Daniel Larison

Broad economic sanctions are a form of warfare, and the U.S. is by far the most frequent economic belligerent in the world. Our government’s overuse and abuse of sanctions has increased by leaps and bounds in just the last two decades. Sanctions designations increased significantly during the Obama years, and then they exploded under Trump … Continue reading “Sanctions Are War”

The U.S. does not know how to end its wars. Even when US troops are withdrawn from another country, US involvement in the war there does not necessarily end. The Trump administration pulled troops out of Somalia last year, but US military operations in Somalia continue. President Biden has committed to withdrawing the remaining troops … Continue reading “How We End the Forever War”

The Israeli government’s latest attempt to sabotage negotiations over the nuclear deal with Iran has failed. Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility suffered a significant attack on April 11 that caused a blackout and destroyed or damaged hundreds of centrifuges. The Israeli government carried out the attack in the hopes of derailing the talks in Vienna that … Continue reading “Israeli Sabotage of the Nuclear Deal Fails Again”

The Biden administration risks creating a crisis with Russia with its ill-considered shows of support for the Ukrainian government. President Biden expressed his "unwavering support" for Ukraine in a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, and there are reports that U.S. ships may be sent into the Black Sea to "send a message" to Russia. … Continue reading “Keep Ukraine Out of NATO”

The twentieth anniversary of the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is only six months away, and it is still uncertain whether the Biden administration will withdraw the last remaining American troops from America’s longest war. Last month, President Biden seemed to pour cold water on the possibility of leaving by the agreed-upon May … Continue reading “Get Out of Afghanistan!”

President Biden claims to be restoring American diplomacy and rebuilding relations with allies that were strained under Trump, but his handling of the relationship with South Korea and his North Korea policy to date reveal an administration that doesn’t know how to do either one. As a candidate, Biden faulted Trump for being too accommodating … Continue reading “Denuclearization Is a Dead End”

The U.S.-led military intervention in Libya began ten years ago this month, and a decade later there has still not been a proper reckoning for the failure of a war that was neither legal under U.S. law nor justified. The Libyan war’s architects no longer boast about their "good" intervention, but there is no evidence … Continue reading “Counting the Costs of the Libyan War Ten Years Later”

The people of Yemen have been enduring a six-year siege ever since the beginning of the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition’s intervention. The coalition’s indiscriminate bombing campaign has claimed thousands of innocent Yemeni lives, but the more destructive and insidious side of the war has been the blockade and the economic warfare that has accompanied it. At … Continue reading “Six Years Later, Yemen Is Still Being Starved”