Russia Is Teaching A Master Class in 'Decision-Centric' Warfare

T-72B3 tanks of the Russian Southern Military District's 150th Rifle Division take part in a military exercise at Kadamovsky Range. (Getty Images)

Can the United States and its allies gain the upper hand in the standoff with Russia over Ukraine? By mobilizing threats in multiple domains, the Russian government built an array of options that U.S. and allied leaders are hard-pressed to counter. In Defense One, Bryan Clark and Dan Patt argue that Russia is teaching a master class in 'decision-centric' warfare, and that the Department of Defense must learn from Putin's example.

Virtual Event | How the United States Can Help Defend Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen from the 25th Air Assault Battalion are seen stationed in Avdiivka, Ukraine, on January 24, 2022. (Getty Images)

Given Russia’s previous invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia in 2008, shouldn’t the West have been better prepared for the current crisis? What are America’s current options, and what steps should the United States take if Putin does invade? Please join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a discussion with former Commanding General, United States Army Europe Ben Hodges.

America Is Stronger Than It Looks

Ukrainian servicemen seen along the frontline outside of Svitlodarsk, Ukraine on January 30, 2022. (Getty Images)

The world’s attention may be fixed on Russia’s threatening actions toward Ukraine, but the Biden administration faces something much larger: an intensifying challenge by China, Russia, and opportunists such as Iran and North Korea to the post-war, U.S.-led global order. Is the American model in terminal decline? Walter Russell Mead argues in The Wall Street Journal that this pessimism is easily overdone, and that the factors making for the long-term success of Anglo-American order building are still present today.

Virtual Event | What's Next for Ukraine? A Conversation with Former President of Estonia Toomas Ilves

Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defense unit train in a forest on January 22, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)

With more than 100,000 Russian troops poised to invade Ukraine for the second time in the past ten years, the NATO alliance appears divided on an appropriate response. What are Vladimir Putin’s intentions? Does the West still have the will and capacity to deter Russia? Join Toomas Ilves, former president of Estonia, for a conversation with Hudson Institute Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow Kenneth R. Weinstein on the Ukraine crisis and prospects for an effective policy response from the West.

Why Russia and China Build Up Iran

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivers a speech in the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in downtown Tehran on January 3, 2022. (Getty Images)

The Ukraine crisis exposes a flaw in President Biden’s Iran strategy, Bryan Clark and Michael Doran argue in The Wall Street Journal. Washington engages with Beijing and Moscow as if they share core U.S. interests with respect to Iran, when instead they are working with Tehran to undermine the American-led global order. The Biden administration should not rely on them to restrain Iran. The job of the U.S. is to defang it.

BEFORE YOU GO...

Hudson Institute launched its Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East this week, which will be dedicated to bolstering American interests in this key region so that the U.S. can prevail in the new era of great power competition. Under the leadership of Hudson Senior Fellow Dr. Michael Doran, this policy initiative will bring together leading regional experts to focus on: strengthening allies, Israel first and foremost; containing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions; defeating Iranian forces and proxies, and weakening Russian and Chinese efforts to assert influence in the region.