Op-eds

Filter

Products

May 11, 2026 Iran’s ‘unacceptable’ deal means US must open the Strait of Hormuz by force Two days after United States Central Command launched Project Freedom, a naval operation to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump paused the operation. Trump... May 11, 2026 Turkey’s corridor dream won’t beat IMEC – but it could still reshape Eurasian trade War has a way of redrawing maps – not just political ones, but commercial ones as well. The outbreak of conflict with Iran has disrupted longstanding trade arteries linking Asia to Europe, from Persian... May 11, 2026 Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Xi The Chinese Communist Party is rewriting the Bible. As part of Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization of Christianity” campaign, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plans to ensure Christianity in... May 11, 2026 The missing cybersecurity leader in small business The average cyberattack costs for a small- or medium-size business is more than $250,000. The salary for a chief information security officer (CISO) is about the same, pulling in between $250,000... May 11, 2026 Lebanon and Israel Agree on Peace, Disagree on Sequence The Lebanese and Israeli governments are fully aligned on the goal of their diplomatic talks. When all is said and done, Hezbollah will be fully disarmed, Israel will have ended its security actions in... May 10, 2026 Putin’s latest Victory Day parade shows a desperate, hollow regime Excerpt Every year on May 9, Russia turns Victory Day into its most important exercise in state propaganda. The parade on Red Square is designed to project strength abroad and reinforce loyalty... May 8, 2026 Israel assassinates commander of Hezbollah Radwan Force On May 6, just after 8 pm, an Israeli strike targeted a 10-story apartment building in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb. Hezbollah-affiliated... May 8, 2026 Protests in Syria’s Kurdish region highlight demand for rights Protesters in Hasaka in eastern Syria tore down a government billboard at the Justice Palace on May 7. The protests by local Kurdish residents came after the Syrian government changed the... May 8, 2026 The Trump Administration’s Counterterrorism Strategy Takes Aim at Drug Cartels Excerpt President Donald Trump’s new counterterrorism strategy is an unapologetic, hard-hitting political manifesto that prioritizes the targeting of drug cartels over the usual emphasis... May 8, 2026 A NATO ally’s information war: Unmasking Turkey’s global media strategy A recent investigation into the social media account “Clash Report” illustrates the need for greater alertness among policymakers in Washington and across Europe. While the account appears to... May 8, 2026 Europe is writing itself out of the Middle East Twice in six months, the EU has tried to suspend its trade agreement with Israel. Twice, a handful of member states have blocked the move. The most recent attempt came on April 21, in Luxembourg,... May 7, 2026 Russian security assistance is creating problems on the Korean Peninsula In a unique episode of father-daughter bonding, Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, observed a ballistic missile test on April 19 in which North Korea launched five missiles with... May 7, 2026 The Final Lebanon War? Excerpt Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that peace between Israel and Lebanon is “imminently achievable”—if Beirut can finally confront Hezbollah. But even as Washington presses the... May 7, 2026 KMT Risks Missing the Lessons of the Wars in Ukraine and Iran Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang has the chance to prove to voters – and to skeptical partners in Washington and beyond – that they take Taiwan’s national security seriously and can pass a meaningful... May 7, 2026 Palestinian ‘pay to slay’ shows why Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza is needed President Donald Trump is known for forging his own foreign policy path, and Gaza is no different. Whereas the previous administration hoped that a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority would... May 7, 2026 SADAT: Turkey’s Wagner Group Excerpt Turkey’s use of private military actors has become an increasingly important—if opaque —feature of its foreign policy toolkit. Among these, SADAT International Defense Consultancy stands... May 7, 2026 The Dangerous Failure to Hold Hamas Accountable for Using Human Shields During its war with Israel in Gaza, Hamas has used human shields—a war crime under international law—not only incessantly but also systematically and strategically, as a core part of its planning and... May 6, 2026 Iran targets Kurdish Iranian opposition groups in northern Iraq Two Kurdish Iranian opposition groups claimed they were targeted by Iranian attacks on May 5 and 6. The Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran... May 6, 2026 Israeli forces face challenges as Hezbollah ramps up use of FPV drones Hezbollah’s Al Ahed newspaper stated on April 29 that the group had “amassed a massive arsenal of” precision diving/attack drones, which it said had been modified “during the... May 6, 2026 Iran’s rulers are true believers During a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth why she is so vehemently opposed to the use of military force to address the threat posed by Tehran:... May 5, 2026 Talks over Hamas disarmament stall, IDF reports 19 Gaza ceasefire violations April 21–May 5 Talks between Hamas and the Board of Peace (BoP), part of the US-led international initiative to stabilize Gaza, have reportedly stalled. The terrorist organization continues to staunchly reject total... May 5, 2026 Syria reports neutralizing Hezbollah plot to assassinate senior officials On May 5, the Syrian Ministry of Interior and the General Intelligence Directorate announced that security forces thwarted a major terrorist attack aiming to destabilize the country. In a series... May 4, 2026 Russian Aerospace Forces reportedly get new commander Colonel-General Aleksandr Chaiko has been appointed commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces (VKS), according to Russian media reports on May 4. If true, Chaiko is a rather unusual choice, given his army... May 4, 2026 Iran claims strike on US warship as US attempts to reopen Strait of Hormuz On May 4, US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) struck a US warship in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC claimed to have a US Navy frigate the same day... May 4, 2026 Trump’s Deal of the Century for Lebanon Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas do not end wars; they only pause them. They make limited concessions to secure a ceasefire, only to exploit the fragile status quo to rearm and prepare for the next round. This... May 4, 2026 In Iran, Behavior Changes Only When The Regime Does As the conflict with Tehran has reached a stalemate, it is up to the United States to declare victory, but first, it must define what victory means. Three outcomes qualify. First, degrading Iran’s... May 3, 2026 America Should Rediscover the Soft Power Potential of Its Music On April 30, International Jazz Day celebrated a music of freedom. Washington should see it as power. During the Cold War, the United States used jazz to outmaneuver Soviet propaganda and win hearts and... May 2, 2026 Russia and Iran Build Sovereign, State-Controlled Internets Iranians are increasingly leaving their country to escape the regime’s internet shutdown. At the same time, in Russia, the Kremlin’s tightening grip on online life is fueling growing... May 1, 2026 Here’s how to crush Tehran in three moves The small group of Islamist regime loyalists now ruling Iran by committee may be able to fool the world with AI-generated propaganda videos, paper statements attributed to an invisible ayatollah and... May 1, 2026 London stabbings shine light on Hamas’s success It’s past time to acknowledge that for Hamas and its allies, the pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, yielded one enduring, transformational success. To find it, don’t look to Gaza, most of... May 1, 2026 US offers rewards for 3 Iraqi militia leaders On April 27, the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered a $10 million reward for information on Haydar Muzhir Malak al Saidi, the leader of Harakat Ansar Allah al Awfiya,... May 1, 2026 How Iran’s Leaders Hide Their Billions Excerpt Iran’s leaders are giving a money-laundering masterclass on using the quirks of geography to jump jurisdictions, evade sanctions, and outwit detection. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba... April 30, 2026 Why Iraq’s Politics Haven’t Changed Excerpt The Iraq of today is marked by two conflicting feelings: cautious hope for the future and a recognition of the country’s endemic corruption. The good news is that the country’s... April 30, 2026 Rubio is Right, a Vetted and Trained Lebanese Army Could be the Answer U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made an important announcement when he said that Washington is developing a plan to pursue Hezbollah’s disarmament by building up trusted units within the Lebanese... April 30, 2026 To Squeeze Hezbollah, Look to West Africa Iran’s economy is buckling. Under a US blockade, the Islamic Republic faces its most severe economic distress in years. For Hezbollah, which has long benefited from Iran’s... April 29, 2026 Reopening the Strait Is Now Job One in the Iran War America’s war with Iran has already transformed the Middle East. For years, the Islamic Republic’s clerical regime bragged that it could strangle the Persian Gulf. But it refrained from... April 29, 2026 Lebanon Must Reform its Army or Lose American Aid Washington is working on establishing a system “where vetted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] have the training, the equipment, and the capability to go after elements of Hezbollah and dismantle... April 29, 2026 China’s beachhead in the Balkans Serbia is playing a dangerous game with the West. While the European Union and the United States are pursuing a partnership with and EU membership for Serbia, Serbia is cultivating a rapidly... April 29, 2026 2 Jewish men stabbed in London, Ashab al Yamin claims attack UK authorities declared a terrorist incident in London following a stabbing attack that wounded two Jewish men on April 29. Hours after the stabbings, the Iran-linked front group Ashab al Yamin published a... April 29, 2026 Don’t Bet on Qatar Standing by America in the Middle East War is unpredictable and with Operation Epic Fury, some of the biggest surprises have occurred off the battlefield. Qatar’s posture is one of them. Years of engagement with Iran gave way to a relationship... April 29, 2026 What would Thomas Jefferson do? Last Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad where he was expected to finalize the terms of a deal he’d offer President Trump. Less than 24 hours later, he headed back... April 28, 2026 Charity founded by Hamas member raising funds on US-based platform Hamas member Muhammad Saleh al Bardawil founded Al Khair Challenge, a Gaza-based charity that remains active and continues to solicit donations, FDD’s Long War Journal has found. The US Treasury... April 28, 2026 Venezuelan president to end amnesty, hundreds of political prisoners still unreleased Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez declared on April 24 that the Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence was “coming to an end,” despite the Caracas-based human rights NGO Foro... April 28, 2026 Aiding the abduction of Ukrainian children must come with consequences “They do not like the light of day. They’re like vampires,” former U.S. War Crimes Ambassador David Crane said about private corporations and their leaders that facilitate war... April 28, 2026 Iraq nominates little-known businessman to be next prime minister The Coordination Framework (CF), a coalition of Iraqi Shiite parties that is the largest bloc in the country’s parliament, announced on April 27 that it is nominating Ali al Zaidi for prime... April 28, 2026 Hezbollah’s New Drone Threat Excerpt Alarm bells are ringing in Jerusalem as the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah appears to be shifting its tactics toward drone warfare despite the recently... April 27, 2026 Kosovo military team evaluates Gaza deployment amid continuing ceasefire violations The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) announced on April 26 that it had sent a team to Gaza to examine an area where its troops may operate in the future. “During this visit, the team will conduct a preliminary... April 27, 2026 The Vatican’s Deal with the CCP is Not Working—But Washington Can Help Last week, news broke that the Hong Kong government is working to confiscate millions from Hong Kong democracy advocate and devout Catholic Jimmy Lai, 78, funds that it claims are tied to his ... April 27, 2026 Israel and Syria’s Shared Fight Against Hezbollah “We stand alongside Lebanon in disarming Hezbollah,” Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared last month. No other Arab head of state has called for taking away Hezbollah’s... April 27, 2026 If Boycotting Israel Requires a Law, Is It Truly Popular? Hezbollah and its global Intifada allies claim that the overwhelming majority of Lebanese, Arabs, and people of conscience view Israel as pure evil, a cancer to be eradicated. Yet if this hatred is truly...

…

307

#archivePage { display:none; } .noscript-posts { display: flex; flex-direction: column; max-width: 600px; margin: 50px auto; } .noscript-posts a { margin-bottom: 25px; text-decoration: none; display: flex; flex-direction: column; } .noscript-posts a .post-title { text-decoration: underline; font-weight: 700; font-size: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; } .pagination { list-style-type: none; max-width: 600px; margin: 50px auto; }