Connor Freeman | The Libertarian Institute

Clashes Continue Between US-Backed Militias in East Syria, Pentagon Calls For End to Fighting

by Connor Freeman | Aug 31, 2023 | News

Fighting continued between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), two US backed militias in east Syria, on Wednesday. The US military has urged an end to the tensions, ongoing for four days, which have left at least 40 people dead. Clashes, which began Monday, have pitted the SDF against the Arab-led DEMC, its former ally, as well as some regional Arab tribesmen who have aligned with them. Hostilities were sparked after the SDF arrested Abu Khawla, the head of the DEMC and a senior SDF commander. Khawla and four other militia leaders were...

Pyongyang Test Fires Two ‘Tactical’ Ballistic Missiles as US Flies Bombers, Conducts War Games

by Connor Freeman | Aug 30, 2023 | News

Hours after the US flew bombers in separate joint air drills with Tokyo and Seoul, North Korea test fired two short-range ballistic missiles. This comes as Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has warned that increased military provocations by the US, Japan, and South Korea could cause a nuclear war. Ancillary to Washington’s massive Ulchi Freedom Shield annual joint war games with Seoul, a US B-1B flew alongside South Korean FA-50 jets and American F-16s on Wednesday. This marks Washington’s tenth such bomber flight this year. The 11-day...

Released Documents Show Nixon’s Intel Briefings Related to US-Backed Chilean Coup

by Connor Freeman | Aug 29, 2023 | News

Two fifty-year old documents related to the coup in Chile were released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the State Department last week. The democratically elected, left wing government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown in 1973 by the Chilean military, with covert CIA backing. A US-supported dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet was subsequently installed. President Richard Nixon’s daily briefs related to the coup on September 8th as well as the 11th - the day the Chilean military seized control of the government - were released. This declassification followed...

Tehran, Baghdad Agree to Disarm Kurdish Militant Groups

by Connor Freeman | Aug 28, 2023 | News

Iran announced it reached an agreement with Iraq to both disarm and relocate exiled Iranian Kurdish “armed terrorist groups” operating in camps in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq (IKR) on Monday. Baghdad must accomplish the task before a mid-September deadline unless Iranian forces will intervene. Speaking before a news conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said “according to a deal reached between the Iranian and Iraqi governments, the Iraqi government has pledged to disarm armed terrorist groups in Iraq by September 19." Tehran has also notified the...

WaPo: Trump Plans Massive Tariffs If Re-Elected

by Connor Freeman | Aug 23, 2023 | News

Former President Doanld Trump privately met with his top economic advisors last week and discussed plans for major tariff increases, three people familiar with the meeting told the Washington Post. One of the ideas which was floated involves a “universal baseline tariff” on nearly all imports to the US, which may be as high as 10 percent. In attendance were former senior White House officials Larry Kudlow and Brooke Rollins, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, as well as conservative commentator Stephen Moore. According to the report, Trump’s advisors have been debating for months what the...

Kim Jong Un Oversees Cruise Missile Test, as Washington and Seoul Launch Joint War Games

by Connor Freeman | Aug 21, 2023 | News

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a cruise missile test while aboard a naval ship on Monday. Concurrently, the US and South Korea began yet another series of military exercises which Pyongyang views as rehearsals for war and regime change. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a state run media outlet, Kim visited a Navy flotilla on the east coast to observe the missile launch and watched as sailors on a patrol ship staged the “strategic” test. Kim was pictured, flanked by officers, standing on the deck of a vessel and watching the missile as it was fired. This test was...

Lukashenko Warns Belarus Will Use Nukes if Attacked

by Connor Freeman | Aug 19, 2023 | News

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to use nuclear weapons, deployed to his country by Moscow, if “aggression is launched against us.” This comes as neighboring NATO states have deployed thousands of troops near the Belarusian border amid heightened tensions between Minsk and Warsaw. During an interview with the state-run media outlet BelTA, Lukashenko appeared to admonish the Washington-led alliance of the massive risks escalation would entail. “If aggression against our country is launched from the side of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will immediately respond with...

Iran FM Makes First Visit to Riyadh Since Rapprochement

by Connor Freeman | Aug 17, 2023 | News

Iran’s top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh on Thursday, where both sides preached unity and dialogue, in a one-day visit focused on “bilateral ties, regional, and international issues.” This comes five months after China brokered a peace deal between the two long-time arch rivals. “Relations between Tehran and Saudi are on the right track and we are witnessing progress,” Amir-Abdollahian declared during a press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, adding “the talks were successful.” Two months ago,...

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