Assange British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday signed an extradition order to send Julian Assange to stand trial in America. [Link] Julian’s wife Stella vowed to fight the order. "We're going to fight this. We're going to use every appeal avenue," Stella Assange told reporters, calling the decision a "travesty". "I'm going to spend every waking hour fighting for Julian until he is free, until justice is served." [Link] Assange's brother said the Assange legal team's appeal to London's High Court of the decision to extradite him to the United States would include new information...
Somalia
News Roundup 6/12/2022
US News Former Kent Washington Assistant Police Chief Derek Kammerzell will receive more than $1.5 million from the city after being fired for displaying Nazi symbols. [Link] The White House is lifting its requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight to the US. [Link] The Navy temporarily suspends flight operations. In the last two weeks, there have been five mishaps. [Link] Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says the global nuclear arsenal is expected to grow in the coming years for the first time since the Cold...
News Roundup 6/5/2022
Venezuela The US will allow two European companies to ship Venezuelan oil to Europe. [Link] Russia NATO head Jens Stoltenburg says the alliance needs to prepare for a long war in Ukraine. [Link] He added that Ukraine shouldn’t stop trying to push Russia from Crimea. [Link] Finland’s head of intelligence says he is surprised by the lack of Russian reprisals after Helsinki submitted an application to join NATO. [Link] The US claims Russia isn’t serious about allowing the grain to be shipped through the Black Sea. [Link] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he had to cancel his trip...
30 Years With No Strategy Brought Us the War in Ukraine
Washington DC has not excelled in grand strategy; the art and science of cost-effectively employing the diplomatic, economic, and informational powers of the United States in combination with its armed forces to secure its national goals and interests. Most of the strategic decisions to use American military power that were made over the last 30 years resulted in one of two strategic outcomes: abject failure (Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq) or a new regional status quo that is untenable without a permanent U.S. military presence far from America’s borders (the Balkans). The reasons...
News Roundup 5/17/2022
Cuba Biden will expand the number of flights to Cuba and restate a family reunification program ended by Trump. [Link] Russia The Senate passes the $40 billion aid package for Ukraine. [Link] NATO pledges open-ended military support to Ukraine. [Link] France, Germany, and Italy favor a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. [Link] Russia says there are no ongoing talks with Ukraine. [Link] Treasury Secretary Yellen called for tariffs on Russian fuel imports. [Link] China Yellen called on the West to band together to combat Chinese business practices. [Link] The US and Japan plan to release...
‘America First’ Means Anti-Bush, Not Antiwar
Donald Trump, despite not being perfect (far from it), was useful in making the idea of chronic interventionism and foreign entanglements unpopular, but as much credit as the New Right is given, they are hardly antiwar. The New Right is largely a rejection of the moderates—the neoconservatives and neoliberals—and their exemplars, the Clintons, Cheneys, Bushes, and Romneys. There is certainly an aversion towards our involvement in the Middle East, with Trump telling Jeb Bush in 2016 that, “Your brother lied,” about WMDs in Iraq. But while they may not be Middle East hawks like the...
Neoconservatives are the Flat-Earthers of Foreign Policy
Douglas Murray, the author of Neoconservatism: Why We Need It, claims: Neoconservatism is not a cabal or a party, but rather a sense, an instinct, a way of looking at the world. That way of looking at the world is, in my definition, a blend of idealism and realism. We look at the world as it is, but act in the world to make it as we would like it to be. This makes our instincts different from traditional conservatives who often distrust social engineering projects or any form of alteration of a status quo they perpetually see as being an irreversible if often quietly enjoyable decline....
News Roundup 4/19/2022
US News Vice President Harris announces a self-imposed ban on testing anti-satellite weapons. [Link] NATO begins its annual cyberwar games. [Link] Russia-Ukraine The Czech Republic will repair damaged Ukrainian military equipment. [Link] Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will push US allies to add more sanctions on Russia. [Link] Senator Coons calls on the US to send troops to Ukraine. [Link] Russia’s Ambassador to the US says he is being denied meetings with Biden administration officials. [Link] British soldiers are training Ukrainian troops in Kiev. [Link] The White House is planning...
News Roundup 4/8/2022
Russia Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Russia should be expelled from the G20. [Link] The European Union agrees to ban Russian coal. [Link] The UN General Assembly votes to remove Russia from the Human Rights Council. [Link] NATO to provide Ukraine with new and heavier weapons. [Link] Russia says it has lost over 1,000 troops. [Link] Chemical weapons allegations were used by the US in info warfare against Ukraine. [Link] The Pentagon says Russia has withdrawn from areas around Keiv. [Link] Estonia warns against peace at any price with Putin. [Link] Finland and Sweden joining NATO was...
News Roundup 3/30/2022
US News The Pentagon delays awarding a contract to build a cloud for the Department of Defense until December. [Link] Norwegian soldiers arrive in the US to train with the Minnesota National Guard. [Link] Russia A majority of Americans believe Biden has not been tough enough on Russia. [Link] NATO members are split on talking with Putin and on what weapons to send Ukraine. [Link] Four European countries expel over 40 Russian diplomats. [Link] Turkey says meaningful progress was made during the latest Russia-Ukraine talks. After the talks, Moscow announced it would reduce its military...