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Russia's Election Trolls
Congressional staff display social media posts during a hearing on Russian social media disinformation before the House Select Intelligence Committee on November 1, 2017. (Getty Images)
Russian media outlets have waged a comprehensive disinformation campaign throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new report [[link removed]], Richard Weitz and Aurimas Lukas Pieciukaitis outline the tactics used by Moscow to spread disinformation through social media platforms, proxy news sites, and microtargeted political messaging. Russia is using these practices to target the United States, European democracies, and front-line NATO states such as Lithuania. In the lead-up to the presidential election, the report is a must-read for voters looking to understand Moscow’s foreign influence operations.
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The Middle East's Overlooked Alliance
Naval ships connected to Turkey's Sea Wolf military exercises in the Aegean Sea May 23, 2017. (Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Burgeoning alliances between Israel and Sunni Arab nations captured headlines this summer. As Hillel Fradkin and Scooter Libby write in the National Review [[link removed]], a less noted but equally important alliance is developing in the Eastern Mediterranean to protect the region’s waters and energy resources. Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, France, and the United States have formed an ad hoc energy alliance that the next administration — Republican or Democratic — would do well to sustain.
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Trump's Second-Term Ambitions
President Trump welcomes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey outside the West Wing of the White House May 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
If President Trump is reelected, his foreign policy ambitions will likely be even more unconventional than during his first term, writes Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal [[link removed]]. Second-term presidents, facing diminished clout at home, often turn their efforts to major diplomatic breakthroughs overseas. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both devoted great efforts to getting an Israeli-Palestinian agreement in their second terms. Barack Obama signed the Iran deal and the Paris Climate Accords. As unconventional a figure as Mr. Trump is, he is likely to look for trophy achievements overseas too.
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A Bigger, Better, Cheaper Navy
Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper conducts an all-hands call aboard the USS Carl Vinson on September 17, 2020. (U.S. Navy)
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is sprinting in the final months of the administration’s term. As Bryan Clark and Timothy Walton note in Defense News [[link removed]], Esper has unveiled a new plan to grow the U.S. Navy's fleet to more than 500 manned and unmanned vessels from today’s 296 ships. Despite arriving shortly before the election, the Battle Force 2045 concept could lead to a more effective and affordable future fleet — as long as Navy and Department of Defense leaders can avoid loading it down with expensive options.
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USAID humanitarian supplies for Venezuela sit inside a warehouse at the Tienditas International Bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, on February 21, 2019. (Getty Images)
People of many faiths, including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, and others have faced increased global persecution over the past decade. To mark International Religious Freedom Day, Nina Shea hosted USAID Acting Administrator John Bursa [[link removed]] for a discussion on current threats to religious liberty and how USAID is working with local faith leaders, public and private, to supply essential aid to persecuted communities worldwide.
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BEFORE YOU GO...
As voters in the U.S. look ahead to next week (and the next presidential term), Hudson has debuted a new program of essays examining the key trends, movements, ideologies, and alliances that will shape 2021 and beyond. Updated weekly, the Look Ahead Series [[link removed]] is a collection of policy memos on the challenges that political, military, and business leaders must contend with today to ensure a secure and free world tomorrow.
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