So sick of liberal hegemony, critics of Washington’s foreign policy have long been apt to seize at anything that promises something, anything, different. Hence the vigorous applause directed towards anyone who doesn’t mindlessly embrace every single one of the blob’s wars. One of the most prominent in the second Donald Trump administration is Elbridge Colby, current Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, who has drawn the predictable beltway ire for reviews of Ukraine aid and AUKUS, among other things. But here’s the problem with Elbridge Colby, and everyone else like him, from the...

Across multiple conflict zones—from the mineral-rich hills of eastern Congo to the contested temple sites on the Thailand-Cambodia border—a familiar pattern emerges: foreign intervention complicates and often worsens already volatile situations. In recent years, American diplomatic efforts, especially under the Trump administration, have produced headline-grabbing agreements while sidestepping the structural causes of conflict. Whether through strategic alignments, economic opportunism, or misguided humanitarianism, Washington’s involvement has frequently undermined peace and sovereignty. A...