Syria

Biden abandons U.S. interests in post-war Syria. The president is asleep as Russia somehow moves towards regaining its bases and Turkey bombs the Kurds.

Assad Putin

 From Sunday

Fall of Assad is a major blow to Putin. The Russian leader has lost influence and prestige.

Trump-Macron, DOGE Space, Spec Tennis

Trump must be wary of Macron the magnificent Chameleon. Trump is right to meet the French president in Paris. He'd be wrong to trust him.

DOGE should look at the silliness of moving Space Command to Alabama. The U.S. military's interests are best served by keeping the Command where it's working.

Serving up Spec-tacular' Tennis. A new sport offers a path between Pickleball and Tennis.

Nuclear war, Hong Kong

Nuclear war with Russia is possible but highly improbable. The basic point is that U.S. deterrence is credible, and Putin would lose a great deal - potentially everything - by using a nuclear weapon.

Increase pressure on Western facilitators of Hong Kong repression. The plight of Jimmy Lai is growing a more urgent concern.

UKSF Lakenheath

British special forces join drone hunt at RAF Lakenheath. The U.S. and U.K. governments are increasingly concerned and frustrated at their inability to find the culprit for these incursions.

Nation states vs non-state

Non-state actors are bleeding out nation states. Well-armed groups such as Wagner and Mexican cartels are reshaping sovereign states to their own benefit.

IC Trump, Space Command

Intelligence Community sees risk and reward under Trump. The president-elect is highly unpredictable, derisive of IC sacrifice, but also tolerant of risk taking.

Space Command should remain in Colorado. There are clear benefits to keeping the U.S. Military combatant command where it is.

DSS NYC

Diplomatic Security Service agents were responsible for catching the suspected serial killer who brought mayhem to New York City on Monday. But DSS leadership have showed little concern or regard for the agents involved.

AARO drone

AARO, UFOs, and the FBI's unidentified Exo Ranger drone. Inadvertently playing to conspiracists, the Pentagon's UFO arm said it had no further information about a UFO. Why was I easily able to find out more?

Taiwan-Ukraine, Trump travels

Admiral confirms Ukraine-Taiwan weapons trade off. Sam Paparo, head of INDOPACOM has noted that the use of U.S. weapons in Ukraine and the Middle East is undermining Pacific deterrence.

Where Trump should travel before taking office. The president-elect should visit these countries and deliver these messages.

Gabbard ODNI, Trump-Putin, Biden-Trump

Senate GOP must stop Tulsi Gabbard from getting the keys to the intelligence castle. Gabbard has shown that her ideological sympathies rest with American adversaries.

How Trump can deal effectively with Putin. The president needs to speak to regional partners who understand Russian history and strategic ambitions.

Biden shows Trump how to lose patriotically. The president showed a grace to Trump that Trump did not extend four years ago.

Colby

Elbridge Colby would make a strong addition to Trump administration. He's smart, willing to debate, and understands that allied freeloading is no longer sustainable.

Trump-Putin, CIA DEI

Don't bet on Trump being soft on Putin. While Trump has shown concerning tendencies towards Russia, his latest call with Putin seems positive.

CIA needs more diversity less DEI. One helps with the mission set, the other undermines it.

Trump-Orban

Will Trump let Viktor Orban play him like a puppet? The Hungarian leader has no interest in America's interests, only in corralling Trump into service of China and Russia.

Trump NATO/Europe, Trump Ukraine peace

What Trump's return means for the transatlantic relationship. The former president will expect European allies to do more, and they should. But if they do, Trump will likely consolidate the alliance.

Will Trump negotiate a Ukraine peace or see Putin neuter him and Ukraine? The ingredients for a peace accord are clear but the costs of insuring that deal will be significant.

Election parties

Partisanship first? U.S. embassies cancel election night parties in play to partisanship. Their decision is an embarrassment and contrary to the national interest.

Russian escalation

Russia flirts with acts of war against the United States. Russia is escalating in a manner that must not be tolerated without reprisal.

China EU dumping

China squeals as EU finally takes action to counter car dumping. The Chinese have, at least for the moment, failed to divide and conquer.

Trump media threats, UK budget

Stop pretending Trump will send journalists to gulags. The former president says idiotic things about the media but would lack the means of enforcing any threats. Journalists globally face far greater dangers.

UK goes for literal broke with left-wing budget. Keir Starmer's government is choosing debt and tax hikes at the expense of an already weak public sector.

Trump free speech

Trump's gone in 60 seconds free speech hypocrisy. The former president does not understand the underpinnings of the First Amendment.

Navy rebuilding, Trump generals

Rebuilding the Navy means building warships abroad. The US Navy's industrial base is inadequate to address the scale and urgency of China's threat.

Generals aren't Gods but nor is John Kelly a degenerate. Trump should use more appropriate language to attack his critics.

Lukashenko

Russia's Alexander Lukashenko is caught between reality and Russia. The Belarusian dictator has made himself leashed to Putin. He doesn't like it but he has trapped himself.

European Quad, UK justice system

If elected, Trump should trade Germany for Poland in European Quad. The Polish are a far better ally than the Germans.

UK judge gives 31 months prison for hate speech, 0 months for child pornography. The decisions underline growing public concern in the UK over the judiciary.

Labour-Trump

UK Labour Party risks Trump's ire with ill-judged Harris campaign support. Labour volunteers are traveling to swing states to campaign for Kamala Harris.

China drones

U.S. air defenses are full of holes for Chinese drones to exploit. China is conducting comprehensive aerial espionage against sensitive U.S. military facilities.

Sanchez Spain, MI5

Blasting Israel and kowtowing to China, Spain's Sanchez shows his mastery of hypocrisy. The Spanish leader has absurd double standards when it comes to human rights.

from Friday...

MI5 chief's dovish shift on China underlines U.K. policy change. Ken McCallum appears newly restrained by his minister.

Iran attacks, VP debate

U.S. should push Israel for short and sharp retaliation against Iran. The Israelis must restore deterrence, but it is not in the U.S. interest to risk a spiral toward regional war.

JD Vance and Tim Walz restore civility to the debate stage. The two men disagreed but without the personal animus that defines the Trump-Harris interaction.

How will Israel respond to Iran's missile attacks? The attacks represent a clear challenge to Israel's deterrent posture.

Nasrallah Iran

If Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iran will almost certainly retaliate. The stakes of inaction would exceed the risks of action.

Zelensky idiocy, Trump-UN, Trump idiocy

Volodymyr Zelensky's American idiocy. The Ukrainian president is greatly undermining his position with Republicans.

At the UN, a broad sense of dread over Trump's possible return. Different nations are preparing for November in different ways.

Trump's Ukraine peace idiocy. The Republican presidential nominee doesn't understand how to negotiate with Putin, nor what Putin wants in Ukraine.

Israel-Biden admin.

How Israeli targeting is complicating the Biden Administration's criticism. Put simply, the Israelis are hitting Hezbollah operatives drenched in American blood.

DC Council hearing

DC Council cancels ride sharing hearing because too many people want to attend. It's the latest example of the city's disdain for residents and their interests.

Biden-Trump respective Russia records, Hezbollah

Biden tough on Russia, Trump weak? Not so fast. The records show a more complicated positioning toward Moscow.

Welcoming Hezbollah's taste of its own medicine. The terrorist group has a lot of American blood on its hands.

Sabina Shoal, Biden dithering Ukraine

Abandoned by Biden, the Philippines surrenders Sabina Shoal. The Shoal is well within Manila's exclusive economic zone but the Chinese have the initiative.

from Friday...

Biden dithers, weakly, on long range weapons for Ukraine. The president cannot get to "yes" on Ukraine's request to be able to use UK missiles inside Russia.

Germany-Spain, Putin WW3

Germany and Spain exemplify EU's foreign policy crisis on China and Russia. The two countries are bowing to easy choices in their own national favor against EU economic-security needs.

Dancing to Putin's WW3 waltz, Trump trades for weakness for strength. The U.S. should not be bowing to Putin's nuclear rhetoric.

UK foreign policy, DSS Paris Olympics

New U.K. government already looks a questionable ally. Keir Starmer is flirting with China and suspending arms supplies to Israel.

U.S. police had guns at Paris Olympics, just not those protecting Team USA. The Diplomatic Security Service failed to secure authorization for its agents to carry their firearms.

Putin's mind games

Decoding Vladimir Putin's U.S. election mind games. The Russian president wants Trump to win but also revels in playing psychological games.

US-EU relations

Is the U.S.-EU relationship salvageable? These long-term allies have increasing policy divergences on critical matters

Hong Kong

The U.S. should sanction Western enablers of China's repression in Hong Kong. The latest conviction of journalists is another step toward Beijing's elimination of freedom there.

Taiwan defense spending, China vs. Philippines

No, Taiwan isn't spending enough on defense. If Poland, with an economy the same size as that of Taiwan, can spend 4.1% of GDP on defense, Taiwan must spend more than 2.5% of GDP on defense.

U.S. must resist China's aggression toward the Philippines. The situation in the South China Sea is increasingly intolerable for the treaty defense ally and U.S. alliance credibility.

Havana Syndrome, China panel

 From last week

House Republicans challenged Biden on Havana Syndrome. Congress deserves credit for getting after this concern.

Examining China's multipronged threat. A panel discussion in Denver.

Mossad names

No, the U.S. didn't leak Mossad agent names to Iran. The accusation was made by an unreliable Kuwaiti newspaper then absurdly amplified on social media.

Foreign adversaries in election, UK Judge in Hong Kong

Why Iran (and likely China) are for Harris, and Russia and North Korea are for Trump. Different adversaries have varied expectations of what the next president might bring.

Top U.K. judge betrays Hong Kong for China's gold. David Neuberger is a former U.K. supreme court judge who has sold out the principles of the democratic rule of law.

Europe speech, China carrier

European crackdown on free speech deserves American derision. The European Union and United Kingdom are taking extreme liberties with their threats to U.S. citizens.

China carrier deployment underlines U.S. Navy overstretch. The Chinese rule the waves in the West Pacific this week.

Ukraine offensive/Biden

Expect the White House to criticize Ukraine's impressive offensive into Russia. The Biden Administration is too deferential to Russian escalation narratives.

Russia fight

British Army chief outlines new strategy to fight Russia. The general is sacrificing mass for reconnaissance maneuver.

Ukraine offensive

What's behind Ukraine's incursion into Russia? The limited offensive into Kursk seems designed to create friction, dilute Putin's authority, and to boost Ukrainian morale.

China deterrence

How the Navy's Middle East deployments undermine China deterrence. The Navy is too small to cope with extended, scaled deployments to the Middle East and China's challenge.

English riots

What's going on with the English riots? White working-class frustration over the economy and immigration has bled out into violent thuggery.

Harris prisoner swap

Thank the CIA director not Vice President Harris for the Russian prisoner swap agreement. There is an unserious effort to portray Harris as instrumental to the agreement.

Gershkovich, Biden

Evan Gershkovich swap carries a dangerous FSB cost. Vladimir Putin has learned that even his Western-target assassins are on the prospective table for release.

Biden deserves credit for Russia prisoner swap but... we shouldn't forget that it was Biden's misguided trade of Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout which precipitated Evan Gershkovich's detention.