Antiwar.com Original

Whenever a foreign country doesn’t go along with the policy goals of the "international community" (i.e. America and it’s allies), one tool that it invariably uses to try and put these nations back in line is the sanction. As most of you are already aware, sanctions involve prohibiting trade in certain goods or services between … Continue reading “Why Sanctions Don’t Work”

The US is simultaneously challenging China, Iran, and Russia. Although war remains unlikely, all three involve potential military confrontations with significant powers. Then there is North Korea. The "love affair" between the North’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump is long over, and Kim has refused to even get acquainted with President Joe … Continue reading “North Korea Continues to Act Up: Why Is America Still in the Middle of the Korean Imbroglio?”

U.S. troops are still living with the consequences of Trump’s decision two years ago to assassinate Iranian Qods Force commander, Qassem Soleimani. Initially sold as necessary to ward off an "imminent attack" that did not exist, the drone strike that killed Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader at the Baghdad airport provoked the largest ballistic … Continue reading “Counting the Costs of Reckless Militarism”

When Joe Biden selected Antony Blinken to be his Secretary of State, Stephen Zunes, professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, worried that the selection represented, not a correction, but a continuation of past interventionism and incompetence. As evidence, Zunes cites Blinken’s integral and irresponsible role in clearing the way for the disastrous … Continue reading “Antony Blinken and a Gun at Your Head”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s snide comment about the Russian-led military intervention in Kazakhstan at the invitation of that country’s beleaguered government to help quell the mounting violence there backfired quickly. The initial White House reaction to the deployment of approximately 2,500 peacekeeping troops was relatively measured. "We are closely monitoring reports that the Collective … Continue reading “US Officials in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones”

"Impasse, Deadlock" says The Washington Post describing the outcome of the high-level U.S.-Russia talks Monday, with a tone of self-congratulation (we told you so), tinged with wishful thinking. Yes, wishful thinking. Given the very high stakes, the media is a huge part of the problem, since they keep millions in the dark about the real … Continue reading “US-Russia Talk About Where Not To Place Missiles”

The Pentagon has finally published its first Airpower Summary since President Biden took office nearly a year ago. These monthly reports have been published since 2007 to document the number of bombs and missiles dropped by U.S.-led air forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria since 2004. But President Trump stopped publishing them after February 2020, … Continue reading “Hey, Hey, USA! How Many Bombs Did You Drop Today?”

After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Warsaw Pact dissolved, the breakup of the USSR began. But the dissolution did not stop with the 14 Soviet "republics" declaring their independence of Moscow. Decomposition had only just begun. Transnistria broke away from Moldova. South Ossetia and Abkhazia seceded from Georgia. Chechnya broke free of … Continue reading “Where Does NATO Enlargement End?”

The US and Russia are talking again today, but this time focused on Ukraine. The two sides are discussing President Vladimir Putin’s demand that America and NATO respect Moscow’s security interests. Having treated Russia as of no account since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Washington policymakers have reacted in disbelief to Moscow’s demand to … Continue reading “Offer Russia a Solution, Not a Policy Placebo”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Yes, it’s true. After 20 years of war – actually, more like 30 years if you count American involvement in the Russian version of that conflict in the 1980s – the U.S. has finally waved goodbye to Afghanistan (at least for now). Its last act in Kabul was the drone-slaughtering of … Continue reading “A World of Killer Robots?”