The War on Soft Power
In the first Trump administration, then director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney said “There’s no question this is a hard-power budget. It is not a soft-power budget. . . [We want] to send a message to our allies and our potential adversaries that this is a strong-power administration. So you have […]
A US-Led Multinational Mechanism for Syria
Optimism about Syria abounds. The regime, despite its Islamist orientation, has adopted a generally moderate and pragmatic approach (though there are legitimate concerns about its security forces’ actions in the predominantly Druze area of al-Suwayda). Israel’s decimation of Hizbullah and weakening of Iran – the former Asad regime’s primary pillars of support – created this […]
Sanctioning One of Lebanon’s Largest Banks
Hizbullah has long treated Lebanon’s financial system as its personal bank vault — laundering funds, moving money through shell companies, and using quasi-banks like Al-Qard al-Hasan, a US-sanctioned entity, to keep its financial empire humming. But on July 15, something remarkable happened: Lebanon finally pushed back. The country’s central bank banned financial institutions from dealing with Al-Qard […]
America’s Latin America Problem
Twenty years of US neglect have created space for adversaries to build permanent footholds in the Western Hemisphere. Iran and other adversaries are quietly building an operational network in America’s backyard, one that sanctions alone cannot dismantle. The Venezuela Nexus Recent testimony from Hugo “Pollo” Carvajal, Venezuela’s former intelligence chief, reveals the depth of Iran-Venezuela […]
Reconciliation Bills and the Defense Budget
Both during his presidential campaign and since taking office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly echoed Ronald Reagan’s famous phrase “peace through strength,” while emphasizing the major emerging long-term threat from the People’s Republic of China. Despite Trump’s pronouncements, however, his fiscal year 2026 budget falls short of the defense spending levels that the Biden administration […]
Holding the Front Line Against Terrorism: NATO’s Essential Role in Iraq
NATO Mission Iraq trains and advises Iraqi armed forces and government security agencies on a wide array of tasks against a number of terrorist threats. The evolution of NATO’s training mission in Iraq underlines its continuing need; NATO should consider exporting this model to other fragile states like Syria and Lebanon Throughout the period from […]
Closer US – Hungary Military Cooperation is Good for Both Countries
Hungary and the United States have been allies since Hungary joined NATO in 1999. President Donald Trump’s reelection augurs well for closer ties on defense policy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Trump during the election campaign and called him “the man who can save the Western world.” Trump, in return, has said “there’s nobody that’s […]
Europe Faces a Threat Bigger Than Russia: Its Own Balkanization
Bridge construction in the Western Balkans may be a microcosm of Europe’s fragmented, post-American future. During the Kosovo War of 1998-1999, the main bridge over the river Ibar in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica was an important focal point. “On one side, sitting in chairs outside the Dolce Vita bar and listening to Italian music, are […]
Zohran Mamdani and the American Tradition of Reinvention
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was a hero of the American Revolutionary War. He arrived at Valley Forge in the bleak second winter of the war and trained the ragtag American regiments into a disciplined, coordinated force. He is quite possibly the most celebrated German American in history. Italian Americans have Columbus Day, but German Americans […]
The Missing Peace in Africa’s Great Lakes Region
The Great Lakes region that encompasses Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is among Africa’s most beautiful regions. Cloud-covered volcanos, terraced fields, lush jungles, and lakes dot the landscape. It is also among the most violent. The June 2025 peace agreement signed at the White House between two of the region’s countries (Rwanda […]
