Commentary

As anyone who has been paying attention to the increasingly fraught Sino–American relationship knows, the chance that the two nuclear powers could end up in a serious crisis, and possibly a major war, is significant and growing. Most…

On Nov. 6, the head of Myanmar’s military junta, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, finally traveled to China, meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Kunming as part of the Greater Mekong Subregion leader’s summit. The Xinhua readout…

Growing Russian-Chinese collaboration in the Arctic was showcased in July 2024 through a major naval exercise and maneuvers including nine Russian and Chinese naval vessels on a joint patrol in the Northwest Pacific. In another historic…

Deliberation and debate across the world continue apace on the question of what Donald Trump’s victory means for global security. In Europe, discussions appear to have already attained a frenetic pitch. Leaders in Brussels and other…

Is the United States headed for a “Suez moment” in a future confrontation with China? Despite the growing prospect of protracted war, U.S. defense strategy appears wedded to getting ready for decisive battle. But the high costs of an…

Sara B. Castro, Mission to Mao: U.S. Intelligence and the Chinese Communists in World War II (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2024); Zach Fredman, The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China,…

On Nov. 8, 2024, Iran announced its proposed military budget for the year 1404 (March 2025–March 2026). In response to both internal priorities and external pressures, Iran plans to increase its military budget by 200 percent. Iran’s…

There is no shortage of problems confronting the U.S. Navy, as salvo after salvo of embarrassing stories attest. The range of problems is spectacularly depressing, addressing almost every facet of the Navy — from the design, production,…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls for the withdrawal of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, and headlines of rocket attacks resulting in numerous casualties, have brought to the…

Money is the sinew of all wars. In Haiti, feuding gangs are financed by illicit traffic of all sorts, including narcotics and weapons. Disrupting that flow of cash could help provide some leverage to the authorities trying desperately to…