OPINION On July 23, 2026, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Manila to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. It was later disclosed that the meeting lasted a scant 35 minutes and that it produced no visible breakthrough. In Russia’s readout, Lavrov again stated … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Click image to enlarge On August 18, 2026, President Trump asserted on his Truth Social site that the Strait of Hormuz is now a “new US territory.” This needs to be carefully unpacked. Contrary to the opinion of some of his -to put it mildly- detractors everywhere, this is not … Continue reading
Aspects of the U.S. – Iran War
July 24, 2026 There are numerous aspects and ramifications of the conflict between Iran on the one hand, and the U.S. and Israel on the other. One such aspect is that the interests of the U.S. and Israel, which in the past have aligned seamlessly, are not necessarily congruent within … Continue reading
Breaking the Impasse
Preface The world has reached a critical point analogous to 1913, when the German and British Empires were locked into a race for naval supremacy. The difference between then and now is that at that time neither one had weapons with which to destroy the world. In view of the … Continue reading
Lust For Power
“Chief among the forces affecting political folly is lust for power, named by Tacitus as “the most flagrant of all the passions.” Because it can only be satisfied by power over others, government is its favorite field of exercise. Business offers a kind of power, but only to the very … Continue reading
An Interlinked World
Like it or not, we’re all irremediably interlinked. However remote and therefore inconsequential a region may appear to be, drought there can severely impact everyone else. Case in point, Chile is in the midst of a 15-year megadrought, and there’s no end in sight. As of 2021, over half of … Continue reading
Opinion: Preventing a Terminal War
The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’ – Bob Dylan, 1964 … Continue reading
Connecting the Dots: Water
December 7, 2024 Background As we approach the end of the year, it is in right order to review a number of worrisome extant global issues. Though seemingly unrelated and disjointed, they are in fact interconnected pieces of an extraordinarily dangerous conundrum. As such, the following narrative is intended to … Continue reading
Perceived Flaws – 2024 National Security Report
Authorities The Commission on the National Defense Strategy was established by Section 195 of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 117-81). It is composed by eight members from private civilian life who are recognized experts in matters relating to the national security of the United States. … Continue reading
Green Hydrogen
A World Without Oil It’s no secret that the probability of nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia is higher than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Presidents Biden and Putin have said so. But if fossil fuels, particularly oil, cease to be used, there would be … Continue reading