In one of the great foreign policy blunders of modern times, US and European leaders repeatedly disregarded Vladimir Putin’s warnings that Russia would never tolerate Ukraine becoming a NATO military asset. Because of resistance from the French and German governments (which had as much to do with Ukraine’s chronic corruption as with concerns about Russia’s reaction), the Alliance delayed offering Kyiv a Membership Action Plan – an essential step toward membership. Nevertheless, at the 2008...

(This is a shortened version of a Ron Paul Institute free update. Subscribe here) A few reflections about the current status of the US/Russia war. Yes, I wrote it: US/Russia war. Let's call things what they really are. In fact, this is no conspiracy theory at all. The true goal of US policy in the region was revealed this past week by none other than US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, when he clarified that the aim wasn't really to help plucky upstart Ukraine recover its "democracy," but...

What has the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board — or rather, the Biden Administration’s Ministry Of Truth — been up to since its founding?  Nobody really knows, but the timeline of its creation coincides with increasingly disturbing activities launched within Homeland Security to target not Russians, but American citizens. Far from targeting foreign disinformation or anything of the sort, the activities of DHS have increasingly focused on targeting and...

A Florida bill restricting classroom instruction regarding sexuality in kindergarten through third grade has become the latest culture war skirmish.Supporters of the bill say government schools have no business being involved in this type of instruction with young students. They make a good point. The use of government power to indoctrinate children in certain political and social beliefs — regardless of the wishes of parents — is a major problem.While the instruction at issue in Florida is...

The US-centralized empire’s use of propaganda, censorship and Silicon Valley algorithm manipulationis the single most urgent issue of our time, because it’s what prevents attention from being drawn to all other issues. And all signs indicate it’s set to get much, much worse.I feel the need to reiterate once again that the censorship we’re seeing about Ukraine is of a whole new kind than anything we’ve seen before. There’s no pretense that it’s done to save lives or protect democracy this time...

In March of 2003, as the United States military prepared for its imminent invasion of Iraq, Paul Wolfowitz suggested to US Congress members that the US would not foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq after the devastation the US invasion would bring to the country. Wolfowitz, who was then deputy secretary of defense, assured Congress members that Iraq, through its oil revenue, could pay for its own reconstruction. Reality turned out much different. As Krishnadev Calamur wrote at The Atlantic in...

Many politicians and pundits are in full panic over Elon Musk’s threat to restore free speech values to Twitter. While Hillary Clinton has called upon Europeans to step in to maintain such censorship and Barack Obama has called for US regulations, the Biden Administration has created a new Disinformation Governance Board in the Department of Homeland Security. It appointed an executive director, Nina Jankowicz, who is literally pitch perfect as an advocate for both corporate and state...

"Once war is forced upon us, there is no alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War's very object is victory -- not prolonged indecision." So said Gen. Douglas MacArthur in his April 1951 address to Congress after being fired by President Harry Truman as commander in chief in the Korean War. And what is now America's goal with our massive infusion into the Ukraine war of new and heavier NATO weapons? Said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on his return from a...

Politico's Christopher Miller noted earlier that the record-smashing $33 billion spending package that the White House is proposing for Ukraine actually "dwarfs the annual defense budgets of most nations." To which we naturally asked: how many billions of dollars does it take to turn a 'proxy' war into a 'direct conflict'? For starters it's clear that such a massive amount of taxpayer money means that Washington clearly doesn't expect that the war will end anytime soon, as multiple US defense...

After going a full administration without a new war to fill their coffers, the D.C. defense industry has finally found their next big prize. After dismissing the prospect of diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia, the Biden Administration continues to flood Ukraine with an endless supply of military hardware, while using extraconstitutional means to perpetually lengthen the size and scope of America’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson had their...

Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter and turn it into a private company has apparently been successful. Now the real action begins. Musk’s buyout exposes the Big Digital media complex to unwanted and unwonted competition, while threatening to loosen its near-total control of information and opinion. Twitter has represented a vital component in an information configuration that has barred competitors and participants from the digital sphere by means of progressive criteria, including wokeness,...

The Russians are a weird people. For some reason, known only to their bizarre selves, they object to German invasions of their country. And not only that: they have the inexplicable habit of strenuously opposing another such eventuality. One might well have thought otherwise. After all, the Germans bring with them in their wake all sorts of salutary benefits: law and order, good government, peace (as long as their orders are followed), world class beer, wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut, great...

Attorney General Merrick Garland continued to refuse to address questions over his refusal to appoint a Special Counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation despite new evidence tying President Joe Biden to the controversial business deals. The New York Post is reporting that President Biden agreed to cover more than $800,000 in bills of Hunter, including legal fees tied to the foreign deals. While President Biden’s denial of knowledge of Hunter’s deals have been repeatedly contradicted...

Some federal officials have made startling statements in recent days. Given the times in which we live, we can no longer take for granted that they won’t be convincing.  Ever since lockdowns, which shattered all our social and political rituals and assumptions about government and public health, it seems like everything is open to either question or adoption. Even settled conventions like the separation of powers and checks and balances are being blithely dismissed as pointless distractions. ...

Fortunately, President Biden thus far has rejected the most risky policies that hawks are pushing in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite being under intense pressure, he continues to rule out proclaiming a no-fly zone, and he flatly rejects suggestions (including from one close political ally) that he consider sending US troops to Ukraine. However, even the policies the administration has embraced entail an unacceptable risk of entangling the United States in a military...