2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength
The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation
M K Bhadrakumar, IE
That brings us to the big question: Is the Indian ship changing course? The answer is yes and no. All signs point towards a major calibration of the foreign-policy compass in recent weeks since the tumultuous events in Kabul two months ago culminated in the formation of an interim government by the Taliban. To connect the incipient signs so far, as regards the way forward in Afghanistan, India has opted to align with the Anglo-American camp in the international line-up arrayed against the Eurasian axis of Russia... Читать дальше...
Ben Saul, Lowy Interpreter
International law defines statehood and provides the rules of war, but ambiguities abound in the case of Taiwan.
Stratfor Worldview, Stratfor Worldview
In the Lebanese capital of Beirut, a deadly gun battle between militias has raised the risk of future violence. On Oct. 14, unidentified assailants opened fire on Hezbollah and allied al Amal protesters who were marching to Lebanon's Palace of Justice to demand the removal of the judge investigating the August 2020 Beirut port explosion. The shooting reportedly started when the mostly Muslim demonstrators marched through a largely Christian neighborhood in the Lebanese capital... Читать дальше...
Shay Khatiri, The Bulwark
Sometimes the best offense is a good defense.
David Fickling, Bloomberg
A villain is emerging in China's efforts to rein in its energy prices: inefficient, power-hungry industry.
Andrew Erickson & Gabriel Collins, FP
Beijing knows time isn't on its side and wants to act fast.
Marcia Friedman, Tablet
Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the artichoke
David Lepeska, The National
A slide that began in 2013 mirrors the country's economic malaise and vanishing hopes.
Hal Brands & John Lewis Gaddis, Foreign Affairs
Is the world entering a new cold war? Our answer is yes and no. Yes if we mean a protracted international rivalry, for cold wars in this sense are as old as history itself. Some became hot, some didn't: no law guarantees either outcome. No if we mean the Cold War, which we capitalize because it originated and popularized the term. That struggle took place at a particular time (from 1945-47 to 1989-91), among particular adversaries (the United States... Читать дальше...
James Holmes, 1945
Over at the Financial Times (hat tip: Tyler Rogoway, the WarZone), Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille break the news that China tested a "fractional orbital bombardment system" last August. Such a hypersonic weapon can travel intercontinental distances and maneuver to evade anti-missile countermeasures. It might...
Liu Ming-te, Taipei Times
The number of people emigrating from Hong Kong has been rapidly increasing, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data show, with the territory's population dropping by 110,000 people from 2019 to this year. China's imposition of a National Security Law has clearly triggered a massive population outflow.
Ivana Stradner, RealClearWorld
Facebook's recent outage elicited strong responses around the world, but none more dramatic than that of the Russian government, which summarily noted that the 6-hour blackout "answer[s] the question about whether we need our own social media and internet platforms." If Russia's redoubled attempts to build an alternative internet and a range of off-brand social media platforms seems an overreaction to a few hours spent without Instagram, that's because it is. Читать дальше...
Tim Brinkhof, Big Think
The way that artists chose to portray their contemporaries can tell us a lot about the times in which they lived and the values their societies maintained.
Slawomir Sierakowski, Project Syndicate
By manufacturing a constitutional court ruling that effectively rejects the legal basis of EU membership, Poland's ruling Law and Justice party may have finally bitten off more than it can chew. Sadly, whatever happens next, all Poles are likely to bear the costs of the government's brinkmanship.
Drüten and Schwung, Die Welt
As Turkey fears the EU closing ranks over defense, Turkish President Erdogan is looking to Boris Johnson as a post-Brexit ally, especially as Angela Merkel steps aside. This could undermine the deal where Ankara limits refugee entry into Europe, and other dossiers too.
Jenny Aharon, Jerusalem Post
Israel and Poland recalled their ambassadors after Poland passed a law saying that descendants of Polish Holocaust victims will not have their property returned.
JoongAng Daily
The missile launch is the eighth of its kind this year and the fifth since September. Those projectiles included supersonic missiles, long-range cruise missiles, and KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, which are hard to defend against due to their capability to evade interceptors. On top of that, North Korea has taken a step closer to the development of SLBMs, a game changer. If the North really fired Tuesday's SLBM from a submarine — instead of from an underwater launching tube — the situation gets more serious. Читать дальше...
T. Eiterjord, Dipl.
On June 30, Zhai Mo, a Chinese painter-turned-adventurer, set sail from Shanghai on what was supposed to be, in his own words, the first-ever non-stop circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. Zhai, whose earlier nautical achievements include a two-year solo circumnavigation of the Earth, was now embarking on a four-month journey along the shores of the world's northernmost ocean, ostensibly to bring attention to the effects of climate change in the Arctic.