Order from Chaos

Demonstrators speak with police officers as they gather in front of Kuwait National Assembly building to protest against the nullification of Bader al-Dahoum's membership in the parliament, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee

The ‘tribal advantage’ in Kuwaiti politics and the future of the opposition

Courtney Freer and Andrew Leber

Monday, April 19, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Marine reinforcements fly towards an area somewhere near Kandahar, Afghanistan, December 10, 2001. Earnie Grafton, The San Diego Union-Tribune/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan: Biden’s unforced error puts America at risk

Madiha Afzal and Michael E. O’Hanlon

Thursday, April 15, 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, at the White House, Washington, U.S., April 14, 2021. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

The US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan is the right one

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Thursday, April 15, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo/File Photo

The US has very little to gain by overdemonizing China

Michael E. O’Hanlon

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, not pictured, participate beside staff and cabinet members in a virtual meeting with Asia-Pacific nation leaders at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

The Quad (finally) delivers: Can it be sustained?

Susan A. Thornton

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

New Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Bin Taimour of Oman during a ceremony of receiving new ambassadors letters of credentials, at Al Alam palace in Muscat, Oman, on February 16, 2021. Photo by Balkis Press/ABACAPRESS.COM

Oman: First Arab leader to Washington in 1938, and due for another visit

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks to media after announcing that Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa will have pre-emergency status under a new prevention law during a government task force meeting at the prime minister's office, Tokyo, Japan, April 9, 2021. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via Reuters

Suga-Biden summit to rekindle ‘can-do’ spirit of the US-Japan alliance

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's deputy leader and negotiator, and other delegation members attend the Afghan peace conference in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2021. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS

How the United States can select and work with nonstate armed actors as stabilization partners

Patrick W. Quirk and Prakhar Sharma

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

Under Biden, Pakistan and the US face a dilemma about the breadth of their relationship

Monday, April 12, 2021

Cannabis . Berlin , Deutschland . 09.03.2011 . Cannabis . Berlin , Germany . 09.03.2011 . Berlin Deutschland PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xThomasxTrutschelxNo Use Switzerland. No Use Germany. No Use Japan. No Use Austria

Pot, water theft, and environmental harms in the US and Mexico

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, April 12, 2021

On January 6, 2021, Pro-Trump supporters and far-right forces flooded Washington DC to protest Trump's election loss. Hundreds breached the U.S. Capitol Building, aproximately 13 were arrested and one protester was killed. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Sipa USA)No Use UK. No Use Germany.

How hateful rhetoric connects to real-world violence

Daniel L. Byman

Friday, April 9, 2021

An unarmed Trident II D5 missile is test-launched from the Ohio-class U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska off the coast of California, U.S. March 26, 2018. Picture taken March 26, 2018. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ronald Gutridge/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

Nuclear arms control in the 2020s

Thursday, April 8, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Jordan's Crown Prince Hamza bin Hussein delivers a speech to Muslim clerics and scholars at the opening ceremony of a religious conference at the Islamic Al al-Bayet University in Amman, Jordan August 21, 2004. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji/File Photo

Jordan in turmoil

Monday, April 5, 2021

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks after meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the ongoing attacks and threats against the community," during a stop at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/

Joe Biden’s ‘killer’ comment: Undiplomatic, but the end of US-Russia relations?

Friday, April 2, 2021

PICTURE SHOWS: Before and after the explosionThese satellite images show the extent of the devastation caused by the massive explosion at Beirut's port on Tuesday (4 August 2020).In one after photo the image shows a huge crater where a warehouse once stood.The images were captured the day after the explosion with WorldView-2 by European Space Imaging in order to assess the damage to the surrounding blast site.Almost 20 buildings have been completely destroyed, whilst hundreds of other surrounding buildings have been significantly damaged.A cruise ship has been overturned and four tankers have been damaged.According to AIS data, this cruise ship is the “Orient Queen” sailing under the flag of Bahamas, and originating from port King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia.It has been reported that the explosion at Beirut’s port resulted in the damage of 90% of the hotels in the Lebanese capital and that the blasts could be felt up to 200 km away in Cyprus.“When disaster strikes, VHR satellite imagery can provide critical information for emergency relief operations to evaluate the extent of damage and get an entire overview of the scene,” said Adrian Zevenbergen, Managing Director, European Space Imaging.“It supplies crisis management teams with logistical insights for planning and helps to monitor and detect any changes that may be critical to minimising or even eliminating further catastrophe.”The cause of the explosion is still unknown, however it has been reported that the blasts occurred in a section of the port that stores previously confiscated highly explosive substances.With the country already suffering a crippling economic crisis as a result of battling COVID-19, this explosion plummets the city into further catastrophe with the country’s leader, Hassan Diab, appealing for international assistance.Where: Beirut, LebanonWhen: 07 Aug 2020Credit: European Space Imaging/Cover Images**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN C

The not-so-secret value of sharing commercial geospatial and open-source information

Mir Sadat and Michael Sinclair

Wednesday, March 31, 2021