Some three-quarters of a century after Kennan’s “long telegram,” the United States—and the West more broadly—has little understanding of the ideological constructs and strategic principles animating contemporary Russian decision-making. In the absence of such awareness, successive governments have fallen short in anticipating Russia’s post-Cold War foreign policy maneuvers. They have likewise floundered in formulating a cogent response to them.
A year later, a majority of Americans (53%) agreed that the fall of Afghanistan was indeed a “generational setback” for the United States.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February, the policy conversation in Washington and European capitals has revolved around how best the West can put an end to Vladimir Putin’s aggression
U.S. tightens grip on exports of chipmaking gear to China;
China targeted fed to build informant network;
FBI: Chinese telecom equipment could disrupt U.S. military communications;
Jeep factory pulls out of China over government meddling;
China forcibly relocating Tibetans to disputed borders
Sri Lanka's debt drama;
Nepal balks at national guard partnership with U.S.;
Modi remains silent as ethno-religious violence in India continues;
Drama among Pacific island nations leads back to Beijing;
Cambodia continues China tilt, breaks ground on naval base
Deportations, "filtration camps" key to the Kremlin's plans;
How Wagner is winning;
The Turkish role in Ukraine's war effort
The death of al-Qaeda’s leader is an opportune moment to reflect on the dangerous incoherence of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.
China pressures UN not to release Xinjiang report;
Uruguay navy captures Chinese vessel fishing illegally;
India probes Chinese phone makers for tax evasion, etc.;
Pentagon to review all U.S.-China military encounters;
China-Russia passenger jet joint venture at risk
At this critical moment, Washington needs a post-JCPOA strategy that will force Russia, China, and Iran to take notice.
The return of Russian disinformation;
Jerusalem weighs in with the Kremlin;
Russia's convict army;
The true state of Russia's economy
Russian scientists arrested for passing hypersonic data to China;
China sees "new golden era" with the Philippines under Marcos;
China's defense attachés removed from Pacific Islands Forum;
"Buy from trusted sources only," Delhi tells tech firms;
India intercepts PLAAF fighters over disputed territory
The UN refocuses on human rights in Iran;
How the Russo-Iranian alliance is adapting;
Tehran still seeks WMD tech;
Israel and Iran's nuclear clock
Perhaps the most profound impact of Russia’s new war has been to revitalize the West’s oldest and most enduring alliance. Until recently thought by many to be on its deathbed, NATO has found renewed purpose in deterring a revanchist and neo-imperial Russia, and convinced skeptics of the indispensable role it should play in maintaining global security.
Renewed alignment between America and South Korea is opening new possibilities to elevate the U.S.-ROK alliance from a regional partnership to a global project. However, the China policies of Washington and Seoul are complicating these possibilities.
It is clear that Israel is working hard to strike a balance between its own economic interests and a new, and changed, global landscape that has U.S.-China competition as a defining feature. Other American allies should be watching closely, because they will soon be expected to follow suit.
The informational costs of cooperating with China;
A media fight for Iranian dissidents;
Latvia pushes back;
Conspiracies in Syria foreshadow a crisis of truth in Ukraine;
London focuses on foreign influence online
Russia's increasingly criminal war;
Moscow's "Twin Cities" program a soft attempt at integration;
How Putin plans to reshape Russian society in his image;
Tokyo takes a stand
Rumor has it, China plans second naval base in Africa;
Ethiopia's TPLF forces the young to fight;
Africa's energy, Europe's predicament;
Mali withdraws from the G5
Whoever emerges from the inevitable turmoil in Russia, he, she, or they will have to address the open wound that Putin’s Ukraine gambit has opened in the Russian polity itself.
FBI and MI5 heads warn of China threat;
Pakistan resists Beijing's pressure to protect assets;
Vast cache of hacked Chinese police files offered for sale;
China to take over the moon: NASA chief;
China crushes protest by bank depositors
For the Kremlin, the African continent has emerged as a serious strategic priority – and a new battleground in its struggle for influence with the West.
Resource sales fuel Putin's war... for now;
US worries over China's influence over Latin American minerals...;
...as China looks to Africa in the race for lithium;
Russian military moves in the Arctic worry the West
Anyone hoping that President Biden’s sunny prediction that his trip to Saudi Arabia would result in lower prices at the pump in a matter of weeks should not hold their breath.
NATO’s Old/New Mission
Assessing Germany’s “New Era” in Foreign and Security Policy
Confronting Europe’s Energy Insecurity
Is Europe Getting Serious about Russian Disinformation?
For Ukraine, Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
A Russian default... by default;
The curtain comes down on Russian emigration to Israel;
How Russia is stealing Ukraine's grain;
More nuclear saber rattling from Moscow
Though there has been a significant global increase in focus on Ukraine since the 2022 invasion by Russian forces, AFPC has been deeply invested in Ukrainian affairs for years, as displayed throughout the following images.
DOD makes progress on space nuclear propulsion;
Novel deepfake detection needed;
Making combat vehicles current;
China advances the automation of its drone swarms;
Wanted: Big Tech in a small package
Given that the United States has committed to a sustainable lunar presence, and committed to promoting norms, the United States should take leadership in an International Civil Lunar Organization.
Standing up to Putin’s blackmail, the European Parliament classifies some nuclear and natural-gas projects as ‘sustainable.’ The U.S. should follow its lead.
Gutavo Petro's election is a potential calamity for the United States and threatens to undermine one of the few success stories America can boast of in our own hemisphere.
G-7 unveils $600B plan to combat China's Belt and Road Initiative;
TikTok's China-based employees access US user data;
WHO chief believes Covid probably leaked from Wuhan lab;
China orders foreign financial companies to set up CPC units;
One in four European firms considering relocating out of China
The Chechen factor in the Ukraine War;
Ikea eyes the exits;
More proof of Putin's corruption;
Cyber-target: Lithuania;
Putin's manpower problem
The military costs of climate change;
A global sand crisis on the horizon;
US Navy aims to curb emissions;
How climate is propelling migration
Biden’s commitment to reviving the nuclear deal is not only problematic in terms of curbing Iranian nuclear activity, but it also threatens to undercut his effort to restore relations with Riyadh that have become increasingly important to U.S. strategic interests.
On the road to Medina, Saudi officials recently removed signs reading “Muslims only.”
Congress targets university investments in hostile Chinese firms;
UK universities face sanctions for CPC money, curbs on free speech;
Germany turns away from China;
Italian PM vetoes another tech transfer to China;
Estonian woman convicted of spying for China
Three US companies sanctioned for sending blueprints to China;
WHO: China still withholding data on Covid origins;
Xi offers Putin closer cooperation;
The rise of Chinese fentanyl industry in Mexico;
PRC fighter jets conduct "dangerous" inceptions
In St. Petersburg, Putin takes a defiant turn;
Russian military families start to speak up;
Flashpoint: Kaliningrad;
Ottawa invests in arctic defense against Russia;
Russian hackers eye Ukraine's allies
A foiled ISIS assassination;
Sahel militancy surges;
Islamism and Bangladeshi cyberspace;
Pakistan's new government makes counterterrorism a priority;
The detainee threat persists
In early February, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced a major new defense initiative when, in an address to Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies, he laid out his administration’s plans for a “laser wall” to protect the country from rockets, missiles and UAVs.
Canada to ban China's Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks;
Taiwan remembers the Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong silenced;
China's attempts to influence Jerusalem post backfire;
China-linked Twitter harassment targets female journalists;
China's surgeons have become executioners
The newly contested region needs serious U.S. attention.
The results of a recent survey suggest that Ukraine represents something of a policy unicorn in this fractious political climate—one that can bring together a wide range of Americans.
However odious the regime on Riyadh, a clear-eyed, sober-minded, prepared Biden can advance U.S. interests when he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Moscow plans to consolidate control...;
... As Russian law enforcement enters;
Russia's cruel occupation;
Putin is striking by his absence;
Dissent in the (religious) ranks
With the proper structure, regional leadership, and underwriting from foreign donors (including the United States and European nations), regional planning could go a long way toward strengthening the continent's most vulnerable countries against the coming economic and societal shocks caused by food scarcity.
Uncritically sustaining an economic relationship with China over the course of five decades has strengthened a country that regards itself as an adversary of the United States.
Is China drifting away from Moscow's messaging?;
Beijing's new propaganda target;
ISIS: Spread of disinformation a sacred "duty";
Hezbollah's information war
Towards bounce-back body armor;
Supplementing or supplanting GPS?;
Military in the Metaverse;
Iron Beam advances;
Transportable nuclear power
Moscow's costly campaign;
Putin fast tracks citizenship for sympathetic Ukranians;
Assessing Putin's health;
The fruits of Putin's war: a Ukrainian guerrilla movement