In January, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published two complementary documents: “National Intelligence Strategy 2019” and “The Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.” The second report was based on DNI Daniel Coats testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The Strategy report had succinct summaries of challenges America faces. […]

During a Jan. 27 White House press briefing addressing U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime, reporters noticed national security adviser John Bolton idly clasping at his side a notepad containing the handwritten phrase: “5,000 troops to Colombia.” Reuters reported it was “not clear if disclosure of the notes was intentional, and […]

Since late fall 2018, nationwide opposition to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has shown signs of increasing coordination — emerging links connecting angry anti-Maduro street demonstrations, domestic political preparations by opposition leaders and anti-regime international diplomatic initiatives that portray Maduro as the vicious thug he is. Street demonstrations against the vicious socialist regime are not new. […]

If you advocate electric vehicles and dote on cellphones whose manufacture depends on Congo’s minerals, then the Democratic Republic of Congo’s flawed Dec. 30 presidential election matters because it can affect your digital lifestyle. Congo’s stability also matters if you value human life. In Congo’s last civil war (Great Congo War, 1996-2003) some three million […]

As 2018 began, Kim Jong Un’s North Korean dictatorship was touting its ICBMs. Many weapons analysts believed North Korean ICBMs could strike Seattle and San Francisco. As 2018 began, North Korean leaders routinely threatened South Korea, Japan and the U.S. with nuclear attack. In January, Kim claimed would soon deploy nuclear warheads. Propaganda is one […]

On Dec. 1, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was inaugurated as president of Mexico. The new president now confronts Mexico’s supposedly intractable problems. Mexico’s problems are numerous. Some are merely frustrating, requiring patient bureaucratic workarounds that savvy Mexican citizens have polished as a skill set. Others, however, are morally, economically and institutionally draining, alienating the decent […]

Thanks to Russian thuggery, the Sea of Azov is no longer obscure geography and the world confronts an ugly little navy war with diplomatic and legal consequences for nations that value freedom of navigation. In last week’s column, I described the Sea of Azov as “a nook of the Black Sea lurking east and north […]

Russia’s relentless and corrosive war in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region continues. To the media savvy Kremlin’s delight, its dirty little war of pinprick savagery has managed to sink below major media headline radar. In concept, the pinpricks will eventually bleed Ukraine to the point of capitulation. However, as the going price for a barrel of […]