Articles

For Energy Security Think EVs

March 18, 2019 James Clad InsideSources

Notwithstanding newly won status as the world’s largest global oil producer, America’s sway over the global oil market remains incomplete and weak. Worse, it’s reactive, driven above all by politically touchy pump prices. In energy security, the focus continues to be on oil, yet a switch to electric propulsion offers a way out.

Is Russia Going to War Against the Internet?

March 15, 2019 The National Interest

The Sovereign Internet Bill, which recently passed its first reading in Russia’s parliament, calls for the creation of a Russian Domain Name System (DNS) and would require all web traffic to be routed through state-controlled servers. If passed, the bill would make it much, much easier for the Kremlin to control the dissemination of information entering and leaving the country.

How Rabat Is Coping With ISIS Returnees

March 13, 2019 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

Over the past decade, Morocco's extensive efforts to promote its brand of tolerant Islam as an antidote to the extremism of ISIS and other Islamic radicals has put the kingdom on the intellectual front lines of the "war of ideas" in the Muslim world. Less well known, however, are the country's domestic efforts to mitigate its own internal Islamist problem.

‘Putin’s brain’ an echo of absolute tyrants

March 8, 2019 Herman Pirchner, Jr. The Hill

These days, the progressive Left’s ubiquitous use of the words “fascist” and “imperialist” to describe a multitude of political enemies threatens to render those words meaningless. Yet, for those who retain a fondness for the traditional interpretations of the words, a new exemplar has appeared... 

Humanitarian intervention and information warfare

March 4, 2019 Stephen Blank Global Risk Insights

Russia and its allies are not just targeting government, society, and military targets. They are also attacking key economic targets like electric grids and international logistics firms. They aim to undermine the US, UN, and other governments and effectuate what amounts to a criminal takeover of corporations for profit and political gain.

Netanyahu ignores global opinion at Israel’s peril

February 27, 2019 Lawrence J. Haas The Hill

Few things are more infuriating than to hear Western leaders lecture Israel about how it should behave — whether the issue is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or other matters — while they say little if anything about far more serious matters of regional stability or human rights around the world.

Refocusing On The Foreign Fighter Threat

February 26, 2019 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

What is to be done with ISIS returnees? America's allies and partners have grappled with this question for more than a year now, ever since the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria began to crumble. But the issue has become more acute in recent days as a result of American policy.

Welcome to the Age of Local Jihad

January 28, 2019 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

President Trump's unexpected December announcement that America would pull its military forces out of Syria has reignited a debate over the future of U.S. counterterrorism policy in Washington.

Don’t forget the Black Sea and the Balkans

January 20, 2019 Stephen Blank The Hill

In February, NATO’s Defense Ministers will convene a ministerial conference and in April they will do so for Foreign Ministers. These meetings should reassess the importance of the Black Sea and the Balkans’ strategic importance, especially in light of recent events.

China’s Uighur abuse augurs poorly for world

January 17, 2019 Lawrence J. Haas The Hill

Apparently not satisfied with persecuting the Muslim Uighur community in its own Xinjiang province by, among other things, throwing an estimated million or more of them in torturous “re-education camps,” Beijing is targeting Uighurs who live outside China. In fact, The Atlantic reported late last year that many Uighurs in the United States say Chinese authorities are contacting and threatening them.

Russia Building Out Nuclear Capabilities in Its Fleet

January 8, 2019 Stephen Blank Defense.info

During the Cold War two of Russia’s four fleets were nuclear ones, the Northern Fleet based out of Murmansk in the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic, and the Pacific Fleet based out of Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk.

Most analysts have maintained that this disposition has remained the case until now.

But can we be certain of that?

Germany power plan would be a gift to Putin

December 21, 2018 Stephen Blank The New York Post

European energy security isn’t a pressing concern for most Americans — but it should be. If Europe, the West’s frontline against Russian aggression, falls under de facto Kremlin control through energy domination, America will be left vulnerable.

What we really know about China’s Reform and Opening Up

November 15, 2018 Joshua Eisenman The Washington Post

China is now in full celebration mode, commemorating four decades since it turned away from Mao Zedong Thought and toward Reform and Opening Up — the blend of market and socialist policies initiated in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping that the Communist Party credits for “giving the Chinese people growth and prosperity.”