Ted Galen Carpenter

Bill Clinton’s administration made a geopolitical mess in the Balkans during the 1990s by instigating and leading military interventions in both Bosnia and Kosovo. Periodically thereafter, the United States has succumbed to the temptation to interfere diplomatically in the affairs of that chronically dysfunctional region. Now, several of Washington’s mini-state "allies" and their advocates in … Continue reading “US Must Resist Temptation To Meddle in the Balkans Again”

Ukraine is Washington’s most worrisome security client in Europe. U.S. leaders are incurring grave risks to America in support of a country that is notoriously corrupt and increasingly authoritarian. Worse, Kiev engages in abrasive conduct toward its much larger, more powerful Russian neighbor, apparently assuming that Washington has Ukraine’s back. However, Ukraine is not the … Continue reading “Georgia: Another Dangerous, Loose-Cannon US Client”

Expectations that Joe Biden’s administration would pursue a more conciliatory policy toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC) than its predecessor did have not been borne out. The surprising continuity with the Trump administration’s approach is most evident regarding policy toward Taiwan. Indeed, Biden has broken new ground with respect to U.S. support for the … Continue reading “Washington Keeps Poking the Panda Regarding Taiwan”

Leaks to the media from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book, Peril, generated widespread anger about the alleged behavior of Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One revelation – that Milley communicated secretly with Gen. Li Zuocheng, the head of China’s military – has generated charges of malfeasance, if … Continue reading “Gen. Milley’s ‘Assurances’ to China: Reckless Endangerment, not Prudent Precaution”

Leaks to the news media from a new book, Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa on the last weeks of the Trump administration are generating a firestorm of controversy, especially regarding the conduct of Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One issue, Milley’s apparently secret communications with Gen. Li … Continue reading “Mark Milley and the Rogue Military Brass: Dress Rehearsal for a Coup?”

Washington’s reputation as an effective imperial power experienced another humiliating setback in August with the implosion of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. The sight of helicopters urgently ferrying American diplomats from the embassy to the Hamid Karzai International Airport (named after an earlier U.S. Afghan puppet) was all too reminiscent of the chaos in Saigon … Continue reading “Saigon 1975, Kabul 2021, Baghdad 2024?”

Although the Taliban regime in Kabul now controls the bulk of Afghanistan, the Biden administration’s policy toward the government remains unclear. Some officials indicate that Washington wants Kabul’s cooperation with respect to ISIS-K. At the same time, it appears that the administration will refuse to establish diplomatic relations with the new government. Indeed, White House … Continue reading “Refusing To Recognize the Taliban: A Pointless Wilsonian Practice in US Diplomacy Continues”

An optimist might hope that the ugly ending to Washington’s nearly 20-year occupation of Afghanistan would lead to some serious introspection on the part of America’s political and policy elites. A realist would assume (correctly) that such soul-searching would be in short supply. It is almost a scientific law that members of the "blob" never … Continue reading “Blame-Shifting: The Political Elites Response to the Messy Afghan Withdrawal”

The chaotic end to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan has produced an abundance of recriminations. Some of them are warranted, even though the dominant motive in nearly all cases is little more than crude blame shifting. Joe Biden and his foreign policy team certainly can be faulted for spectacularly mismanaging the final stage of the … Continue reading “The Cynical Campaign To Scapegoat Joe Biden for the Afghanistan Debacle”

Americans who watched the collapse of South Vietnam’s government during the early months of 1975 are experiencing déjà vu in response to the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan. In a matter of weeks after the United States began withdrawing its troops from the country, Afghan government forces have disintegrated with bewildering speed. Indeed, South Vietnam’s army … Continue reading “Why US Foreign Clients Collapse – and Collapse Fast”