Foreign Aid Shows True Nature of Conservatism by Laurence M. Vance November 1, 2023 After the horrific attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, conservatives wasted no time in denouncing U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinians. Although it was not their intention in doing so, they showed the true nature of conservatism. Advancing American Freedom, an “organization advocating for Conservative values and policy proposals” founded by former vice president ...
You’re Not Allowed to Say That NATO Caused the War, Unless You Are NATO’s Secretary General by Benjamin Abelow October 17, 2023 There are two competing narratives about the origins of the Ukraine War. According to one narrative, Vladimir Putin is a Hitler-like aggressor. He wants to reestablish the Soviet empire by swallowing Ukraine and threatening the Baltic countries, Poland, and the nations further west. This narrative was created by Washington and Brussels. It has been repeated by European leaders and echoed ...
Congressional and Media Hypocrisy on Cluster Bombs by Ted Galen Carpenter September 29, 2023 The U.S. elite’s alleged commitment to human rights and opposition to war crimes was just put to the test in an especially clear fashion. Not surprisingly, both Congress and the American news media failed that test. On September 27, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives voted down an amendment to the appropriations bill funding the Pentagon that Rep. Matt ...
Disaster Relief, Foreign Aid, and Ukraine by Laurence M. Vance September 5, 2023 The deadly fire in Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui is the fire seen round the world. The death toll is in the hundreds, with hundreds more still missing and thousands of people evacuated. There is a lot of blame to go around. Progressives are blaming the severity of the fire on climate change. Some people are questioning why ...
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 ...