Connor Freeman | The Libertarian Institute

Berlin Walks Back From Legal Commitment to Meet NATO Military Spending Target

by Connor Freeman | Aug 17, 2023 | News

Berlin has backed off its plan to legally commit itself to meeting NATO’s two percent yearly military spending target, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday. Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s draft of a new budget financing law was passed by parliament after a clause pledging to meet the target was deleted at the last minute. Instead, in keeping with Berlin’s National Security Strategy, it will maintain its policy to aim for spending two percent of GDP on military spending on average over a five-year period. Germany’s Foreign Ministry, led by Annalena Baerbock, opposed the plan...

Kansas Newspaper Plans to Sue Police Over Raid, Citing First Amendment Violations

by Connor Freeman | Aug 17, 2023 | News

The police department in Marion, Kansas raided a local, family-owned newspaper's offices as well as the owner’s home in an aggressive search which myriad press groups have deemed illegal and unconstitutional. This raid may have been motivated by the paper’s investigation into the new Chief of Police and allegations that he had a history of sexual misconduct when he was a police captain in Kansas City, Missouri. According to the Marion County Record, police forces seized their computers, staff’s file servers, and phones during the raid on Friday. Additionally, the police – including the...

US Treasury Bolsters Sanctions On Belarus Over ‘Complicity’ in Ukraine War

by Connor Freeman | Aug 9, 2023 | News

The United States Treasury Department expanded its sanctions on Belarus, taking aim at the country’s premier airline, Belavia, as well as three more companies and a government office. These additional penalties announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday marked the third anniversary of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election. OFAC said that the broadened sanctions were a response to Minsk’s “callous crackdown” on the country’s pro-democracy movement and the government’s “complicity” with Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Russian forces launched...

‘Normalization’ With Israel Is Losing Popularity in Arab States, As Netanyahu Kills More Palestinians

by Connor Freeman | Aug 3, 2023 | News

Tensions between the Gulf States and Israel are growing as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oversees illegal settlement expansion and mass killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. This comes as the White House is attempting to forge a “normalization” deal between Tel Aviv and Riyadh. According to Bloomberg, Abu Dhabi and Manama are becoming frustrated with the outcome of the 2020 Abraham Accords. People familiar with the matter said the leadership in both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Bahrain are particularly concerned over a...

British Arms Industry Giant Reaps Huge Windfall, Amid West’s Tensions with Russia and China

by Connor Freeman | Aug 2, 2023 | News

Amid the surge in NATO members’ military spending as a result of the war in Ukraine, BAE Systems announced that - during the first half of this year - its net profits soared with a 57 percent increase. The British arms industry giant reported its huge windfall on Wednesday. BAE Systems stated its revenue swelled to 11 billion pounds, an increase of 13 percent, while profits after taxes increased to 965 million pounds ($1.2 billion) during the first six months of 2023. This is compared with 615 million pounds in the same period last year. Chief Executive Charles Woodburn declared “Our global...

WH Backs Renewal of Law Enabling Spying on Americans, Amid FBI Scandals

by Connor Freeman | Aug 1, 2023 | News

The Joe Biden administration released a report endorsing the renewal of a controversial law which enables US intelligence agencies to spy on foreign nationals and American citizens on Monday. This comes amid a heated debate in Congress regarding how such surveillance powers are weaponized against the American people, as well as a slew of scandals involving these capabilities being wielded by the FBI against protesters and lawmakers. Published by the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board, the 42-page report states that a failure of Congress to renew Section...

NYT: Biden Ramps Up Efforts to Forge Saudi-Israeli Normalization

by Connor Freeman | Jul 28, 2023 | News

The Joe Biden administration is redoubling its efforts in pursuit of a normalization deal between Tel Aviv and Riyadh, says New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Significantly curtailing China’s influence in the Middle East is one of the White House’s main priorities. According to Friedman, based on his discussion with Biden last week, the White House is taking another stab at a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia and Israel, even if it means potentially offering Riyadh “NATO-level” security guarantees and other major commitments. For decades, Biden has been known as “Israel’s man in...

Biden Orders Admin to Share Evidence of Alleged Russian War Crimes with ICC

by Connor Freeman | Jul 26, 2023 | News

President Joe Biden has ordered his administration to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Hague, a US official said on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, the White House began notifying lawmakers of this change in policy on Tuesday. In contrast to the National Security Council and the State Department, the Pentagon had long opposed cooperation with the ICC. After the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, the Defense Department blocked Washington from...

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