Ted Galen Carpenter

During the prelude to the NATO summit in Vilnius, there was extensive speculation about whether Ukraine would be given a clear path to membership in the alliance, with a specific timeline. Much to the disappointment of Ukraine’s government and its ardent supporters in the West, NATO leaders opted for a more limited commitment. In the … Continue reading “Would Ukraine’s Formal Membership in NATO Really Matter?”

Several crucial decisions likely will be made at this week’s NATO summit meeting. The most important of all involves Ukraine’s application to join the Alliance. Zealotry for Ukraine in some NATO capitals is so strong that that a path to membership for that country is being considered even in the midst of an ongoing war … Continue reading “Can Washington Be Saved from Itself at the NATO Summit?”

When the last U.S. troops left the Philippines in the early 1990s, the prevailing assumption was that an extremely close military relationship between Washington and Manila would be just another relic of the Cold War. The decision by the Philippines Senate not to renew the US leases on Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval … Continue reading “Washington’s Resurgent Military Presence in the Philippines Provokes China”

Reports that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was constructing a base in Cuba devoted to spying on the United States immediately generated concern among members of America’s foreign policy establishment. Now that U.S. intelligence agencies contend that Beijing is expanding a small facility that has operated since 2019, concern has risen toward outright alarm. … Continue reading “US Hypocrisy About Chinese Spy Base in Cuba”

This originally appeared at the Future of Freedom Foundation. 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 … Continue reading “Washington’s Continuing Shame in Syria”

Some foreign policy myths are so entrenched and tenacious that no amount of evidence seems able to dislodge them. An especially prominent one in recent years is that Donald Trump was Vladimir Putin’s puppet and adopted shameful policies that appeased Moscow. The latest example of that pervasive smear was an article by Peggy Noonan in … Continue reading “The Big Lie That Won’t Die: Trump as Putin’s Puppet”

U.S. leaders rarely have been noted for being able to gauge changing sentiment in the international arena and adjusting their foreign policy accordingly. The Biden administration, however, may be setting new records for the tone-deaf quality of its policies. Three incidents in the past few weeks illustrate the problem. There has been obvious movement in … Continue reading “The Biden Administration’s Latest Tone-Deaf Foreign Policy Positions”

This originally appeared at the Future of Freedom Foundation. 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 … Continue reading “No, It Is Not Possible to be an Imperial Libertarian”

It should not come as a surprise that U.S. officials and members of the foreign policy establishment have falsely portrayed Ukraine as a noble democracy. Such deceptions in pursuit of assorted US foreign policy objectives around the globe are nothing new. Throughout the Cold War, Washington routinely contended that "friendly" dictatorships were members of the … Continue reading “Libertarian Apologists for Ukraine’s Authoritarianism”

Western officials who salivate over the prospect of inflicting a decisive, humiliating defeat on Russia in its war with Ukraine remain oblivious to the dangers entailed in that scenario. As I pointed out early in the conflict, Russian leaders consider Ukraine to be the most vital of vital national security interests and they are likely … Continue reading “Is NATO Crowding the Russian Bear Into a Nuclear Corner?”