When Republics Forget Themselves: The Fall of Keir Starmer and the Hollowing of Western Governance

Here’s something the foreign policy establishment will never say out loud: they don’t actually want peace with Iran.

Wednesday, President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran. The entire foreign policy establishment exhaled. “Historic.” “Diplomatic breakthrough.” “A new era.” The words came pouring out of the same people who’ve been wrong about the Middle East for 30 straight years.

On the morning of June 19, 2026 — Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the final emancipation of enslaved Americans at the close of the Civil War — the Obama Presidential Center opened its doors on Chicago’s South Side. The ceremony featured land acknowledgments, celebrity guests, former heads of state, and at least one prominent governor who reportedly “literally teared up” during his private tour. The monument cost $850 million to complete.