Category: Foreign Policy

President Trump has announced plans to put tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Argentina and Brazil. Though increased tariffs were introduced last year, as result of pressure from home and abroad both South American countries had received waivers exempting them. Trump justified his decision on the claim that the two countries are allegedly engaging […]

The Chinese have a big problem with Hong Kong and its ongoing democracy movement, and they’ve decided that certain elements from the United States are to blame. So on Monday, they announced that U.S. military ships and aircraft won’t be allowed to visit Hong Kong, and also announced sanctions against several U.S. non-government organizations (NGOs) […]

In the aftermath of the killing of members of the U.S.-Mexican Mormon family on November 4th, the Trump administration is set to formally designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. The killing, which resulted in the deaths of three women and six children, has sparked renewed interest in the years-long bloody drug war that has engulfed […]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed decades of U.S. foreign policy and declared that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories will no longer be considered illegal. The new American position on the settlements puts it at odds with the overwhelming majority of states around the world, including most of the U.S. allies. Arguing that […]

President Donald Trump has reportedly requested that the Japanese government more than quadruple its annual contribution for stationing American troops in the country. This would mark a significant increase from the roughly $1.8 billion (197.4 billion yen) currently earmarked for the purpose in Japan’s fiscal budget. This is part of a wider move to get […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that his country has found a new oil field, which contains an estimated 53 billion barrels of crude oil, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. The discovery increases Iran’s proven reserves by a third. Covering roughly an area of 2,400 sq km, it’ll be the country’s second largest oil field, […]

Ahead of Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s visit to Asia, the Department of Defense is hoping to renew efforts to bring back the remains of American soldiers that died or went missing in action in China. According to Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Esper is set to meet his Chinese counterpart, […]

For years now, Vladimir Putin’s oft-touted modernization initiative throughout the Russian military has been a casualty of economic war with the West. As the Russian economy struggles under the weight of international sanctions, the nation’s most prominent military initiatives have suffered from slashed budgets and reduced orders—but you’d likely never know it if you’ve been […]

Despite President Donald Trump’s pledge to end “forever wars” by withdrawing troops from Syria, the U.S. has in fact taken over oil fields in the country. By doing this, Washington is further entrenching itself in the eight-year-long war as well as setting itself up for long term confrontation with regional actors. Ostensibly, the U.S. presence […]

Is this the best strategy in the War on Terror? Like everyone else, we watched riveted as the Pentagon released video of the Special Operations Forces from the 1st SFOD – Delta, commonly known as Delta Force, taking down the compound of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  And as much as everyone complained about President Trump’s comments, […]

In recent weeks, and as discontent has been rising throughout the country, tens of thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets of Baghdad to demonstrate. During the past two years, since Iraq’s declaration of victory against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, institutional problems have resulted in large scale protests. Like in Lebanon, […]

While the United States has no shortage of opponents on the military or diplomatic stage, few present such a looming threat as the nations of China and Russia. America‘s historical Cold War opponent may not have the same military might behind its bluster that it had during its Soviet hay-day, but Russia has demonstrated a […]