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Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy
T-72 Tank from Poland - Creative Commons Image

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Germany Is Becoming Ukraine’s Most Important Ally in Europe — and Poland Is Paying the Price

German Foreign Minister Wadephul's fourth Kyiv visit — two days before Ukraine's Independence Day — capped an accelerating shift: Berlin is becoming Ukraine's principal...

August 24, 2026
A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, to participate in a Bomber Task Force Europe mission, Oct. 27, 2021. “Bombers enhance our ability to address dynamic threats and counter adversary actions in the region as an effective joint force,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa commander. Operations and engagements with NATO allies and global partners demonstrate the shared commitment to global security and stability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Colin Hollowell) A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, to participate in a Bomber Task Force Europe mission, Oct. 27, 2021. “Bombers enhance our ability to address dynamic threats and counter adversary actions in the region as an effective joint force,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa commander. Operations and engagements with NATO allies and global partners demonstrate the shared commitment to global security and stability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Colin Hollowell)

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

NATO’s Answer to the Pentagon’s Europe Review Already Exists: The Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative

The Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative emerged from US Army Europe and Africa and NATO's Allied Land Command as a concept for restoring deterrence by...

August 13, 2026
British Challenger 2 Tank. British Challenger 2 Tank.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

The Eastern Flank Comes First: Inside NATO’s Post-Ankara Turn Toward Forward Defense and Industrial Muscle

For all the talk of spending targets, the Ankara NATO summit's real work happened elsewhere. Europe is being handed responsibility for NATO's conventional defense...

July 9, 2026
MLRS like those used in Ukraine. Image Credit: Creative Commons. MLRS like those used in Ukraine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

The Decisive Theater: North Korea and the Problem of Simultaneous War

Western analysts fixate on North Korea's missiles. The real danger is speed — a mass artillery-and-missile salvo in the war's first hours, backed by...

July 6, 2026

Aerospace & Defense
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. – F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing sit in position on the runway fduring the Elephant Walk at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2025. The surge was designed to showcase the wing’s operational readiness and its ability to rapidly mobilize airpower. The 1st FW operates F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons, maintaining combat capabilities that enable the U.S. Air Force to execute missions across the globe. With a focus on air superiority, the 1st FW plays a critical role in defending the nation’s interests. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Fighter Is Getting So Many Big Upgrades It Will Now Fly Until 2060

The People's Liberation Army Air Force operates around 300 J-20 stealth fighters, is accelerating the J-35, and has two sixth-generation designs in development that...

2 hours ago
PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 30, 2007) - USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conducts rudder checks as part of the ship's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) following a six-month Planned Incremental Availability. All naval vessels are periodically inspected by INSURV to check their material condition and battle readiness. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class M. Jeremie Yoder (RELEASED) PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 30, 2007) - USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conducts rudder checks as part of the ship's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) following a six-month Planned Incremental Availability. All naval vessels are periodically inspected by INSURV to check their material condition and battle readiness. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class M. Jeremie Yoder (RELEASED)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy’s Biggest Fear: 100,000-ton Nuclear Aircraft Carriers Become the New Obsolete Iowa-Class Battleship

A Ford-class carrier costs about $13 billion and takes years to build. The threats being aimed at it are cheap: drones, cyber intrusion, space-based...

2 hours ago
SR-71 SR-71

Aerospace & Defense

A US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Totally Disintegrated at Mach 3.18 and the Pilot Was ‘Ripped Out of the Aircraft’

It took two or three seconds. Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird test pilot Bill Weaver was at Mach 3.18 and 79,000 feet, in a 35-degree bank,...

2 hours ago
Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier at Sea Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier at Sea

Aerospace & Defense

China or Iran Doesn’t Need to Sink US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carriers to Defeat Them

The lesson Beijing took (and surely Iran, as well) from the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait Crisis was not diplomatic. It was that American aircraft carriers...

3 hours ago

Trillions
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft, assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, flies over spectators at the Dubai Airshow 2025, Nov. 17, 2025, at the Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The B-52 flew from Rota, Spain, to participate in the event, showcasing U.S. airpower on a global stage. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tylin Rust)

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Iran’s Economy Is Buckling. That Is Not the Same as Iran Being Ready to Sign a Deal

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has unveiled Operation Economic Outcast: secondary sanctions across five sectors and more than sixty targets, with no relief attached. Iran's...

August 25, 2026
U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing 8 aircraft fly in formation over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), during Carrier Air Wing 8’s aerial change of command ceremony while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Jan. 19, 2026. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo) U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing 8 aircraft fly in formation over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), during Carrier Air Wing 8’s aerial change of command ceremony while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Jan. 19, 2026. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Says Any Escalation Brings Consequences and That Its Own Hands Are Not Tied Here

Rezaei's threat goes beyond the strait: no oil leaving the Gulf by any route if neighbors cooperate. In practice that would mean strikes on...

August 24, 2026
Oil Refinery Oil Refinery

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Saudi Aramco’s Chief Says the World Has Now Lost 2.6 Billion Barrels, the Worst Oil Disruption Since 1979

Of the 1.5 billion barrels in emergency stocks, the IEA cannot order the commercial half released, leaving governments under a billion. The American reserve...

August 14, 2026
(Jan. 16, 2010) Waves crash over the bow of the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64). Carney is part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and is deployed as part of an on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Master at Arms Chief Chief Anthony J. Sganga/Released) (Jan. 16, 2010) Waves crash over the bow of the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64). Carney is part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and is deployed as part of an on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Master at Arms Chief Chief Anthony J. Sganga/Released)

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Saudi Arabia’s Only Way Around the Strait of Hormuz Runs Straight Through the One the Houthis Have Just Closed

The Houthis have no warships. It doesn't need any. A blockade holds if shipowners and insurers decide the passage is not worth the risk,...

August 12, 2026

The Embassy
Donald Trump 2026 White House Photo

The Embassy

Trump Calls the Iran War ‘Small Potatoes.’ The Polling Says He Is Right

Wars rarely win elections. George H.W. Bush ended the Cold War, won the most decisive American military victory in modern history, and lost in...

1 day ago
Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. By Gage Skidmore. Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. By Gage Skidmore.

The Embassy

The Next Iran Crisis: Starvation

Speaking in Baghdad on August 20, Iran's parliament speaker warned that military power counts for nothing if the people are hungry. Four days later...

5 days ago
President of the United States Donald Trump speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. By Gage Skidmore. President of the United States Donald Trump speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. By Gage Skidmore.

The Embassy

Trump Just Put Iran on Autopilot and America’s Enemies Should Worry

American forces struck Iranian positions preparing to fire mine-carrying missiles into the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran answered with a handful of missiles that reportedly...

6 days ago
President of the United States Donald Trump speaking at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Image Credit: Gage Skidmore. President of the United States Donald Trump speaking at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Image Credit: Gage Skidmore.

The Embassy

Yes, Trump Is Right: The Strait of Hormuz Is Open and Iran Is in Trouble

Analysts dismissed American control of the Strait of Hormuz as a near-impossible task. The US government now says it has been helping tankers move...

August 20, 2026

Hermit Kingdom
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit conducts an integrated maritime strike training exercise with U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II and F/A-18E Super Hornets from Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) off the coast of California, on Feb. 10-11, 2026. Practicing innovative methods to employ and integrate strategic bombers like the B-2 with Navy carrier strike groups enhances combat capabilities through synchronized, integrated power projection. (U.S. Navy photo by Katie Archibald)

Hermit Kingdom

What the Iran War Proved About America’s Nuclear Weapons Threat to North Korea

American doctrine promises that any North Korean nuclear attack will end the Kim regime. The Iran war has just tested that assumption. The United...

2 days ago
B-2 Spirit stealth bombers assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base taxi and take-off during exercise Spirit Vigilance on Whiteman Air Force Base on November 7th, 2022. Routine exercises like Spirit Vigilance assure our allies and partners that Whiteman Air Force Base is ready to execute nuclear operations and global strike anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bryson Britt) B-2 Spirit stealth bombers assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base taxi and take-off during exercise Spirit Vigilance on Whiteman Air Force Base on November 7th, 2022. Routine exercises like Spirit Vigilance assure our allies and partners that Whiteman Air Force Base is ready to execute nuclear operations and global strike anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bryson Britt)

Hermit Kingdom

The North Korea Deal Donald Trump Should Actually Want

Trump ordered Ulchi Freedom Shield cut from eleven days to five before Kim Jong-un had agreed to anything in return. Kim Yo-jong dismissed the...

August 21, 2026
Image of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Image Credit: North Korean State Media. Image of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Image Credit: North Korean State Media.

Hermit Kingdom

North Korea’s Fingerprints Are All Over Iran’s War Against America

As President Trump downsizes the Ulchi Freedom Shield war games after South Korea declined to help with Iran, one uncomfortable fact goes almost completely...

August 20, 2026
Hwasong-12 IRBM. Image Credit: North Korea State Media. Hwasong-12 IRBM. Image Credit: North Korea State Media.

Hermit Kingdom

The War in Ukraine Have Transformed North Korea’s Missile Arsenal Into a Truly Dangerous Military Force

Russia has used North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine since late 2023. The early shots missed by kilometers. Later ones did not. That combat...

August 18, 2026
Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz) Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

Politics

The Kamala Harris Problem

Is Kamala Harris Doomed?: Many more Americans disapprove of the vice president’s job performance than approve of it. Will this cause trouble for the...

February 27, 2023
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