….

  14. Mr. Kass, how many Jews and Christians have been slaughtered by the Arab countries of Lebanon,Egypt, Iran, etc in the mid-20th century? The collapse of judéo-Christianity in the Middle East is in direct proportion to the growth of Islamists and centuries old Jew hatred. Christian’s were thrown out of Egypt with just the clothes on their backs in the 1950’s. Remember what has been said – first we come for the Saturday people, then we come for the Sunday people. Today’s column sounds like it was written by Hamas apologists. I am totally disgusted.

  15. Nick rightly points out the human suffering in the Middle East and the loss of Christian communities. The U.S. has alternated between two main foreign policy doctrines: political realism (which prioritizes stability and state sovreignty) and liberal interventionism (which emphasizes human rights and democracy). Policy makers are deeply divided on whether the structrural stability provided by authoritarian regimes like Saddan Hussein’s outweigh the catastrophic costs of its internal suppression and international aggression. Saddam’s Bathist regime ruthlessly carcked down on militant factions and transnational terror organizations. However, it did so by state sponsored terror and torture which caused the breeding ground for future terorist movemenets like ISIS. The realist view avoids immedicate chaos causing mass migrations, and infrastructure collapse. On the other hand, removing the dictator halts political purges and large scale human rights violations. Would keeping a predictable dictator like Saddam and containing him via sanctions have yielded a more stable outcome ong-term outcome for the Middle East. It is possible.

    1. Dr. Ganske: I would think that political realism regarding Iraq would have meant: Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction; Iraq did not participate in any way in 911, and finally and most importantly Iraq served as an effective committed counter to the prime supporter and exporter of world terrorism: Iran. The fact that political realism lost out to liberal interventionism regarding Iraq has proved disastrous not only for the region but for the world.

      1. I thought the pursuit of Iraq was more along the lines of answering the alleged assassination attempt on one of the Bushes (at least I heard of this accusation – don’t know how true it is).

        The fact that no mass-destruction weapons were found and that Iraq was neutered after invading Kuwait makes the Iraq invasion tragic indeed.

      2. Bruce – I agree with your comments regarding our 2003 Iraq war. When the U.S. instigated that war, we certainly did not adhere to Mr. Hopkins’s stated doctrine from above that “War is indeed to be avoided if humanly possible”. That monumental blunder converted me from a lifelong Republican into an “Independent”. The incalculable misery, destruction, and killing resulting from that unnecessary war was unjustifiable also, in my opinion. Even our clown president Mr. Trump, during a rare moment of insight, in response to a Bill O’Reilly interview question once said “do you think we’re so perfect”.
        Personally, I think the United States is the greatest country that has ever existed. That doesn’t mean we are always right.

  16. Just one question for you Mr. Kass. What Great Powers actions resulted in the Armenian Genocide which started in 1915 and culminated in the ethnic cleansing of the Greek population from Anatolia in 1922?

  18. I find it disconcerting that so many people automatically reject Mr Kass’ observations, simply because they conflict with closely held (and psychologically guarded) beliefs.

    Pray for discernment, people.

    1. What makes you think we aren’t discerning? My problem with Mr. Kass’ take is that he’s blaming the actions of western governments for the mess the Middle East is in. In doing so, he completely absolves Islam of all responsibility for the mess, when it’s been Islam that’s made the Middle East a mess ever since 633 AD.

    1. That’s the question no critic of Israel ever wants to answer. It would be helpful, at least for me, if a critic would say “Israel should have responded like country X when Y occurred”. I don’t hear, for example:

      “Israel should have setup up re-education camps for all Gazans like China did after some Uyghur protest became violent”

    1. Praying for John Kass 🙏 always. He needs time to get better, and we should all be patient and supportive. As I know we are. He has his family, doctors, nurses, and therapists encouraging him during this rough journey. Perhaps someone will post an update on John’s progress, hopefully. O Theos Mazi Sou, agapiti mas filos Yianni ❤️🙏

  21. Kass is not an objective analyst. He has drunk the Islamist Kool Aid. Unspeakable violence is what Palestinians committed on Oct 7. Israel is doing what any other country would do with a neighbor sworn to destroy it. And by the way, the term “Zionist” Israelis is redundant. The Islamist propagandists have for years used it as a slur. It’s a simple term to describe the return of Jews to Zion, their historic homeland.

  22. While I agree with Nick Kass that the war in Iraq was foolish, the rest of his column is wrong. “Unspeakable violence” isn’t being committed by the Israelis, it is being committed by Hamas on their own citizens. They are cannon fodder for the TV screens of gullible Westerners.

    Iran, without question, was getting close to nukes. They made no secret of that. If you think the world is dangerous today, a nuclear Iran would bring the world 10 minutes to midnight. Iran isn’t like North Korea, pursuing nukes only for self-defense. Read what the mullahs have written.

    I respect Nick Kass’s experience. But he has been overcome with Stockholm syndrome.

    But thank you for the different point of view. Debate and discourse such as this is not tolerated on the Left.

  23. Ivy, where is the part where Hamas continues to keep the destruction of the Zionist (Jews) in it’s charter? Israel has tried and tried again to make peace with the Palestinians here only to face Yassir Arafat’s rejections in the past or more recently the unapologetic attempt at Jewish genocide on 10/7/23. I agree with the other responses here that the vaunted Nicholas Kass is little better than the unapologetic antisemite Tucker Carlson.

  24. I’m thinking of the Steve Huntley piece “A Little Islamophobia is a good thing” from a few months back. It would be nice to see his counterpoint to this column.

  25. As to Gaza, the aggressors don’t get to dictate the outcome. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. Three and one half years later, the US dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, ending the war. On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, torturing and killing over 1200 Israelis. Israel responded with military operations in Gaza intended to root out Hamas from its refuges among the civilian population. As with Japan, Hamas struck a match that resulted in death and devastation for itself and its people.
    That is the way of the world.

    1. Agreed. If I understand correctly Mr. Kass’ logic regarding “measured” response to aggression, the US should have responded to Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack by an equal measured destruction of a Japanese military naval base … no more and no less. Likewise the Allies in Europe should not have obliterated German cities such as Dresden. Somehow, that was never going to happen, then or now.

  27. Waging symetrical war with a culture of death-worshiping suicidal combatants is a non-starter. Mutually Assured Destruction deters rational actors only. If one nuclear warhead-armed ICBM destroys NYC, leading to the annihilation of Iran, it is no more than the fact of its 92 million citizens having been unwitting riders of a kamikaze for the 21st Century.
    If we can save ourselves, we save them also.

  30. Fact, when the US helped liberate Mosul Iraq from ISIS, approximately 9,000-10,000 civilians were killed. Why, because there was almost no news about it. Just like Bashar al-Assad killing hundreds of thousands of his own people. How bout the killings and refugee problems in Yemen and Sudan? Not much media. After October 7th, what was Israel expected to do, write Hamas a nasty letter? The fact that Hamas built an intricate tunnel system hundreds of miles long with aid money that could have been used for humanitarian causes, the fact that they use schools, mosques and hospitals as staging grounds seems to be lost on John’s brother. These methods compound civilian casualties. Also lost is that Hamas’ top leadership were living luxurious lives in Qatar, far from Gaza. Don’t forget Ariel Sharon handed control of Gaza back in 2005 and all Israel got for it was missiles and terrorist attacks. Prior to 1967, neither Gaza nor the West Bank were “occupied” or controlled by Israel. They were controlled by Egypt and Jordan. Like Tolstoy said, “history would be a wonderful thing, if it were only true.”

  31. I guess I ran out of words so I made a revision that made no sense. After citing the civilian death count in Mosul, it should have said, “there was almost no news about it”, not “Why”. I guess I can’t edit the post otherwise.

  32. This article is certainly not what we expect to see in this forum. It is, however, a perfect example of the first amendment in action. I certainly don’t agree with what was said but I will defend his right to say it. Those of us who bluster and threaten to cancel their subscription might want to reflect on their true belief in that amendment and perhaps their commitment to the constitution and all that America stands for.

    All ideas and opinions should see the light of day. Let each of us consider them and judge them on their merit. It’s not supposed to be the right that suppresses ideas; that’s the job of the left.

    1. I disagree. This is in no way a constitutional issue. The First amendment prohibits the federal government – and not private entities – from “abridging” one’s freedom of speech. And the 14th incorporates that restriction to state, and local governments as well. To emphasize: The First does not apply to private entities. And this site is clearly a private non governmental entity. The fact that some subscribers of JKNews may find Mr. Nicholas Kass’ column abhorrent and therefore decide to leave the site is in no way shape or form denying Mr. Nicholas Kass his First amendment rights in any conceivable way. Mr. Kass is perfectly free to publish his thoughts without fear or favor of governmental retaliation. Those threatening to leave JKNews are merely exercising consumer choice. They are in fact exercising their subscriber rights granted to them by a free market.

      1. Bruce- I agree it’s not a first amendment issue. It’s a character issue. And cancelling one’s subscription only to avoid dissenting opinions is a character flaw, in my opinion.

  33. I do hope Mr Kass offers a reply to these rebuttals in a manner that adds clarity to his position, as it seems that a single phrase has clouded the substance of his argument. in my decades of reading John Kass I do not recall a more explosive reaction from his following. That, alone, merits further dialogue.

  35. Nick, my hypothesis is the Iraq conflict was perpetrated by Oil interests and George W. Bush.
    Oil was $15 per barrel and afterward it spiked to $150 per barrel.

  36. Diplomacy? Diplomacy? How do diplomats talk to a regime that has lied, sponsored terror, killed thousands of its own people and has NEVER lived up to any promise for decades. Diplomacy is a cop out word for those that love to talk but get zero results.

  37. Excellent column by Nicholas Kass. We should ask why John Kass subscribers are reading his work on a website instead of the Chicago newspaper where he devoted decades of loyalty.
    It’s because greedy leftwing media moguls became obsessed with censoring mainstream journalists. Especially John Kass.

    That unhealthy fetish with silencing patriotism began in Barack’s second term, while his intelligence officers were scheming to award billions of impounded dollars to Iran’s terrorist empire.

    Cancel culture hysteria ran amuck while Obama’s intelligence agencies plotted sabotage of the 2016 election. While Barack’s family was cozying up to Kim Foxx, devious Pritzker and other Soros stooges.
    Their abuse of power continued under effeminate Biden.
    If we look at the misfits and ingrates Barack Obama elevated into power, we see a pandemic of anti-American hatemongers. Their ringleaders were John Brennan, James Comey, Peter Strzok and James Clapper.

    The mass neuroses that strangled free speech during Obama’s reign was comparable to Woodrow Wilson’s fixation on total censorship during WWI. It was a horrendous disgrace.
    I’m glad Nicholas Spyridon Kass protected our civil liberties at the National Intelligence Council. We need more patriots like him in federal government, and far fewer Obama activists.

  38. Sorry, Nick…… this war was not instigated by the US! These POS have been at war with the U.S. for 47 years and it was about time we A)recognized that, and B) destroyed them.

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