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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
Mossberg 590A1

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: There Is Nothing Like the Mossberg 590 Shotgun and the US Military Agrees

The Mossberg 500 arrived in the 1960s as an affordable pump-action for hunting and general use. Two decades later, as law enforcement agencies and...

1 hour ago
(Oct. 29, 2019) USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) conducts high-speed turns in the Atlantic Ocean. Ford is at sea conducting sea trials following the in port portion of its 15 month post-shakedown availability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin) (Oct. 29, 2019) USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) conducts high-speed turns in the Atlantic Ocean. Ford is at sea conducting sea trials following the in port portion of its 15 month post-shakedown availability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)

Aerospace & Defense

The $13,000,000,000 USS Gerald R. Ford Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Has 30 Miles of Sewage Pipe. It Doesn’t Take Much To Clog It

The most expensive warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, runs its plumbing on a vacuum. Thirty miles of narrow copper pipe, pumps,...

1 hour ago

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Has Only 3 ‘Ready for Action’ Nuclear Aircraft Carriers Most of the Time and Its Completely Normal

Aircraft carriers are several military organizations welded together. That’s why the cycles can move so slowly, and why ramping up for a deployment is...

2 hours ago
The US Navy Nuclear Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier The US Navy Nuclear Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier

Aerospace & Defense

The Ford-Class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier “Is One of the Most Expensive Bets Ever Made by a Navy”

Supporters of the Ford-class counter that the carrier’s power generation and sortie capacity make it uniquely capable of sustaining high-intensity air operations, and that...

7 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 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...

1 day 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...

2 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
Neptune Anti-Ship Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons. Neptune Anti-Ship Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Embassy

Ukraine Can Already Reach Moscow With Drones, and a Ballistic Missile Would Change the Warning Time Dramatically

Drones reached Moscow on three of the last five nights. A ballistic missile would not extend Ukraine's reach so much as compress Russia's warning...

August 20, 2026

Hermit Kingdom
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
Hwasong-12 IRBM. Image Credit: North Korea State Media. Hwasong-12 IRBM. Image Credit: North Korea State Media.

Hermit Kingdom

Iran’s Missile Forces Have North Korean ‘DNA’

Iran's Shahab-1 came from the Scud-B and reached 300km. The Khorramshahr, derived from North Korea's Musudan, reaches 2,000km — a 6.7-fold increase in reach.

August 11, 2026
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