Section: Cato Institute (USA)
Donald Trump Meets Vladimir Putin: Time for U.S. To Normalize Relations with Russia
Doug Bandow Perhaps the most important policy initiative suggested by candidate Donald Trump was improving relations with the Russian Federation. His proposal horrified the Blob, the collection of Washington elites who typically dominate U.S. foreign policy irrespective of administration. But the idea made eminent sense: no vital interests...
If Russia Wants the Syria Mess, Let Them Have It
Ted Galen Carpenter Relations between Moscow and Washington continue to deteriorate over a variety of issues. Contrary to the expectations of Americans who favor a more conciliatory policy toward Russia (and contrary to the fears of those who believe that a confrontational stance is necessary), the frigid bilateral relationship during Barack...
President Donald Trump Spoiled NATO Party in Brussels and Americans Should Thank Him
Doug Bandow NATO leaders gathered yesterday. The meeting didn’t go as planned. To his credit, President Donald Trump put America first when he addressed them. That’s certainly not what they expected. There was much scuttlebutt about how the Europeans planned to play President Trump. Push simple ideas, make him think he won something....
How Kosovo Poisoned America’s Relationship with Russia
Ted Galen Carpenter Washington, DC perpetuated and deepened its Balkan blunder a few years after the Bosnia intervention when it intervened in Kosovo. Civil strife in Serbia’s restless, predominantly Albanian province, simmered and then flared in the mid-and late-1990s. This time, Washington didn’t even make a gesture of deferring to...
The Anti-Russia Inquisition Intensifies
Ted Galen Carpenter For a brief period in April, it appeared that the campaign that Democrats and neo-conservative Republicans were waging for a comprehensive investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election had peaked and was beginning to ebb. The Trump...
Donald Trump: The ‘Manchurian (Neoconservative) Candidate’?
Doug Bandow He took barely three months to reveal the truth. Donald Trump is the true Manchurian Candidate, only a tool of Neoconservatives rather than Communists. A new movie is sure to come and undoubtedly will be a smash, the biggest ever with the most Academy Awards ever, at least if President Trump has his way. Donald Trump ran as a...
Turkey’s Erdogan Plays Dictator in Constitutional Fight: Divides Nation as Popularity
Doug Bandow Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured near dictatorial powers in the recent constitutional referendum. Yet all is not well for the would-be sultan. He predicted that he’d win 60 percent or more of the vote, but barely broke 51 percent after rigging the ballot, destroying a free press, and criminalizing criticism....
NATO’s Real Alliance Dilemma
Ted Galen Carpenter NATO’s European members, especially the newest members in eastern Europe, incessantly fret about the threat that Vladimir Putin’s Russia poses to their countries and the continent. Their worries were noticeable even before the eruption of the Ukraine crisis in 2013 and 2014. Moscow’s 2008 military...
Don’t Blame Tillerson for Trump’s Chaotic Foreign Policy
Christopher A. Preble In his less than ten weeks on the job as secretary of state, Rex Tillerson has found himself subjected to almost daily criticism. Vladimir Putin initially refusing to meet with him. In the end, the two men did meet, but made little headway. During a meeting with European foreign ministers, he wondered aloud, “Why should U.S....
Don’t Start a New Cold War over Syria
Ted Galen Carpenter Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Moscow this week for his previously scheduled official visit with Russian officials. His journey came at a time when the chill in bilateral relations is especially acute following the U.S. missile strikes on Syria in response to the Assad government’s alleged use of chemical...
