Chris Hedges joins The World This Week to examine the prospects of a deal to end the war on Iran and to remake the Middle East. Tonight, Saturday 8 pm EDT.
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have lost their unprovoked war of aggression against Iran.
Trump listened to Netanyahu when all of his principal national security advisers told him not to go to war.
Iran then pounded U.S. military bases, U.S.-allied Gulf Arab monarchies and the state of Israel, while absorbing U.S. and Israeli attacks. Most importantly, Iran holds sway over the world economy by controlling the Strait of Hormuz.
Needing a way out of the disaster he has created, Trump desperately sought a ceasefire with Iran in between threatening genocide against it. Holding almost all of the cards, Iran eventually agreed to sit down and talk with Pakistan as mediator.
But Netanyahu, having led Trump into this disaster, wants to keep going to regime change or destruction of Iran. He declared the war was not over and continued bombing Lebanon even though the U.S. agreed initially with Pakistan that the truce included Lebanon. Trump then lied and said Lebanon was not included in the deal.
Iran demands he tell Netanyahu to stop bombing Lebanon otherwise the talks will end. Iran says if Trump can’t get Netanyahu to stop it will prove who controls whom.
Guest: Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was a New York Times Middle East bureau chief.
Interviewer: Joe Lauria. Producer: Cathy Vogan.
An alternative title to
“The World This Week – ‘Will the War End?’”
could be
“The War This Week – ‘Will the World End?’”
The risk of the nuclear Samson option by Israel with subsequent uncontrolled global escalation (entirely possible Iran now has 10 nuclear warheads) remains.
Whatever the case, the world as we knew it has ended, unipolar hegemony has ended and in its 250th year, the US Empire’s stranglehold on the world has ended.
“Will the War End?’ No doubt *“the answers & questions will be all you find” @ “The World This Week,” Keep an Open mind, “If, you’re gonna blow-up a bridge, you better know how to swim.”
…. “What happens when the government does things to which the governed have never consented?” Judge Andrew Napolitano. IMO, the “Gov”ernment, like a rabid dog, is, 1) Neutered. Along with the “Gov’s” ‘associated structures’, policies, per$onnel, i.e., a Special Envoy, a Bd of Executioners, & a WH of Voodoo, “of, by & for” the POTUS. Specifically, #47, who declared he would deliver “Peace Through Strength;” 2) Obviously, the “Gov’s” Cornered. Trump’n peace.! ‘Running scared w/all his devils. Saying prayers all through the night; But, mercy cannot find him. Not in the shadows where he [Tweets]. Forsaking all his better angels. That’s how every empire falls” John Prine
…. “What happens if you tell the government to take a hike?” Judge Andrew Napolitano. Considering, imo, “You” are the GCC countries. Obviously, the “Gov” is the USG/Israel; &, the ask is: “Repent!” “Come, Clean,” “We, the GCC, Hold all the Cards, *“ Yankee Go Home’…“Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these sunken eyes & learn to see. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free.” …
…. Take, Two, *2) “Where did that money go? “You” [DJTrump] “placed GCC countries at the heart of danger they didn’t choose. Your “Board of Peace” initiatives were funded by Gulf states. Now we’re getting attacked. Where did that money go? You promised no wars. You’ve conducted operations in 7 countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, Venezuela. 658 airstrikes in your first year back = Biden’s entire term (which you criticized). War costs $40-65 billion for operations, possibly $210 billion total. Your approval rating’s down 9% in 400 days. Americans were promised peace. They’re getting war funded by their taxes.” Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, 3.7.26.
….* “#2 hurts even worse than that. Most of those Gulf Sheiks paid their money to help build the bases that are now getting them bombed. [MAYBE] they should go share a drink with the Kurds and have a little [CHAT] about the [WISDOM OF DOING DEALS] with the Yankee? [THEY] might even, [BETWEEN THEM] , come up with the phrase ‘Yankee Go Home’, but I’m not sure if they are as advanced as the Cubans. Richer yes, but that’s from making deals with the Yankee.” Blackbird @ “COMMENTS” @ hxxps://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/07/watch-the-world-this-week-w-ray-mcgovern-2/
No doubt, Trump-Vance, Inc./Israel, like the 1968 American psychological horror film, written & directed by Roman Polanski, are rock’n a “satanic culture w/sinister intentions,” universally, for plant, animal & human life. No One Is Safe!
……. “ The Emperor Has No Soul” – Mr. Fish @ hxxps://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/30/chris-hedges-trump-has-no-soul/
Unfortunately there is another way to look at this. US selling fossil fuels to Europe, Euro industries moving away, some to US. US and proxies hitting Russian pipelines and refineries, seizing Vnezuelan oil, setting up bizarro Board of peace to divide spoils in Gaza and seize Gaza marine oil. All to cut off non petrodolllar oil to China, weaken China’s allies and restore petrodollar hegemony. Even the destruction of GCC countries makes US Oil more expensive. This is just the start of global war.
The real question is whether Russia and China will begin military countermeasures, and whether US voters will end Israeli Chevron Epstein Citibank Blackrock etc.control of their country. Because while the wars to retain petrodollar hegemony are great for certain elites, they are nothing but pain for the majority.
The entire world is addicted to oil and the large powers are addicted to war. That oil addiction has caused the 6th mass extinction threatening the resilience of biodiversity. It also threatens the supply of fresh water, has produced unprecedented storm and fire devastation, acidified oceans, caused sea-water rise, food loss, and threatens loss of human life on a mass scale.
What individuals and institutions are in control of these events? If the answers are that we don’t know, that there are no identifiable sources of control or that the illusion of control resides among competing cabals of sociopaths, then there is no predicting of any detailed future, only that political and economic entropy will prevail; that existing systems that sustain the distribution of goods and services (the plethora of human needs) will variously collapse before being reordered into new forms with the consequential suffering.
I think we give too much ‘credit’ to the madmen of this moment for bringing about these dangers; humanity has long ceased to live in sufficient connection with both biophysical reality and the social/economic realities created by our numbers and technological powers.
It is often posited that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome”, but that is really a rhetorical flourish. A more meaningful definition of insanity is “consistently believing and acting without connection to the Realities fundamental to one’s existence”. By this definition humanity has long been, and increasingly becoming, in pathological relationship with ourselves and sustaining environment. Political, economic and social perturbations of magnitude become inevitable.
There may not be much that we can do about this, but understanding would be a first step.
Yes to this brief and exact evaluation. This global war over oil cannot be “resolved” until we recognized that our civilizational addiction to fossil fuels is destroying the health and long term viability of the ecological balance on which most life, and most human communities depend. Even the best possible transition has been made extremely painful by this reality denying addiction, and no transition is even being proposed by those with power . That cheap energy and predatory colonialist addiction has also fostered the sociopathic insanity to which James refers and has increased the likelihood of nuclear war. ( Insane people cannot be trusted with such weapons)
Neither the BRICS based alliances nor the Anglo Israeli Germanic alliances are facing this core problem. There are no carbon neutral models of community being tested toward a viable future apart from a handful of communes and religious communities.
Your reflection speaks to something many people feel but struggle to name. We keep looking for clear “controllers” of world events, but as you point out, the deeper issue is that humanity has been living out of alignment with the real conditions that sustain life—both inner and outer—for a very long time. The chaos we’re seeing now isn’t only the result of a few reckless leaders; it’s the outcome of a collective disconnection that has been building for generations.
What you wrote about insanity—acting without connection to the realities that support our existence—feels especially true. So much of our political, economic, and social behaviour has drifted far from any grounded sense of interdependence, responsibility, or shared wellbeing. When that disconnection becomes the norm, breakdowns are inevitable.
I appreciate the clarity of your insight. And I agree that understanding is the first step. Not understanding in the sense of analysing every political move, but a deeper kind of awareness: recognising that the world cannot keep functioning on the same assumptions, the same habits of mind, the same reactive patterns. Something in our collective awareness has to shift.
We may not be able to control the larger forces at play, but we can begin to see more clearly. We can choose to stay awake, to stay connected to what is real, and to meet this moment with a steadier, more conscious presence. That kind of awareness doesn’t fix everything overnight, but it does change the field we’re all living in—and it’s the ground from which any genuine renewal can grow.
Thank you so very much for such a considered reply (and Joseph as well).
Daily Mail reports US Naval Destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Provocation for disaster like when unsuccessrully provoking North Vietnam led to lying anyway in 1964 election year strategic events.
There are various reports that one US destroyer was ordered away from the Hormuz Strait passage by Iran and that it complied. The US media reports are vague on whether the alleged US ships were entering or leaving the Strait and what they were doing there.
Curtain raiser
The Ongoing Fallout of the Epstein Affect!
“I can assure you he [Noam Chomsky] is not as passive or gullible as his wife claims. He knew about Epstein’s abuse of children. They all knew. And like others in the Epstein orbit, he did not care…… His association with Epstein is a terrible and, to many, unforgivable stain. It irreparably tarnishes his legacy.”
— Chris Hedges, “Noam Chomsky, Jeffrey Epstein and the Politics of Betrayal,” February 8, 2026 (cited by Bruce E. Levine in Counterpunch article, April, 10 2026: Malcolm X, Noam Chomsky, Sexual Predator Associations and Legacy Twists).
What does Chris Hedges have to say about all of US who have known for many a year about Trumps association with Epstein, yet have been unable to do anything – let alone being heard, about it? Are we all, “the many”, in reality, uncaring?
Donald Trump is the days standout con artist exemplar of demagogue. He “who misleads through passion rather than logic”.
Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.
“Experience is a better guide to this than deductive logic”
Deductive logic is a top-down reasoning method that draws specific, guaranteed conclusions from general premises or established truths. If the starting premises are true and the logical structure is valid, the conclusion must inevitably be true, commonly moving from universal rules to specific applications.
Strict principles of validity mean that a deductive argument is structured such that if its premises are true, the conclusion must be true. It ensures that the conclusion follows logically from the premises without contradiction, emphasizing structural soundness rather than the truth of the claims themselves.
Re: DT. “From his own mind’s assessment” refers to a judgment, evaluation, or conclusion that is derived entirely from personal, internal, and subjective evaluation of situations, rather than relying on external, objective, or others’ viewpoints. According to this definition, his logic is flawless.
Basic logic is the systematic study of correct reasoning, focusing on how to structure arguments to ensure conclusions follow validly from premises. It distinguishes sound thinking from faulty reasoning, acting as a tool for clear, rational analysis rather than an observation-based science.
Does insanity prevent a person from basic reasoning and logical thinking?
Yes, legal insanity can prevent a person from basic reasoning, specifically the ability to understand the nature of their actions or to distinguish right from wrong due to a mental disease. It acts as a “defect of reason,” where a person cannot appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct, often involving cognitive impairment, such as inability to perceive reality or control behavior.
Does malignant narcissism interfere with a person’s ability to understand the nature of their actions or to distinguish right from wrong due to mental disease?
Malignant narcissism generally does not prevent a person from distinguishing right from wrong. Instead, it involves a calculated disregard for moral norms, where the individual understands the harmful nature of their actions but chooses to engage in them, often feeling superior to rules and showing no remorse.
Re: DT. What will the basis be for removing him from office by applying the argument, based in the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; Section 4 (Involuntary Transfer): It authorizes the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the President incapacitated and to transfer power, which Congress must resolve, if the President contests the action.
Donald Trump IS a Malignant Narcissist! But, is the man Insane?
Yes, his behavior is demented, his political actions are wild and irrational. The irrational lies in his misattributed anger. distress, and excitable character.
“Misattributed anger is the cognitive error of wrongly identifying the cause of one’s frustration (on this occasion it is Iran), or the psychological act of directing anger toward a safer, unintended target (all of us others’) rather than the true source (not recognizing his own learned psychopathy). It often involves blaming someone for a problem they did not cause, frequently resulting in displaced aggression or arguments.”
Learned psychopathy refers to the development of psychopathic behaviors—such as callousness, manipulation, and lack of empathy—predominantly through environmental factors (nurturance as one component), trauma, or social conditioning rather than primarily genetic or neurological causes. While not a formal diagnosis, it is often associated with secondary psychopathy, showing more impulsivity, anxiety, and antisocial behavior resulting from childhood abuse or unstable environments. PubMed Central (PMC) (.gov) +4
So, by this reasoning the man is definitely “a demented, dangerous, and sadistic Mafioso”
However, Dementia is an umbrella term for a progressive decline in cognitive function—including memory, thinking, behavior, and language—caused by damaged brain cells, rather than a single specific disease. It is not a normal part of aging, but rather a syndrome, often irreversible, that interferes with daily life and activities (Alzheimer’s Association +3), and therefore, Donald Trump’s performances are a whole other kettle of fish, until proven beyond reasons of doubt.
Note:
The formal assessments are thanks to AI collected & collated data details.
I’m not a fan of AI compiled “analysis.” Life and time are too short to read everything, especially long lists of psychology definitions intended to “prove” that Trump is mad and bad. So what?
Deductive logic is a top-down reasoning method….
Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity….
Basic logic is the systematic study of correct reasoning….
Legal insanity can prevent a person from basic reasoning…
Learned psychopathy refers to the development of psychopathic behaviours…
Dementia is an umbrella term for a progressive decline in cognitive function….
There are plenty of quality articles out there detailing the moral and mental bankruptcy of Donald Trump and the dysfunction of US politics where such a pathological personality can hijack a nation. They try to point the way to possible remedies. Your comment lacks this feature.
Please refrain from compiled AI lists of basic definitions which are generally available elsewhere.
Well then, supercilious you, being on top of everything, go elsewhere!