Global
Cross-regional, system-level stories that span multiple theaters, alliances, and strategic domains.
679 Dispatches
Starting the Iran War Was Easy. Stopping It Will Be Hard
Why Washington, the Gulf states, and Israel cannot agree on an off-ramp from the Iran war, and why Tehran may end up deciding when the fighting stops.
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.
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.
Pakistan and Afghanistan Are Still at War: The Cross-Border Conflict the World Stopped Watching
As the Iran war dominates headlines, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have descended into open conflict, with airstrikes on Kabul, daily border skirmishes, and tens of thousands displaced.
Iran's New Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei and the War's Second Week
Mojtaba Khamenei is named Iran's next Supreme Leader as the Iran-Israel-US war enters its second week, with strikes spreading across the Gulf.
The Middle East Agrees: Iran Must Fall
Nineteen days into the Iran war, Israeli strikes have killed two repression chiefs, the Gulf has turned on Tehran, and a second front rages in Lebanon.
Why Russia and China Abandoned Iran in Its Hour of Need
Iran expected its partners to rally when the US and Israel struck. Instead, Russia and China stood aside—and the reasons reveal a hard strategic logic.
Sudan's War is Spilling Over its Borders
RSF cross-border raids into Chad have killed Chadian soldiers and closed the border, threatening to ignite a wider regional war fueled by ethnic tensions and geopolitical rivalry.
The Iran Ceasefire: What We Know and What We Don't
A two-week ceasefire pauses the Iran war as competing US and Iranian peace plans, immense pressure, and an open question over whether it holds.
America And Israel Have Attacked Iran. Here's What You Need To Know
What the coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran hit, how Tehran can respond, and why this is the sharpest Middle East escalation in years.
Pakistan Just Bombed Kabul.
Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul after Afghan Taliban forces crossed the Durand Line in a coordinated offensive. A full breakdown of the conflict.
Why NATO Would Lose a Drone War Tomorrow
Two recent wargames exposed how cheap drones can defeat NATO's conventional mass, and why the alliance's countermeasures are years behind Russia and Ukraine.