On November 22, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech at the opening ceremony of a military hardware exhibition called “Defense Development -2024.” The New Republic’s spin on this speech went so far as to claim that “North Korea’s Kim Jong Un tells Trump to screw off – The North Korean leader has no … Continue reading “No, Kim Jong Un Did Not Close the Door to Diplomacy With the US”
Biden’s Parting Shot at America
The interim between a US presidential election and the swearing in of a new Administration has for most of our history been a non-eventful period where the outgoing Administration winds down operations and the incoming Administration ramps up new personnel before the inauguration. The 20th Amendment to our Constitution was enacted in 1933 to reduce … Continue reading “Biden’s Parting Shot at America”
Iraq Monthly Roundup: 70 Killed in November
The Cynical Selling of the War in Ukraine
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. poured military aid into Ukraine in defense of the “core principles” of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the “sovereign right” every country has “to determine for itself with whom it will choose to associate in terms of its alliances.” As Western support for military aid became harder … Continue reading “The Cynical Selling of the War in Ukraine”
Trump’s Senseless Economic Wars
The incoming Trump administration seems determined to wage as many economic wars as it can. The president-elect reportedly plans to pursue another “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with the goal of “bankrupting” the country. Now he is threatening new trade wars with Mexico, Canada, and China at the beginning of his second term. Trump has … Continue reading “Trump’s Senseless Economic Wars”
Ultimate Irony Comes as Taliban Asks Russia’s Help To Evade US Sanctions, Closing 50-year Loop of Violence
It was said at the time that Operation Cyclone was the most successful covert operation in CIA history. It involved sending over $2 billion in weapons to Muslim rebels in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan between 1982 and 1987. Today, as the Taliban gradually rebuilds the nation according to Islamic law, they have asked Russia to help their … Continue reading “Ultimate Irony Comes as Taliban Asks Russia’s Help To Evade US Sanctions, Closing 50-year Loop of Violence”
Biden Declares Another ‘National Emergency’ Because of the Threat Posed by Tiny Nicaragua
In the dying days of his administration, President Biden must have needed a reminder by his officials on November 22. He had to decide whether Nicaragua still poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. Presumably he agreed that it does, because he renewed its status … Continue reading “Biden Declares Another ‘National Emergency’ Because of the Threat Posed by Tiny Nicaragua”
Senator Ossoff Reminds Us of One of President Reagan’s Best Foreign Policy Decisions
Reprinted from David Henderson’s substack, I Blog To Differ. On November 20, 2024, Senator Jon Ossoff, one of the two Democratic U.S. senators from Georgia, spoke in the Senate to remind us of President Reagan’s call to Menachem Begin in 1982. In both cases, the Israeli government was taking aggressive measures against innocent people in … Continue reading “Senator Ossoff Reminds Us of One of President Reagan’s Best Foreign Policy Decisions”
What To Expect From Trump II
Remarks at the Yerevan Dialogue on November 23. Reprinted with permission from the American Committee for US-Russia Accord (ACURA). About a quarter of a century ago around this very time, a newly elected Republican president who campaigned on a promise of a more humble, less arrogant foreign policy was assembling his foreign policy and national … Continue reading “What To Expect From Trump II”
New Russian Missile Delivers Six Warheads and Three Messages
On November 21, just two days after Ukraine acted for the first time on U.S. permission to fire Western supplied long-range missiles deeper into Russia, Russia launched a missile attack on a military base in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The base houses the missile and space company Pivdenmash, which produces missiles, rockets, satellites and … Continue reading “New Russian Missile Delivers Six Warheads and Three Messages”