An Opposition Activist in Moscow on How His Country Can Change February 24, 2022, was the worst day of my life. When I woke up to news that Russia was invading Ukraine, it felt impossible to believe. I knew that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been massing troops along Ukraine’s …
Read More »What War Games Really Reveal
Outcomes Matter Less Than Who Pays and Who Plays Last January, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives created a special committee to examine the economic and military challenges China poses to the United States. Mike Gallagher, a Republican representative from Wisconsin who is one of Washington’s most vocal China hawks, …
Read More »The Rebirth of Russian Spycraft
How the Ukraine War Has Changed the Game for the Kremlin’s Operatives—and Their Western Rivals In April 2023, a prominent Russian national with suspected ties to Russian intelligence pulled off an impressive escape from Italian authorities. Artem Uss, a Russian businessman and the son of a former Russian governor, had …
Read More »In Dealing With the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, America Has No Easy Way Out
Biden Must Take Risks, Talk Straight, and Act Boldly Wars in the Middle East rarely end cleanly. Some observers, however, have expressed the hope that the Israel-Hamas war could upend a dangerous status quo and eventually lead to more stability in the region. The war is often compared to the …
Read More »Iran Update, December 26, 2023
Key Takeaways: Hamas and other Palestinian militias are exploiting the Israeli hostages they are holding to ensure that Hamas and its partners are involved in any negotiations about the future of the Gaza Strip. Hamas having a role in the future of the strip is incompatible with Israel’s stated war …
Read More »Salafi-Jihadi Movement Update Special Edition: Niger Coup Threatens Western Counterterrorism Efforts and Could Offer Opportunities to Russia
The outcome of the attempted coup in Niger on July 26 is unclear. The Nigerien presidential guards besieged the presidential palace and surrounding ministries in Niamey on July 26, sealing President Mohamed Bazoum inside the palace and forcing negotiations.[1] Jeune Afrique reported that President Bazoum had been considering sacking the …
Read More »World’s Most Dangerous Combination: China and Russia
China and Russia are more than just working together. They are forming the core of a new axis. Around this core are proxies and proxies of proxies, such as Iran, North Korea, Algeria, and a host of terrorist groups. The Chinese and Russian leaders are forming this grouping because they …
Read More »The state of Russia’s war on Ukraine as it nears 2024
The current fighting season is still far from over in Ukraine, but it is already clear that the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin in February 2022 will continue into the coming year. Developments on the Ukrainian battlefield in 2024 will likely depend on a number of factors including geopolitical considerations, …
Read More »Is the West Bank heading for war?
Driving from Israel to the West Bank is like stepping through the looking glass. The world is almost identical, but subtly altered. Scenery deceives; palm trees line the centre of a boulevard, but they are short and stubby. The same off-white buildings that populate Jerusalem dominate Ramallah, but they are …
Read More »Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops injured in drone attack in Iraq
President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. servicemembers were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier …
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