August, 2026

• 7 August

  France Is Playing A Leading Role In The West’s “War Of Attrition” Against Russia

  

  Its leadership apparently calculated that the associated risks are worth becoming the US’ top ally in “NATO 3.0”, but its competition with Germany and the UK for this role is still far from over. The Financial Times published a detailed report last week about how “Ukraine adapts strikes on Russian …

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• 7 August

  Hezbollah’s Pivot to FPV Drones Requires Israeli Overmatch

  

  Hezbollah’s ability to develop and refine its use of tactical first-person view (FPV) systems represents a significant development that could alter the character of future conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah increasingly deployed FPV systems in its asymmetric campaign against Israel between March and June 2026, likely as part of …

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• 7 August

  ‘empty’ remarks by Zahr al-Din in front of the crowds of the “Islamic State” to storm the monastery airport

  

  “Deir ez-Zor military airport is not like Tabqa airport,” said Brigadier General Essam Zahr al-Din, threatening ISIS operatives that they would be grave at the doors of the airport, coinciding with crowds of ISIS at the gates of the airport in preparation for storming it. However, one day after this …

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• 7 August

  Al-Sharaa, Abdi Discuss SDF Integration Agreement

  

  Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi discussed completing the implementation of the integration agreement signed by the two sides on January 29. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Tuesday, August 4, that the meeting, held at the People’s Palace in Damascus, …

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• 6 August

  “The Pipeline Will Solve Everything”: Turkey Loses Revenue but Refuses to Give Up Ground in Iraq

  

  In late July 2026, the information space was once again rocked by a publication from security expert Murat Usal, who drew attention to the rapidly escalating covert confrontation between Ankara and Baghdad. Previously, the main stumbling block in bilateral relations had been the $1.5 billion compensation lawsuit over oil shipments …

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• 6 August

  Von Der Leyen Attempts To Defuse Ceuta Crisis In Letter To Spain’s PM Sánchez

  

  Key Takeaways: Ursula von der Leyen praised Spain’s handling of the 60,000 migrant arrivals in Ceuta, saying Spanish and Moroccan authorities efficiently prevented further illegal movement into mainland Europe. She used the incident to call for stronger EU border controls, including physical barriers, better monitoring, early warning systems, dismantling smuggling …

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• 6 August

  America’s Long Arc of Military Failures

  

  To “secure its national interests”, America went to war multiple times over the past several decades, yet all of the wars ended in stunning failures with wide ranging implications for the countries involved. It is said that national interests triumph over every other consideration in the realm of foreign policy. …

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• 6 August

  Shoring Up The Red Sea: Why The Next Crisis May Start In The Horn Of Africa – Analysis

  

  Key Takeaways: Houthi attacks and growing instability in the Horn of Africa—particularly the merging of Sudan’s civil war with Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions and Somalia’s internal disputes—are creating new threats to Red Sea navigation and energy flows through Bab el-Mandeb.Competing Middle Eastern powers (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel) are fueling …

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• 6 August

  Les tensions se propagent et embrasent le Moyen-Orient

  

  Le mieux que Trump puisse faire, c’est d’empêcher que ces conflits ne se terminent en guerre mondiale. Le silence qui entoure l’issue de la rencontre avec Netanyahou la semaine dernière dans le Bureau ovale en dit long. Pas un seul représentant du gouvernement américain n’est venu l’accueillir à l’aéroport, et …

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• 6 August

  Mackinder’s Heartland vs Spykman’s Rimland: Neither Is Winning for the “Motherland”!

  

  For anyone still selling the West’s grand strategy as a coherent product, is that the framework itself has aged worse than either of its authors could have imagined. Mackinder and Spykman were writing about a world where land power and sea power were mutually exclusive career choices. There is a …

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