The Wars in Gaza and Ukraine Are the Same War

Photos: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS, Official State Department photo by Chuck Kennedy via ABACAPRESS.COM.

The deep partisan divisions in the United States affect many public issues, including the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East. The Israeli war of self-defense in Gaza commands strong support among Republicans but elicits less enthusiasm among Democrats. By contrast, Democrats generally endorse Ukraine’s war of self-defense against Russia, following the lead of […]

Strategic Implications of Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion

Lenin statue damaged by fighting in Sudzha, Kursk region, August 16, 2024. Photo credit: Chubotin Kirill/Ukrinform/ABACA via Reuters Connect.

Beijing has argued for a truce and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the Russian invasion began two and a half years ago. Ukraine’s occupation of parts of Russia’s Kursk region could lend new urgency to the Chinese position.  If the Ukrainian offensive is not quickly and completely repulsed by Moscow, the Ukrainian bargaining positions […]

Taiwan’s Ongoing Business Ties with Russia

When a country’s government enacts sanctions against another country, individual firms in the country are left to determine whether to comply or seek sanctions-flouting workarounds to keep goods and services flowing. This is the reality faced by thousands of firms worldwide that buy from and sell to Russia, the world’s twelfth largest economy by nominal […]

Time to Repeal Jackson-Vanik in Central Asia

Adrian Smith, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Photo credit: Rod Lamkey - CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect.

Jackson-Vanik was a cornerstone of the US response to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. But it is time for Congress to remove this outdated policy in order to strengthen relationships with Central Asia and present a US commercial alternative to Russia and China.  The Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 denied US […]

Global Dimensions of the Russo-Ukrainian War

The Russo-Ukrainian War is a grand battle about both the future of Europe and the principle of inviolability of borders. In addition, the war’s course and outcome can accelerate, contain or reverse broader political, social and ideological trends across the globe. Stabilizing the International Order A Ukrainian victory would lead to a stabilization of the […]

Ghosts at the Banquet: The Washington NATO Summit

Photo credit: Artem Priakhin / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect.

The Vilnius NATO summit of 2023 was stalked by a spectre. How would the allies deal with Ukraine’s NATO aspirations while its vaunted counter-offensive had gotten off to a sputtering start, amidst nuclear saber rattling by Vladimir Putin and his henchmen, eliciting in turn a focus on “escalation management” by Joe Biden’s national security team. […]

Russia’s Targeting of Civilians in Ukraine: A Ukrainian Response

Outside the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv after the Russian missile strike, July 8, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich.

On July 8, Russia launched a barrage of missiles that hit the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, killing at least 38 persons. One missile demolished the ward which cared for child patients on dialysis. The explosion was so powerful that the top floor of the building collapsed; the shockwave and secondary shrapnel destroyed two other […]

A New Era of Long Wars

Ukrainian soldiers (left, photo credit: REUTERS/Marko Djurica), Israeli Soldiers (right, photo credit: REUTERS/Baz Ratner).

The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine signal a shift in the nature of warfare. The advent of long wars will affect both military strategy and broader national decision-making. Long wars require not just military readiness but also economic planning, especially civilian and military long-term logistical planning. For Israel, this is a particularly challenging development, as […]

An ‘America First’ Democracy Support Agenda for the Next President

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Freedom and democracy have declined globally over the last two decades. This is bad for US security and prosperity, because autocracies hostile to the United States find more willing supporters among other autocrats. Furthermore, American companies trying to access markets of less-democratic developing nations face opaque regulatory regimes subject to the whims of unaccountable predatory […]

A Freedom Strategy for the Global South

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

In the current cold war, the US and its allies in the Free World bloc are in a sharp contest with the authoritarian, revisionist, and expansionist bloc of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The stakes could not be higher. If the Free World loses this contest, the freedom, security, and prosperity of Americans and its […]