Ted Snider

This country launched an illegal war without UN approval. Their airstrikes and bombs killed hundreds of civilians. They then carved out an independent republic and recognized the secessionist state. The invading country was the United States, the country they invaded was Serbia and state they sliced off was Kosovo. Kosovo would unilaterally declare independence from … Continue reading “Provoking China, Punishing India”

On March 1, Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union Address. The first several minutes were dedicated to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In those few minutes, Biden made three key assertions. One of them was true; two of them were not. Russian Aggression In a speech that was surprisingly restrained, Biden fiercely announced how … Continue reading “Biden’s State of the Union Address: True or False?”

There are no winners in war. War is the abandonment of reason, the abandonment of dialogue, the abandonment of compassion and hope. It is the abandonment of everything that makes us human. In the war in Ukraine, there will be no winners. Everyone will lose. The biggest burden of loss will be on the people … Continue reading “Trading Losses in Ukraine”

Update (2/24/22, 1:30pm EST): Recent events suggest that Putin’s response was not calibrated to avoid a larger action in Ukraine. It is an unfortunate choice. Wherever responsibility lies for the events that have led to this crisis, war is always the wrong answer. It is unfortunate that thirty-one years of American broken promises and broken … Continue reading “Biden’s Historic Blunder and Putin’s Loss of Patience”

On February 11, the QUAD held a foreign ministers meeting in Australia. They issued a joint statement, but it is hard to analyze what it said because it said nothing. However, in answers to reporters in press conferences held both before and after the meeting, they said a lot that was interesting. The Quadrilateral Security … Continue reading “What Blinken Told the QUAD”

Nobody talks about India. India is the second largest country by population in the world, and yet hardly anything is written about it in Western discussions of foreign policy and international relations. In the emerging new cold war, what side is India on? Surely, for a country that large, that is not an insignificant question. … Continue reading “Whose Side Is India On?”

Recent moves by Middle Eastern countries to explore hedging their relationship with the US by balancing them with relations with China and Russia in the emerging New Cold War have been increasingly lighting up America’s radar. In August, 2020, CIA director Bill Burns warned Israel about its welcoming of Chinese investment in Israel’s tech sector and … Continue reading “Pivoting to the East in Middle East”

In December, Russia sent the US a proposal on mutual security guarantees and a request for immediate negotiations. A set of unique factors, including the leverage of troops on the Ukrainian border and China’s very public support of Russia, led to the unprecedented result that the US complied and responded to Russia. That response was supposed … Continue reading “The US Response to Russia: Cuban Missile Crisis and Historical Parallels”

Here are seven examples of hypocrisy and irony regarding the crisis in Ukraine that you are not likely to read in the main stream media. 1. Is There a Risk of Invasion or Isn’t There? The US and its allies seem to be furious with Ukraine because we insist on protecting them from an imminent … Continue reading “American Hypocrisy: Backing Neo-Nazis in Ukraine”

Trust is key to a relationship. At the end of the Cold War, Russia sincerely wanted to join the West. But that relationship has broken, and Russia has moved on to a new partner. A little discussed reason for that disappointment is the complete loss of trust Russia had in the US and the West. … Continue reading “Too Late To Triangulate: The New Shape of the World”