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Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy
240105-N-LK647-1019 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR (Jan. 5, 2024) A view from the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) of the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), as the Ford Carrier Strike Group passes through the Strait of Gibraltar, Jan. 5, 2024. Normandy is part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and is currently operating in the Mediterranean Sea, at the direction of the Secretary of Defense. The U.S. maintains forward-deployed, ready, and postured forces to deter aggression and support security and stability around the world. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Malachi Lakey)

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

The Iran War Is Giving China Time, Russia Money, and North Korea an Opening

Iran: A War at the Wrong Time and Place: As the war in Iran continues and analysts debate how long it will last and...

April 14, 2026
M1 Abrams Tanks for Ukraine. Image: Creative Commons. M1 Abrams Tanks for Ukraine. Image: Creative Commons.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Russia Is the Big Winner in the Iran War

Strategic expert Andrew A. Michta explores how Russia is capitalizing on the Iran War to consolidate gains in Europe. With U.S. resources drained and...

March 22, 2026
Baltic Air Policing is a peacetime mission in which NATO Allies deploy fighter jets to cover the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Baltic Air Policing is a peacetime mission in which NATO Allies deploy fighter jets to cover the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

NATO’s 5% Pledge: A Hollow Victory for a Dependent Europe?

Key Points and Summary – The recent NATO summit in The Hague, where European allies agreed to a new 5% of GDP defense spending...

June 29, 2025
Russian President Putin. Image Credit: Creative Commons. Russian President Putin. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Why Putin Believes He Can Win His ‘Civilizational War’ Against the West

The Trump administration made the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire its priority foreign policy initiative shortly after the inauguration. Setting aside Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric that he...

May 28, 2025

Smart Bombs
B-21 Raider. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

I Discovered How the B-21 Raider Will Punch Through Even the Toughest Defenses

I have been studying the U.S. Air Force for decades, and one thing seems clear. The B-21 Raider stealth bomber will enter U.S. Air...

2 hours ago
Lt. Nicholas Eppler, from Exeter, Calif., directs flight operations as an F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Oct. 25, 2021. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Lt. Nicholas Eppler, from Exeter, Calif., directs flight operations as an F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Oct. 25, 2021. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

I Discovered the 1 Reason the F-35C Stealth Fighter Dominates Aircraft Carrier Operations

I have been studying U.S. Navy fighter aircraft for decades, and I can tell you firsthand there is nothing like the F-35C stealth fighter....

2 hours ago
PEARL HARBOR (July 9, 2018) – Multi-national Special Operations Forces (SOF) participate in a submarine insertion exercise with the fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and combat rubber raiding craft off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 9. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships and five submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Michelle Pelissero) PEARL HARBOR (July 9, 2018) – Multi-national Special Operations Forces (SOF) participate in a submarine insertion exercise with the fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and combat rubber raiding craft off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 9. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships and five submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Michelle Pelissero)

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The U.S. Navy Won’t Have its Full Virginia-Class Nuclear Attack Submarine Fleet Until 2043

The U.S. Navy won’t have its full Virginia-class attack submarine fleet until 2043—and by then, the boats will be 44 years old. China is...

15 hours ago
Russian President Putin During the meeting on developing genetic technologies in the Russian Federation (via videoconference). Russian President Putin During the meeting on developing genetic technologies in the Russian Federation (via videoconference).

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Russia’s Oil Refinery Capacity Just Hit a 16-Year Low. Ukraine Did That with Drone Strikes

On the morning of 1 May, residents of the municipality of Tuapse had a distinctly unpleasant beginning to the traditional May Day holiday. Ukrainian...

15 hours ago

Trillions
Carl Gustaf

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Veterans Groups Are Now Demanding Fast Passage of Law Requiring ‘Written, Informed Consent’ Before Certain Drugs Are Dispensed

Thirty-five national veterans groups—including the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America—have just endorsed the...

18 hours ago
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Wealth Quote of the Day by Immanuel Kant: ‘We are not rich by what we possess, but by what we can do without…’

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher and one of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment Era whose comprehensive work in epistemology (the theory of...

1 day ago
F-35 F-35

Trillions - 19FortyFive

The Canada F-35 Debate Has No End Date Now

Has Canada’s review of its purchase of F-35 fighter jets become the longest government review process in history?  In March of 2025, Mark Carney...

2 days ago
South Korea Minerals South Korea Minerals

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Geologists Discover the World’s Largest Mineral Deposit Found in Batteries and Skincare Under a South Korean County Famous for Wine and Jazz

Many geologists worldwide are seeking game-changing rare-earth elements. China processes these minerals used in cell phones, weapons systems, and other 21st-century products. Now, miners...

3 days ago

The Embassy
Winston Churchill

The Embassy

Quote of the Day by Winston Churchill: ‘I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs…’

“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” – Winston Churchill  Of...

2 days ago
Army paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, fire the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) during live-fire training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 15, 2021. The MAAWS, also known as the Carl Gustaf, is a man-portable, reusable, breech-loading, 84 mm recoilless rifle capable of destroying armored targets up to 700 meters away. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña) Army paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, fire the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) during live-fire training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 15, 2021. The MAAWS, also known as the Carl Gustaf, is a man-portable, reusable, breech-loading, 84 mm recoilless rifle capable of destroying armored targets up to 700 meters away. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña)

The Embassy

The U.S. Army Just Dropped New Retirement Rules And Not Everyone Will Be Happy

The latest change to how things work in the military is the U.S. Army’s recent announcement of new retirement rules.   The announcement came in...

3 days ago
Russia President Putin Russia President Putin

The Embassy

Russia’s Economy Is on the Brink of Collapse

Putin is the Head of a Russian State on the Brink of Economic Collapse: Leonid Putin, meet Vladimir Brezhnev. Serious Russian economists are increasingly...

5 days ago
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer gets hot pit refueled before its return to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Nov. 17, 2025, concluding a bomber task force deployment. BTF operations employ U.S. strategic bombers globally, deter adversaries, assure allies and partners, strengthen interoperability and maintain readiness and global strike capability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emma Anderson) A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer gets hot pit refueled before its return to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Nov. 17, 2025, concluding a bomber task force deployment. BTF operations employ U.S. strategic bombers globally, deter adversaries, assure allies and partners, strengthen interoperability and maintain readiness and global strike capability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emma Anderson)

The Embassy

Why a Leaked Pentagon Memo Just Proposed Suspending Spain From NATO — and Why It Will Almost Certainly Not Happen

An internal Pentagon email circulated this week by Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Defense Department’s top policy adviser, examined options for punishing NATO allies that...

April 24, 2026

Hermit Kingdom
North Korean Military. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Hermit Kingdom

6,000 North Korean Soldiers Are Dead in Ukraine: Kim Jong Un Keeps Sending More

Fake Russian IDs, Orders Never to Be Captured, and 50% Casualties: Inside North Korea’s Secret War in Ukraine The Russian Army has sustained nearly...

March 27, 2026
Hwasong-17 North Korea ICBM. Image Credit: Creative Commons. Hwasong-17 North Korea ICBM. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Hermit Kingdom

Iran Has An ICBM Program: They Got it From North Korea

Summary and Key Points: Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., a political science professor and proliferation expert, evaluates the strategic partnership between Iran and North...

March 4, 2026
North Korea North Korea

Hermit Kingdom

North Korea’s Demand: Kim Jong Un Wants Trump To Recognize the Hermit Kingdom as a Nuclear Weapons State

Summary and Key Points: Reuben F. Johnson, a veteran defense technology analyst and Casimir Pulaski Foundation fellow, scrutinizes the Ninth Congress of the Workers’...

February 26, 2026
North Korean Military. Image Credit: Creative Commons. North Korean Military. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Hermit Kingdom

Korea Reunification Isn’t Coming—And Great-Power Politics Is Why

Korea’s Division Isn’t a Glitch Anymore. It’s a Feature of the New Order The division of Korea was always understood to be temporary. In...

February 2, 2026