From Responsible Statecraft

  • Trump's big idea: deploy assassination teams to Mexico

    The opioid crisis in the United States shows no sign of abating. Mexican drug cartels are making more money than ever before while fueling the deaths of more than a hundred thousand Americans every year. Overdose deaths in the United States quadrupled between 2002 and 2022. Law enforcement appears overwhelmed and helpless. It is little wonder, then, that extreme measures are being contemplated to ease the suffering. Planning for the most extreme of measures — use of military force to combat the...

  • Will US troops have to go to war for Mohammed bin Salman? (VIDEO)

    Even as the war in Gaza rages on and the death toll surpasses 35,000, the Biden administration appears set on pursuing its vision of a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal that it sees as the path to peace in the Middle East. But, the agreement that the administration is selling as a peace agreement that will put Palestine on the path to statehood and fundamentally transform the region ultimately amounts to a U.S. war obligation for Saudi Arabia that would also give Mohammed bin Salman nuclear...

  • Why the West needs to stay out of the unrest in Georgia

    Mass protests are roiling the Republic of Georgia as tens of thousands have taken to the streets against a proposed bill by the Georgian government on “foreign influence” that has worsened tension in an already polarized Georgian society. Under this law, now before the Georgian parliament, NGOs, media organizations, and trade unions that receive more than 20% of their income from foreign sources would have to register as “organizations serving the interest of a foreign power” and would be...

  • Playing the long game with Putin

    Following a largely preordained election, Vladimir Putin was sworn in last week for another six-year term as president of Russia. Putin’s victory has, of course, been met with accusations of fraud and political interference, factors that help explain his 87.3% vote share. If this continuation of Putin’s 24-year-long hold on power makes one thing clear, it’s that he and his regime will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. But, as his war in Ukraine continues with no clear end in...

  • Only our enemies commit war crimes

    On NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken struck back at claims that U.S. officials let Israel dodge American laws regarding weapons transfers. “We don’t have double standards,” Blinken said. “We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law and its compliance with that law.” Luckily for observers, Blinken has left a substantial public record against...

  • Rep. Cuellar's indictment exposes Azerbaijani influence in Washington

    On May 2, U.S. law enforcement indicted Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) on charges of taking at least $360,000 in bribes from companies controlled by the government of Azerbaijan. In exchange for money, Cuellar would attempt to shape the U.S. foreign policy towards Azerbaijan by spreading narratives favorable to that nation’s interests through speeches and legislative measures. While the challenge of undue foreign interference in U.S. politics is not new, the case of Azerbaijan highlights a...

  • Xi’s whirlwind European tour, playing mediator to mixed reviews

    When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France this week, the world’s conflicts were top of mind. Press reports tended to fixate on whether French President Emmanuel Macron could press Xi to distance himself from Russia. But ultimately, the leaders’ focus drifted farther south.In a wide-ranging joint statement, Xi and Macron “expressed their opposition to an Israeli offensive on Rafah,” called for an “immediate and sustainable ceasefire,” railed against the possibility of regional...

  • Mark Milley throws US military under the bus for Israel

    Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley threw his own military under the bus yesterday, trying to rationalize the killing and maiming of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the last six months of the Israeli war in Gaza. The following video is a stunning example of how far Israel's supporters in the United States will go to justify what is becoming one of biggest humanitarian catastrophes in the 21st century, sparked by relentless indiscriminate bombing in the densely packed Gaza strip,...

  • How Biden dropped the ball on the Iran nuclear deal

    As President Biden’s first term draws to a close, his foreign policy record, particularly in the tumultuous Middle East, is marked by a series of major missteps. His handling of the Gaza conflict, where he has failed to exert meaningful pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war, has drawn widespread criticism. Additionally, his attempts to advance the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia have stagnated and failed to spur regional stability. However, it is Biden’s approach...

  • Killing the Iran nuclear deal was one of Trump's biggest failures

    Six years after former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the disastrous consequences of this decision are still adding up. In addition to Iran being closer than ever to a nuclear weapons capability, now we must consider how the declining security situation in the Middle East has raised the stakes significantly. Trump promised a “better deal” but instead we got an increasingly costly blunder that may be impossible to fix.To fully understand the enormity of Trump’s...

  • What the foiled Zelensky assassination plot really means

    Ukraine’s security services said on Tuesday that they foiled a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which counts the protection of top Ukrainian officials among its duties, were identified as part of a group allegedly working with Russia’s FSB security agency to assassinate President Zelenskyy, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) head Vasyl Malyuk, and military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. This marks one of the...