When asked about the cost of their government’s support of the State of Israel, some Americans will say it’s $3.8 billion a year—the amount of annual military aid the United States is committed to under its current, 10-year “memorandum of understanding” with Israel....
Latest Articles
The Unpopular Truth About Foreign Aid
by Keith Knight | Jul 8, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Editor's note: This article is taken from Libertarian Institute Managing Editor Keith Knight's opening statement from a June 28 debate on Zerohedge with Mike Benz and Cenk Uygur. When I say American foreign aid, I am generally referring to resources given or lent by...
The Ruse of a Trump-Netanyahu Falling Out
by José Niño | Jul 8, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Despite dramatic headlines about President Donald Trump’s clashes with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the reality is that U.S.-Israel relations remain as robust as ever. To understand why these headlines don’t reflect a true break, one need only consider...
President, Party, or Principle: What Should MAGA Stand For?
by Dan Sanchez | Jul 7, 2025 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism
The MAGA movement has fractured recently over the contentious issues of foreign military intervention and government spending, with each faction accusing their opponents of betraying MAGA. This raises a question: What does it mean to be MAGA? Considering “MAGA” as a...
Exponential Increase in Domestic Terrorism Reaches ‘Minnesota Nice’
by Coleen Rowley | Jul 7, 2025 | Criminal Justice, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Horribly terroristic (and the apotheosis of weird) shootings in Minnesota—elaborately planned (and attempted) murders of top Democrat Minnesota legislators Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman (and their families) by a 57-year old who effectively disguised himself and his...
TGIF: Liberty Requires Nationwide Injunctions
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 4, 2025 | Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
The government is always a threat. This we must never forget. In that light, I want to examine the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA, the 6-3 decision that sided with the Trump administration's position that a federal district court exceeded its...
Could NATO Burden-Sharing Be a Subtle Snare for the United States?
by Ted Galen Carpenter | Jul 4, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Both Donald Trump and his legions of critics in Europe are celebrating the outcome of the latest NATO summit. The centerpiece of NATO’s renewed image of solidarity was an agreement among all Alliance members (except Spain) to boost their annual defense outlays to at...
Can You Privatize the Military-Industrial Complex?
by Casey Carlisle | Jul 3, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism
Though it’s rare to hear someone praise the military-industrial-congressional complex, it is only the latter component that masks a praiseworthy feat. Markets—also known as “people” voluntarily exchanging—have devised the most efficient methods for producing weapons...
Americans Must Oppose the Establishment of an East Asian NATO
by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 3, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Ely Ratner’s latest offering in Foreign Affairs, “The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact,” is a textbook example of how groupthink, careerism, and militarist ideology continue to warp U.S. foreign policy discourse. Ratner, now back at the Marathon Initiative after a...
On Applying Rothbardian Populism
by Oscar Grau | Jul 2, 2025 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics
Just as state action is a zero-sum game, so is politics: some win and others lose. But if the term “populism” is supposed to be meaningful, populism must have some distinctive elements for it not to be confused with mere democracy. Although politics occur in different...
The 1775 Two Step That Led to American Independence
by Jim Bovard | Jul 2, 2025 | Featured Articles, History
As Americans prepare to celebrate the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we should also toast the 250th anniversary of a savvy political two-step that paved the way to formally breaking with Britain the following year. “We, your Majesty’s faithful...
“Smart War” and State Terrorism
by Laurie Calhoun | Jul 1, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
On June 16, 2025, President Donald Trump threatened the 10 million inhabitants of Tehran, Iran, with death, for their government’s alleged nuclear aspirations: Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply...
US Bombing of Iran Harms Non-Proliferation
by Ted Snider | Jul 1, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Iran didn’t violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States did. When the U.S. bombed Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities on June 23, they didn’t just violate the cardinal rule of international law by attacking a sovereign nation, without Security...
Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand International Politics
by Scott Boykin | Jun 30, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
There are great reasons for the United States to adopt a non-interventionist foreign policy. Some of these are ethical, such as not violating the rights of other people and not supporting or engaging in aggressive conduct generally. Others are partly ethical and...
Democracy Cannot Lead to Self-Governance
by Jeb Smith | Jun 30, 2025 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics
Democracies end up anti-democratic because only a tiny minority of radicals (politicians, interest groups, major corporations, etc.) achieve power centralized in the capital. They work the levers of government, place their servants in power, and advertise via...
Join the Newsletter
Get the latest news and updates from The Institute, straight to your inbox.
News
Trump Says US Could Strike Iran Again if Tehran Doesn’t Make a Deal
President Donald Trump suggested the US may attack Iran again if Tehran does not agree to a peace deal.
Tensions Continue to Simmer in the South Caucasus
Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan have reached new highs following a dramatic series of arrests and retaliatory actions.
Iran Trades Oil to China for Air Defenses
Following the aggressive Israeli war against Iran, Tehran is importing air defenses from China and paying Beijing in oil.
US Patriot Missile Stockpile a Fraction of What Pentagon Needs
The ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have depleted US stockpiles of missile interceptors, according to the Guardian. The Pentagon has just a quarter of the Patriot missiles it claims to need.
Netanyahu Nominates Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize
During his visit to the White House on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump that he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
US Will Spend Over $1 Billion Building Military Bases for Israel
The US is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade and build new military bases for Israel. The total cost of the facilities could exceed $1 billion.
Blog
Boeing, Boeing: The Saga Continues
Boeing is now a verb synonym for worthless. The K46 also leaks fuel. It's a refueler bird. It leaks fuel. If you Boeing something, things are really fucked up. https://www.twz.com/air/kc-46-tankers-boom-just-broke-off-during-f-22-refueling-mission Did I...
Epstein Definitely DID NOT Kill Himself
Texas Flood, Epstein, Assassinating ICE officers, and UFC at the Whitehouse. ALP
Call Him Daddy
Trump is Nato’s daddy, bombing Iran, and happy 4th. ALP
Tucker Carlson asks Scott Horton: How did we get into war with Iran?
How did we wind up at war with Iran? Scott Horton explains on The Tucker Carlson Show. https://youtu.be/_HVGLCRp3I8?si=gtgBPCToHUEUnyuP Chapters: 0:00 The History of Why Iran Is Such a Global Focal Point 11:16 The Jimmy Carter Doctrine 22:29 The Brutality of the...
Chasing Ghosts and WarNotes Podcast Upgrades
I have been retrofitting and improving the sound to my podcasts WarNotes episodes are done with the Podsworth app upgrade. Chasing Ghosts upgrades to episodes 1-3, 6, 8-26 and 58-67 are now complete (updated on RSS, Substack and the Libertarian Institute). I know it...
Provoked Gets a Positive Review in the Army War College Quarterly, Parameters
This is a prestigious and widely admired quarterly in the military and defense intelligentsia milieu. https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/80/