Ted Snider

The secret comments that Donald Trump made off the record leaked. He was not sincerely negotiating a compromise: he was bullying his opponent. If any deal was to be made, he boasted, it would be "totally on our terms." America’s negotiating partner was "working their ass off," Trump admitted, but "every time we have a … Continue reading “When All You’ve Got Is Bullying: A New Way of Dealing With America”

A denuclearization deal with North Korea is more within reach than anyone could have thought possible a very short time ago. Thanks to the tireless diplomatic work of Moon Jae In of South Korea and the unexpectedly adept diplomatic work of Kim Jong Un of North Korea, a joint statement between North Korea and the … Continue reading “The Three Landmines That Could Kill the Korea Deal”

After listening to Trump’s speech explaining his decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement with Iran, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Trump’s speech contained "over ten lies." Khamenei didn’t go on to name the lies. So, what were the lies Trump told? Lie #1 "The … Continue reading “Trump’s Ten Lies: A Response to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Speech”

As North Korea begins to open up to the world, what must they be hearing? Two of the loudest stories concern Donald Trump’s reactions to countries accused of having active weapons of mass destruction programs. Trump bombed Syria for using chemical weapons, and he has now officially pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of … Continue reading “The Meaning of Verification”

The prophet Cassandra’s curse was that when she told the future, no one listened; history’s curse is that when it tells the past, no one does. The West has no shortage of charges it hurls against Russia, but most of them can be grouped into one of three categories: that Russia intervened in the American … Continue reading “Accusing Russia – Listening to History”

In September 2007, in the dark of night, warplanes crossed the Syrian border and bombed a covert nuclear reactor. Recently, Israel took responsibility for the bombing mission that obliterated the Syrian reactor. The Israeli announcement was unnecessary if it was intended to be an admission of responsibility. The origin of the bombers had never been … Continue reading “What Did Israel Bomb in the Syrian Desert in 2007?”

The past week featured two crazy nuclear stories. And neither of them involved North Korea. Saudi Arabia The first involved Saudi Arabia. With all the news out of Washington in the past few days, one highly significant story passed almost uncovered by the media. While the mainstream media extensively covered the talks between Trump and … Continue reading “None of This Month’s Craziest Nuclear Stories Involved North Korea”

Donald Trump caused a lot of concern in early March when he seemed to praise Chinese President Xi Jinping’s removal of term limits on the president from the Chinese constitution, clearing the path for him to become "President for life," as Trump called him. Trump said, “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, … Continue reading “How Many Terms ’til You’re a Tyrant?”

On February 13, the American intelligence community issued its Worldwide Threat Assessment. It is a frightening document to read. On North Korea, the agencies that hear everything cannot seem to hear anything North Korea has said; on Iran, the agencies that see everything cannot seem to see what they have long known. The Worldwide Threat … Continue reading “Intelligence That Neither Hears Nor Sees”

The only thing that has ever been faithful to the Kurds is history: it has faithfully, without fail, betrayed them. The Kurds have been cast in the role of the pawn in powerful countries’ games of chess. They do much of the hard work only to be sacrificed when checkmate is in sight. Most recently, … Continue reading “America, the Kurds, and History: Only a Pawn in Their Game”