Having just returned from Israel, I want to express my thanks to המרכז האקדמי שלם and Prof. Efraim Inbar for inviting me to speak on American foreign policy.

The takeaway: maintaining US leadership in the Middle East remains key to preserving global order. It's the only path to peace.

As the Three Seas Initiative holds its Vilnius Summit, Yorktown Institute's Seth Cropsey & I argue it must be enhanced, becoming 3SI+, from the Barents to the Caspian. We assess security, commerce, cooperation, Romania's role, and Black Sea strategy.

România Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania 🇷🇴 Three Seas Summit and Business Forum

Joe Lieberman was a warm man, devoted to his faith. He brought to Yorktown Institute the decency, and principles that made his public life a model of republican virtue. His life benefited our country. His passing is a loss to it. May his memory be an example as it is a blessing.

The US & Israel seek quick, decisive action against Iran's threats. This won't succeed. Iran's is a war of relentless puppet state pressure across the Levant. To succeed, Israel & the US need to shift to a war of attrition. wsj.com/articles/to-th…

Washington refuses to recognize its importance as the center of a loosely democratic system that spans Eurasia & the Americas. Culturally and strategically, the Rimland is being punished for the blindness at its core. commentary.org/articles/seth-…

A decision about NATO's next secretary general will be announced in July. The choice should send Putin a pellucid signal of NATO's strength on its eastern border. See my Yorktown Institute colleague's article published today in The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/1…

The major trend toward unmanned vehicles in Ukraine is certain to appear in naval combat. The US should invest in fleets of unmanned underwater vehicles which would likely prove decisive in a West Pacific conflict. thehill.com/opinion/nation…

The Biden administration needs to decide who it wants to win: Israel or Iran?

And stop letting voters in Dearborn, Michigan decide that for them. Thanks to Michael Medved:

Drone warfare is a continuation of military capabilities that began in the late 19th century for which the US industrial base is woefully underprepared. hoover.org/research/drone…

That the Houthis are not being deterred is not news. Better to keep Iran's weapons from reaching Yemen. Blockade. realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/…

Ineffective airstrikes don't work. The US & Israel need a new strategy that recognizes Iran as their true enemy imposing the costs of running a proxy empire and a more expansive sanctions regime on Iran's economy. wsj.com/articles/the-u…

The Cold War ended but it was only an episode in the contest for Eurasian mastery that began with Persia's ancient invasions of Greece. Despite our wish to avoid it, the struggle sharpens today as the US faces the growing power of Russia, Iran, and China. thehill.com/opinion/intern…

Gaza has plagued Israel for decades. The only sustainable governance lies with Arab states participation. Yet, Mr. Biden's grand bargain over Gaza includes a 2-state 'solution.' Is it now a tenet of US foreign policy to offer major awards for major crimes? nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/…

Despite legislativ obstruction, the Biden admin. can encourage more EU support for Ukraine & shepherd contracts with US ammo produers. This demands strategic & moral clarity from Mr. Biden. Navalny's murder & Avdiivka's fall provide evidence of the stakes. asiatimes.com/2024/02/moral-…

Iran's proxies link different M.E. theatres creating a unified threat that deters US & Israeli action while imposing costs for both. The US should impose Iran's logic in reverse punishing Iran itself for its disruption in the Red Sea and Iraq. nationalreview.com/2024/02/biden-…

Increased international strife requires a shift in naval special warfare from counterinsurgency to exploiting rifts in the revisionist coalition that the US faces in Eurasia. NSW can--and should--play a key strategic role in high end combat. usni.org/magazines/proc…

My Yorktown Institute colleague, Gabriel Elefteriu, writes in BRUSSELS SIGNAL of Europeans' growing awareness--including discussion of conscription--that major conflict with Russia is likely. Russia is not down. It is mobilizing. brusselssignal.eu/2024/02/is-eur…

Mr. Biden's fear of escalation keeps him from taking the measures that would deter escalation. The preventable deaths of 3 US soldiers and 2 Navy SEALs are proof of Mr. Biden's failed policy. wsj.com/articles/biden…

The USN's surface fleet is key to US grand strategy linking submarine & carrier power and combining global presence with strike & defensive punch. But it lacks enough combatants. Revitalization, modernizing and growth of the US surface fleet is imperative. themessenger.com/opinion/us-nav…

My colleague at Yorktown, Gabe Diamond, has an excellent article on the danger that Jordan faces from Iran. Published in The Hill, it offers practical policy suggestions to keep Iran from destabilizing Jordan and strengthening Israel-Jordan relations. thehill.com/opinion/intern…