Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams

April 2, 2020

In a shocking press conference yesterday, President Trump and his advisors announced that the US military would begin conducting a “counter-narcotics operation” in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Perhaps not coincidentally, Trump’s Justice Department indicted Venezuelan president Maduro on drug trafficking charges. Is the US about to “do a Noriega” on Maduro based on half-baked […]

Daniel Larison

April 1, 2020

Gil Barndollar and Sam Long do an excellent job of making the case against the noxious U.S.-Saudi relationship: These attacks on individuals, however, paled in comparison to the Kingdom’s military misjudgments. The war in Yemen, pushed by Mohammed bin Salman when he became Minister of Defense in 2015, was expected to be a quick triumph. […]

Patrick Eddington and Caleb Brown

April 1, 2020

Vigilance toward overweening government is no less important during a pandemic. The Cato Institute’s Patrick Eddington discusses some federal efforts to claim emergency powers with Caleb Brown. Listen here or go the Cato Institute page. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Google Play, or Spotify.

Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams

March 31, 2020

Keep your eye on Pompeo! President Trump is understandably distracted by the coronavirus outbreak in the US but in the “never let a good crisis go to waste” mode, the neocons in his Administration – led by Pompeo – are launching their war plots without the normal scrutiny. Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Russia – the long […]

Gilbert Doctorow

March 30, 2020

This is not a question that figures in our Western commentary and analysis, since it is universally assumed that one man, Vladimir Putin, dominates Russian political life for a good reason: his unique ability to tame the contending factions at the center of power in Russia. He is the indispensable lynchpin. However, I insist that […]

Daniel Larison

March 30, 2020

Originally appeared at The American Conservative. Jackson Diehl comments on Mike Pompeo’s terrible performance during the coronavirus crisis: Has any secretary of state been worse in an emergency? It’s impossible to think of a more feckless performance since World War II. Pompeo’s dreadful week followed a month in which he has been all but invisible […]

Gilbert Doctorow

March 28, 2020

As is his custom, this afternoon Vladimir Putin delivered a well-constructed speech to the nation in which, after expressing the nation’s gratitude to its medical cadres and other front-line personnel dealing with the coming epidemic, he spoke next about the issue that everyone knew was at the forefront of his concerns, the 22 April referendum […]

Daniel Larison

March 26, 2020

Originally appeared at The American Conservative. The Wall Street Journal predictably rejects sanctions relief for Iran, but it is worth noting that they have to tell a lot of lies to make their argument: Easing sanctions would shore up the regime’s shaky position without providing relief to the Iranian people. Tehran has money for medicine […]

Eric Garris

March 25, 2020

Dan McKnight, of BringOurTroopsHome.us explains that we have to stop fighting endless wars. They are promoting bills before state legislatures around the country to stop deployments of national guard troops to these unconstitutional wars. BringOurTroopsHome.US is dedicated to ending the war in Afghanistan, removing our military forces from the Middle East, and insisting the Constitution […]

Edward Hasbrouck

March 25, 2020

This morning the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS) released its final report, recommending that Congress amend the Military Selective Service Act to require that young women, as well as young men, register for the draft when they reach 18 years of age, and inform the Selective Service System each time they […]