Ted Snider

The Embargo On January 25, 1960, President Eisenhower suggested that the US navy "quarantine" Cuba. "If they are hungry," the President fumed, "they will throw Castro out." His ambassador to Cuba, Philip W. Bonsal, chided him with a moral reminder: "We should not punish the whole Cuban people for the acts of one abnormal man." … Continue reading “America Never Cared About the People of Cuba”

With reports of protests in the streets of Cuba, the friend of those people, the US, has made its support clear. The people of Cuba join the people of Haiti and Venezuela in being able to count on friendly support from the US. Except for three things. The US has caused the problems they are … Continue reading “US Supports the People of Latin America: With Friends Like This…”

Syria rocks under continued US bombing and reels under withering US sanctions. But why? Why are we still not friends with Syria? Bashar al-Assad has long courted a relationship with the west. He has long been willing to act in a way that would make friendship possible. In his 2009 article entitled "Syria Calling," Investigative … Continue reading “Why Are We Still at War with Syria?”

On June 18, 2021, Ebrahim Raisi was elected President of Iran. It was not the first time he had run, but it was the first time he had won. The first time he ran, he was defeated by the moderate Hassan Rouhani. But there were influential Americans who had hoped the hardline Raisi would win. … Continue reading “Iran’s Election: Making Your Iranian Nightmares Come True”

Jovenal Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated by what appears to be men who were well armed with heavy-caliber weapons in his home on Wednesday. It is not yet clear who the men are. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph says that the men spoke English or Spanish but provided no further details. The Miami … Continue reading “The Assassination of Haiti’s President”

The Trump years were not good years for Latin America. There were coups in Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela. There were some signs that things may change under the Biden administration. But recent moves have pointed those signs back in the old direction. Ecuador After early indications from an unsettled and still confused new administration that … Continue reading “Joe Biden and Latin American Question Marks”

"There will be no way to avoid one day temporarily taking over Gaza," Yuval Steinitz, Netanyahu’s energy minister said just days before the latest ceasefire. "That day has not arrived for all kinds of reasons. I think the day will come, if not now than in the coming years." Though the next war on Gaza … Continue reading “Gaza: Gearing Up for the Next War”

On September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon led a group of Likud politicians, surrounded by a thousand armed police, up the Temple Mount, home of the Al-Aqsa Mosque: an unprecedented provocation at one of Islam’s holiest sites. The next day, as thousands of Palestinians protested, Israeli police opened fire on the protesters, and, the day after … Continue reading “Israel’s War of Provocation”

Reprinted with permission from MondoWeiss. After 243 Palestinian deaths, more than 1,900 Palestinians wounded, 16,800 Palestinian homes destroyed, tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes and a refused Egyptian proposal of a ceasefire, Israel has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire. But it never had to happen. On April 6, 2021, the United States returned … Continue reading “A War of Choice, a War of Permission”

After a slow start in Iran, the Biden administration was somehow convinced to alter course on the nuclear negotiations and become serious. Though both sides still accuse the other of being unrealistic on sanction relief, both sides now believe the other is committed to resuscitating the JCPOA nuclear agreement. Iran’s top negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, recently … Continue reading “US Foreign Policy: Some Things Change, Some Things Don’t”