institute newspaper logo sized
So Much Hot Air: The (Fake) China Threat Strikes Again!

So Much Hot Air: The (Fake) China Threat Strikes Again!

by | Feb 13, 2023 | ,

Now that a few days have passed and the hysteria has come down slightly, perhaps a few sane thoughts might be added to what has otherwise been a microcosm of everything that is wrong with America’s warmongering media and political class. As everyone is by now well aware, a data-gathering balloon of Chinese origin passed over the continental United States last week. According to the Pentagon, it is not the first. They say China has launched some two dozen over the past five years, several of which passed over either Florida, Texas, or Guam during that time. Far from being cause for alarm,...

read more
Instead of Saving Face, Let’s Save Lives in Ukraine

Instead of Saving Face, Let’s Save Lives in Ukraine

by | Jan 18, 2023 | ,

Whenever asked about whether the U.S. will change its policy regarding the conflict in Ukraine, to start pushing for Kiev to enter negotiations rather than apparently providing as much money and as many weapons as they ask for, the Biden administration’s refrain has been a consistent variation of “We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing as long as it takes.” As long as it takes for what? For Ukraine to “win” its war against Russia, taking back all land occupied or annexed by Russia since 2014. While it isn’t clear this is possible, and even less clear that pursuing such a maximalist...

read more
Races to Watch: Your 2022 Election Primer

Races to Watch: Your 2022 Election Primer

by | Nov 8, 2022 | ,

When voters who haven’t already voted go to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots it will be with the Senate very much in play and Democrats needing a miracle to prevent a Republican takeover of the House. Midterms having historically provided rebukes to even reasonably successful first-term Presidents, with the party of the sitting President losing an average of twenty-eight and four House and Senate seats respectively, Democrats should consider themselves lucky: in the face of record-high inflation, skyrocketing mortgage rates, geopolitical chaos, and political witch hunts at home they...

read more
The Fake China Threat and Its Very Real Danger

The Fake China Threat and Its Very Real Danger

by | Jul 25, 2022 | , ,

From the front pages of The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, the Economist, to The New York Times’ Best Sellers List; from CNN and MSNBC to FOX and NEWSMAX; from think tanks to Pentagon planners, congressional testimonies and White House statements: CHINA! So singularly focused and omnipresent has the narrative of the China Threat become, one can be forgiven for forgetting that China is in fact a middle income country of modest capabilities and with no stated intention of doing any harm to Americans or the United States. Further, that China is not bent on world...

read more
A Vital Book for Sane People

A Vital Book for Sane People

by | Jul 18, 2022 | , ,

The top seller on Amazon for books devoted to war and peace as of this writing, Scott Horton's newest offering, Hotter than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, is a timely must read. As Washington barrels heedlessly along into Cold War II, the American public badly needs educating on the current risks, past close calls, and the utter insanity of an entire for-profit industry built on the flawed concept of thousands of thermonuclear bombs as “weapons” that keep us safe. With major papers like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times now regularly running pieces arguing everything from...

read more
The People Crafting U.S. Policy Aren’t in America

The People Crafting U.S. Policy Aren’t in America

by | Jun 30, 2022 | , ,

In a piece of news that shocked the mainstream media, but which shocked no one familiar with the academic industry writ large, retired U.S. Army general John Allen was forced to resign as president of the Brookings Institution after it was revealed the FBI was investigating him for lobbying on behalf of the Qatari monarchy. Of course, the real news, scarcely noted by The Washington Post, New York Times, or any other purported paper of record, is that Allen was only really in trouble because he hadn't fulfilled the pro forma legal requirements for those lobbying the U.S. government on behalf...

read more
Don’t Confuse the Falkland Islands for Taiwan

Don’t Confuse the Falkland Islands for Taiwan

by | Oct 13, 2021 | ,

Though the conflict is little known in the United States, Chinese military planners have long obsessed over what lessons can be gained from studying the brief 1982 conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the small collection of islands in the South Atlantic near the tip of South America—the Falklands—and for good reason. Its location, historical context, and the nature of the conflict between the powers involved more closely mirror the current standoff over Taiwan than any other example in modern war. Drawing lessons from history is a tricky business, however. And while Chinese...

read more
The Phony Threat of Chinese Dominance

The Phony Threat of Chinese Dominance

by | Aug 11, 2021 | ,

While the US has its problems, future global Chinese supremacy won’t be one. Far from being in a position of overwhelming strength, China and its Communist leadership face imminent multifront domestic crises that will threaten the existence not only of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) but the existence of the Chinese state as a unified whole. Further, there are several insurmountable obstacles to it seriously disturbing core US interests or expanding its influence much beyond its own coasts before this happens. First, China’s geography is terrible if projecting power is a state aim. Endless...

read more



Podcasts

scotthortonshow logosq

coi banner sq2@0.5x

liberty weekly thumbnail

Don't Tread on Anyone Logo

313x0w (1)

Shop Our Books

Pin It on Pinterest