National Guard of the United States

November 8, 2024 | John Hardie |

Russia looks to encircle the eastern Ukrainian city of Kurakhove

Russian forces are currently attempting to encircle Kurakhove, a small city in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Their rate of advance, while still relatively modest, has accelerated...

November 7, 2024 | Dr. Erica Lonergan, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Colin Ahern

Congress must demand a study of America’s cyber forces

A bipartisan proposal should move forward despite Defense Department objections.

September 17, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

War flashbacks in Guam as China projects power in the Pacific

Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, a US territory, is not just waiting for the rest of the US to come save them. In this interview conducted in July, she describes some of the initiatives she is hoping to get off the ground so Guam is better able to defend itself.

June 28, 2023 | |

Iran Pledges Support for Putin After Failed Mutiny

The chief of the Iranian armed forces general staff, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, invited Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to visit Iran during a phone call on June 28. According to a readout...

August 3, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Biden sold America the false narrative that Al Qaeda was ‘gone’ from Afghanistan. Zawahiri’s death proves he was dangerously wrong.

One year ago this month, President Biden told Americans that Al Qaeda was ‘gone’ from Afghanistan. On Monday, we learned that clearly was not the case. ‘We went to Afghanistan for the...

May 7, 2022 | James Brooke |

Russia’s Potemkin army to parade on Red Square

During my eight years in Moscow, the annual May 9 Victory over Nazism Parade was a huge, nationally televised extravaganza. Journalists parsed President Vladimir Putin’s speech. Military attaches from...

April 30, 2022 | Cleo Paskal, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

Taiwan needs joint exercises, missiles, right now

The most important thing is that you have to establish an effective partnership and build up that deterrent effect—or, if necessary, war winning capability—ahead of time: RADM (Retd) Mark Montgomery.

February 25, 2022 | Malcolm Warbrick |

Time to integrate State Partnership Program in Pentagon planning

As currently used, the program is a missed opportunity, especially when America needs to be strengthening its relationships abroad.

December 17, 2021 | Alexander B. Gray, Cleo Paskal

The Solomon Islands Crisis Shows America Needs a New Pacific Strategy

The U.S. has been largely subcontracting its foreign policy for many Pacific Islands to Australia and New Zealand. That needs to change.

March 5, 2021 | Anthony Ruggiero, John Hardie

Biden Must Do More to Deter Russian Aggression and Uphold Global Norms

The United States on Tuesday joined its European allies in imposing sanctions in response to Moscow’s August 2020 chemical weapons (CW) attack against, and subsequent imprisonment of, Russian opposition...

February 3, 2021 | Bradley Bowman |

What the National Guard Deployment to D.C. Tells Us

The failure to protect the U.S. Capitol from an insurrectionist attack on January 6 is understandably dominating headlines. Leaders and investigators are right to ask how such a horrible breach of security...

January 22, 2021 | Jamil Farshchi, Samantha Ravich

The next pandemic may be cyber — How Biden administration can stop it

Excerpt The next seismic event we face as a country may be a cyber pandemic. Funded by a foreign government, led by a terror organization, or carried out by a lone wolf with a laptop and a bit of skill,...

December 8, 2020 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Annie Fixler

Congress Poised To Enact Unprecedented Cyber Defense Legislation

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) is the most significant attempt ever undertaken by Congress to improve national cybersecurity and protect U.S. critical infrastructure...

August 10, 2020 | Bradley Bowman, MAJ Thomas G. Pledger

Modernize The National Guard’s State Partnership Program

Low-key deployments by citizen-soldiers have strengthened ties with 89 nations – but some crucial partners are missing.

August 4, 2020 | Bradley Bowman, Andrea Stricker

Arm Taiwan—but Skip the Nukes

As the military balance of power shifts in China’s favor, Beijing may be increasingly tempted to act against Taiwan.

June 23, 2020 | David Kilcullen |

America in 2020: “Insurrection” or “Incipient Insurgency”?

In the two weeks of disorder that followed the death of George Floyd, 200 cities imposed curfews; 31 states and the District of Columbia called out the National Guard; active-duty U.S. troops deployed in...

March 23, 2017 | Emanuele Ottolenghi, John Hannah

In Venezuela’s Toxic Brew, Failed Narco-State Meets Iran-Backed Terrorism

As if the political and economic chaos wracking Venezuela wasn’t worrying enough, a couple of recent stories underscore the potential national security threat brewi...

July 9, 2015 |

The Gulf Cooperation Council Camp David Summit: Any Results?

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: thank you on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for the opportunity to testify before...

May 5, 2015 |

Preaching Hate and Sectarianism in the Gulf

As Saudi Arabia expands its involvement in wars across the Middle East, the kingdom has given a platform to an extremist cleric who seems to believe this struggle is not...

April 22, 2015 |

Understanding ‘Operation Renewal of Hope’ in Yemen

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen declared the end of Operation Decisive Storm yesterday, to be replaced with Operation Renewal of Hope effective midnight. Although coalition spokesperson...