U.S. Defense

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

Order from Chaos

Nuclear arms control in the 2020s

Steven Pifer

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Women shop at Kourosh mall in western Tehran, Iran June 22, 2019. Picture taken June 22, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/Wana News agency/via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

Future Development

Iran’s middle class and the nuclear deal

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

Thursday, April 8, 2021

A service member of the Ukrainian armed forces uses binoculars while observing the area at fighting positions on the line of separation near the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Serhiy Takhmazov

Ukraine

Kremlin saber-rattling in Ukraine: How the West should react

Steven Pifer

Wednesday, April 7, 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/

Order from Chaos

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

Steven Pifer

Friday, April 2, 2021

Reports

Naval officers stand on a U.S navy vessel as it docks in the eastern city of Port Sudan, Sudan March 1, 2021. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddiq

Report

Implications of the Tri-Service Maritime Strategy for America’s naval forces

Michael Sinclair, Rodrick H. McHaty, and Blake Herzinger

March 2021

FILE PHOTO: U.S. and European Union flags are pictured during the visit of Vice President Mike Pence to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Report

Stronger together: A strategy to revitalize trans-Atlantic power

December 2020

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pose for a picture prior the Quad ministerial meeting in Tokyo, Japan October 6, 2020. Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via REUTERS

Asia & the Pacific

South Korea and Indo-Pacific security: Beyond the Quad

Lindsey W. Ford

November 2020

Technology & Innovation

Uncomfortable ground truths: Predictive analytics and national security

Heather M. Roff

November 2020

Russia

US-Russia relations in the Trump era: Domestic polarization and foreign policy

Giovanna De Maio and Emmanuel Dreyfus

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Blog Posts

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

Order from Chaos

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

Mir Sadat and Michael Sinclair

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on January 7, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE

Order from Chaos

The US military must plan for encounters with private military companies

Rodrick H. McHaty and Joe Moye

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

FILE PHOTO: A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Order from Chaos

Biden administration needs to get real on North Korea

Michael E. O’Hanlon

Monday, March 29, 2021

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Events

Mon

Apr

Upcoming Event

Sustainable US presence in the Middle East: Balancing short and long-term needs

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

How the Army is adapting to great power competition

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

Remembering the first ‘space war’: A discussion with Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM EDT

Online Only

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Related Books

China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations

Contributions by Adam P. Liff

2019

Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States

By Mara Karlin

2017

Countering Terrorism

By Martha Crenshaw and Gary LaFree

2017

View All Books

Experts

Steven Pifer

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Center on the United States and Europe, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative

steven_pifer

Robert Einhorn

Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative

Pavel K. Baev

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe

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Multimedia

Photo: Aerial of the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington DC, with I-395 freeway on the left, and the Air Force Memorial up middle.

Podcast Episode

What’s the significance of Biden’s first military strikes in Syria?

Michael E. O’Hanlon and Adrianna Pita

Friday, February 26, 2021

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump listens to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper address the daily White House coronavirus response briefing with members of the administration's coronavirus task force at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC2GMF9QPP29/File Photo

Podcast Episode

Why did Trump fire Secretary of Defense Esper?

Michael E. O’Hanlon and Adrianna Pita

Monday, November 9, 2020

Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with a U.S. soldier as they stand in front of a U.S. attack helicopter during a visit to Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Phil Stewart

Order from Chaos

Watch: Experts debate American policy in Afghanistan

Adam Twardowski

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

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Reports

Sustainable US presence in the Middle East: Balancing short and long-term needs

How the Army is adapting to great power competition

Remembering the first ‘space war’: A discussion with Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Center on the United States and Europe, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative

Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe

US-German and trans-Atlantic relations in the 21st century: Launch of the Fritz Stern Chair

Revitalizing America’s alliances

A conversation with HASC Chairman Adam Smith