Connor Freeman | The Libertarian Institute

Israeli Finance Minister Demands Security Zones Around Illegal West Bank Settlements

by Connor Freeman | Nov 9, 2023 | News

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionism party in the ruling right-wing coalition, demanded Tel Aviv impose security zones around illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank on Monday. The letter Smotrich has sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant includes an insistence that Palestinians be kept away during the ongoing olive harvest season. This follows a pattern of occupying forces and settlers exploiting the war on Gaza as an opportunity to further cut Palestinian towns, cities, and villages off from each...

Amid War on Gaza, Scores of Palestinians Killed By Israeli Forces, Settlers in the West Bank

by Connor Freeman | Oct 20, 2023 | News

Amid Tel Aviv’s massive bombing campaign against the densely populated, besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have been on a rampage of violence, terror, torture, and murder throughout the occupied West Bank. On October 7, Hamas carried out a surprise attack against southern Israel and the war against the people of Gaza was launched. Since then, Israeli gunfire in the West Bank has killed at least 75 Palestinians - including roughly 20 children - while over 1,300 have been wounded. Middle East Eye reported that, per Palestinian medical sources, Israel’s apartheid army is...

What Will Be Mark Milley’s True Legacy?

by Connor Freeman | Oct 19, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Gen. Mark Milley retired on Friday [September 29] as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and handed over command to Air Force chief Gen. Charles Q. Brown. In 2019, Milley took up the post after being nominated by President Donald Trump. He oversaw massive escalations in the buildup for war with China, the Ukraine proxy war, and the current brinkmanship with Moscow during his four-year tenure. Milley’s years as top general saw Washington and the Pentagon pour weapons into Kiev and begin transforming Ukraine into a de facto NATO state, well before Russia launched its invasion in 2022....

As Turkey Bombs US-Backed Kurdish Fighters, Dozens of Oil and Power Facilities Damaged in NE Syria

by Connor Freeman | Oct 12, 2023 | News

Ankara, Washington’s NATO ally, has been waging a now week-long bombing campaign against Kurdish armed factions in US-occupied Syria. Turkey’s airstrikes have damaged or destroyed more than half of the oil and power facilities, east of the Euphrates River, in the territory controlled by the US and their Kurdish partners. Mazloum Abdi, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), blasted the US military for not impeding the attacks during an interview with AFP. "The [United] States' position has been weak… American forces limited their action to protecting their positions... but did nothing to...

US Labels Niger Uprising a ‘Coup,’ As French Military Forces Begin a Withdrawal

by Connor Freeman | Oct 11, 2023 | News

Washington formally declared the July 26 ouster of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum - and the subsequent establishment of a miliary junta in Niamey - a coup d’etat on Tuesday. The junta, called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), is led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani. Per US law, this designation means the US will indefinitely cut off all military assistance, including counterterrorism and training missions. Senior White House officials told reporters the decision comes after Washington had exhausted all other options “to preserve the constitutional order” in the...

Turkish Airstrikes Kill More Kurdish Fighters in US Occupied Syria

by Connor Freeman | Oct 9, 2023 | News

Ankara, Washington’s NATO ally, continued launching airstrikes in northeast Syria on Monday against US-backed Kurdish militias. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 20 people were killed and dozens more were wounded. Turkey’s latest air campaign against the armed Kurdish groups in US-occupied Syria, as well as northern Iraq, began on Thursday. It was precipitated by a recent suicide bombing which targeted the Turkish Interior Ministry. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed credit for the attack, both Ankara and Washington have deemed the group a...

Congress Passes Stop-Gap Spending Bill, Ukraine Aid Relegated to Separate Vote

by Connor Freeman | Oct 2, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Politics

Editor's Note: Before midnight, President Joe Biden signed the temporary funding bill. A partial “shutdown” of the federal government, which seemed inevitable amid battles over spending in both chambers of Congress, was averted after the House and Senate passed a stop-gap funding bill without any Ukraine aid on Saturday night. Passed before the midnight deadline, the bill will fund the government until November 17 at 2023 spending levels. As a result of growing GOP opposition to massive spending on the White House’s proxy war with Russia, aid to Kiev was dropped from the House leadership’s...

Moscow Announces Massive Military Spending Increase to Combat NATO’s ‘Hybrid War’ in Ukraine

by Connor Freeman | Sep 28, 2023 | News

Moscow announced that it plans to increase military spending by nearly 70% in 2024 as it fights against what the Kremlin has dubbed NATO’s “hybrid war.” Russia’s defense budget next year, which is dwarfed by the Pentagon budget, will still be less than the total amount the US has already pledged to assist Kiev in its proxy war with Moscow. Russia’s Finance Ministry published a document on Thursday explaining that Moscow is set to ramp up defense spending by a whopping 68% to 10.8 trillion rubles ($111.15 billion) next year. At the same time, the Pentagon budget is fast approaching $900...