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Sovereign AI, but Who Watches the State?

Raditio Ghifiardi In early June 2026, aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that the White House was discussing the possibility of taking an equity stake in OpenAI. A few days earlier, Senator Bernie Sanders had introduced a bill proposing the federal government acquire 50 …

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Washington Is Taiwan’s Second Biggest Security Predicament

Lai Ching-te stepped before foreign correspondents in Taipei this week. Speaking to foreign correspondents, he said something that should not need to be said but apparently does: Taiwan defending itself is not a provocation. China’s near-daily military flights over the median line, the naval drills encircling the island, …

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Lebanon Ceasefire Agreed After US-Iran Talks Scrapped

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon after escalating violence threatened to derail potential peace talks regarding the ongoing war in Iran. This ceasefire was announced just before 4 p.m. Lebanon time, with a U. S. official confirming that negotiations, facilitated by the U. S. and …

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Trump’s Foreign Policy Doctrine Is Taking Shape: The Strategic Logic of America First 2.0

Half way through 2026, the world has already experienced a whirlwind of geopolitical change under the seismic foreign policy shifts enacted by US President Donald Trump with trade disruptions, wars, annexation and retreats from longstanding diplomatic commitments and international norms. The often unpredictable nature of these changes raises …

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Israel and Somaliland: The Emerging Alliance Reshaping the Red Sea Geopolitical Order

The growing relationship between Israel and Somaliland is not merely another diplomatic breakthrough. It is part of a broader geopolitical contest unfolding across one of the world’s most strategic regions: the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Horn of Africa. While much international attention remains focused …

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A Syrian Incursion into Lebanon Would Be Washington’s Biggest Mistake

At a moment when Hezbollah faces one of the most severe crises in its history, Washington risks handing the group the very lifeline it desperately needs. Recent comments by President Donald Trump suggesting that Syria could play a role in facilitating more precise operations against Hezbollah have revived …

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Syria’s Unexpected Oil Windfall: How the Strait of Hormuz Crisis Could Redraw the Middle East’s Energy Map

History has a habit of producing unlikely winners. As the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sends shockwaves through global energy markets and forces oil exporters to scramble for alternative routes, one country—long written off as a geopolitical and economic casualty—has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary: Syria. For …

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Has Trump Found an Exit From the Iran War or Simply Frozen a More Dangerous Conflict?

The conflict began after U.S. and Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Washington framed the campaign as necessary to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat and weaken its regional military network. However, the war evolved into a broader regional confrontation. Iran demonstrated its ability to disrupt global energy …

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China’s Private Security Companies in the Middle East: Commercial Actors, Strategic Tools

Dr. John Calabrese Chinese PSCs are state-adjacent actors embedded in China’s overseas economic expansion, particularly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), generating new arenas of US–China security competition in fragile environments. Existing regulatory frameworks have not significantly constrained this trend. International rules remain fragmented, while domestic regulation …

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