Peter Schwartz

Distinguished Fellow/retired Chairman @AynRandInst. Author THE TYRANNY OF NEED and LIBERTARIANISM: The Perversion of Liberty

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

When fighting a proper war—a war to repel a threat to America's freedom—our soldiers are engaged in an act not of self-sacrifice but of self-interest. Memorial Day should commemorate, and praise, those who died acting to defend their own freedom.
https://t.co/FvWU6Upn19

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

Earth Day is a good occasion to challenge the ideology of environmentalism. Its goal is not to enhance human life, but to keep nature unaltered. It believes that nature must be protected not FOR man but FROM man. See "The Earth-Day Deception":
https://t.co/iqGEtExKlk

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

The international "rules of war," which do not differentiate between the aggressor and the retaliator, are a perversion of morality. The innocents in this war are the Americans--both civilians and soldiers--who must be protected from the Iranian threat.
https://t.co/XuhDmCvNEi

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

For interesting analyses of today’s issues – from “Religion vs Rights“ to “The ICE Juggernaut” to “The Goal of Our War Against Iran” – visit my Substack:
https://t.co/FKtT88w1RT

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

The goal of our war against Iran is to remove the threat Iran poses to us, which won't be achieved merely by eliminating its nuclear capabilities. What must be destroyed is the jihadist ideology of its leaders--which can be done without ground troops.
https://t.co/Z4h3lqra9x

[Elan Journo @elanjourno]

Confronting the Iranian regime is way overdue. How we got here, briefly.

Across decades, U.S. appeasement encouraged Iran's Islamic totalitarian regime.

It should have been prime target after 9/11.

1/ The 9/11 Commission reviewed 2.5M pages, interviewed 1,000+ officials — and still missed the fundamental question: who is the enemy?

2/ The answer: Islamic totalitarianism — a movement seeking global rule under sharia, with the Islamic Republic of Iran chief backer, financier, and model.

3/ CARTER (1979): Iranian militants storm the U.S. embassy. Guards are ordered not to fire — to avoid angering the mob. 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, subjected to mock executions and psychological torture.

4/ Carter's response: recruit the PLO as a go-between, offer diplomatic "carrots," rule out military force. The final deal gave Iran $7B in unfrozen funds and zero accountability. Khomeini's lesson: "America cannot do a damn thing."

5/ REAGAN (1983): Iran-backed Hezbollah bombs the U.S. Embassy in Beirut — 63 dead. Six months later, a truck bomb destroys the Marine barracks — 241 servicemen murdered. Iran's fingerprints were all over both attacks.

6/ Reagan's response: fire some inconsequential shells at Syrian forces, then quietly pull the Marines out. He called it a "redeployment." Islamists called it a retreat. Bin Laden later cited Beirut as proof that America wouldn't fight.

7/ Meanwhile, Reagan was secretly arming Iran with missiles — hoping Tehran would help free American hostages in Lebanon. America was actively strengthening its own attacker.

8/ BUSH (1989): Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering the murder of novelist Salman Rushdie and his publishers — a public death decree targeting free speech in the West. Bush's response: imply that Rushdie and Khomeini were equally objectionable, then go quiet.

9/ The result: Rushdie's translators were stabbed and murdered. U.S. bookstores were firebombed. The FBI logged 70+ threats in a single month. Washington did nothing. Khomeini had effectively imposed sharia on American soil — and faced no consequences.

10/ CLINTON (1993–2000): The first WTC bombing (treated as a crime), the Khobar Towers bombing (19 Americans killed — Clinton stonewalled the Iran investigation to protect diplomatic outreach), the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (hundreds dead).

11/ Clinton's "retaliation" for the embassy bombings: 70 cruise missiles fired at empty training camps and a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory that turned out not to be a weapons site. Iran, which helped train the bombers, was untouched.

12/ Then the USS Cole: a suicide boat blows a 40x40-foot hole in a U.S. warship, killing 17 sailors. Neither Clinton nor his successor bothered to respond.

13/ The pattern across all four administrations: each attack handled in isolation, the enemy never named, aggression never punished. The "realist" foreign policy framework treated every crisis as a one-off — connecting the dots was considered naive.

14/ Post-9/11, G.W. BUSH evaded the nature of the threat, targeting Iran and Afghanistan, missions subverted by irrational moral ideas.

More: https://t.co/Pv3DcdmrMj

cc @yaronbrook @AynRandInst

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

There is a growing belief in this country that religion is the necessary foundation for our freedom. In fact, the opposite is true: religion is incompatible with the principle of individual rights.
https://t.co/FAW4cutn8i

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

IMMIGRATION STANDARDS: Rights are the product not of one's place of birth but of one's nature as a human being. Contrary to ICE, incoming immigrants may be stopped and questioned only when there is reasonable suspicion that they might pose a threat. See
https://t.co/ZXushKwBXu

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

The ICE Juggernaut: Its claim that it is going after violent criminals is spurious--only about 7% of those it arrests have convictions for violent crimes. That claim is merely a rationalization to hide a tribalist hostility toward foreigners. See https://t.co/qHYzsY2TR4

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

I've started a Substack account; my first post is "How About a Genuine America-First Policy?" Don't confuse my account with that of another Peter Schwartz, who also writes on current events. My URL is: https://t.co/FKtT88w1RT

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

Speakers at the Randsday Conference (1/30-2/2/26, Ft. Myers, FL) offer brief, enticing previews of their talks in this audio presentation. (Don't forget--price of $437 goes to $509 on Dec. 30.)
https://t.co/5Pk76BUjkn

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

RANDSDAY OBJECTIVIST CONFERENCE, 1/30-2/2/26, (Ft Myers, FL)--H. Binswanger ("How To Study Ayn Rand"); Y. Brook ("The Free-Trade Debate"); P. Schwartz ("How To Write Clearly") & more. Also "Life in a Laissez-Faire Society" (panel). $437 ($509 after 12/30). https://t.co/p9aX38pe17

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

RELIGION vs THE RIGHT TO LIFE: NY State’s new law on assisted suicide again shows the irreconcilability of religion and individual freedom. Religionists claim that that your life belongs not to you but to God—so only God can choose to end it. See https://t.co/KrtoywRrmX

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

RANDSDAY OBJECTIVIST CONFERENCE, 1/30-2/2/26, in Fort Myers, FL. Hear H. Binswanger ("How To Study Ayn Rand"), Y. Brook ("The Free-Trade Debate"), P. Schwartz ("How To Write Clearly"") & others. $437. Plus a panel on "Life in a Laissez-Faire Society." https://t.co/p9aX38pe17

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

Did Israel LOSE the war against Hamas? Is Israel in greater danger now than it was before the Oct. 7 attack? Listen to this audio recording, in which I am interviewed by Dr. Harry Binswanger:
https://t.co/QsuVLZD09M

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

HOSTAGE CAPITULATION: Many are supporting Trump's "peace plan," out of compassion for the hostages and their families. But where is their compassion toward all future hostages, now that they have helped incentivize hostage-taking? For elaboration, see:
https://t.co/wk1JcF4r4e

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

"How To Study Ayn Rand"--a lecture by Harry Binswanger at the upcoming #Randsday Weekend Conference, 1/30-2/2/26 in Ft. Myers, FL. Register before 10/15 and pay $377; afterwards, price rises 15%. For info on accommodations and additional speakers, go to: https://t.co/p9aX38oGbz

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

People have a right to create a state that recognizes individual rights. There is no right to create a state--such as the proposed Confederacy in 1861--that systematically denies rights. Which is what a Palestinian state, run by Hamas or its ilk, would be.
https://t.co/4tMRuAqf9x

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

RANDSDAY OBJECTIVIST CONFERENCE, 1/30-2/2/26, in sunny Ft. Myers, FL. Enjoy a weekend's respite from the distressing state of our culture. Speakers include H. Binswanger, Y. Brook, E. Kenner, S. Milgram, J. Moroney, P. Schwartz, D. Watkins. Full program at https://t.co/p9aX38oGbz

[Peter Schwartz @PSchwartzIDS]

The murder of Charlie Kirk continues the ominous trend of politically motivated violence. What, at root, makes such actions not only tolerated but praised? The notion that objectivity is a myth. See my 2017 article "The Ideology of Violence."
https://t.co/uHRmMT7TpJ