Edward Hunt

U.S. officials view the war in Ukraine as a way of achieving geopolitical objectives in the Black Sea, an energy-rich region that connects Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. At two recent Senate hearings, State Department officials portrayed the war as a means of transforming the geopolitics of energy in the Black Sea. As long … Continue reading “The Ukraine War Has Been a ‘Great Bargain’ for US in the Black Sea”

In defiance of international norms and rules, U.S. officials are laying claim to the large oceanic area in the central Pacific Ocean that is home to the compact states. Now that they are renewing the economic provisions of the compacts of free association with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, U.S. … Continue reading “US Flouts International Law With Pacific Military Claims”

US officials are working to integrate the compact states more closely into the American empire in the Pacific Ocean. For the past year, US diplomats and military leaders have been advising the leaders of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) that their countries are part of the US homeland, despite the fact that … Continue reading “The American Empire Runs Through the Compact States”

The Syrian civil war, which has been raging since 2011, is one of the worst tragedies of the early twenty-first century. Approximately half a million people have died, about six million people have fled the country, and another six million people remain internally displaced. Much of the country lies in ruins, perhaps never again to … Continue reading “The Embalming of Syria”

The Trump administration is continuing to help the Mexican government wage a war on drugs despite a recent report that more than 33,000 Mexicans were killed in 2018, a new record. According to Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, there were 33,341 homicides in Mexico in 2018. The number of deaths broke the record … Continue reading “The US-Backed Drug War in Mexico Has Never Been Deadlier”

During the South Sudanese Civil War, which has claimed nearly 400,000 lives, the United States helped the main belligerent in the war continually acquire arms through Uganda, a close U.S. ally in the region. For years, the Ugandan government channeled arms, ammunition, and military aircraft to the regime of President Salva Kiir, according to multiple … Continue reading “How the United States Kept Arms Flowing Into South Sudan”

At a recent security conference, a panel of current and former U.S. officials discussed the possibility of extending the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan for years into the future and considered the potential to more effectively tap into the natural resources in both countries. The panelists said that the war in Afghanistan would … Continue reading “Visions of War and Wealth in the Middle East”

In recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, four former US diplomats provided remarkably candid commentary on recent US involvement in the Middle East, revealing a number of the most closely guarded secrets of US diplomacy. The four former diplomats emphasized the importance of the region’s oil, spoke critically about the weaknesses of US … Continue reading “A Rare Glimpse Into the Inner Workings of the American Empire in the Middle East”

The ongoing effort of the United States to eradicate the Islamic State by aggressively launching airstrikes against targets that include noncombatants is causing significant harm to civilians in Iraq and Syria. Estimates of civilian deaths from airstrikes range from the hundreds to the tens of thousands. Although the U.S. government says that it has killed … Continue reading “Killing Civilians in Iraq and Syria”

As the foreign policy establishment continues to grapple with the consequences of Trump’s election, U.S. officials can still agree on one thing. The United States is a nation that is waging a permanent war. In December 2016, President Obama reflected on the development in a speech that he delivered to US soldiers at MacDill Air … Continue reading “The United States of Permanent War”