Ted Snider

With calls for Russia to be pushed out of "the whole of Ukraine," for Russia to be "weakened" and defeated and even calls for regime change in Moscow, what might Russia’s and China’s red lines be, and how does the US measure when it’s in danger of crossing them? Russia may already have decided that … Continue reading “Russia and China and Bold Red Lines”

Suppose they gave a summit, and nobody came? In a spectacular act of defiance against America’s claimed right to control the hemisphere, the protest against the US hosted, by invitation only, Summit of the Americas is growing. In its continued attempt to shape the Americas by stamping down alternative and independent models of government, the … Continue reading “Losing Latin America”

While the US is expanding into Russia’s sphere of influence, it seems to be having trouble consolidating and controlling its own sphere of influence. There may be trouble in America’s backyard. The Biden administration has been so distracted by expansion and so asleep at diplomacy that the very fundamentals of diplomacy have been neglected in … Continue reading “US and Latin America: Trouble in the Backyard”

Your friend is taking a taxi to a job. It’s too big a job for him, so you offer to go along to help. You pay the fare and bring along the right tools for him to use. Just after you set out, though, you order the taxi driver to stop and redirect him from … Continue reading “When Is the US at War? Russia’s Red Line”

Joe Biden promised the world that he was "opening a new era of relentless diplomacy." Either those were just words or Biden has lost control of his foreign policy. Rather than the birth of diplomacy, the first sixteen months of Biden’s term in office have seen a dearth of diplomacy. On all the major issues, … Continue reading “Joe Biden and the Dearth of Diplomacy”

The New York Times reported on May 1 that "the Biden administration" – the same one that ignored Putin’s warnings about Russia’s red line regarding NATO expansion to Ukraine – "increasingly casts aside fears expressed by some early in the war that too much American assistance to Ukraine risked a direct conflict with President Vladimir … Continue reading “Five Reasons To Be Increasingly Worried About the War in Ukraine”

Joe Biden promised that he would be the president of diplomacy. He promised that, after the turmoil of the bellicose Trump years, he would usher in the age of "relentless diplomacy." But the US has been absent from negotiations on the war in Ukraine and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn’t spoken to his Russian … Continue reading “Iran Talks Stall: Does America Even Believe in Diplomacy Anymore?”

In April 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky received 73% of the run-off vote and was elected President of Ukraine on a platform that featured making peace with Russia and signing the Minsk Agreement. The Minsk Agreement offered autonomy to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of the Donbas that had voted for independence from Ukraine after the 2014 … Continue reading “Why Russia Went to War Now”

Like Orwell’s Ministry of Truth, propaganda is pouring out of the US that is shaping our perceptions of the war in Ukraine. It is produced by the CIA, it is pronounced by the State Department and it is published by the media. It is coming from everywhere. The heroes and the villains were cast from … Continue reading “Where’s the Truth? How the CIA Shapes the Minds of Americans”

Do you want to charge Russia with war crimes? Go for it. Though Russia felt the tide of existential threat at their borders, they were not under imminent attack, and they did not seek Security Council approval. So the moment they launched a war against Ukraine, Russia had broken international law and committed a war … Continue reading “Biden’s Hypocrisy on Accusing Russia of War Crimes”