The UN declined to comment on the legality of Washington’s move to expel 12 Russian staff working there, saying only that it had been “notified.” The US envoy to Russia hinted they hadn’t even sent notification in advance.  Speaking to reporters, the UN spokesman declined to comment on the US move to expel 12 Russian diplomats from the permanent mission to the UN, citing the “sensitivi [...]

The Israeli defense minister hailed the US’ hefty contribution to the missile defense program, thanking Washington for its $705 million in aid – $558 million more than Israel’s initial request. “I am pleased to announce that the US Congress has approved a record amount for missile defense: $705 million in 2018,” Avigdor Liberman tweeted. [...]

Early in Richard Nixon’s presidency, he told his chief of staff Bob Haldeman that his secret strategy for ending the Vietnam War was to threaten the use of nuclear weapons.  Nixon opined that President Eisenhower’s nuclear threats in 1953 brought a quick end to the Korean War, and that he planned to use the same principle of threatening maximum force.  Nixon called it the “madman theory,� [...]

President Donald Trump has ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. It comes in response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, which the UK has blamed on Russia. The move follows major diplomatic pressure by the UK on its allies to follow their lead in expelling Russian diplomats. [...]

Moscow won’t leave the provocative acts against Russian diplomats unanswered, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that several countries blindly copied the UK’s “hypocritical” stance on the Skripal case in the absence of evidence. The decision of a number of NATO and other European countries to expel Russian diplomats over the poisoning of the former double-agent Sergei Skripal amounts to a [...]

British politician, broadcaster, and writer George Galloway has slammed Donald Trump’s decision to expel 60 Russian diplomats and close the Russian consulate in Seattle. Galloway regards it as tantamount to a “declaration of war.” Galloway contrasted the US’ actions with those of EU member states. [...]

Dems are criticizing Trump’s National Security Advisor pick, not because he’s a warmonger who was one of the original members of the Project for a New American Century, but because he’s allegedly too soft on Russia, Caitlin Johnstone explains. As so many of us have been dreading, PNAC’s favorite bloodthirsty child killer John Bolton has been added to the Trump administration. And as m [...]

The new trade war announced by US President Donald Trump is seeing some immediate and effective blowback in the form of a refusal by Beijing to lift its ban on the import of foreign garbage. Amid fears of a potentially devastating trade war between the US and China, Washington has urged Beijing not to implement the ban on US garbage and recyclable materials that Asia’s giant threatened to impose [...]

US Strategic Command's apprehensions were reportedly shared by President Donald Trump, who reportedly expressed concerns over Russia's new 'invincible' intercontinental cruise missile and nuclear torpedo during a telephone call with President Vladimir Putin. [...]

The 2003 US invasion of Iraq had devastating consequences not only Iraq itself, but for the region as a whole. Speaking to Sputnik, Iranian political scientist and diplomat Seyed Hadi Afghani recalled how the US invasion undermined the security of Iraq's eastern neighbor, and set the stage for the rise of Daesh.* [...]

The new economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier made it clear before a meeting between German and US officials in Washington that the EU would take a strong stand against the new steel and aluminum tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump. The economy and energy minister of Germany’s new grand coalition government Peter Altmaier has warned the US government that if a trade war with th [...]

While Afrin is falling into the hands of the most brutal forces in the world the Battle for Damascus looms. Russia has issued a warning to the US that it will defend its soldiers that are stationed in Damascus. Vowing to take out the delivery vessels that target Damascus. Also in Belarus the military has been order to check its readiness for military confrontation. Citizens of Syria fleeing Eas [...]

Washington once again dominated the world market for munitions, maintaining its top global weapon sales rank since the 20th century end of the first Cold War. US President Donald Trump has opened the floodgates of worldwide gun delivery, as a new report notes over $80 billion in arms sales notifications delivered to Congress in fiscal 2017 — continuing a legacy of America as the largest weapon [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A group of US lawmakers led by Senator Bob Menendez told the State Department in a letter that any sale of Russian S-400 air defense system should lead to new punitive measures as stipulated in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). [...]

Better let a scandal slide than risk a nuclear war. Secretary of Defense James Mattis is implicated in one of the largest business scandals of the past decades, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an “elaborate, years-long fraud” through which Theranos, led by CEO Elizabeth Holmes and president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, “exaggerated or made false statements about the com [...]

The declining human rights standards on display with the Haspel and Pompeo nominations are the latest in a long line of policy failures that include the Obama administration’s lack of prosecutions of Bush-era torture, Nat Parry notes. President Donald Trump’s nominations of Gina Haspel to lead the CIA and Mike Pompeo to be America’s top diplomat are the latest indications of steadily erod [...]

Three countries agree with Britain that "it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack." President Donald Trump has consistently refused to punish Russia for its attacks on the United States and around the world — but that changed somewhat today. [...]

The choice of former CIA director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, America's vow to strike against the Syrian government again and UK PM Theresa May's groundless accusations against Russia this week are parts of one very disturbing trend, geopolitical analyst Phil Butler told Sputnik. [...]

Mike Pompeo will probably be a more effective diplomat than Tillerson. He’ll also be more hawkish. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held on to his job for 13 tense months despite repeatedly breaking with President Trump — and once reportedly calling him “a fucking moron.” [...]

Former NSA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden speculated on Twitter that the nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, could face arrest if she sets foot in the European Union because she allegedly was involved in a torture program at a secret CIA prison. "Interesting: The new CIA Director Haspel, who ‘tortured some folks,' probably can't travel to the EU to meet other spy chiefs without fac [...]

Almost twenty years ago, the US Department of Defense was involved in dismantling a chemical research institute in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, where the Novichok nerve agent was tested, according to the New York Times. A New York Times article published back in 1999 has revealed that the US closely cooperated with the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan to decontaminate the Chem [...]

Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, commander of US Central Command Joseph Votel has specifically touched upon the situation in Syria and Russia's role there. Army general Joseph Votel, head of the US Central Command has admitted that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces are prevailing in the war in Syria. [...]