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Hello everyone!
Taylor Barnes, our field reporter for military affairs and the defense industry, spent eight months investigating the deaths of two young men, Jonathan Steinke and Ken Tran, at Northrop Grumman in Utah. Our exclusive investigative report [ [link removed] ] is the first one to name them and how they died in Magna, Utah. Barnes was also interviewed on Salt Lake City’s KRCL about the investigation, and you can listen here [ [link removed] ].
Ukraine wants as many US weapons as Israel, but will those weapons make it more secure? Ethan Walton, who maintains the Forum on the Arms Trade’s Ukraine Weapons Tracker, is skeptical. He explained [ [link removed] ] that while Israel is one of the most powerful militaries in the world, largely aided by US taxpayer money, recent events have shown that receiving close to $3.8 billion of military aid a year may not have made Israel safer. 
Maryyum Masood and Amna Saqib from the Center for International Strategic Studies in Islamabad argued [ [link removed] ] that while US multilateralism is welcome, security-focused arrangements like the Quad and AUKUS may make the Asia Pacific more unstable. In their view, South Asia will experience instability because tensions between India and Pakistan may increase as the new groupings gain momentum. 
There’s more, so check out the rest of the pieces below.
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This week on Inkstick Media:
“Dying to Make Hypersonic Missiles in Utah [ [link removed] ]” by Taylor Barnes (Oct. 10) 
“Jonathan wasn’t allowed to tell his mom much about his weapons industry work, since he held a security clearance. Julie and Robert didn’t even know his job title. She said their time to chat was usually in the evenings, after they’d each gotten home and could relax. She told Inkstick that one day, without giving specifics, he began to speak ominously about his workplace, telling her about broken equipment and pressure on the job.”
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“Somalia Sticks to ‘Total War’ at Civilians’ Expense [ [link removed] ]” by Alex Miller (Oct. 10)
To save the lives and livelihoods of countless more people, the Somali government must revise its total war strategy. A flawed strategy is a recipe for disaster, and the past year serves as a case in point. A serious effort should be made to negotiate with al-Shabaab, as even a ceasefire would give the government more time to implement a good governance-based holding strategy. This would pay dividends in physically and politically protecting retaken territory and, most importantly, saving lives.
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“How Ukraine Sees Nuclear Violence [ [link removed] ]” by Terrell Jermaine Starr (Oct. 11)
In a unique video, Creative Capsule Resident Terrell Jermaine Starr talks to Valeriia Hesse, Mariana Budjeryn, and Polina Sinovets about Ukraine’s views on nuclear violence and weapons. Together, they explained that while threats and years of advocacy from nuclear nonproliferation activists have renewed calls for an all-out ban on nuclear weapons and for all countries to sign on to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or simply TPNW, Ukraine has not signed the document — and most likely won’t.
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“A Desert Called Peace: Part I [ [link removed] ]” by Kelsey D. Atherton (Oct. 12)
In this week’s Deep Dive, featured in Critical State, Kelsey D. Atherton looks at research that focuses on where normalization moves preceded and facilitated repression of local political speech in Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. For example, in Bahrain, while protest still exists, opposition among the population to normalization with Israel predates the existence of the modern Israeli state. As Bahrain, too, drew closer to Israel, it made it a crime for public employees to dissent from official policy.
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“Humanizing the Young People Who Help Make International Policy [ [link removed] ]” by Mena Ayazi (Oct. 12)
Mena Ayazi, founder of the US Youth, Peace and Security Coalition, pointed out that the systematic exclusion of local leaders on the frontlines of building peace from decision-making circles shows an extension of colonial inequities and racism that are preventing efforts for sustainable progress from being truly people-centered. 
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“The Rising Tide of Domestic Arms Production in Ukraine [ [link removed] ]” by Ethan Walton (Oct. 12)
Being in the midst of an ongoing conflict, Ukraine has the opportunity to test new systems in real-world combat and thus improve and adapt their abilities. This creates an advantageous position for Ukraine that may help to exponentially grow its defense industry. But will the improved weapons production actually keep the country safe?
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“The US is Shaping the Asia Pacific for Better or Worse [ [link removed] ]” by Maryyum Masood and Amna Saqib (Oct. 13)
By creating alternatives to more extensive and diverse regional organizations, the Biden administration’s tactics may reduce the region’s capacity for collective action and cooperation, leaving it more vulnerable to exploitation by a regional hegemon. While China is expanding its influence through economic development, the United States is increasing its militarization. A zero-sum game between the United States and China in Asia will not benefit any party. The Biden administration may have to rethink its policies to align with new regional geopolitical shifts.
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“How Real is the BRICS Challenge to Reshuffle the World? [ [link removed] ]” by Obiora Ikoku (Oct. 13)
Several African leaders and pan-African advocates have welcomed BRICS as the advent of the downfall of an unjust imperialist world order, which they see as the basis for the continent’s underdevelopment. In particular, African leaders are resentful of global multilateralism as defined by the UN with skewed representation and unbalanced veto power at the UN Security Council. They are resentful of the Global North’s control of trade through the World Trade Organization and the outsized role the United States and its currency, the dollar, play as the currency of global exchange. 
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–From the desk of Sahar Khan [ [link removed] ], managing editor of Inkstick Media [ [link removed] ].

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