• NATO Has Warned Russia, but Will NATO Defend Ukraine?

    NATO warns Russia not to make any further moves against Ukraine. But NATO allies have been unable to formally agree on what the Russian military activity represents, much less how to respond to it.

  • Afghanistan: Taliban Kill, “Disappear” Ex-Officials

    Taliban forces in Afghanistan have summarily executed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers in just four provinces since taking over the country on 15 August 2021. The Taliban leadership has directed members of surrendering security force units to register to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety. However, Taliban forces have used these screenings to detain and summarily execute or forcibly disappear people within days after they register, leaving their bodies for their relatives or communities to find.

  • Former Islamic State Member Found Guilty of Genocide in German Court

    A German court has found a former Islamic State member guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for the 2015 killing of a 5-year-old girl, sentencing him to life in prison. The Frankfurt case is the first in the world to decide whether a former member of the Islamic State group played a role in the attempted genocide of the Yazidi religious group.

  • Sines v. Kessler: Reckoning and Weaponization

    On 23 November 2021, a jury returned guilty verdicts against the organizers of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. But while the trial put the defendants’ bigotry, antisemitism and racism on full display, it also provided them a stage to share their bigotry and hate with a large, captive audience, while aggressively harassing their critics.

  • “People Should Probably Be Worried”: Texas Hasn’t Done Enough to Prevent Another Winter Blackout, Experts Say

    Natural gas powers the majority of electricity in Texas, especially during winter. Some power companies say the state’s gas system is not ready for another deep freeze.

  • Iran Can Produce One Nuclear Weapon in as Little as Three Weeks

    The growth of Iran’s stocks of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium has dangerously reduced breakout timelines: Iran has enough enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in the form of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium to produce enough weapon-grade uranium (WGU), taken here as 25 kilograms (kg), for a single nuclear weapon in as little as three weeks. It could do so without using any of its stock of uranium enriched up to 5 percent as feedstock.

  • SUV Tragedy in Wisconsin Shows How Vehicles Can Be Used as a Weapon of Mass Killing – Intentionally or Not

    Cars, SUVs and trucks can be an efficient means of mass killing, and one that can be virtually impossible to prepare against. Furthermore, it is becoming harder to prosecute the driver involved in such fatalities in some states.

  • Preparing Future Cybersecurity Leaders for Protecting Critical Infrastructure

    A network of Virginia universities, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Elections, joined to create an innovative educational program to train future cybersecurity professionals to protect election infrastructure.

  • Congress Restarts Push for China Legislation by Year’s End

    Lawmakers are renewing a push to pass legislation that would boost U.S. competition with China, amid rising concerns about the global supply chain. Addressing U.S. competition with China is one of the few areas of broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, although lawmakers differ on the approach.

  • Belarusian Government Linked to Hacking, Disinformation Campaign

    U.S. cybersecurity researchers say they have uncovered evidence that the Belarusian government is linked to a hacking and disinformation campaign against Eastern European NATO members.

  • Supply Chain Disruptions—the Risks and Consequences

    Supply chain disruptions cause general economic disruption and key commodity shortages, which then in turn can, in fact, drive aggressive national behavior and international instability. And ironically, this reactive aggressive national behavior can happen even if the health of a national economy itself depends upon continued international economic interdependence. Indeed, this very interdependence can create vulnerabilities.

  • Research Reveals Potential New Way to Fight Radicalization in “True Believers”

    “True believers” who exhibit extreme behavior are driven by the degree to which their identity is fused with a cause or belief, finds a new study. The results suggest that an effective strategy for deradicalization could be to bring true believers to believe in new avenues of thought rather than to force them to renounce their ideas.

  • News Manipulation by State Actors

    Did authoritarian regimes engage in news manipulation during the pandemic? How can such manipulation be brought to light? New report shows that both Russia and China appear to have employed information manipulation during the COVID-19 pandemic in service to their respective global agendas.

  • Addressing Natural and Deliberate Biological Threats: Early Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

    “Infectious disease threats will continue to emerge, whether naturally, by accident, or deliberately. Stopping them from spreading and causing mass effects is possible even today, but we have much work to do bringing our assets to bear” said Andy Weber, Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR).

  • China Has Been Conducting Campaign of Harassment, Threats against Uyghurs in 22 Countries

    China is oppressing the Uyghurs living in China, but a new report reveals the scale of China’s campaign of harassment and threats against Uyghurs living outside of China. China has used a variety of means in its campaign, including threats against family members in China; abusing the Interpol system by referring the the names of Uyghur activists abroad to Interpol for investigation of trumped-up charges; using China’s considerable cyber capabilities to hack the personal information of Uyghurs and flood their electronic devices with threats; and pressuring businesses to fire Uyghur employees.