Browsing: All news

Bill Sweetman, The Strategist (ASPI)
Expendability May Be Preferable

WSJ
Move underscores Trump administration’s waning commitment to providing military aid to Kyiv

The trade war isn’t coming. It’s already here.Alarming as the daily news may be, this is not the first time nations have clashed over trade. In the 20th and 21st centuries, there have been many moments of conflict over tariffs and dire warnings of imminent trade wars. Understanding that history helps us navigate today’s treacherous trade waters.

Over a year and a half after the Oct. 7 attacks, the Israeli government is embroiled in an unprecedented institutional clash with the nation’s internal security agency, also known as Shin Bet. For the first time in the country’s 77 years, the government voted to dismiss a head of a secret service. And against the backdrop of this unprecedented move, that outgoing director, Ronen Bar — while still on duty — publicly leveled serious accusations against a sitting head of government.

When most Americans remember President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address, they think of his warning of the power of the “military-industrial complex,” but he also offered the positive vision of an industrial base “ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.” Over 60 years later, America’s adversaries are increasingly testing their luck, often by leveraging inexpensive, commercial off-the-shelf systems to impose asymmetric costs on the United States and its allies and partners.

In his most high-profile public address since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine told members of industry Wednesday that the Pentagon needs to do more to connect “founders and funders” of emerging technologies.

Ukraine’s Drone Attacks On Russian Airfields And What the US Should Do Next

UPDATE: The United States believes that Ukraine’s drone strike over the weekend damaged up to 20 Russian warplanes and destroyed approximately 10 of them, according to two US officials who spoke to Reuters.
This assessment is about half the number claimed by Ukrainian officials.
Still, US officials characterized the attack as highly significant. One official warned that it could drive Moscow to a far more severe negotiating position in the US-brokered talks to end the war.

A former Army Special Forces officer who was in charge of a team involved in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan was nominated as the Pentagon’s head of special operations.
Derrick Anderson was nominated Monday by President Donald Trump to serve as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, according to a notice on Congress.gov. His nomination was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee for consideration.

Members of Congress are calling for more details about the Army’s new transformation initiative, noting at a hearing Wednesday that the service’s plan for the effort hasn’t been sent to Capitol Hill.
While largely expressing support for the initiative, lawmakers said they need more info.
“Unfortunately, we still have not received any real information on the Army’s budget request, nor have we received any detailed information on the Army’s Transformation Initiative, or ATI, the secretary and the chief announced over a month ago,” Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala.

Antisemitism is (unfortunately) nothing new, but making good on it after more than a century certainly is. People these days may not be familiar with the name Alfred Dreyfus, but the little-known artillery officer’s conviction for treason in 1899 still divides French politics.
In a surprise move, however, France is making amends for a notorious act of political extremism. In June 2025, French lawmakers unanimously backed a promotion for Alfred Dreyfus. His new rank is brigadier general. France24 called the legislation “a symbolic step in the fight against antisemitism in modern France.