How Russia Is Eclipsing the U.S. in Africa
The Kremlin is preparing to showcase its steadily growing influence in Africa, which has often come at Washington’s expense. On October 28-29, Moscow will host more than 30 African delegations for the...
Soviet Union
Is Russia playing deadly games with the plague? Look to its history.
Excerpt One of the greatest scourges the world has ever known is in recent headlines: the Plague. A technician at Russia’s Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute has died of “pneumonia of unknown...
Op-eds
Medvedev’s message
The former Russian president explains why Putin fights
Op-eds
Putin claims a landslide, but he can’t hide the smoke over Moscow
The Kremlin may have discovered the perfect election strategy: eliminate the possibility of losing. Why bother with opposition or the unpredictability of a free vote when you can simply remove the competition? Russia’s...
Op-eds
Syria’s military is rebuilding, but foreign influence may slow security progress
Foreign influence in the Syrian military, chiefly Turkish and Russian, combined with the continued presence of extremist elements within its ranks, will constrain Damascus’s ability to take steps consistent...
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Picked a Fight With the Two Nations That Could Help It the Most Against the Houthis — Israel and the UAE
Riyadh is running out of options, and more importantly, it is running out of time. In less than two weeks, Iran and its proxy militia in Yemen have effectively checkmated Saudi Arabia by severing...
Op-eds
Security Challenges in the Western Balkans
Briefing delivered to the Counter-Kleptocracy Caucus
Legislative Testimonies
Palestinians Must Heed the Lesson of Nasser’s Aswan Dam
Real progress for Palestinians and the wider Arab world requires breaking free from emotional gridlock and making peace.
Op-eds
Amid rising Jew-hatred, Britain turns its sights upon Israel
No matter how much he sugarcoats his words with assurances of affection for Israel and reminders of his Jewish identity, Ed Miliband’s message to Jerusalem is an unremittingly hostile one.
Op-eds
Post-9/11 Lessons — We Overlooked Festering Geostrategic Issues
As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it is important to reflect on the historic significance of that atrocity and on the lessons we have drawn and should draw from it. The 20 years that followed...
Op-eds
The cruel awakening of 9/11
A quarter century on, we need to understand what happened and what is still happening
Op-eds
Putin is testing NATO because he thinks the West will flinch
CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week comes as U.S. intelligence warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be prepared to escalate against...
Op-eds
Putin’s Knee-Jerk Nuclear Saber-Rattling
This week the Kremlin is signaling that further escalation remains on the table, with some Russian officials reportedly discussing nuclear weapons as a last resort, Bloomberg reports. The...
Op-eds
Central Asia’s Power Needs Are an Opportunity for Washington
Blackouts across Central Asia should be a light-bulb moment for Washington as it seeks to diversify critical-mineral supply chains. An August 14 blackout across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and...
Policy Briefs
Resistance to Taliban rule persists in Afghanistan
As the Taliban’s reign over Afghanistan enters its sixth year, the Taliban remains stronger, more unified, and better equipped than it was before September 11, 2001. Today, its flag flies across all...
Op-eds
Kim Jong Un’s European front
North Korea is learning modern warfare on Ukrainian ground—and Russia is paying the tuition
Op-eds
Hidden alliance links Tucker Carlson and Hasan Piker — and puts US in mortal danger
An arresting image from the last century should haunt us in this one. In November 1940, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrived in Berlin to deepen Moscow’s pact with Nazi Germany, supposedly...
Op-eds
Islamism 101
America’s leaders refuse to do their homework
Op-eds
Why Congress Should Tear Down USAGM’s Firewall
As US adversaries clog global airwaves, US-funded media should advance US interests around the world.
Op-eds
Russia Is Back to Banning Books
Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time,” Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” and Stephen King’s “It.” These are just a few victims of book purges happening all over Russia. Every...