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When wars end, most people ask a simple question: Who won? But the real question is: Who emerged stronger? The recent conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran offers a powerful reminder that military success and strategic success are not always the same thing. History is filled with examples where battlefield victories failed to produce the political outcomes for which wars were fought. From a military perspective, the United States and Israel achieved impressive results. Iranian nuclear facilities were damaged. Senior leaders and commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were eliminated. Critical military infrastructure was degraded. Iran's ability to project power suffered a significant setback. Measured in tactical terms, these were clear successes. But wars are not fought for tactical victories alone. As Carl von Clausewitz famously observed, war is a continuation of politics by other means. Military operations are instruments designed to achieve political objectives. The real question, therefore, is whether those political objectives were achieved and did th

8h agoBy Chun In-bum

Tribune Service

Democrats losing media mouthpieces to carry their water

Desperate Democrats are rapidly losing their media mouthpieces at a time when they need them more than ever to carry their water and disdain for President Donald Trump. Their once formidable left wing media army – led by CNN, the Washington Post and 60 Minutes – is dwindling to just a ragtag few that have forfeited their power, influence, ratings and readership. The left wing media mob that Democrats could always count on for a quick Trump hit job, social media meme or well timed joke once featured a powerful lineup including MSNBC, CBS, public radio and Stephen Colbert. But they have all succumbed to a combination of financial pressures, demographic changes and political realities. It’s panic time over at the DNC, which was counting on their mainstream media sycophants to beat the negative Trump drumbeat to victory in the midterms and 2028 election. But the reality is with all the changes to the mainstream media, that Trump negative drumbeat is getting fainter and fainter. Just in the last few years, an earthquake has decimated the media landscape, and here are the latest examples:

1d agoBy Joe Battenfeld

Guest Columns

How to conserve tropical forests

STANFORD — Six months after last year’s United Nations Climate Conference (COP30), the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) has gone from being a headline-grabbing promise to a test of whether climate finance can survive contact with markets, politics, and time. The TFFF’s purpose—conserving tropical forests—is of paramount importance. Tropical deforestation and land-use changes have contributed to nearly one-fifth of the world’s cumulative carbon dioxide emissions since 1850. Tropical forests are also among the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems and home to many Indigenous Peoples and local communities. But tropical countries face opportunity costs when conserving forests, so it falls on northern countries to compensate them for conservation efforts that benefit everyone. Such was the reasoning behind the Brazilian COP presidency’s TFFF proposal. Within the TFFF is a Tropical Forest Investment Fund (TFIF) that seeks to raise $125 billion, part of which will be invested in emerging and developing economies. The hope is that, with sponsor capital, guarantees, and a hig

1d agoBy Bård Harstad

Guest Columns

After K-food’s global success, a question about health

For many Koreans, the global success of Korean food is more than a business story. It is emotional. It carries memories of home, family, school snacks, street markets, late-night meals and, in many cases, a quiet sense of pride that Korean culture has finally become familiar to people far beyond the peninsula. I still remember how Korean food was first introduced to many international viewers through "Dae Jang Geum," also known as "Jewel in the Palace." In that drama, food was not presented simply. It demonstrated care, discipline, seasonality and devotion. The kitchen was not just a place for cooking. It was a space where knowledge, patience and affection were expressed through ingredients. Since then, the global image of Korean food has changed dramatically. In the 2010s, mukbang videos brought Korean eating culture into the digital world. Later, Korean fried chicken, instant noodles, tteokbokki, bibimbap and kimchi have become familiar to people across the world. Today, it is no longer surprising to see international consumers themselves trying extra-spicy Korean instant noodles or

1d agoBy Shin Go-eun

After K-food’s global success, a question about health

Guest Columns

Korea should strengthen defense ties with Southeast Asia

The international order is undergoing rapid transformation. As the U.S.-led unipolar system gradually weakens and China's military and economic influence continues to expand, the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a focal point for global security. Security tensions surrounding the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait are steadily increasing, prompting regional countries to seek new frameworks of cooperation to safeguard their national interests and security. Under these circumstances, Korea can no longer remain merely a beneficiary of security provided by the U.S. It must expand its role as an active participant and contributor to regional security cooperation. At the heart of this effort lies defense diplomacy. Defense diplomacy is far more than the sale of weapons. It is a comprehensive diplomatic instrument encompassing military cooperation, education and training, technology sharing, industrial collaboration, and the cultivation of strategic trust. Major defence-exporting nations such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have long used arms exports and military co

1d agoBy Moon Keun-sik

Korea should strengthen defense ties with Southeast Asia

Desk Columns

Korea's long wait for equality law

June is Pride Month and in much of the developed world, the rainbow flag is hard to miss — draped across public buildings as well as corporate storefronts. In Korea, it is harder to find. Beyond the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and its parade, the rainbows symbolizing the LGBTQ+ community are largely absent. Even Korean companies that create Pride campaigns for their overseas markets tend to stay quiet at home, wary of the backlash that such public support can invite. That reticence reflects a deeper gap. Korea remains one of only two OECD members, alongside Japan, without a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. Rep. Son Sol of the Progressive Party introduced a bill in January, followed by Rep. Chung Choon-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party in February. Gender Equality Minister Won Min-kyong also pledged her support. Yet the law remains unrealized, deferred once again on the familiar grounds that society has not reached a consensus. The comparison with Korea's neighbors makes the lag sharper. Japan, the other OECD holdout, has no national equality statute either, but municipal par

2d agoBy Kwon Mee-yoo

Tribune Service

The farm crisis demands certainty from congress now

Something is breaking in farm country, and the warning signs are growing harder to ignore. The clearest indicator arrived this spring, when farm bankruptcies reached their highest level in six years. For many Americans, it was just another sad statistic. In rural communities, it was something far more ominous. Risk and uncertainty have always been involved in farming. Weak prices, bad weather and rising costs come with the territory, and farmers can weather those setbacks. What makes this moment different is that several challenges, both old and new, are hitting at once, resulting in a squeeze that leaves few paths to recover when something goes wrong. The current predicament has been years in the making. During COVID, commodity prices surged. But when the pandemic boom ended, so did the gains. Today, prices for major crops are down as much as 40% from their recent highs. At the same time, President Donald Trump’s tariff battles — especially with China, Canada and Mexico — continue to upend key export markets, shrinking the number of buyers for American crops. Some problems are new

2d agoBy Adam Minter

Guest Columns

Bosnia must stand on its own

STOCKHOLM — Bosnia needs a political reboot. More than three decades after the Dayton Accords ended the devastating 1992-95 war, it is high time that the country bear full responsibility for its own future. As part of the 1995 settlement, an international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina was established to help coordinate and implement all the civilian and political provisions of the peace agreement. A massive NATO force would remain responsible for separating the military forces, but it was agreed that an independent political office was needed to bring the country back together. That task fell initially to me as the first in a series of high representatives. My immediate priority was to set up the office and get the country’s institutions working, as outlined in the new constitution that had been agreed in Dayton. So, that is what I did. But the high representative was never supposed to be a permanent institution with powers to intervene directly in the country’s governance. Had any participant in the Dayton talks dared to propose such a thing, the idea would have

2d agoBy Carl Bildt

Guest Columns

Trump’s gesture, Pyongyang’s calculations

As a ceasefire memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war came within reach, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a striking photograph on his social media channel. It showed Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walking side by side during their 2018 Singapore summit. There was no caption, yet the message seemed clear: After Iran, North Korea may be Trump’s next diplomatic agenda. Trump has reasons to revive the North Korean issue. With U.S. midterm elections only four months away, the political outlook for Republicans is uncertain. The prolonged war with Iran has pushed up oil prices, fueled inflation and weakened public support for Trump. If he seeks a dramatic event to shift public attention, few options rival another summit with Kim. Trump has also long sought to portray himself as a peacemaker. Few issues fit that image better than North Korea’s nuclear program. The Nobel Peace Prize may remain an unfulfilled ambition. Trump has repeatedly signaled his willingness to meet Kim again. He did so during last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Korea

2d agoBy Ma Young-sam

Trump’s gesture, Pyongyang’s calculations

Tribune Service

Kevin Warsh can’t succeed without help from the White House

Kevin Warsh faces a truly daunting task. The new chairman of the Federal Reserve must avoid provoking a president he had to charm to get the job. He needs to repair relations with the Fed’s other policymakers, many of whom he recently criticized — not least, former Chair Jerome Powell, who remains on the central bank’s board for now. While contending with all that, he must also affirm the Fed’s commitment to get inflation back down to 2%. After his first meeting as leader of the Fed’s policymaking committee, Warsh left no doubt that he means to make a difference. But rising to these challenges — while achieving steady growth and stable prices — will require allies on the Federal Open Market Committee and room for maneuver from the White House. With luck, the president will see that an independent Fed is in his own interests, too. The most recent reading on inflation hasn’t helped. Tariffs and high energy costs thanks to the conflict with Iran have pushed consumer price inflation back above 4%. The annual rate has now been running at more than the 2% target for more than

Jun 23, 2026

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Uncomfortable lessons of Iran war