We are good at winning wars and generally bad at what comes after. Far from a partisan observation; this is a pattern with receipts. We removed Saddam Hussein in three weeks and then spent eight years discovering that we had no plan for Iraq. We helped topple Qaddafi in 2011Continue Reading
As NATO leaders gather in Ankara this week, the alliance faces a myriad of security challenges unlike anything it has confronted in decades. With Russia’s war against Ukraine raging on and instability in the Middle East following the conflict with Iran, President Traitor 47 continues to press European allies toContinue Reading
As an Africa watcher, I have long told the story of two continents, juxtaposing the region’s plight with its opportunities, often arguing that the West should prepare for the continent’s strategic risks and opportunities. This is a decades-old mantra from across the Africa-watcher community. Alas, repeating these arguments over decadesContinue Reading
When the two earthquakes struck Venezuela last week, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving tens of thousands missing, there was a silent pause in Washington with everyone wondering: with no USAID, how will the U.S. respond to this disaster? Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, USAID surged resources, with urbanContinue Reading
I recently returned from commemorating the 82nd Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy—a much anticipated trip since I participated in the 80th Anniversary. I left with a sense of humility and gratitude for having walked the hallowed grounds of Normandy, and with admiration for the Greatest Generation and their sacrifices andContinue Reading
I recently returned from commemorating the 82nd Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy—a much anticipated trip since I participated in the 80th Anniversary. I left with a sense of humility and gratitude for having walked the hallowed grounds of Normandy, and with admiration for the Greatest Generation and their sacrifices andContinue Reading
We are about to close out the 250th year since Tom and the boys stepped brashly onto the world stage and declared with clarity of purpose and universality of meaning our national independence. As proud Americans, we will rightly participate in moments of colorful ostentation and exuberant excess. The 4thContinue Reading
BLUF: Armenia, a small country of about 3 million people, is located at an important strategic crossroads among Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Central Asia. For centuries, this position has left the landlocked country vulnerable to foreign rule, conflict, irregular warfare tactics, and geopolitical influence. With its 7 JuneContinue Reading
I was sitting in the front seat of a “Yandex Taxi” in Moscow in the summer of 2018, dropping off some friends after we had drinks together at a local bar. As the driver, a Russian male in his 50’s, maneuvered through traffic, he asked me if the couple wereContinue Reading
Space is no longer a place we visit to plant flags. It is where the global economy and national security now live — and our rulebook is nearly sixty years out of date. For half a century, space was a government project. Nations went there to prove something about science,Continue Reading
Five intelligence services rarely speak with one voice. When they warn the window of vulnerability has narrowed to months, the real question is whether the defenders can move as fast as the threat. Throughout my years in the intelligence world, I don’t recall a single instance in which the FiveContinue Reading
Most enterprise AI agents today are still being deployed in controlled environments. They sit inside a platform, perform a defined task and operate under the identity and access controls of that environment, however that window is closing. For many security teams, the current state makes the problem feel manageable. IfContinue Reading
The world’s counterterrorism chiefs are meeting in New York this week. We brought a list of demands and not much else. A plot hatched in a chat room in one country, funded from a second, carried out by a man walking into a crowd in a third – that’s theContinue Reading