Join Mailing List
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
As Iran is spending billions of dollars funding Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi militias in Yemen, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and Katai’b Hezbollah in Iraq, the recently released Energy Information Administration (EIA) report on Iranian petroleum exports stands out as a sobering reminder that the Obama-Biden on-and-off sanctions on Tehran have failed. In fact, as the sanctions against the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine suggest, sanctions alone are no panacea against aggressor states. U.S. trade policy frequently fails to stop flagrant sanctions violations.
Last week saw a landmark summit of the BRICS group of nations, a nine-country economic bloc led by Moscow and Beijing, which drew representatives from 36 countries, including 22 heads of state.
Held from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24 in the Russian city of Kazan, the event focused largely on “de-dollarization”—the idea of phasing out the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and preferred medium of global exchange.
At the 2024 BRICS summit, China claimed that its advances in Green Tech serve as a “valuable reference” for the bloc and the globe. While Beijing talks a good game about its investments in renewables as an engine of domestic and global economic growth, the realities of China’s sluggish economy suggest otherwise.
Earlier this month, China observed Golden Week, a period with several cultural and political holidays in early October, including the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's rise to power. Usually, such an occasion would be celebrated with much fanfare, but this time things were muted. As Golden Week approached, the Chinese economy struggled despite early stimulus measures announced by the CCP. These included outstanding mortgage rate cuts, recapitalizing banks, new measures to encourage mergers and acquisitions, and other economic stimulus provisions.
Following the latest United Nations General Assembly, the UN Summit of the Future adopted the “Pact for the Future,” a document filled with ambitious pledges to tackle climate change, peace and security, and global inequalities. Secretary General of the UN Guterres proclaimed the pact a “’once in a generation’ opportunity to renew multilateral cooperation”.
The pact revolves around accelerating the transition to renewable energy and achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century. However, this ambitious vision for the future risks losing sight of the present and does not do enough for the 760 million people worldwide – 80 percent of whom are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, who do not have access to even basic electricity. The immediate energy needs of developing countries are being sidelined in favor of long-term ideals and platitudes.
In Central Asia, everyone appears to be moving to secure riches and interests. Japan has just conducted an investment summit with the Central Asian states to develop economic opportunities, China’s Xi is expanding business ties, the EU is inaugurating a new strategic summit, and Vladimir Putin will be visiting in November. The world understands Central Asia and the role trade plays at this strategic pivot point, except, seemingly, Washington
The 2024 NATO Summit, to be held this week in Washington, D.C., marks the trans-Atlantic Alliance’s 75th anniversary. NATO, which came to the U.S.’s aid after 9/11 and deployed a contingent to Afghanistan, guarantees not just strategic cooperation across the Atlantic but also bolsters the economic prosperity of its member states. America’s abundant energy resources pair perfectly with Europe’s scarcity of oil and gas to create a win-win partnership, enabling Europe to avoid total energy dependence on authoritarian suppliers in Russia and the Middle East.
In a time when the United States and the Western allies appear weak on the international scene, restoring deterrence needs to be Job One as the NATO 75th anniversary summit begins today in Washington, D.C.
In the recent presidential debate, more energy went into bickering over who deserves to be president, and even their golf scores, than about what America and the West should do next to secure our collective democratic capitalist future against challengers like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
There is nothing more important than the security and defense of the realm. The president of the United States has the unenviable position of serving as commander-in-chief, often without having the appropriate background and experience, while simultaneously addressing a myriad of other pressing political, economic, and social issues.
It has been over six months since the Houthis, a Yemen-based Iranian-backed militia, began attempting to hold the world’s economy hostage by attacking civilian shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade corridor between Europe and Asia. It was quickly recognized that the Houthis had to be stopped. The West responded with “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” a multilateral force to protect civilian shipping and attack Houthi aggressors.
Although oil prices stabilized, marine insurance rates returned to a higher equilibrium than before the start of hostilities, and input shortages that plagued manufacturers like Tesla, Volvo, and Suzuki were resolved, it does not appear that the Houthis (or their Iranian paymasters) have been contained. After a months-long, exhausting, and inconclusive running battle with the US Navy, the Houthis managed to sink a second cargo vessel in mid-June. Maritime shippers are suffering declining volumes of traffic and insurance markets are unlikely to be reassured by the presence of military assets.
Achieving a green future is a worthy and necessary aspirational goal. However, realizing aspirations requires sound strategy and a willingness to learn and reformulate policies and plans in the future.
The world's largest electric container ship, constructed by China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation, completed its first-ever voyage on April 22. This ship alone will save thousands of tons of carbon emissions in just a few trips, a feat that the climate-conscious worldwide should applaud. Carbon emissions from international shipping, vital for global trade, are upward-trending, contributing to global climate change, and must be addressed if we want a green future. However, a breakthrough may quickly transform into Washington's worst nightmare should the US find itself unable to compete and continue to fall behind in its shipbuilding capacity.
Dr. Ariel Cohen is interviewed on BBC World News for his insight on the United States pausing shipments of ammunition to Israel. In his analysis, Dr. Cohen discusses the implications this act has for the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the United States' credibility.
By Ariel Cohen and Wesley Hill
Avril Hines, director of national intelligence, disclosed Thursday in Congressional testimony that Russia and China are training together for a future invasion of Taiwan. The "unlimited friendship" proclaimed by presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Beijing in February 2022, just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, moved closer to a potential two-front deadly conflict between the West and the Moscow-Beijing Axis.
Tune into Bloomberg Daybreak Asia Edition for an insightful analysis from Dr. Ariel Cohen on the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Dr. Cohen provides detailed commentary on the strategic movements, international implications, and the broader geopolitical context surrounding this intense conflict.
Washington hosted one of the most significant shifts in the world’s security architecture since the collapse of the Soviet Union. On April 11, an unprecedented trilateral summit brought together U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines, potentially setting the stage for a spectacular shift in Asia’s Sino-American balance of power.
Tesla was once the undisputed global leader in electric vehicles. In the earlier part of this decade, Tesla’s Tesla0.0% stock was a certain winner, reaching an all-time high on November 4, 2021. Those days are now distant as the company grapples with mounting competition from international and Chinese rivals, with companies such as BYD dominating the market and the phone maker Xiaomi entering the fray. Chinese-owned Polestar, Volvo, as well as Hyundai, Volkswagen, and others, are presenting tangible challenges to Tesla’s position globally. It is unclear whether Elon Musk’s efforts to reverse this trend appear to be successful.
Read more here.
Harm reduction is a helpful policy concept from the narcotics field that can be applied to energy and climate change. It recognizes that drug abuse occurs and seeks to minimize the negative consequences that drug use can bring, ideally improving (or saving) both the life of the user and of society. For example, making naloxone available to first responders helps save lives that would otherwise be lost to drug overdoses, saving families from the loss of a loved one and communities from otherwise being ravaged by multiple drug-related deaths. Across our lives, in medicine and government, sliding scales of harm are acknowledged and inform policy.
Read more here.
The Sino-American trade war may be old news, but now a new battlefield is front and center: green tech. During her controversial visit to China, Secretary Janet Yellen made waves by criticizing China’s excess industrial capacity. Secretary Yellen warned the Chinese that retaliatory tariffs would be levied if this wasn’t addressed while simultaneously making the case to the rest of the world that Chinese production threatened nascent industries worldwide. These quarrels have been a hallmark of Sino-American relations for decades. What is novel is that the focus of these complaints isn’t cheap consumer goods but the cutting-edge technologies of the 21st century.
Read more here.
The video provides a comprehensive overview of the recent spate of attacks between Israel and Iran, shedding light on the escalating tensions between the two nations. It examines the incidents and offers insight into the longstanding conflict and its implications for the region.
Watch here.
The long-simmering conflict between Iran and Israel erupted this weekend when Tehran launched a massive air strike against the Jewish state. Over 300 drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles were aimed at Israeli airspace on Saturday night, April 13, and early hours of Sunday the 14th. This attack was not a surprise. President Biden warned days before the attack it would likely occur, and Iran itself stated as much after Israel allegedly bombed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command building in Damascus, killing senior IRGC generals. Iran ignored and violated the diplomatic immunity of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and conducted a terror attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Read more here.
While the Biden administration’s ongoing quest to forgive student loans has repeatedly captured headlines, a far more significant initiative, Advance Educational Equity, infused in the language of racial and economic equity, fails to address a significant American weakness: the development of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, the fields that form the drive our modern world. These fields are the bedrock of innovation, technological advancement, and national security.
Read more here.
A terror attack on a Moscow suburban concert hall killed more than 130 civilians on March 22. The Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility that same day, followed by body camera footage to prove it. ISIS-K is a predominantly Afghanistan-based branch of ISIS, with a massive deployment on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, which has a long and bloody history with Russia. After wars against Muslims in Afghanistan and Chechnya, Russian, Iranian, and Syrian forces decimated ISIS in Syria, and ISIS has retaliated a number of times against Russia's soft targets.
Read more here.
One of Beijing's enduring hobbies is accusing Washington of violating or abusing international law. This selective outrage is justifiably ignored, given China’s unwillingness to abide by international law and disregard for U.N. arbitration concerning demarcation in the South China Sea. “International law with Chinese characteristics” was easily mocked and ignored when American deterrence and international safeguards stymied Beijing’s ambitions. Unfortunately, that security architecture is unraveling.
Read more here.
For Ukraine, winning on the battlefield is not enough, as Kyiv must ensure that the country’s economy stays afloat. If exports continue to slump, Kyiv could lose its ability to finance the war effort and sustain its population even further. Thus, maintaining the flow of its agricultural exports is vital.
Read more here.
America’s defense industrial base is not ready for the dangerous global environment in which the U.S. and the West find themselves. For the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Congress, continuing to neglect this situation is no longer an option. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently conducted and reported on a series of U.S.-China wargames —in nearly all of them, U.S. forces ran out of some precision-guided munitions within a week.
Read the full article here.
With over half a dozen Liquefied Natural Gas GAS-0.7%export projects underway in Mexico, stakeholders are watching anxiously to see if US politics will force them to stop. In January, President Joe Biden issued an executive order pausing the approval of new LNG export permits for countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement with the US. This decision sparked outrage among industry stakeholders and politicians, who viewed it as a political ploy to appease environmentalists and gain their support in the 2024 Presidential election.
Read the full article here.
