Foreign Policy

China expands its influence in Hollywood… and why that’s bad news for America

Paramount Pictures announced a new partnership with two Chinese firms worth a reported $1 billion on Friday.  The deal demonstrates Hollywood’s continued efforts to make profitable films for both domestic and Chinese viewers, as China represents the second largest movie market on the planet. It also means China just bought an even larger say in […]

SOFREP attended the 2017 Presidential Inauguration

It was an honor to attend the Presidential Inauguration and a first for this citizen. To be able to be present for the historic day was a privilege. The entire affair was not hectic and near the Capitol at the ceremony, was peaceful. It was crowded and rainy. There were protesters, I was told to go […]

U.S. national security handover to Trump bumpy, officials say

President-elect Donald Trump’s national security transition has been more chaotic than others in recent memory, with important positions unfilled and many of his people less able, or willing, to engage on substance, U.S. officials said. The uncertainties surrounding Trump’s personnel, policies, and rise to power have rattled many of America’s allies, including Japan, Germany and […]

Building collapse in Tehran kills dozens, including responding firefighters

According to various sources, at least seventy five people were killed on Thursday morning when a commercial high rise building collapsed due to fire. Among those killed were at least 50 firefighters responding to the call.  The building collapsed onto them as they attempted to fight the flames. Emergency services, including at least ten fire […]

Joe Biden calls Russia the “largest threat” to democracy in final speech as Veep

In his final speech before leaving office as Vice President, Joe Biden described Russia as the largest threat to democracy in the world today. Russia has become a common topic of discussion within the American political sphere in recent months, as allegations of Russian attempts at tampering with the U.S. Presidential election, as well as […]

Obama’s final press conference: Concerns about Russia, clemency for Chelsea Manning

Departing President Barack Obama participated in his final press conference while at the helm of the federal government today. The president opened by addressing the hospitalization of George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara, saying that he and Michelle Obama are sending their prayers for a speedy recovery. President Obama also credited the press for […]

Cyber defense, cyber war and information operations

CYBERWAR IS COMING is the name of a paper written in the early nineties. Today, this body of work is close to prescient. But, its revelations have not yet come to pass in entirety. We’ve covered cyber war in some quantity here at SOFREP. Cyber alongside tactical ground assaults as a leverage of power before, after, […]

Will cyberwar tie into ground warfare?

Ukraine is the setting for what is a giant experiment of the next generation of warfare. Many of the West’s previous understandings of combat and war still weigh heavily in its planning. The U.S. spends and allocates resources toward whatever is necessary to adapt to the future of war. However, much of the focus is on technology alone. […]

Putin: Those who “fabricated” Trump dossier are “worse than prostitutes”

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, dismissed allegations regarding the Kremlin maintaining a dossier of damning information about American President Elect Donald Trump for use in black mail on Tuesday, referring to the idea as “rubbish.” Vladimir Putin, along with the Russian intelligence community, were said to have had long-standing ties with Donald Trump in an unsubstantiated […]

Trump reaffirms NATO’s concerns, suggests lifting sanctions on Russia

President-elect Donald Trump granted a joint interview to the Times of London and Bild, a German publication, over the weekend, in which he laid out portions of his foreign policy strategy. Among the issues addressed were the sanctions placed on Russia as a result of its military annexation of Crimea, and how the incoming president views […]

Lithuania fears a Russian invasion. Now, it wants to build a border fence.

After the Soviet Union sacrificed millions of lives to help defeat Nazi Germany, it received a token of gratitude from its allies: a chunk of territory surrounding the Prussian city of Konigsberg on the Baltic Sea. Now called Kaliningrad, the isolated and highly militarized Russian enclave of nearly 1 million people is provoking renewed fears […]