The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has been building for some time, and if recent reporting is any indication, the conflict appears to be coming to a head. If there is any way to avert fighting- now is the moment to bring ideas to the table. If we are going to consider potential […]
On August 29th, just two days before the Biden administration’s deadline to complete America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, an unnamed official from the newly established “Over-the-Horizon Strike Cell” authorized a strike from an MQ-9 Reaper drone that killed ten Afghan civilians, including seven children. This is a tragedy. Individual Americans, myself included, should be ashamed that […]
In early September, the Taliban began to fill cabinet positions for the new, “provisional government” that will attempt to stabilize Afghanistan following America’s military occupation and disorderly withdrawal from the nation. While it is true that the makeup of this cabinet is expected to evolve over time, the initial round of appointments includes some […]
After the skirmish along the Indian-Chinese border that killed 20 Indian soldiers, many Indian commentators are presently concerned that China is increasingly trying to push New Delhi’s allies away from India and towards them. For example, the Hindu reported that these commentators described the zero-tariff agreement for 97% of the exports between Bangladesh and China […]
Referring to the latest crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia, President Trump said that he is not interested in going to war with Iran. I believe him. He has not shown an interest in starting new wars (although he has been quite willing to escalate ongoing ones on occasion). The real problem here, I believe, […]
The Iraqi people want to return their country to its rightful owners. We should support them in this endeavor. In recent years, the Iraqi people have suffered immensely under tyrannical regimes. But now, the Iraqi people have had enough. They want free elections and they want democratic change. Furthermore, they are willing to fight as […]
As the United States matures as a global power, how should America assert itself in the world? The United States is the world’s preeminent superpower and barring some unpredictable catastrophe that fact is not going to change over the short term. For the United States to maintain its leadership role over the long term, however, […]
Entering adulthood is never easy. For the 1.8 billion youth in the world today– the most in history– the challenges are particularly daunting. Not only are more than one-fifth of global youth not in employment, education or training, and a quarter affected by violence or armed conflict, but the world itself is facing existential threats to global peace and […]
Withdrawing from the Iran deal puts the United States in a weaker position in every way. Following the 2016 election, some wondered if President Trump was some sort of strategic savant, playing a game of three-dimensional chess behind a façade of emotionally volatile ignorance. Trump quickly put this theory to bed, though, and his decision […]
Colombian presidential elections will be held on 27 May. Among its candidates, a new-born star is rising with the right-wing candidate Iván Duque, a strong opponent to the peace agreement. Iván Duque: future President of Colombia? According to the latest poll from Polimétrica, run by Cifras & Conceptos earlier this month, right-wing candidate Iván Duque appears most likely to […]
This year’s U.S.-ROK annual joint military drills kicked off on 1 April after a delay of two months caused by the astonishingly fast-forwarded bilateral thaws between the Koreas, U.S. and China. The first part of the drills, Foal Eagle, will involve a field training exercise of 11,500 U.S. and 290,000 ROK troops and the remaining […]
Iran has been ratcheting up the rhetoric while Haaretz warns of the consequences of Iran’s ambitions in Syria. It all started back in February, when an Iranian drone and an Israeli F-16 were shot down at the Syria-Israel border. More incidents and additional quarrels over the Iran Nuclear Deal could lead to more grievous confrontations between the parties involved. […]
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has been hailed in many western circles as the unifier of Iraq but in reality, he is merely another sectarian leader, who murders and threatens his own people in order to hold a failed state together utilizing brute force. To the contrary, Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Nichervan Barzani is […]
On 5 January, 2018, Russian forces stationed in Syria suffered what appears to be the first case of swarm drones attack in history. Despite the UAVs being of a rather crude nature, this episode constitutes a further development in non-state actors’ use of UAVs. Additionally, allegations about the involvement of an external state actor spark […]
In this continuation of GRI’s series on the emerging technologies of war, Mauro Lubrano explains how additive manufacturing – or 3D printing – has the potential to impact the modus operandi of terrorist organizations, especially with regards to the ease of obtaining arms. Additive manufacturing – the technology Additive manufacturing refers to a process employed to […]