Vladimir Putin

In this line of work, you grow pretty accustomed to reading between the lines in diplomatic correspondence. Aside from President Trump, most national figures and diplomats have a way of dancing around a subject through clever phrasing and word choices, ensuring that even the most damning of accusations are delivered in a manner that retains […]

Russia’s Tu-95 Bear long range bombers are not an entirely uncommon presence near American or allied airspace. These long range, heavy payload bombers are often flown within other country’s Air Defense Identification Zones, prompting a response from domestic intercept fighters tasked with identifying and escorting the Russian aircraft away from their sovereign airspace. While not […]

Russia has been providing Bashar al Assad’s Syrian regime with direct military support throughout the past seven years of the nation’s ongoing civil war, which has provided Russia with a testing ground to feature some of their more advanced weapons systems and platforms. Everything from Russia’s latest cruise missile, the Kalibr, to their oft-touted but […]

In September of 2011, the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet was stood down after 65 years of patrolling and defending the northern Atlantic and America’s East Coast. Most of its personnel were absorbed into U.S. Fleet Forces Command as a part of a restructuring that aimed to reduce costs in the face of ongoing anti-terror campaigns […]

In the days following the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria that prompted the United States, France and the UK to launch a joint air strike offensive in response last week, a predictable Russian effort was put into motion to control perceptions of the event throughout the world on social media. In the face of […]

Mike Pompeo, the newly confirmed Secretary of State for the United States, found himself singing a familiar tune to NATO allies in Brussels this past week: calling on America’s allies to meet their financial obligations to the alliance and cut their financial reliance on America’s defense apparatus. Each NATO member nation is required to devote […]

In the weeks leading up to and following a joint air campaign against Syrian chemical weapons facilities carried out by the  U.S., U.K., and France, Russia has repeatedly attempted to gain control of the narrative through misleading statements and outright fabrications about the reasons for the strike and its outcomes. These brazen claims may seem […]

Introduction Finance has always been part of intelligence and warfare. The Romans poured salt on the land of Carthage, denying the people the ability to grow and sell crops. During the Civil War, Union military strategists planned the capture of Confederate cities with factories and destroyed railroads. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the organized […]

Between foreign military influences, civil war, and the presence of Islamic extremism, Syria has become a quagmire of conflict in recent years. Now, with a litany of domestic and international military assets in play, Syria appears to have become a test bed of sorts for new military technologies — particularly for the Russian military, who […]

After a joint ballistic missile offensive mounted by the United States, United Kingdom and France destroyed three facilities allegedly integral to Syria’s chemical weapon infrastructure, the Russian military quickly claimed that the Soviet era missile defense systems employed by Bashar al Assad’s Syrian regime had successfully intercepted 71 of 105 inbound missiles, effectively neutering the […]

On Monday, the U.S. and U.K. issued a series of joint statements warning about an ongoing Russian cyber campaign that aimed to support Russian intelligence gathering and even future offensive operations within the two nations. The hacking effort has been targeting network infrastructure devices like routers, as well as “critical infrastructure” providers and even internet […]

A United Nations security and reconnaissance team tasked with scouting the site of the alleged April 7th chemical weapons attack in Syria came under small arms fire on Wednesday, forcing them to leave the city. It is now unclear when it will be safe for investigators to visit the site. Despite a flurry of missiles […]