Foreign Policy & War

America’s Forever Wars Are Not the Problem

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 2023

Ever since it became clear that the U.S. invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq were turning into disasters, a common refrain has been to end America’s “forever wars.” Politicians of all political stripes, commentators in the mainstream press, and various conservative and libertarian think tanks and educational foundations have embraced the refrain, thinking that if only America can ...

There Is No America First Case for Supporting Ukraine

by Laurence M. Vance September 1, 2023

After the United States foolishly and unnecessarily intervened in World War One — against the warnings of the Founding Fathers about getting involved in European wars — and lost over 116,000 of its young men, American sentiment underwent a shift toward neutrality and nonintervention. With Europe once again embroiled in war beginning in the late 1930s, the America First Committee ...

The Myth of NATO as a Defensive Alliance

by Ted Galen Carpenter August 31, 2023

Western leaders have long fostered the self-serving myth that NATO is an organization solely for the mutual defense of its members. The corollary is that other nations therefore have no legitimate reason to fear the most powerful military alliance in history. After all, it is an association of peace-loving democracies. The operational expression of the myth is ...

A Pox on Many Houses in Ukraine

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2023

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it immediately became an easy decision for today’s interventionists. Their position was both simple and simplistic: Ukraine is a sovereign and independent country. Russia initiated a war against Ukraine by invading the country. Therefore, Russia is bad and should be condemned. Moreover, the U.S. government, as well as NATO, should come to Ukraine’s defense by ...

Uncle Sam, War Criminal

by Ted Galen Carpenter July 18, 2023

U.S. officials invariably stress their commitment to human rights and are extremely quick to condemn other countries for alleged violations. However, Washington’s conduct too often makes a mockery of that supposed commitment. The latest examples of such hypocrisy are two aspects of U.S. policy regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, both involving the provision of highly controversial weapons to ...

The Dangerous Pursuit of Empire: Russia, China, and the United States

by Richard M. Ebeling July 1, 2023

Giving up the reality, the nostalgia, or the dream of empire is very difficult for those in political power, and even for those citizens who have bought into their government’s indoctrination and propaganda. Historically, empire-builders and political leaders often seem to hold certain attitudes and ideas in common. First, they believe that they and their group or nation are on ...

Washington’s Continuing Shame in Syria

by Ted Galen Carpenter June 19, 2023

Recent news reports indicate that the Biden administration is orchestrating an agreement between two insurgent groups in northeastern Syria to continue preventing the national government of Bashar al-Assad from regaining control of that region. If true, Washington’s conduct in Syria has reached a new low in terms of basic decency. Normally, there would be much to admire ...

The Korean War Was a Senseless Waste of American Lives

by Laurence M. Vance June 6, 2023

The remains of an American soldier were laid to rest on Memorial Day at the Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia after a police car with lights flashing escorted the casket to the cemetery. What made this funeral service so unique and so tragic is that Pfc. Luther Herschel Story was killed on September 1, 1950, during ...

The Iraq War Was a Systematic Atrocity

by James Bovard June 1, 2023

Media coverage of the twentieth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War mostly portrayed the war as a blunder. There were systematic war crimes that have largely vanished into the memory hole, but permitting government officials to vaporize their victims paves the way to new atrocities. On the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, former First Lady Barbara ...

No, It Is Not Possible to be an Imperial Libertarian

by Ted Galen Carpenter May 31, 2023

There have been a distressing number of occasions in which someone has said to me that they embrace libertarian principles and positions—“except for foreign policy.”  That stance has usually translated into loyal support for the U.S. government’s militarized approach to world affairs during the Cold War and throughout the period since the collapse of the Soviet Union.  ...

Ukraine and the Cold War

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 13, 2023

On October 25, 1970, a team of well-armed Chilean thugs attacked an automobile in which Chilean General Rene Schneider was traveling in downtown Santiago. Their aim was to kidnap and kill Schneider. Given that he was the overall commander of the Chilean armed forces, Schneider pulled out his pistol and fought back, but he was no match ...

The Terrible Truth about U.S. Foreign Policy

by Laurence M. Vance May 1, 2023

Many conservatives just don’t get it when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. After Lu Shaye, China’s outspoken ambassador to France, stated during a televised interview last month that the former Soviet republics “have no effective status in international law because there is no international agreement to recognize their status as sovereign countries,” American Enterprise Institute (