The Cosmopolitics Edit: the Iran war edition
Also: The truth about the military parade, more countries on the US travel ban, and Canada gets ready for Trump
Welcome to the Cosmopolitics Edit. Each week, I’ll provide my paid subscribers with my takes on the biggest stories, along with a curation of stories that I found interesting and suggestions on some lighter weekend fare to enjoy.
Please consider supporting me by becoming a paid subscriber and let me know what you think in the comments below or send me a DM. Suggestions on topics, issues and format welcome!
Less Pyongyang, more country fair
Our friend and fellow Cosmopolitan David Gallinsky asked in our chat, "Why can't everyone simply celebrate Flag Day or the Army's 250th birthday? It doesn't have to be all about Trump no matter how much he wants it to be."
And he was right. The great military parade panic of 2025 turned out to be much ado about nothing—or at least much ado about Lockheed Martin sponsorship announcements and free energy drinks. Hard to feel intimidated by a regime hat stops mid-parade to thank Coinbase.
Critics spent weeks warning that Trump's Army 250th anniversary parade would bring Pyongyang-style authoritarianism to Constitution Avenue. Instead, Washington got something closer to a county fair or July 4 celebration with tanks. Between the corporate sponsors thanking the crowd, pretzel vendors working the sparse audience, and Lee Greenwood crooning "God Bless the U.S.A.", the whole affair felt more patriotic kitsch than threatening.
Trump's rare display of self-restraint helped. He kept his remarks focused on the Army's history rather than his usual grievances, and the troops waved cheerfully from their Abrams tanks instead of goose-stepping menacingly. This was a nice celebration of the military, exactly what it was supposed to be. And honestly, I'm a sucker for a flyover.
The real revelation wasn't that Trump staged a military parade—it's that even his authoritarian impulses get filtered through America's irrepressible commercialism. Sometimes the banality of American spectacle is its own form of protection.
Where the Israel-Iran war goes from here
The most telling moment of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran wasn't the missiles flying over Tel Aviv or the nuclear scientists dying in Tehran—it was Donald Trump vetoing Netanyahu's plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader.
Trump's rejection of the Khamenei assassination plot wasn't squeamishness—it was strategic calculation. He understands what Netanyahu apparently doesn't: killing Iran's supreme leader wouldn't end this conflict, it would unleash something far worse.
No, this won’t be a Wizard of Oz situation, where the Iranian regime and people join hands and sing “Ding dong the witch is dead.” A leaderless Iran facing regime collapse doesn't become more reasonable—it becomes more dangerous, potentially racing toward a nuclear weapon with nothing left to lose, or maybe even worse—a political vacuum with potential ISIS stronghold.
That is why that single decision by Trump revealed everything about where this war is heading:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Cosmopolitics by Elise Labott to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.