Ted Snider

The moment the United States removed their nuclear sanctions on Iran, they slapped new sanctions on Iran, claiming that two Iranian tests of ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear warheads violates Security Council resolutions. The Iranians had no sooner learned that nuclear sanctions had been removed following the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) … Continue reading “How New Sanctions Will Be Perceived in Iran”

In Syria, the West finds itself stuck between the Islamic State and President Bashar al-Assad, fighting a war that the West doesn’t want either side to win. It fights the Islamic State enough to weaken it without a victorious Assad staying in power; it opposes Assad but not enough to take him and his forces … Continue reading “Why Syria’s Options Are So Bad”

If democracy is a transparent system of government by the people, in which elected officials represent their constituents, then America is failing the test of democracy in its foreign policy. Because, far from governing on behalf of the people they represent, the people are being deceived by their representatives. This failure is especially egregious and … Continue reading “What We Knew: A Recent History of Deception”

The origin of the Ukraine crisis is consistently reported in the West as an unfortunate and unpopular choice by President Viktor Yanukovych to go with an economic alliance with Russia over the economic alliance offered by the European Union. The package offered by the European Union is portrayed as benign and Yanukovych’s rejection of it … Continue reading “The Knot At the Heart of the Ukraine Crisis”

Going back at least as early as the 1989 Presidential election of Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran has been attempting to end its international isolation by improving relations with the United States. And at least since the election of Iran’s next President, Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, in 1997, it has been the hope of the Iranian leadership that, … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton’s Hawkish Response to the Iranian Nuclear Deal”

Regime change is a complex and messy thing. Attempts at regime change always involve three parties: the government who desires to carry out the regime change, the regime it wishes to change, and the domestic group meant to replace the current regime or at least facilitate the coup. The history of attempted American coups is … Continue reading “America’s Bizarre Initial Response to the Islamic State”

Over a year ago, as chaos erupted in Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was one of the first voices to join the choir of hyperbole in the refrain that Putin’s invasion of Crimea was analogous to Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland. His – at the time – Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said “"The … Continue reading “Stephen Harper’s Unprincipled and Inconsistent Foreign Policy”

A pattern is emerging across current events from Syria to Iran to Ukraine. The pattern has two parts. In the first, America is increasingly in conflict with her natural allies. America, contrary to its mythical image as the cops of the world, fans the flames of conflict and finds itself in conflict with the Europeans … Continue reading “America Fans the Flames While Europe Puts Out the Fire”

Two weeks ago, an Israeli helicopter crossed the Syrian border and killed five Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general. Media accounts made much of the fact that among the dead Hezbollah fighters was Jihad Mughniyah. That particular killing was significant because Jihad Mughniyeh was the son of Imad Mughniyah. Imad Mugniyah was a senior Hezbollah … Continue reading “Reporting of the US-Israel Assassination of Imad Mughniyah”

It is still not known with certainty who hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment. Several security analysts have questioned the FBI’s assertion that North Korea is to blame. An analysis by the security firm Norse suggests that the evidence points, not to North Korea, but to just six individuals who are based in the U.S., Canada, Singapore … Continue reading “What’s Really Comic About The Interview“