Ted Snider

By abstaining from diplomacy and relying so heavily on isolating countries and the broad stroke of sanctions, the U.S. runs the risk of creating a community of isolated and sanctioned countries. A community of sanctioned countries negates the effect of sanctions. And a community of isolated countries creates the very multipolar world the U.S. is … Continue reading “Iran and Russia’s Friendship Just Got a Lot Deeper”

Before the first day of Donald Trump’s term in office, he already had more diplomatic achievements than Joe Biden did on the last day of his. The entrance of the Trump team into the negotiations was the difference in Gaza. Biden opened his administration with the promise of “a new era of relentless diplomacy.” But after four years … Continue reading “Trump One; Biden Nothing”

Recent threatening statements by incoming President Donald Trump have raised the question of why any country would risk partnering with the United States. But the erosion in trust has not begun with the incoming Trump administration. Several years ago, Saudi Arabia began to reexamine its relationship with the United States. Their confidence had been shaken … Continue reading “Why Would Any Country Partner With the US?”

During the Cold War, American and Russian officials and diplomats were in constant communication. The Cuban missile crisis was resolved, not by isolating each other, but by communicating with each other. Contrary to American mythology, the Cuban missile crisis was resolved, not when Kennedy coldly stared down Khrushchev and forced him to back down, but … Continue reading “You Can’t Make Peace if No One is Talking”

The present severed from the past is easily misunderstood. In discussions of the Russia-Ukraine war, not enough is made of the historical facts that, at the end of the Cold War, the newly independent Ukraine promised not to join NATO, and NATO promised not to expand to Ukraine. Not enough is made of the fact … Continue reading “US Always Knew NATO Expansion Led to War”

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has recently taken to calling the Prime Minister of Canada the “Governor… of the Great State of Canada.” In the past days, he has gone beyond the jocular tone that some Canadian ministers have insisted he had, citing quite specific reasons why Canada would benefit from annexation by the States. Canadians, … Continue reading “Should Panama Be Afraid of Trump’s New Imperialism?”

Maybe Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who is now the leader of Syria, really has changed. Maybe he has matured, as he told CNN, as if his years as an al-Qaeda terrorist leader were a youthful indiscretion. But the world cannot simply take the pragmatic rebel at his word. On … Continue reading “Pretending Your Partners Aren’t Who They Are”

On December 11, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that, as one of the last things he would do at the end of his term as the European Union’s rotating president, he proposed a Christmas truce between Ukraine and Russia. “At the end of the Hungarian EU presidency, we made new efforts for peace. We … Continue reading “Wishing for A Christmas Truce in Ukraine”

The Russian Armed Forces are pushing west through the Donbas region of Ukraine. Their advance has consistently been called slow, but this is no longer true. In October and November, Russia captured over 1,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. The pace has continued in December, and Russia is advancing on as many as eight sections … Continue reading “Sometimes It Is Hard To Understand Volodymyr Zelensky”

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly expressed concern that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb on his watch. In considering his options to prevent that, The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is considering the possibility of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Reports that Trump could be open to such an action are not inconsistent with … Continue reading “The Hypocrisy of Bombing Iran”