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European Defense: First the Horror Vacui, Then What?
European national security institutions continue churning through the stages [more]
Ukraine: Securing Its Future with a Self-Sustaining Defense
by Charles Knight, 20 February 2025 On February 12th, the new Secretary of Defense [more]
Lift the Syria Sanctions: The Principal Danger in Syria Today is Instability
Confounding current policy on the new Syria is the 2018 designation of the nation’s [more]
Israeli Rule-Based Order: Assault on post-Assad Syria Declared “Defensive”
New Arab, Israeli strikes on Syria ‘completely lawless’, UN experts say [more]
Putin Announces Significant Change in Russian Nuclear Use Doctrine
Carl Conetta, 26 Sept 2024 Speaking to the Security Council on Sept 25, 2024, [more]
Putin verbatim: Ukraine’s Use of NATO Deep Strike Missiles Would Mean West at War with Russia
Summary: Putin asserts that Ukraine’s use of Western long-range [more]
Expert Letter on Ukraine: NATO Should Not Move Ukraine Toward Membership
July 3, 2024 – Full letter with 61 signatories ⇒ PDF The letter argues that [more]
Why the Biden Cease-fire Proposal Will Not End the Gaza War Despite UN Approval
Carl Conetta, 12 June 2024 The UN Security Council resolution supporting the Biden [more]
Brinkmanship and Nuclear Threat in the Ukraine War
Western brinkmanship in Ukraine depends on denying there is a brink. That’s a [more]
“Nuclear Blackmail” – Misdirection in the Ukraine War Debate
Some say that turning to diplomacy in the face of nuclear threats will prompt a [more]
Catastrophe: The Global Cost of the Ukraine War
Carl Conetta, 02 May 2023 The Russia-Ukraine war has been a disaster for [more]
Fantasy in Ukrainian War Scenarios – what will 2023 bring?
by Charles Knight, March 2023. The present status of the war in Ukraine begs the [more]
Now That They Made a War – 1 year & 20 years after the invasion of Iraq
The following is a Postscript (March 2004) to the report (September 2002) of a [more]
oped: We Are Tempting Armageddon in Ukraine – Aviation Week
by Carl Conetta, appearing 07 Mar 2023 in Aviation Week. Link to original oped: [more]
Noted: Of Nuclear Bluffs and Red Lines in the Ukraine War
by Charles Knight In his New York Times essay of 02 January 2023, “Putin Has No Red [more]
Noted: The Fate of Russia in US Policy
An excerpt from “NATO Expansion: Costs and Implications” a presentation [more]
The “Stable Nuclear Deterrent” collapses in the Ukraine War
Charles Knight, 17 October 2022 A society must assume that it is stable, but the [more]
Did NATO expansion prompt the Russian attack on Ukraine?
The short answer is “no” – but there is more to the issue than that. A closer [more]
Russia-Ukraine War: Estimating Casualties & Military Equipment Losses
Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives, updated 03 Apr 2022 Within days of [more]
And So Now… It’s War?
Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives, 21 Feb 2022 The battle within [more]
Putin’s Next, Best Move – The Logic and Limits of Russian Action on Ukraine
Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives, 14 Feb 2022 Summary: Moscow will act [more]
Pentagon Fact Sheet on February 2022 Troop Deployment to Europe
Pentagon Fact Sheet: Posture Update in Support of Allies in Europe (PDF), 02 Feb [more]
Noted: The origin of the 38th parallel division of Korea – the map
noted by Charles Knight, 31 January 2022. Below is the US Army map (from the US [more]
Resolving the Ukraine Crisis
War? Only If We Want It Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives, 26 Jan 2022. [more]
Noted: Attending to the Historical Perspective of the Other Side in Nuclear Proliferation Diplomacy
by Charles Knight, 09 January 2022 Iran – Israel/USA It is thought [more]
To End America’s Longest War the US-Korea Alliance Must Change
A relationship of partners will be more productive than the archaic patron-client one that actively shuns South Korean interest. And such strategic recalibration would come with the added benefit of helping end America’s longest war. [more]
Afghanistan: What Just Happened? What Comes Next?
Can the United States escape the vortex of its 20-year war? Carl Conetta, Project [more]
Afghanistan: The Fog at the End of the Tunnel*
When will US troops leave Afghanistan? Why the uncertainty? And how the logistics [more]
Noted: Destroyer of Worlds*
By Carl Conetta, 14 March 2021 Between 1945 and 1962, the United States conducted [more]
Noted: Peace & Security via Hegemony?
“The idea of international law presupposes the separate existence of many [more]

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Ukraine: Options for a Confidence-Building Defense
With the advent of the Trump administration, Ukraine has lost its primary war sponsor. This makes […]
Lift the Syria Sanctions: The Principal Danger in Syria Now is Instability
At present, the most critical international security concern regarding Syria is its stabilization – […]
oped: “Hold Ukraine accountable for corruption, misspent aid”
Author James Durso offers a rather harsh assessment of Zelensky’s war leadership: The former […]
The Most Effective Antidote to ISIS Attacks? No.
Graeme Wood’s argument in The Atlantic (view report here) is almost exactly wrong in a key […]
The secret US soldiers who trained free-falling with a NUKE between their legs
“The SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition) was a top secret nuclear weapon no different […]
Enabling genocide? Former Biden officials reflect on the US president’s legacy
“The war in Gaza has provoked widespread humanitarian concerns, ranging from famine to ethnic […]
World Health Org Chief OK But Others Killed in Israeli Strike on Yemen Airport
“At least four people were killed and 21 others injured in the attack on [Dec 26] after […]
Red Cross: “Obliteration of health care system in northern Gaza puts civilians at grave risk”
“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reiterates its urgent call for the […]
“Syria is doomed to instability Outside agents will stoke chaos” True?
Rajan Menon: Syria is doomed to instability Outside agents will stoke chaos, Menon tours the […]
US says it has 2,000 troops in Syria, not 900 as previously declared
from Al Jazeera: Pentagon says the additional forces have been in Syria for ‘a while’, before fall […]
Groups Dominating post-Assad Syria, late Dec 2024
Orange Zone is controlled by the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurdish […]
from ISW: Status of Russian Bases in Syria
ACLED: Syria – Which groups have been fighting each other and where?
Report from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED): “Despite the recent […]
Offensive Disarmament – A Remarkable Israeli Blitz Weakens New Syrian Government
In 480 air strikes (as of Dec 12), Israel has decimated much of what remained of Syrian military […]
Syrian rebels had help from Ukraine
David Ignatius reports in a Washington Post op-ed that “according to sources familiar with […]
Background on the post-Assad Clash over Manbij in Syria
Manbij is a cross-roads city on the western side of the Euphrates not far from the Tishrin Dam […]
Guardian: Israel, US and Turkey launch strikes in Syria to protect interests
The warbirds and scavengers are circling: “The US has struck targets associated with Islamic […]
Israeli jets strike 300 targets in Syria, aircraft and naval fleet destroyed
from The Jerusalem Post: “Most of the strikes were in southern Syria and around the city of […]
Public Ukrainian estimate of war dead: 43,000 troops. Other sources disagree
There are several NGO efforts in Ukraine to identify troops killed in war by name, gleaned from […]
North Korea, Russia Defense Treaty Comes into Force
The Defense Post reports the activation of the Kim-Putin defense pack. A serious setback for […]
Blinken Says Ukraine Needs to Get Younger People Fighting Russia
from USNews article: “Blinken’s comments, in an interview with Reuters, reflect a […]
Warzone: “Claims Swirl Around US Strikes In Eastern Syria”
US forces may well have attacked (or counter-attacked) Syrian government or Iranian militia units […]
Yes, Ukrainian Special Forces have been active in Syria
Earlier this year, at least. Kyiv Post, Ukrainian Special Forces and Syrian Rebels Decimate Russian […]
US Deployment Areas in Syria
The map below, produced by Jusoor (a research group in Turkey), purports to show a full picture of […]
Who controls Syria
Note: The first map does not accurately portray the deployment of US troops. Only a small minority […]
How Syria’s rebels became makers of drones and guided missiles
“Sourcing basic weaponry has been relatively easy for HTS: Syria has been awash with arms […]
The Patient Efforts Behind Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Success in Aleppo
from War on the Rocks: Article explores in useful detail the recent evolution of Hayat Tahrir […]
What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And how did the Islamist group evolve into a key player in Syria’s civil war?
from The Conversation: “The group originated as an offshoot of the Nusra Front, the official […]
Syria’s North-western Front Erupts
In-depth report from The International Crisis Group is HERE. “Syria’s civil war, which has […]
Syrian Rebels’ Surprise Offensive Highlights Assad Regime’s Weakness
From CSIS: “The Kremlin has been pushing for normalization between Ankara and Damascus and […]