Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
In the Gulf, water is not a given. It is engineered. Across a region where vast oil wealth meets extreme natural scarcity, life depends on a technological miracle: turning seawater into drinking water. Today, Gulf states produce nearly 40 percent of the world’s desalinated water—an achievement that has …
April, 2026
-
1 April
America’s Biggest Export Is Under Attack — The Dollar
Hosein Mortada The United States doesn’t just export goods, services, or technology. Its most powerful export—the one that underpins everything else—is the United States dollar. That export is now facing a slow, strategic challenge. This is not a crisis that will unfold overnight, nor one defined by dramatic …
March, 2026
-
31 March
How the Seven Years’ War Can Help Us Understand Today’s Conflicts
Nikolas K. Gvosdev The “world war” of the 18th century, with its shifting coalitions and proxy fronts, is more akin to the 21st century’s wars than the 20th century’s. At the close of the classic 1990 episode of The Simpsons, “Bart the General,” Bart Simpson solemnly intones that …
-
31 March
Why China Is Mapping the World’s Oceans
Peter Suciu Chinese research vessels have spent years studying the world’s seafloor for ostensibly civilian purposes—but have specifically done so in locations with high military significance. In October 2021, the United States Navy’s Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) collided with an uncharted seamount in the South China …
-
31 March
The Arab Gulf States after the Iran War
Joshua Yaphe If the Gulf states want to help decide Iran’s post-war future, they will have to court the Trump administration and demonstrate their value yet again. The outcome of the war in Iran is still hard to predict, but some of the consequences for the Arab Gulf …
-
31 March
American Leadership in a Time of War
Dave McCormick Decisiveness, humility, and vigilance are needed if the United States is to prevail in the war with Iran. Editor’s Note: The following was adapted from Senator Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) remarks delivered before the Alexander Hamilton Society on March 11, 2026. It has been edited for style …
-
31 March
Why Russia and China Aren’t Helping Iran
Justin Mitchell Both Moscow and Beijing stand to benefit from a prolonged war between the United States and Iran. Iran is isolated, fighting a war for its survival. Yet China and Russia, Iran’s supposed partners, are conspicuously absent. Both countries condemned the attacks on Iran and called for …
-
31 March
The Talks That Aren’t Happening — Strategic Ambiguity in the US-Iran Standoff
President Donald Trump insists that “productive” negotiations with Iran are underway. Senior Iranian officials, meanwhile, repeatedly deny that any such talks are taking place. One side may be misrepresenting reality, both may be shaping narratives, or the truth may lie somewhere more ambiguous than either account suggests. The …
-
31 March
The Frame Shift That Changes Everything
For decades, the language used to describe the Middle East has been dominated by the vocabulary of conflict. We speak of proxy wars, failed states, sectarian fractures, and great powers orbiting a volatile geography. This framing is not entirely wrong—but it is incomplete. More importantly, it obscures as …
