Connor Freeman | The Libertarian Institute

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,...

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...