Ted Galen Carpenter

It is a sad reality that the establishment news media’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas fighting may be even more shallow, biased, and hawkish than the coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war or previous international conflicts.  The willingness of most prominent news outlets to serve as little more than conduits for pro-war propaganda is not really a … Continue reading “Credulous or Dishonest Journalists Regurgitate Pro-War Propaganda”

The response in the United States to the surge of violence between Palestinians and Israelis holds no surprises whatsoever.  The usual bipartisan contingent of pro-war figures in the political arena, the policy community, and the corporate news media presented a predictable narrative from the outset that quickly became dominant.  Proponents parroted familiar clichés that portrayed … Continue reading “Hawks Are Using Gaza Violence as a Pretext for War with Iran”

The illegal U.S. military occupation in northeastern Syria is rapidly turning into a policy debacle as well.  There is little question that the presence of U.S. troops and armed contractors (mercenaries) is utterly illegal under international law.  The Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, which is recognized by the United Nations and the vast … Continue reading “Washington’s Illegal, Immoral Meddling in Syria Faces Mounting Problems”

Tucker Carlson reports that the U.S. government prevented him from interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Carlson told the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche that he had sought to arrange an interview with Putin, but U.S. officials blocked him. “I tried to interview Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. government prevented me from doing so. Think about [the … Continue reading “Contempt for Press Freedoms: U S Officials Bar Tucker Carlson from Interviewing Putin”

This originally appeared at the Future of Freedom Foundation. The U.S. elite’s alleged commitment to human rights and opposition to war crimes was just put to the test in an especially clear fashion. Not surprisingly, both Congress and the American news media failed that test. On September 27, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives voted … Continue reading “Congressional and Media Hypocrisy on Cluster Bombs”

The Biden administration seems determined to pursue highly confrontational policies toward both Moscow and Beijing.  The United States, through its leadership of NATO, is pursuing a full-blown proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.  Indeed, that initiative appears to be only part of a larger plan to fatally weaken Russia as a major power. Washington’s confrontation … Continue reading “Washington’s Strategic Overextension”

Reprinted from The Libertarian Institute: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg likely surprised both factions in the ongoing debate about NATO expansion and its role in triggering the Russia-Ukraine War. He also undermined (perhaps fatally) the official cover story about the reasons for the Ukraine war. Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Western officials and their allies … Continue reading “One Western Official Finally Comes Clean About NATO Expansion”

The summit meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has led to a surge of pearl clutching among the U.S. foreign policy establishment and its allies in the corporate news media.  Warnings are growing that the meeting signals greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, which portends an increased security … Continue reading “Washington Is the Matchmaker for the Russia-North Korea Romance”

This originally appeared at the Future of Freedom Foundation. Americans used to boast proudly that unlike most countries in the world, domestic travel in the United States was unfettered by legal obstacles. Unfortunately, an array of restrictions on airline travel reduced that freedom, but one could still drive from Massachusetts to California without once having … Continue reading “The Bipartisan Assault on the Right to Travel”

For Western officials and their news media conduits who have carefully crafted the myth that Ukraine is a vibrant democracy, the past few weeks have been extremely challenging.  First came the revelation that members of the country’s draft boards had engaged in a pervasive degree of corruption. Prospective conscripts were paying $5,000 bribes to avoid … Continue reading “Will Ukraine’s Western Apologists Finally Admit the Truth?”