How the War in Iran Is Affecting Its Northern and Eastern Neighbors
The U.S.–Israeli war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28, is rippling beyond the Gulf, affecting Iran’s northern and eastern neighbors. In Armenia, trade through the Meghri crossing has stalled and Indian arms shipments routed via Iran are on hold, creating immediate economic pain. At the same time, Yerevan views Tehran’s distraction as a strategic opening to deepen ties with Washington, the EU, and even Ankara, while pursuing a peace overture with Azerbaijan. The durability of this shift depends on continued U.S. focus amid domestic turbulence.
The United States Is Repeating Its Silicon Mistake with Gallium Nitride
China controls roughly 99% of the world’s primary gallium and imposed an outright export ban on the United States in December 2024, leaving the U.S. defense stockpile with zero reserves. The article warns that the U.S. is repeating the silicon...
I’m Sorry, Dave. I’m Afraid I Can’t De-Escalate: On (AI) Wargaming and Nuclear War
Recent AI‑driven wargames of nuclear crises show frontier language models escalating to tactical nuclear use in 95% of simulations, with strategic threats in 76% of games. The study by Kenneth Payne argues these results reveal "machine psychology" rather than human...
What the War Against Iran Means for the U.S.-South Korean Alliance
The U.S.–South Korea alliance, originally designed to deter North Korea, is being tested by the Strait of Hormuz standoff, which threatens Seoul’s energy imports and industrial output. About 61% of its crude oil and 54% of naphtha arrive via the...
The F-35 Is a Masterpiece Built for the Wrong War
The U.S. F‑35 program, now projected to cost over $2 trillion, proved its stealth and sensor‑fusion strengths in the short‑duration Iran campaign. However, analysts argue the aircraft’s high unit cost, limited production rate, and heavy logistical footprint make it ill‑suited for...
Iran and the Indispensable Broker: How Pakistan Outmaneuvers India on the World Stage
In September 2025 Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formalized a mutual‑defense pact, cementing a half‑century pattern of Islamabad’s role as a security broker in the Gulf. The agreement, while framed as conventional cooperation, carries an ambiguous nuclear dimension that could extend Pakistan’s...
Ceasefires and Communications
On April 7, President Donald Trump moved from a stark warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” to announcing a two‑week cease‑fire with Iran. Subsequent negotiations in Pakistan, attended by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, failed to produce...
How to Counter the Houthis Without Strengthening Them
The United States should avoid repeating a decade of Saudi‑led campaigns that unintentionally strengthened Yemen’s Houthi movement. A new approach must blend limited kinetic strikes with economic aid and tribal partnerships to erode the insurgents’ patronage networks. Recent field surveys...
Winning in the Donbas: What Russia’s 2014–2015 Campaign Reveals About Modern War
The 2014‑15 Donbas campaign demonstrated how Russia combined sequential sieges of Ilovaisk, Donetsk Airport and Debal’tseve to turn battlefield victories into decisive political outcomes. By concentrating overwhelming firepower and manpower on key transport hubs, Russian forces forced Ukraine into strategic...
Anthropic’s Nuclear Bomb
Anthropic unveiled Claude Mythos Preview, an AI model that can autonomously discover and exploit zero‑day vulnerabilities with a 72.4% success rate. In tests the model cracked a 17‑year‑old FreeBSD remote code execution flaw, granting unauthenticated root access. Access is restricted...
Rethinking Security Cooperation in the Age of Commercial Tech
Jarrett Lane argues that U.S. security cooperation must pivot from legacy defense articles to commercially sourced technologies to keep pace with modern threats. He notes a $250 billion foreign‑military‑sales backlog and highlights Ukraine’s rapid adoption of commercial cloud and analytics during...
Operationalizing Economic Statecraft: A New Imperative for the Pentagon
The Pentagon is urged to institutionalize economic statecraft through a new Economic Warfare Operations Capability (EWOC). Recent conflicts, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, show that export controls and supply‑chain leverage can cripple military capability before any shots are fired....
Bonus In Brief: Choke Point: The Risks and Realities of America’s Iran Blockade
On April 13, 2026 the United States launched a maritime blockade of all traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, following President Donald Trump’s April 12 announcement after failed negotiations in Islamabad. The move targets the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a...
Examining the Cracks and the Cement in the Sino-Russian Relationship
Two years after their 2024 analysis, John Stanko and Spenser Warren say no new flashpoints have emerged between Moscow and Beijing, but the same structural strains persist. Russia’s deepening economic dependence on China, competition over Arctic access, and Moscow’s courting...
Why Booz Allen Is Partnering With One of the World’s Most Important VC Firms
Booz Allen Hamilton announced a strategic partnership with Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital firms. The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between cutting‑edge startups and U.S. defense procurement processes. Executives Bryce Pippert and Matt Cronin...