Ted Snider

At the close of 2018, President Donald Trump announced that American troops were being withdrawn from Syria. By the open of 2019, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Senator Lindsey Graham were saying that there would be no withdrawal before a full defeat of the Islamic State and other objectives were achieved. As usual, the … Continue reading “The Syrian War Is Over – It Never Should Have Started”

America strives for hegemony. If the American dream is that an individual can make it to the top, the political equivalent is that a nation can. And the American dream is that that nation is America. "Hegemony" derives from the ancient Greek word "hegemonikon," a word used by the Stoic philosophers to mean the leading … Continue reading “Rogue: America and the Post Unipolar World”

Round One In 1964, a little discussed action was prepared by the Kennedy administration and carried out after his death by the Johnson administration. It represented the first steps in Kennedy’s plan to transform Latin America’s militaries from forces that defend against external threats, as they were intended, into forces that ensure "internal security" by … Continue reading “Brazil: Our Work Here Is Done”

The secret comments that Donald Trump made off the record leaked. He was not sincerely negotiating a compromise: he was bullying his opponent. If any deal was to be made, he boasted, it would be "totally on our terms." America’s negotiating partner was "working their ass off," Trump admitted, but "every time we have a … Continue reading “When All You’ve Got Is Bullying: A New Way of Dealing With America”

A denuclearization deal with North Korea is more within reach than anyone could have thought possible a very short time ago. Thanks to the tireless diplomatic work of Moon Jae In of South Korea and the unexpectedly adept diplomatic work of Kim Jong Un of North Korea, a joint statement between North Korea and the … Continue reading “The Three Landmines That Could Kill the Korea Deal”

After listening to Trump’s speech explaining his decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement with Iran, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Trump’s speech contained "over ten lies." Khamenei didn’t go on to name the lies. So, what were the lies Trump told? Lie #1 "The … Continue reading “Trump’s Ten Lies: A Response to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Speech”

As North Korea begins to open up to the world, what must they be hearing? Two of the loudest stories concern Donald Trump’s reactions to countries accused of having active weapons of mass destruction programs. Trump bombed Syria for using chemical weapons, and he has now officially pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of … Continue reading “The Meaning of Verification”

The prophet Cassandra’s curse was that when she told the future, no one listened; history’s curse is that when it tells the past, no one does. The West has no shortage of charges it hurls against Russia, but most of them can be grouped into one of three categories: that Russia intervened in the American … Continue reading “Accusing Russia – Listening to History”

In September 2007, in the dark of night, warplanes crossed the Syrian border and bombed a covert nuclear reactor. Recently, Israel took responsibility for the bombing mission that obliterated the Syrian reactor. The Israeli announcement was unnecessary if it was intended to be an admission of responsibility. The origin of the bombers had never been … Continue reading “What Did Israel Bomb in the Syrian Desert in 2007?”

The past week featured two crazy nuclear stories. And neither of them involved North Korea. Saudi Arabia The first involved Saudi Arabia. With all the news out of Washington in the past few days, one highly significant story passed almost uncovered by the media. While the mainstream media extensively covered the talks between Trump and … Continue reading “None of This Month’s Craziest Nuclear Stories Involved North Korea”