24 October 2024

Reuters | Putin warns of Middle East conflagration and debates Ukraine at BRICS

Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine.

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NBC News | Kim Jong Un to send Putin 12,000 soldiers, South Korea says; U.S. warns they'll be 'fair game'

Some 12,000 North Korean troops will be sent to Russia, a key United States ally said Thursday, vowing it “will not stand by and do nothing” in the face of this significant “provocation.”

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Military Times | Two service members wounded in raid on ISIS leaders in Iraq

Two American service members were wounded Tuesday in a series of raids with the Iraqi military that killed at least seven ISIS operatives, U.S. Central Command announced.

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The New York Times | Austin, in Ukraine, Announces New Arms Shipment as U.S. Election Looms
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday to bolster support for the war effort as Ukrainian forces steadily lose ground to Russian troops and allies stop short of fully endorsing Ukraine’s latest plan to end the conflict.

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POLITICO | US envoy to NATO questions EU’s ‘buy local’ strategy on weapons
Washington has "concerns" about EU moves to prioritize buying European weapons, saying that strategy will often fail to offer the cheapest or quickest way to get arms to Ukraine and other states in need, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to NATO argued in an interview.

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Military.com | Canceled Appointments, Unexplained Mixups – Veterans Facing Challenges Getting VA Mental Health Care.
Marcus Bagwell had been receiving medical care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center when he worked up the courage to start looking for a mental health appointment. It wasn't easy to acknowledge he needed the help in late 2021, that he couldn't white-knuckle it anymore.

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Newsweek | Russia or the West? Would-Be NATO Member Faces Landmark Decision
Political groups that seek to bring the country of Georgia into NATO and the European Union have a combined lead over a ruling party that has taken the former Soviet republic nearer to Moscow, polling showed ahead of Saturday's critical parliamentary elections.

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Stars and Stripes | VA partners with Uber to drive veterans to medical appointments, but travel in rural areas remains a problem
Army veteran John Polk has been a volunteer driver for 10 years with Disabled American Veterans, giving veterans in Wisconsin rides to doctor appointments at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center and other health care facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Without help from Polk, 77, and other volunteer drivers, veterans who do not have transportation — a particular problem in rural areas — would be stranded and unable to make their VA appointments.

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Responsible Statecraft | Biden's 'leadership' is blowing the lid off two wars | Anatol Lieven and Ted Snider
President Joe Biden has called America “the world power,” and has referred to his “leadership in the world.” If Biden does indeed see himself as a, or the, world leader, then he has been disappointing in his job and has mismanaged it.

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New York Times | How Kamala Harris Should Put America First — for Real | Stephen Wertheim
If Kamala Harris reaches the Oval Office, she will inherit a dilemma larger than the sum of all the international conflicts and crises that will land on her desk: What is the purpose of American power now?
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The administration in which Ms. Harris currently serves has not given an adequate answer. President Biden has armed open-ended wars on the grounds that the United States is still the “indispensable nation” — a grim prospect as an increasingly competitive world imposes escalating costs on a country roiled by troubles at home. The leading global power has lost control of its foreign policy, buffeted from one emergency to the next, unable to set priorities of its own.

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The National Review | The Red Sea Needs a Big Blue Blanket | Donald Bryson
Eighty years ago this month, the Allies launched the liberation of the Philippines and fought history’s largest naval battle, Leyte Gulf. Today, as U.S. forces face mounting challenges in the Red Sea against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the lessons from that pivotal battle are more relevant than ever. 

Is There Life After NATO? | CATO
It is often claimed that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 requires the United States to defend “every inch” of NATO territory. The historical evidence, however, shows that this is not the case at all. It is also commonly claimed that until Donald Trump came along, no American president would have dreamed of threatening not to defend the European allies. This too, it turns out, is not supported by the evidence. But it is not just a question of getting the history right. Those historical claims are important because they support the more fundamental claim that the NATO system is so obviously in America’s interest that it needs to be treated as sacrosanct. But has it been such a phenomenal success?

Realism in Practice Report: CVA Policy Director Tyler Koteskey has written a new report on how the foreign policy principles of realism and restraint should guide a new path for U.S. strategy abroad. “Realism in Practice” argues that policymakers have lost focus on protecting vital national interests since the end of the Cold War, overusing the U.S. military and running up massive amounts of debt at home. Because of these factors, the report argues that the President will need to realign U.S. foreign policy goals with our available resources. We can avoid strategic overstretch by asking more of our allies and rediscovering the value of creative diplomacy and economic engagement, focusing our military resources where they matter most. You can read the report here.