Jason Ditz | The Libertarian Institute

UN Says Two-Month Yemen Ceasefire Agreed Upon, Saudis Will Ease Blockade

by Jason Ditz | Apr 2, 2022 | News Roundup

As Ramadan gets started, the UN announced a surprise breakthrough on the ceasefire in Yemen, which appeared unlikely until today. They now say both sides have agreed to a full two-month ceasefire, beginning Saturday. This will be the first nationwide truce in Yemen in years, and gives the war-weary population a nice break. UN officials say the truce is negotiated so it could be voluntarily extended easily. The UN started with a ceasefire meant for just the month of Ramadan, but the Houthis were resisting when it didn’t include any easing of the naval blockade. Exact terms aren’t public yet,...

Iraqi Militia Declares War on U.S. Soldiers In-Country

by Jason Ditz | Jun 29, 2021 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria overnight didn’t take long to provoke a reaction, despite claims that the strikes were a “deterrent.” US troops in Syria were under rocket attacks within a matter of hours. Details are still emerging, though the U.S. says that there are no casualties so far. This is just the start of the problem though, with the targeted militia vowing “open war with the American occupation.” U.S. troops reportedly came under rocket fire in northeastern Syria, and U.S. troops responded with artillery fire. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said that the U.S. is ready to act...

Despite Withdrawal, U.S. Commits Billions to Fund Afghan Military

by Jason Ditz | Jun 7, 2021 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan was meant to mark the end of the war in Afghanistan. As it stands, however, it seems that the administration is going through any hoops possible that might keep the war going and the US deeply invested in it. The latest sign of the Afghan War to come was envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and a delegation committing the U.S. to $3.3 billion annually in direct funding to the Afghan military. This is just one aspect of all the U.S. aid to Afghanistan still being negotiated. The U.S. spent decades designing an Afghan military that the country could never afford, and it was...

Home for Christmas: Trump’s New Promise to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

by Jason Ditz | Oct 8, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

On Wednesday, President Trump made a new comment on the pullout of Afghanistan, saying that it is now his intention to have all remaining U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by Christmas. That’s substantially sooner than previous statements on the matter. This seems to be a very recent policy change. Just hours before Trump’s comments, the national security adviser said that there would still be 2,500 US troops left in Afghanistan by early 2021. This is roughly in line with previous comments on the matter. Troop cuts in October and November are intended to get troop levels to around 4,500 in...

Israel Demands F-35s As Part Of $8 Billion Military Aid Package

by Jason Ditz | Sep 17, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

With the United States set to use the peace treaty as a chance to sell F-35 warplanes to the United Arab Emirates, Israel has been pushing for a bunch of free U.S. equipment based on pledges for a region-wide qualitative edge. On Wednesday, Israel offered its first list of demands. The way Israel envisions this going down, they’ll get some $8 billion in equipment, mostly advanced U.S.-made aircraft. This would include an entire squadron of F-35s, the very plane that was supposedly the cause of all this. While Israel was previously objecting to the sales to the UAE as threatening their...

Yemen Update: Saudi Strike Obliterates Home, Kills 10 Civilians

by Jason Ditz | Jul 14, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Saudi Arabia has carried out another airstrike in the northern Hajjah Province of Yemen over the weekend, destroying a house in Washhah District, and killing at least 10 civilians within, according to the Yemeni news agency. As is often the case with such strikes, all the casualties were civilians, and women and children were reportedly among the slain. There was no indication why this site was attacked in the first place, and the Saudis have yet to comment. This lack of transparency from the Saudis is also par for the course, with Saudis not commenting on their own attacks, but emphasizing...

Pentagon Admits There Is No Corroboration of ‘Bountygate’ Claims

by Jason Ditz | Jul 9, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Continuing the allegation of Russian bounty payments to Taliban to kill U.S. troops, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley both told the House Armed Services Committee that they’ve seen no corroboration of the claim, nor do they believe anyone was actually killed on the basis of it. This allegation emerged last month in The New York Times and has been oft-repeated, despite a lack of evidence. Earlier this week, a poll showed a majority of Americans believe the claim, though the military has repeatedly said they just don’t have the evidence to defend it....

Israel Expected to Seek Double U.S. Aid, Early Delivery of Funds

by Jason Ditz | Apr 29, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

With the coronavirus pandemic putting the US in potential economic crisis, Israeli officials are keen to get as much military aid out of the Americans, and as quickly, as they can. The requests seek the aid delivery well ahead of schedule, and potentially double the agreed amount. Israel is expected to present this as their own coronavirus-related need, with some officials saying that since US aid tends to be spent heavily on US arms, produced in US factories, it should be easy to present it as domestic spending, not foreign aid. A lot of officials are at least reasonably sure that this will...