Opinion Today: This is modern warfare
Here’s what we’re focusing on.
Opinion Today
April 7, 2026
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Notable

Iran has shown us what modern war looks like. “We urgently need a more affordable, more comprehensive approach to countering the drone threat.”

— Lloyd J. Austin III, the secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025

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JD Vance, the joke is on you. “The interesting thing is not that he keeps debasing himself but that he gets less and less in return each time. As his political fortunes dim, his soul has become a depreciating asset.”

— Dana Milbank, a columnist at the news site NOTUS

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Israel’s new death penalty law is a warning. “This legislation is both unconstitutional and discriminatory. Beyond its fundamental immorality, the law is part of a larger, accelerating effort to systematically end once and for all the possibility of a Palestinian state.”

— Talia Sasson, a former senior official in Israel’s State Attorney’s Office

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Spotlight

The New York Times

Insurers Care About Your Health. Agree or Disagree?

We put a doctor and a former insurance executive in a room.

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ICYMI

San Francisco sobers up. “Democratic rule, particularly at the local level, has been marked by a rise in public disorder not just in San Francisco but also in progressive bastions nationwide.”

— German Lopez, an Opinion writer

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More in Opinion

A black-and-white photo of President Trump, speaking to unseen reporters.

Guest Essay

Trump Hasn’t Given Up on His ‘Unrequited Love’ for Putin

The president’s deference to authoritarian leaders has profoundly corrupted American foreign policy.

By Thomas B. Edsall

An illustration of a man speaking at a microphone while another man stands behind him holding a piece a piece of paper and not speaking.

Guest Essay

No Shy Person Left Behind

American democracy has a personality problem.

By Hélène Landemore

An illustration shows a man on a jet ski splashing water on the Statue of Liberty, who is frowning.

Guest Essay

I’ve Covered Women in the Workplace for 15 Years. Something Alarming Is Happening.

As women are erased from the narrative, injustices against them go unnoticed.

By Joanne Lipman

President Trump at a lectern in the White House in front of a bright red carpet.

letters

‘Stop This Madness’: Time to Rein In Trump’s Reckless Conduct

Readers react to President Trump’s increasingly bellicose rhetoric. Also: Two moon missions, 58 years apart.

A photo illustration featuring hands framing a U.S. dollar bill against a darkening blue sky.

Guest Essay

This Is Starting to Look Like a Slow-Motion Bank Run

The cockroaches are starting to emerge.

By Natasha Sarin

In Your Words

Re: “I’ve Covered Women in the Workplace for 15 Years. Something Alarming Is Happening.

Only the rich could be this tone deaf. No working-class family would ever countenance removing a breadwinner from the work pool. — A comment by Garcalej from Tallahassee, Fla.

Read more comments on the story here and check out our Letters to the Editor.

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