Global
Cross-regional, system-level stories that span multiple theaters, alliances, and strategic domains.
702 Dispatches
China's J-36 Reveal: Did Beijing Just Checkmate America's Sixth-Generation Fighter Program?
China's surprise Chengdu reveal of two tailless stealth aircraft challenges Western assumptions about its air power and rattles America's NGAD program.
China's Invisible Navy: How a Fishing Fleet Became a Strategic Weapon in the East China Sea
Thousands of Chinese maritime militia vessels are massing in geometric formations off Shanghai, testing a force that could decide a Taiwan invasion while Washington looks elsewhere.
China's Population Crisis and the Limits of Its Military Ambitions
China's population is falling fast, and the demographic decline threatens Beijing's economy, pension system, and the modernized military Xi Jinping envisions.
Now or Never: Why 2026 Could Be Xi's Closing Window on Taiwan
A 2027 invasion was conventional wisdom, but a distracted world, a divided Taiwan, and a malleable Washington may convince Beijing the time is now.
Conflicts to Watch in 2026: The World's Flashpoints Go Hot
A region-by-region forecast of 2026's most dangerous flashpoints, from Venezuela and Ecuador to Syria, the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
Could Iran Become a Failed State? The War's Darkest Endgame
Why a collapsed Iran—divided among warlords, separatists, and proxies—may be the one war outcome the US and Israel could quietly live with.
Could Russia and China Attack America's Allies Together?
Why a coordinated Russian and Chinese assault on America's allies isn't zero-percent likely, how an "Asian NATO" really works, and what Moldova's vote revealed.
Could the United States Ever Be Invaded? A War-Gaming Analysis
Could a unified global coalition invade the continental US without nuclear weapons? A war-gaming analysis of why geography makes it nearly impossible.
Countdown to War: How Imperial Japan Prepared for the Second World War
From the Treaty of Versailles to Pearl Harbor, how Imperial Japan's hunt for self-sufficiency and resources drove its step-by-step march into world war.
Cuba at Zero Day: How a Fuel Collapse Became Washington's Next Regime-Change Gamble
Cuba has run out of fuel as the US tightens a post-Maduro squeeze, indicts Raúl Castro, and courts his grandson for a negotiated transition.
Cuba Is Next: Inside Washington's Pressure Campaign to Topple Havana
How a US fuel blockade, financial strangulation, and backchannel talks aim to force regime change in Cuba without firing a shot.
The 21st Century's Deadliest Conflicts, Ranked by Death Toll
A continent-by-continent accounting of the 21st century's deadliest wars, ranked by direct death toll—from the Second Congo War to Ethiopia's Tigray War.