BlackRock China

Larry Fink and BlackRock require Congressional scrutiny over China tech industry funding. It is unconscionable that they would support an industry which exists to threaten American lives and interests.

Southwest

Southwest Shambles: the airline has utterly imploded. There's not much else to say, except that it's absurd the CEO and COO haven't yet committed to resign.

Drones, Sino-Russian naval drills, Zelensky Congress

Unidentified drones flying over U.S. nuclear laboratories. Four reports returned from a Freedom of Information Act request offer insight into the security challenge presented by unmanned vehicles.

from Wednesday...

Xi mocks Macron and Scholz with Sino-Russian naval drills. The Chinese president is showing his European interlocutors that their appeasement bears no fruit.

Four things Zelensky must address with Congress. The Ukrainian president should center his message in unequivocal gratitude and strategic clarity.

DSS failings, Belarus front?

Agents say diplomatic security service riven by mismanagement and failing key missions. The State Department's primary security agency faces major challenges.

From Belarus without much love: Putin's exaggerated hopes for a new offensive towards Kyiv. The Russian military very likely lacks the means of being able to conduct a successful multi-front offensive.

Investment firms and China

Bridgewater, KKR and BlackRock's support for Communist China is deeply unpatriotic. The investment firms should reconsider their support for a regime that is arming itself to kill Americans and replace the U.S.-led democratic international order.

Elon Musk vs. free speech, Russian social media lamentations

Elon Musk's lamentable reversal on his own free speech agenda. The Twitter CEO's explanation for banning flight tracking is incompatible with his claims to defend free speech.

The grim state of Russia's war effort is finally leaking into Russian social media. Three stories from Wednesday testify to Russia's deep concern over its war in Ukraine.

UK fails China test

UK offers pathetic response to Chinese diplomats' attack, sending bad signal for US special relationship. The attack on Manchester protesters should have resulted in the expulsion of those diplomats involved. Instead, the British government is pretending its appeasement policy represents strength.

P-8 over Baltic Sea, UK health system crisis

Looking for a new Lada, or why a U.S. submarine hunter might be flying over the Baltic Sea. The Russian Navy is putting an advanced diesel-electric submarine through trials.

America's healthcare system faces fiscal implosion, the UK's healthcare system faces functional implosion. Under-resourced and overwhelmed by an aging population, the NHS is near breaking point.

European allies

The U.S. has better European allies than Germany and France. Finland and the Baltic states are more committed to defending Europe's eastern flank and assisting the U.S. in challenging China's imperial agenda.

Putin nuclear

Decoding Vladimir Putin's latest nuclear nonsense. Pretending Russia can match U.S. first strike capabilities, Putin plays for domestic propaganda.

Griner deal

Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout trade gives Putin two victories. The Russian president has secured valuable domestic propaganda material. He can also broadcast to the EU that he has secured the initiative over Washington.

Ukraine winter

A brutal winter is coming for Russian forces in Ukraine. Poorly equipped, poorly led and facing motivated Ukrainian units, Russian forces face a growing problem.

Macron-China

Macron chooses China over U.S., rebuking Biden's state visit honor. The French president offers eloquent words but a capricious disregard for the defense of the democratic international order.

  

Qatar World Cup

World Cup 2022: Foreigners deliver successes amid Qatar's failings. The tournament is a fun watch thus far. But Qatar has very little to do with that.

Gianni Infantino

FIFA president Gianni Infantino's extraordinary own goal. With his absurd rant, Infantino has utterly destroyed the credibility of soccer's global governing body.

Qatar beer

World Cup 2022: Qatar's beer debacle should be the final nail in FIFA's coffin. That the international soccer body has allowed this rollercoaster of absurdity is inexcusable.

Ukraine fog

A lesson for Ukraine and me on the fog of war. We should have been more careful before blaming Russia for the missile incident in Poland.

Poland incident, Biden-Xi meeting

The apparent Russian missile strike in Poland is a major escalation. A deliberate attack veiled as an accident would flow with recent Russian strategic shifts. And Poland is a NATO member state.

Talking is good, tempting fate is bad. Biden is right to talk with Xi but it would be a grievous error to take Xi at his word.

Marines and China, Diplomatic Security Service

On its 247th birthday, the Marine Corps can celebrate being the military branch most serious about China. The Marines are undertaking controversial but necessary reforms in the pursuit of victory.

The Diplomatic Security Service is near breaking point. Overwhelmed by protection missions, the agency lacks the manpower and resources to fulfill its mission.

Kherson retreat, GOP Congress on China, GOP Congress on Russia

Crimea, politics, and why Russia had to retreat from Kherson. The top line is that Vladimir Putin could not risk an encirclement Ukrainian offensive that cuts off Crimea's land corridor to Russia.

How would a Republican controlled House affect relations with China? More hawkish policies on tech, academia, and defense are likely coming.

A Republican controlled House is not going to abandon Ukraine for Russia. The consensus of the Republican Party remains firmly in Ukraine's favor and skeptical of Moscow.

Iran assassination plots

Iran is escalating its assassination plots in the West. The U.S. and its allies must respond with a clear warning.

Scholz-Beijing

Waltzing in Beijing, Germany's Olaf Scholz plays the U.S. for a fool. The Chancellor is betraying critical U.S. interests by replicating Merkel's mercantilism-at-all-costs China policy.

Netanyahu-China

Congratulating Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S. must issue a clear China warning. The Israeli prime minister in waiting cannot return to his pro-Beijing policy of old.

Russia/Iran vs. Ukraine

Russia and Iran's self-defeating gambit to freeze Ukraine. They lack the means to sustain their offensive action and the prospect of using it to achieve Ukrainian concessions.

Paul Pelosi

Attack on Paul Pelosi hints at significant Capitol Police failure. Why, for example, weren't any intrusion detection/access control systems activated?

Ukraine objectives, Australia World Cup

What should U.S. strategic objectives in Ukraine actually be? The first focus should be the dislocation of Russian forces from mainland Ukraine.

Australia's worthy stand against Qatar's morally bankrupt World Cup. Australia's team has come out in condemnation of Qatar's terrible human rights record. It's a righteous riposte to this defective regime.

Rishi Sunak China

Britain's new prime minister will raise hopes in Beijing and concern in Washington. Rishi Sunak's prism on China tends toward mercantilism rather than security.

Huawei indictments/Hu purge

U.S. indictments and Hu Jintao purge prove Xi Jinping's obsession with control. Though separate and distinct events, these two situations exemplify Xi's focus on winning at all costs and being seen to win.

Ukraine aid, Conservatives

Three justifications for Kevin McCarthy's Ukraine aid stance: European responsibility for burden sharing, corruption concerns, and Biden's outline of a strategy

from Thursday

Who can repair the sinking Conservative Party ship? Liz Truss is gone, Boris Johnson wants to return. But can anyone fix the breach?

Truss chaos

Liz Truss' UK government faces stunning political implosion. The chaos surrounding a parliamentary vote on Wednesday is only the latest crisis to face Truss' short premiership.

RAF 4 PLA?

Former British military pilots are training the PLA. 

The U.S. and British governments must respond.

Berlin-Beijing

Will Biden care about Germany's latest kowtowing to China? Berlin has every right to set its own foreign policy. But so also must Biden stand up for critical U.S. interests.

Ukraine missiles/Surovikin

Why missile strikes and a new commander won't redress Putin's war effort. The fundamental weaknesses facing the Russian armed forces in Ukraine will remain unresolved.

Russian nuke attack

Signs to watch for if the U.S. believes a Russian nuclear attack is imminent. There will be visible indicators of U.S. and foreign concern.

Uyghur UN vote

Facing China's Uyghur genocide at the UN, money talks and Islam walks. Muslim majority nations offered a near total abdication of moral and religious commitment on Thursday.

Russia tensions

Russian parliament defense committee chief to military: stop lying about losses. The Kremlin is caught between military failures and its presentation of glowing successes.

China-NK leverage, Trump's CNN lawsuit

Biden must not allow China to use North Korea as leverage. Beijing will want to extract its own concessions in return for putting Kim Jong-un back in his box.

Trump's no hope CNN lawsuit has nothing to do with the law. Trump has no chance of successfully suing CNN for defamation. Here's why, and why that's a good thing.

Ukraine escalation

Why Putin and Zelensky are escalating their conflict. Putin needs a Hail Mary and Zelensky is emboldened.

Lose or nuke, Nord Stream explosions

Why Putin will soon have to choose between losing in Ukraine and using nuclear weapons. The Russian means of waging conventional war on Ukraine are depleting rapidly. Putin has few options.

Who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines and how will we find out? Here's why the Russians are the most likely culprit and how evidence might be gathered.

EU Ukraine

Do European Union leaders want Trump re-elected? Their Ukraine freeloading certainly suggests so. The U.S. is bearing an unfair burden of sustaining Ukraine's democracy.

Russian military bullying, Academia/China espionage

Russian draft dodging is about endemic bullying, not just the war in Ukraine. Russians are aware of how military service involves extortion and physical abuse alongside normal military hardships.

Los Alamos spying shows why academia's complaints must be ignored. The U.S. has a responsible to protect cutting edge research from being used to build Chinese weapons and hegemony.

Chamber of Commerce in HK, Albania's narcostate

Corporate America holds fast to Communist China in Hong Kong. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong dishonors American values by its supplication to Beijing.

Biden's strange tolerance for Albania's narcostate. The highest echelon of the Albanian government appears to be in bed with the Sinaloa cartel.

Yair Lapid UN

Meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Israel's Yair Lapid exemplifies good leadership. The Israeli Prime Minister offers a stark contrast with Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden's Taiwan pledge

The two problems with Biden's Taiwan defense pledge. Put simply, Taiwan is not taking the necessary action to defend itself.

Queen's funeral security, Modi 4 Putin

How President Biden, King Charles III and other world leaders will be protected at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. A massive security operation aims for a peaceful conclusion.

Sorry, Narendra Modi is still very much in Russia's corner. Modi's tentative condemnation of the war in Ukraine means nothing.

Xi-Putin

Why Xi Jinping squirmed in his Putin meeting. It's very clear that the Chinese president doesn't want to be associated with the war in Ukraine.

Orban's latest waltz with Putin

Betraying the U.S. and Europe, Viktor Orban again delivers for his Hungarian master. The fake friend of America is supporting Russian calls for an end to sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Putin's stability

Why Vladimir Putin's presidency remains stable in spite of everything. The Russian leader's power base and popularity remain secure.

Li Zhanshu

Li Zhanshu offers a bold endorsement of Russia's war on Ukraine. The powerful Chinese Communist official risks alienating increasingly skeptical EU partners.

QEII. King Charles III and politics

Queen Elizabeth II's life of duty, honor, country. The British monarch embodied sober patriotism of the highest order.

Will King Charles III do his duty and abandon politics? The new British monarch has a critical responsibility to lead in a manner that he has not previously shown capable of doing.