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The Nasrallah Killing Is a Crushing Blow to Hezbollah
Hezbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah possessed a rare set of abilities that made the group a formidable foe to Israel and a power broker in Lebanon. His killing by Israel sharply weakens the threat posed by the group and its patron, Iran.
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Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Likely Killed in Israeli Air Strike
Shortly 18:00 Friday, Israel time, advanced fighter jets of the Israel Air Force (IAF) directed eight heavy bunker-penetrating bombs — similar to the munitions the IAF used against Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip – into the basements of several high-rise buildings in the southern Beirut section of Da’aheha. The Da’aheh district is a sprawling Shi’ia neighborhood, and the deeply dug network of basements under the high-rises served as Hezbollah headquarters. The target: Hassan Nasrallah, Hezollah leader since 1992.
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The Unthinkable: What Nuclear War in Europe Would Look Like
If Russia were to launch a massive nuclear strike on Ukraine or Western Europe, there is not much the continent could do to stop it. NATO’s internal calculations reportedly predict that in the event of an all-out attack from Russia, the military bloc has “less than 5 percent” of the air defenses needed.
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The World Isn’t Taking Putin’s Nuclear Threats Seriously – the History of Propaganda Suggests I Should
Vladimir Putin has spoken several times about using nuclear weapons since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. To believe that Putin is not serious about using nuclear weapons is a dangerous assumption to make.
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Changing Demographics and the Political Calculus of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric in Swing States
Immigration is a far more complex topic than border security alone, and strategists may be miscalculating by failing to consider some key voters and their nuanced perspectives, recent polling shows. Growing populations of new and first-generation citizens in the swing states — with the power to sway elections — are transforming demographics and voter concerns.
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Online Signals of Extremist Mobilization
Olivia Brown’s study analyses the online behaviors of individuals who mobilized to right-wing extremist action, revealing that discussions about violent actions and logistical planning, rather than ideological content, are key indicators of mobilization.
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Remotely Exploding Pagers Highlight Supply Chain Risks
The attacks against Hezbollah using weaponized pagers and walkie talkies serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of compromised supply chains and why Australia must secure its own against the threats from China.
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Voting by Mail? Election Workers Are Worried About Issues at the Postal Service.
State election officials are encouraging people who vote by mail to be proactive about making sure their ballots are counted.
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What You Need to Know About the Venezuelan Gang That Texas Is Targeting
Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.
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In the Tightest States, New Voting Laws Could Tip the Outcome in November
This year’s presidential election will likely be decided by voters in the seven tightly contested states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. How legislatures, courts and election boards have reshaped ballot access in those states in the past four years could make a difference: Pandemic protections offer more ballot options. Election lies are driving new restrictions.
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Neo-Nazi Telegram Users Panic Amid Crackdown and Arrest of Alleged Leaders of Online Extremist Group
An analysis by ProPublica and FRONTLINE shows a surge in activity on Telegram channels aligned with the Terrorgram Collective, as allies tried to rally support for their comrades in custody and sought to oust users they believed to be federal agents.
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DHS Awards $279.9 million in Grant Funding for State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program
DHS announced the availability of $279.9 million in grant funding for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP). Now in its third year, this program provides funding to state, local, and territorial (SLT) governments to help reduce cyber risk and build resilience against evolving cybersecurity threats.
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DHS Awards $18 Million to Help Prevent Targeted Violence and Terrorism
DHS awarded 35 grants, totaling $18 million, under the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). The program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants to develop sustainable, multidisciplinary targeted violence and terrorism prevention capabilities in local communities.
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Online Extremist Threats: A View from the Trenches
Threats posed by online extremism are evolving— extremists are younger, using operational security, and adhering to non-traditional ideologies. Understanding these trends is imperative for the professionals charged with mitigating them.
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Trump’s 2020 Stolen Election Claims Are Wrong on the Merits
Donald Trump is back to saying the 2020 election was stolen from him, and his followers regularly echo these claims. It’s therefore helpful to keep on hand one or two of the exhaustively detailed state-by-state accounts by election lawyers and scholars of why this isn’t so.
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
No Nation Is an Island: The Dangers of Modern U.S. Isolationism
The resurgence of isolationist sentiment in American politics is understandable but misguided. While the desire to refocus on domestic renewal is justified, retreating from the world will not bring the security, prosperity, or sovereignty that its proponents promise. On the contrary, it invites instability, diminishes U.S. influence, and erodes the democratic order the U.S. helped forge.
Fragmented by Design: USAID’s Dismantling and the Future of American Foreign Aid
The Trump administration launched an aggressive restructuring of U.S. foreign aid, effectively dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The humanitarian and geopolitical fallout of the demise of USAID includes shuttered clinics, destroyed food aid, and China’s growing influence in the global south. This new era of American soft power will determine how, and whether, the U.S. continues to lead in global development.
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?
In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.