Ted Galen Carpenter

Ted Galen Carpenter, Senior Fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute, is the author of 13 books and more than 1,100 articles on international affairs. Dr. Carpenter held various senior policy positions during a 37-year career at the Cato institute. His latest book is Unreliable Watchdog: The News Media and U.S. Foreign Policy (2022).

Biden’s Latest Verbal Gaffe Is Truly Dangerous

Throughout his extraordinarily long political career, Joe Biden has had a well-deserved reputation for making verbal gaffes. In 2018, he even admitted that he was "a gaffe machine." That problem has worsened since he became president, especially with respect to foreign affairs. Biden has made several statements that suggested important shifts in U.S. policy – … Continue reading “Biden’s Latest Verbal Gaffe Is Truly Dangerous”

The US Press Again Becomes a Conduit for Pro-War Propaganda

American journalists have a long, ignoble history of being willing conduits for pro-war propaganda. Usually, that behavior is in service to a military crusade that Washington has launched or wants to initiate. At times, though, such a betrayal of journalistic integrity occurs on behalf of a foreign country that both U.S. political leaders and news … Continue reading “The US Press Again Becomes a Conduit for Pro-War Propaganda”

Awarding Medals for the Worst Ukraine Policy Proposals

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, hawkish members of the U.S. political and policy communities have been busy concocting a variety of ideas for dealing with the situation. Three sets of proposals stand out as especially foolish and dangerous, each having some potential to entangle the United States in the Ukraine conflict at the risk … Continue reading “Awarding Medals for the Worst Ukraine Policy Proposals”

NATO Set Precedents for Russia’s Attack on Ukraine

Western leaders and their allies in the establishment news media are practically apoplectic about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Objectively, there is much to denounce regarding Moscow’s actions. Even though the architects of NATO’s expansion to Russia’s border and the Ukrainian government’s increasingly evident eagerness to become an Alliance member and military asset constituted serious provocations, … Continue reading “NATO Set Precedents for Russia’s Attack on Ukraine”

The Finland Option May Still Save Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the warnings that the Kremlin has made for years that any attempt to give Kyiv membership in NATO or use Ukraine as a military asset would cross a dangerous red line. In December 2021, Moscow issued demands on the United States and NATO for security guarantees to preclude the … Continue reading “The Finland Option May Still Save Ukraine”

Hawks Make Little Distinction Between Russia and the Soviet Union

Foreign policy hawks in the United States habitually equate a noncommunist Russia with the totalitarian Soviet Union. An especially graphic example is a recent article in 19FortyFive by Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute. The title, "Russia Was a Rogue State Long before Ukraine and Georgia," accurately conveys the extent … Continue reading “Hawks Make Little Distinction Between Russia and the Soviet Union”

North Korea’s Missile Tests a Response to a Zombie US Policy

In recent weeks, North Korea has provided graphic demonstrations of its growing ballistic missile capabilities. During January, Pyongyang set a new record by conducting 7 tests in a single month. Kim Jong-Un’s government capped off that flurry by marking the lunar New Year with a dramatic test of an intermediate-range missile capable of reaching the … Continue reading “North Korea’s Missile Tests a Response to a Zombie US Policy”

Hawks Smear War Opponents Again

Advocates of an aggressive U.S. foreign policy are again smearing their antiwar opponents. In his latest article on Substack, iconoclastic journalist Glenn Greenwald notes that he "cannot count the number of times" that he has "been accused of being a Kremlin agent or asset, not by random social media trolls but by prominent Democratic Party … Continue reading “Hawks Smear War Opponents Again”

Bipartisan Congressional War Drums Are Beating Again

The fastest, most reliable way to foster bipartisanship in Congress (as well as the media, and the foreign policy blob) is to demonize the foreign threat du jour and then advocate a very hardline policy toward that alleged existential threat to the American republic. The latest example is how establishment types in both the Republican … Continue reading “Bipartisan Congressional War Drums Are Beating Again”

Biden’s Continuing Shameful Policy Regarding Yemen

In his first major foreign policy speech as president, Joe Biden pledged to end U.S. involvement in Yemen’s bloody war. Beginning in the summer of 2015, the United States actively aided the military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), against the rebel Houthi faction, which received backing … Continue reading “Biden’s Continuing Shameful Policy Regarding Yemen”