Protest, Colonization, and the Ukrainian Nation

A statue is of George Washington covered with a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh by protestors at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., April 25, 2024. Photo credit: Bryan Olin Dozier via Reuters Connect.

Many observers of the pro-Gaza/Hamas demonstrations at college campuses throughout the U.S. have been taken aback by the rhetoric and behavior of the protestors and their advocates. Masked faces and widespread refusals to self-identify display the protestors’ reluctance to face real consequences for their actions. What is most troubling, however, is the contention that Israeli […]

How to Defeat the New Axis of Evil

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Two blocs emerged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Iran-backed terror in the Middle East: The Free World and the New Axis of Evil. By supporting each other, the countries of the New Axis of Evil are more dangerous together than they are separately. The Free World countries must design new policies to […]

No End to National Security Surprises

Photo credit: REUTERS/Larry Downing.

The surprise was total and horrific—Israeli men, women and children brutally killed or taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Israel’s vaunted intelligence services failed to provide adequate warning, its military—the Israeli Defense Forces—failed to provide adequate security, and Israeli political leadership remained cocooned in their comfortable assumptions about risks to Israeli security posed by Palestinians in […]

Iran’s Attack Requires a Broad Response

Israel's Arrow 3 interceptors operate against long-range Iranian missiles over the city of Ashkelon, Israel in the early morning hours of April 14, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Iran’s attack on Israel, with more than 170 drones and 120 ballistic missiles, was the largest that Tehran has ever launched against the Hebrew state.  Previously, Iran used proxy forces, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthi rebels in Yemen, to rain down rockets on Israeli homes and ships. Now, Iran is attacking directly and striking at well […]

The Houthis’ Asymmetrical Maritime Warfare

US destroyer shoots down Houthi missiles and drones. Photo credit: ABACA via Reuters Connect / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael J. Lieberknecht.

The war launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023 caught Israel and its defense establishment by surprise, but the same cannot be said of the missile attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Houthi rebel regime in Yemen.  Ever since the Houthis took control of Yemen’s capital San’a in 2014, Israeli analysts have warned that […]

How Israel Wins the Postwar

Gazans gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, March 29, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot.

Israel must finish the job of crushing Hamas in Gaza both as a military force and as a government. That’s the legitimate response to the surprise attack of October 7. This war aim also includes return of the hostages and minimizing Gazan civilian casualties to the extent possible. The Israel Defense Forces are in the […]

Rafah: Is a Common Israeli-American Approach Possible?

Palestinians during Ramadan in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.

The final major combat phase of the Gaza war, an Israeli attack on remaining organized Hamas forces in Rafah, is approaching. It was delayed due to the humanitarian crisis impacting the Gaza population and negotiations over a limited pause in fighting for release of Israeli hostages. But the “how” of the Israeli operation has produced […]

America-Israel Disagreement over Gaza at a Critical Junction

US President Joe Biden meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, October 2023. Photo credit: Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS.

Rarely in the American special relationship with Israel has there been such a dramatic display of discord between leaders. What began as a remarkable show of American support and solidarity with Israel, in the wake of Hamas’s assault in October, came by February and March to be increasingly marred by acrimony. The White House statement […]

Southeast Asia’s Growing Importance to Global Trade

ASEAN and Australian leaders at a summit in Melbourne, Australia, March 4, 2024. Photo credit: George Chan / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect.

The world is in the initial stages of an evolution in the structure of global trade. While popular narratives about the era of globalization described a wide dispersion of trade flows and supply chains to all corners of the world, the reality was different. Global trade remained very concentrated. For example, close to 40 percent […]

How to Delegitimize the Practice of Hostage Taking

Photo credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins.

One of the conclusions from the Israel-Hamas war is the need for renewed, concerted action to address hostage taking. There are concrete diplomatic and law enforcement actions that the international community should take to delegitimize this practice and raise the cost to hostage takers, governments that also employ this tactic, and governments that provide safe […]