Ted Snider

"We do not believe in polarization or selecting between one partner and another," Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said, asserting the Kingdom’s right to act "based on its own interests" and to have "strategic partnerships with [many] countries." But in a world upon which the Biden administration has … Continue reading “Saudi Arabia: When Being Neutral Isn’t Neutral Anymore”

After three days and many hours of talks, French President Emmanuel Macron emerged from Beijing and made a number of statements that, presumably to the alarm of the US, seemed to align several key foreign policy positions more closely with Beijing than with Washington. Macron arrived in China with a call to Chinese President Xi … Continue reading “Macron Goes to China: Whose Side Is He On?”

On February 24, China published its “Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.” It pledged that China is willing to assume “a constructive role in this regard.” Rather than accepting a powerful partner with influence and a recent track record of brokering agreements, the US unequivocally rejected China’s efforts to help broker a … Continue reading “So, You Think the US Wouldn’t Pass Up on a Peace Plan?”

Is it time to put Freedom Fries back on the menu? Back in 2003, french fries became freedom fries in the US in disgust with "our so-called ally, France" who took an independent "self-serving" course and refused to support US policy on Iraq. Having finally become popular on American menus again, is it time, once … Continue reading “Is France Beginning To Steer an Independent Course?”

In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where they not only “reaffirm[ed] the special nature of the Russia-China partnership,” but "signed a statement on deepening the strategic partnership and bilateral ties which are entering a new era." As XI was leaving the Kremlin, he told Putin that "Together, we should … Continue reading “China: The Rock Upon Which the US-Led Alliance Breaks”

On March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow. The meeting, at which the two leaders “reaffirm[ed] the special nature of the Russia-China partnership" may be a crucial moment in the emergence of the new multipolar world that is challenging US hegemony. But while the US and its European … Continue reading “The War in Ukraine and How Africa Surprised the West”

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal for allegedly deporting and transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. The Nuremburg Tribunal declared that "To initiate a war of aggression is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing … Continue reading “Vladimir Putin vs. the International Criminal Court”

Putin badly miscalculated, the US often claims, and his invasion of Ukraine has made NATO stronger and more united than ever. "He thought NATO would fracture and divide. Instead, NATO is more united and more unified than ever – than ever before," Biden said on February 21. "I would argue NATO is stronger than it’s … Continue reading “The Myth of a Stronger NATO”

On March 14, A Russian jet collided with a US drone, leading to the downing of the drone in the Black Sea. The US says that the drone was flying in international airspace when two Russian Su-27 fighter jets made nineteen high-speed passes near the drone before dumping jet fuel on it in an attempt … Continue reading “Reapers and Red Lines: The Downing of an American Drone”

There is a historically possible world in which the Minsk Agreement never needed to be made. In 2014, a US supported coup removed the democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, with his eastern base, and replaced him with a West leaning president who was handpicked by the US. Assistant Secretary of State for European and … Continue reading “The Minsk Deception and the Planned War in Donbas”