Articles
The US Must Not Allow an Iranian Base in the Red Sea
Iran is making a serious play for Sudan, and it merits attention from Washington.
Why Russia’s elites have tolerated Putin’s intolerable behavior
Holding back support of aid to Ukraine for fear of worse to come from Russia is a surefire way to ensure that Moscow presses its advantage and engages in still more rogue behavior.
Confronting the Anti-Israel Narrative-Industrial Complex
The growing demonization of Israel is not unstoppable.
The True Obstacles to a Palestinian State
Cumulatively, these factors will help determine what lies ahead for the Palestinians. But if Team Biden ignores them in favor of quick fixes, or worse still, empty pandering to its constituents, it will only end up perpetuating their misery.
The Limits of Israel-Saudi Rapprochement
It stands to reason that the sooner the House of Saud launches a serious campaign to convince its own subjects rapprochement with Israel is in their long term interest, the better off the Kingdom will be.
Russia’s Islamist Terror Threat Reemerges
The March 22 attack in Moscow may be a potential portent of things to come. Russia’s Mideast policy has given foreign Islamist militants several excuses for conducting murderous attacks, and Russia’s Muslim minority groups are feeling alienated from, and sometimes hostile to, the prevailing political order.
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Must Reflect Reality
Rather than part company with reality, U.S. officials and opinion leaders should embrace it. Long-term Israeli-Palestinian peace requires, among other things, a destroyed Hamas, an overhauled Palestinian Authority, and a spirit of co-existence that’s nurtured among the Palestinian people.
What Moscow Truly Wants From Kyiv: Total Submission
The Kremlin, in other words, isn't interested in a negotiated settlement that establishes a new modus vivendi between Moscow and Kyiv. Instead, more than two years into the current conflict, it's never been clearer that the fight between Russia and Ukraine is a life-or-death struggle over identity, independence and indeed Ukraine's very existence.
Defang TikTok Before It’s Too Late
The app gives the Chinese Communist Party its greatest asymmetric advantage over the U.S.
The War On Terror is Back
The conflict once called the “War on Terror” has well and truly returned.
China’s Space Strategy Dwarfs U.S. Ambitions
Beijing is already planning to send its first manned mission to the Moon in 2030, followed by the construction of a permanent base there by 2036.
Another Way Congress Can Help Ukraine
It’s Time To Let America’s Iran Outreach Be All It Can Be
The United States should have a vested interest in directly engaging with this constituency—both to discredit official regime propaganda, which still depicts America as an enemy of the Iranian people, and to lay out its vision for a different, more prosperous Iranian future.
Can Europe arm itself?
There is no question that many European countries badly — very badly — need to restore their force structures and defense industries. However, they now need to do so within a time frame shorter than it would take to establish an EU-wide procurement system and czar, let alone to alter the bloc’s funding priorities.
Houthis have a lot to gain, little to lose from their maritime operations
Houthis have a lot to gain and little to lose from their maritime operations, which they have depicted as a response to the ongoing Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah Watches as West Pressures Israel over Gaza
Whether Washington and the West stand by Israel or raise the pressure on it to back off in Gaza may go a long way toward shaping Hezbollah’s next move.
Moscow is waging war on Ukrainian identity, and Belarus is helping
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and its efforts to erase Ukrainian identity, have found a willing accomplice: the government of Putin’s close ally, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
NASA’s Space Solar Power Plan Lacks Ambition
The agency’s latest report provides no clear options for the administration to assume leadership on an issue that will help shape the future of space.
The U.S. Must Re-Focus on Curbing Iran’s Nuclear Program
Iran is destabilizing the region and upending the global order. Washington and its allies must focus on developing a comprehensive plan of action.
US Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection
US policymakers are actively discussing a Black Sea strategy, reflecting its importance to American interests in the wider region.
Joe Biden’s Real Iran Problem
Administration officials, including President Biden himself, have been adamant that they do not want war with Iran. Nevertheless, truly resetting American deterrence might require taking steps that could risk a direct confrontation between the United States and the Islamic Republic.
Don’t Count On China To Curb Iran
Contrary to what the Biden administration might hope, it's not really in Beijing's interest to rein in Tehran or its proxies. To the contrary, the Islamic Republic's increasingly aggressive regional profile is deeply beneficial to the PRC.
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Rejects Palestinian Statehood
Regardless of what one thinks of the Israeli premier, a Palestinian state would not wish to live “side-by-side in peace” with the Jewish state.
How America Can Still Cripple TikTok
Biden's deputies and political advisers consider TikTok a crucial tool for messaging and get-out-the-vote efforts in the general election. But it’s a cost the president should be willing to pay.
Grassroots Radicalism is Clouding Gaza’s Future
Years of corruption and misrule have profoundly discredited Abbas and his cronies among the Palestinian people. Meanwhile, international support (including from the U.S.) has perpetuated a malignant status quo and laid the groundwork for the profound polarization, and radicalization, of Palestinian politics.
Israel And Hezbollah Are Headed Toward A New War
Storm clouds are gathering on Israel's northern border.
Charging Israel with Genocide is Orwellian
This week’s spectacle in The Hague is part of a larger international picture, marked by an obsession with the Jewish state.
A Dangerous Tit-For-Tat in the Middle East
In the last week, a series of moves between Israel and Lebanese-based terrorist group Hezbollah have raised the question of whether escalation toward general war has begun.
Ukraine War in 2024: How Kyiv Can Improve Its Position Overall
To sustain continued Western support, Kyiv needs to showcase its anti-corruption efforts, reject Chinese investment, and broaden the policy conversation.
Huawei is back, and the need to keep it out of 5G networks is greater than ever
Since 2020, Western officials have largely shifted their focus to tackling other Chinese tech threats — TikTok, semiconductors and artificial intelligence among them. Meanwhile, Huawei has quietly enjoyed a resurgence across several product lines.
Putin’s Plan: To Outlast Kyiv and the West
Nearly two years into its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin gives no signs it is prepared to give up on its campaign of conquest.
Israel Is Finally Starting To See China And Russia Clearly
Wars have a way of clarifying a great many things, and of reshuffling existing partnerships in profound ways. This is what's happening with Israel's views of China and Russia, which are now undergoing a redefinition because of its current conflict with terrorist organization Hamas.
Why is the Biden Administration Scared of Iran?
With Israel and Hamas still vowing to destroy one another, and with full combat resuming after a tenuous truce, Washington says it doesn’t want to do anything to provoke Iran into a wider regional conflict.
Security in East Africa Matters for Great Power Competition
Kenya has a longstanding reputation as a stable democracy, but recent violent protests have drawn concern from other African states, and from the international community.
Biden’s Ukraine Policy is Less than Meets the Eye
Behind the lofty rhetoric lies a sobering question: Does the White House truly want Ukraine to win? The answer is less clear-cut than it appears.
A Case for a Full Israeli Victory over Hamas in Gaza
Israel is facing all-too-predictable global pressure to scale back its military operation in Gaza to spare innocent lives and prevent a regional conflict that could draw in Iran, the United States, and other nations.
The Gaza Ground War: What to Expect
Israel shouldn't wait to invade Gaza City.
Israel’s New War is Part of Iran’s Strategic Plan
Ever since the Hamas terrorist group carried out its savage campaign against Israel nearly two weeks ago, countless observers have nervously watched the start of what, as of this writing, stands as a real risk of spiraling into a regional war.
It’s Time to Drop ‘Eurasia’
With its roots in Russian imperialism, the concept of Eurasianism isn't as benign as many believe.
A New Spring for Caspian Transit and Trade
Major recent shifts, starting with the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and Russia’s war in Ukraine have led to a resurgence of the Trans-Caspian transportation corridor. This corridor, envisioned in the 1990s, has been slow to come to fruition, but has now suddenly found much-needed support. The obstacles to a rapid expansion of the corridor’s capacity are nevertheless considerable, given the underinvestment in its capacity over many years.
What Was Hamas Thinking?
Unlike its previous encounters with Israel, Hamas may have unleashed an unlimited war that would culminate in the group’s utter destruction.
America’s Iran policy needs a reset
A massive foreign policy scandal recently shook official Washington when two news outlets, Semafor and Iran International, revealed the sordid details of a long-running—and extensive—Iranian influence operation.
On Ukraine, Biden needs to step up and make the case before it’s too late
At this inflection point, with Congress having excluded aid to Ukraine from the funding bill keeping the government running, the time seems right for President Biden to make a high-profile speech that outlines America’s stakes in Ukraine and addresses the “America First” arguments against them.
The West has a massive China spy problem
A bevy of headlines in just the last few weeks concerning Chinese spying should force the West to bolster its China-focused counterintelligence efforts.
Israel’s Critics Sidestep Bigger Threats Elsewhere
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week signaled a partial reversal of his coalition’s plan that would threaten the nation’s democratic character by letting the Knesset override judicial decisions, calling the effort a “mistake.”
The Space Force Must Lead Without Fighting—And It Starts With the Moon
For more than 30 years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has focused on "warfighting," emphasizing violent combat at the tactical and theater level over other national defense concerns, especially strategically.
A White House Divided on Russia and Ukraine?
Ukrainians are dying today because the Biden administration, paralyzed by the Burns-Sullivan philosophy of appeasement, refuses to act. Is it not high time for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to do his job and bring Burns and Sullivan under oath to account for their private and secretive talks with Putin?
Israeli-Saudi Normalization Won’t Solve The Palestinian Problem
Perhaps Israeli concessions to Palestinians are a price that Jerusalem must pay for Israeli-Saudi normalization. But don’t expect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to produce an actual two-state solution any time soon.
How and why the Pentagon is laying the groundwork for an economy on the Moon
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has just launched a study called LunA-10 to explore infrastructure needs for a future lunar economy. The aim is to kick-start an economy on the Moon in the next 10 years.