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August 2, 2023 Anniversary of a forever war May I remind you what a hellhole North Korea is? The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – that’s it’s official and fraudulent name – is a dynastic totalitarian dictatorship in which, according... August 1, 2023 In Lebanon, Israel and America Are on Opposite Sides Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s discussion on Sunday with senior IDF officials about Hezbollah provocations on the northern border was preceded by a flurry of press reports claiming... August 1, 2023 Dutch Authorities Catch Hamas Financier Red-Handed Amin Abou Rashed, president of the European Palestinians Conference (EPC), was rubbing elbows with Swedish politicians at an EPC event in late May. A month later, Rashed and his daughter were reportedly behind... July 31, 2023 What Washington Got Wrong About Israel’s Northern Border July marked the 17th anniversary of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. For Hezbollah, the occasion was ripe for incitement. On July 12, activists attacked the Israel-Lebanon border fence in... July 29, 2023 U.S. designates Islamic State financier in Somalia On Thursday, the United States government sanctioned Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, the financial emir for the Islamic State’s Somali Province (or Islamic State-Somalia, ISS). In this capacity, Yusuf was responsible... July 28, 2023 Why it would be better for Israel if Iran enriched to 90% now With Israel consumed by an intense judicial reform debate, Iran is expanding its nuclear weapons program. The Biden administration continues to promote unofficial understandings with Tehran based on keeping... July 27, 2023 Putin has opened a sinister new front in his war against Britain The Russia-Africa summit began in St Petersburg today. To welcome delegates, Vladimir Putin wrote an essay on the Kremlin website asserting that Russia was always there to support the African people... July 27, 2023 Why is Hezbollah poking Israel? Nearly 20 years after its war with Israel, Hezbollah, with its persistent harassment of the Jewish state across Lebanon’s southern border, seems to be itching for a rematch. Why the militia is dragging a failing country to war is anyone’s guess. In recent weeks, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has … July 27, 2023 American Military Aid to Israel Serves Both Countries Well his summer marks the 15th anniversary of one of the most remarkable and course-altering events in the history of the U.S-Israel relationship—an event that most people have never heard of. A fourth-term... July 27, 2023 Turkey is becoming a major hub for cocaine trafficking to Europe Ankara’s reputation for smuggling is not new, and its portfolio in facilitating the free flow of illicit goods is growing to include drugs. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Turkey... July 26, 2023 What Happens When a Quran Is Burned Demonstrates a Government’s Capacity for Liberty Current Iraqi rage against the burning of a Quran in Sweden and in Denmark violates both liberty and Islamic teachings — and shows that freedom of expression is sometimes globally curtailed for... July 26, 2023 How to increase deterrence messaging to Iran with the next US-Israel military exercise The United States and Israel held a combined, multi-domain Juniper Oak 23.3 military exercise this month in Israel. The exercise, which focused on a range of capabilities relevant to a strike... July 26, 2023 Why America Forgets—and China Remembers—the Korean War Seventy years ago this week, the armistice that froze the Korean War was signed. During a year of savage battlefield maneuvering and two more of bitter stalemate, nearly 40,000 American troops gave their... July 26, 2023 Why Kerry got the cold shoulder in Beijing In 2021, John Kerry was appointed to a position no American had ever before held: U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. The job came with an office in the White House, a staff of 45, and plentiful... July 25, 2023 More Evidence That Russia’s Making Iranian Drones Ukrainian outlet Defense Express last week published photos of what appears to be a Russian-made version of Iran’s Shahed-136 one-way attack drone. This revelation builds on recent evidence, highlighted by FDD’s... July 25, 2023 The Russia-Serbia Nexus – EU Has to Step Up and Do its Part As Serbia continues to fuel instability in the Western Balkans, the US has imposed anti-corruption sanctions against Serbian intelligence chief Aleksandar Vulin. Serbian President... July 24, 2023 Achieving Financial Inclusion in an Evolving Economic Landscape For the first time since Bretton Woods, money is primed for reinvention. Digital innovations, like cryptocurrencies and the underlying technologies they are built on, have opened the door for a new, more... July 23, 2023 Cloak and Swagger An undeniable, unpleasant, and intriguing truth: The Soviets were usually much better at espionage than either the Americans or the Brits. German fascists, who once upon a time also had a substantial fan... July 23, 2023 Vital to protect pro-Israel UN votes from Pacific nations Ngerulmud, Palau – It is no secret that Israel is disproportionately singled out at the United Nations. Last year, the General Assembly approved 15 anti-Israel resolutions. That was two more than... July 21, 2023 Politics Risk Derailing One of America’s Most Important Strategic Agreements Of the Pacific Island states, the three countries that are unquestionably the closest allies of the United States are the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the... July 21, 2023 Taliban again denies TTP presence in Afghanistan The Taliban continues to claim that there are no foreign terror groups operating inside Afghanistan, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. The latest denial came this week when the Taliban was pressed... July 21, 2023 Black Sea Grain Deal Is Dead, Highlighting Turkey’s Strategic Relevance Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Turkey along with the United Nations brokered a deal to allow the shipment of Ukrainian grain, so that it could be sold on world markets. This... July 20, 2023 AFRICOM launches ‘self-defense’ airstrikes against Shabaab in Somalia U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) killed five members of Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, in a “self-defense airstrike” in central Somalia on July 19. AFRICOM has launched four self-defense... July 20, 2023 Washington’s four-point plan to take down the Syrian narco-trade At the inaugural meeting of the US-led “Global Coalition Against Synthetic Drugs,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen called for the development of a regional coalition to address the industrial-scale... July 20, 2023 Turkey is granting citizenship to international criminals The reelection of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey’s president is resurfacing the question of whether Turkey is reanchoring itself in the Western alliance. Nothing could be further... July 19, 2023 Renewing NATO The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathered in the capital of Lithuania last week where they declared their commitment to “individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule... July 18, 2023 How Xi Jinping’s Policies Could Lead China to Economic Implosion Chinese president Xi Jinping, speaking to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 19th Congress in October 2017, announced: “It is time for us to take center stage in the world.” Yet a funny thing happened... July 18, 2023 Building the Taiwanese ‘porcupine’ an arsenal of shooting quills The massive military exercises that China launched over the past year in response to the meetings between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. Speakers of the House Nancy... July 18, 2023 The meaning of Abbas’s Jenin visit On July 12, Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas visited the refugee camp in Jenin for the first time since 2005. The visit came days after a 48-hour IDF operation targeting terrorist infrastructure... July 17, 2023 Biden at the NATO Summit in Vilnius: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly When President Joe Biden entered office he was quick to declare that “America is back.” After his predecessor routinely expressed low regard for America’s European allies, Biden declared that... July 17, 2023 Crimean Bridge Damaged by Ukrainian Strike Ukraine appears to have pulled off its second successful strike against the Crimean Bridge, which connects the illegally annexed peninsula to the Russian mainland. However, the damage inflicted to the... July 16, 2023 Post Jenin Operation, Questions Linger About the State of the West Bank Shortly after 1:00 am local time on July 3, the Israeli military began an operation targeting the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. This area is a hub for various armed Palestinian organizations,... July 16, 2023 The Wagner Rebellion: How the West Can Take Advantage of the Chaos Caused After the unsuccessful Wagner rebellion, the Kremlin announced the mercenary group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin met with Vladimir Putin on June 29 to discuss the “assessment” of... July 15, 2023 Putin’s soft underbelly is ripe for revolt After the so-called “march of justice” against the Russian military, all eyes have been Belarus. Often described as Europe’s last dictator, its leader Alexander Lukashenko serves as Vladimir... July 14, 2023 Will Sweden Actually Be Admitted Into NATO? Will Sweden actually be admitted into NATO? Maybe. At NATO’s annual summit in Vilnius, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced “President Erdogan ha[d] agreed to forward... July 14, 2023 States Should Deliver the Final Blow to BDS at Morningstar The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) last week reported that Morningstar Sustainalytics – the environmental, social, governance (ESG) ratings arm of Morningstar, Inc. – had removed negative... July 13, 2023 The Only Thing Worse than Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight This spring, a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives visited Taiwan – both as a show of solidarity and to develop responses to Beijing’s aggression. Among their “constructive takeaways” was... July 13, 2023 France Sends SCALP-EG Missiles to Ukraine At the NATO summit in Vilnius, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he had decided to provide Ukraine with “long-range missiles.” These missiles will aid Kyiv’s efforts to degrade... July 12, 2023 Internal Violence Has Become a Nightmare for Israeli Arabs The wave of violence and crime among Israeli Arabs has become a major problem. Among the latest victims are Omar and Muhammad Khaldi, father and son, who were gunned down in northern Israel in... July 12, 2023 How to help the Saudis achieve their nuclear-powered dreams without giving them the bomb Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is offering the U.S. a deal he believes it cannot refuse. He is prepared to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, granting the... July 12, 2023 Iran’s shadow war Israelis battled Palestinians in the northern West Bank last week. That’s what most media reported and it’s true as far as it goes. But here’s a more accurate description of reality: Israeli troops... July 11, 2023 How NATO Should Fight Back Against Russia’s Hybrid Warfare Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the West has declared a “total hybrid war” against Russia. Moscow understands very well that it cannot win a conventional conflict with NATO but... July 11, 2023 China Tries to Flip an American Ally NGERULMUD, Palau—A tiny Pacific island nation with a population of 18,000 that few Americans can find on the map could be pivotal to defending Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. Even as the Pentagon... July 10, 2023 Keep Air Defense at the Top of NATO’s Agenda in Vilnius Despite reports that Russia’s missile supplies might be running low, Ukraine faces a renewed aerial bombardment from the Russian military. According to the BBC, the month of May saw Ukraine receive a... July 10, 2023 Iraqi sovereignty at stake in case of Israeli hostage The Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hezbollah has been holding hostage, since March, Israeli-Russian Elizabeth Tsurkov, a graduate student at Princeton University. Tsurkov had entered Iraq, using her Russian passport,... July 10, 2023 Breaking a leg in Jerusalem: How Arab-Israeli kindness challenged my assumptions I broke my leg in two places a little more than a week ago in Jerusalem. It was a freak accident, brought on by exhaustion, jet lag, dehydration and, if I am to be honest, a glass of champagne. Fortunately,... July 9, 2023 U.S. fighting China on the wrong battlefield Exactly 79 years ago, on 9 July 1944, the American military secured the island of Saipan—a key component of Imperial Japan’s defence plan. Tens of thousands died in the battle, and the island... July 7, 2023 What can we expect from an Erdogan-Netanyahu meeting? What could possibly go right, or wrong, in a meeting between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu? Recent reporting suggests that the two... July 7, 2023 Iran must notify about new enrichment facilities A regime official threatened this week that Iran would enrich uranium to higher levels or withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty should European countries retain missile-related... July 6, 2023 The Saudi-Iran Agreement: Should Washington Be Worried? While a few statements and photo ops here and there might suggest that Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) is in the process of replacing Saudi Arabia’s traditional partner,...

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