As the Unites States tries to break the long stalemate of war in Afghanistan, regional powers continue jockeying for position, attempting to carve out their own spheres of influence in the country. A combination of fears over the Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch—Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP)—and prospects of mineral wealth have pulled more of Afghanistan’s […]
Top411
Perspective: Put Trump-Putin Media Mayhem in Context
BRUSSELS—Given the mediatic mayhem the meeting between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is causing, it is perhaps somewhat worthwhile to try and contextualize it. Let’s start by reading this statement from the U.S. presidency: “The joint communiqué which we have issued today summarizes the result of our talks. … But what we have said […]
Is Afghan Opium War a Path to Taliban Peace Talks?
Doubling down on a longtime policy of countering the opium trade in Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan forces began conducting airstrikes against opium production facilities and insurgent funding sources in November. After years of back-to-back record-breaking poppy yields, the move represented a policy shift targeting terror groups and their revenue streams. Opium has long been the […]
Legal Immigration Plagued by Bureaucracy, Red Tape
When 16-year-old Hefzi Lopez said goodbye to her parents, José and Cecilia Lopez, in 2008, she felt betrayed. She was a U.S. citizen by birth, but her parents had been unsuccessful in their efforts to become citizens as well. After nine years of legal battles in the immigration court system, background checks, three lawyers, and […]
Exploring Artificial Intelligence and Global Security
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform national and global security, according to Artificial Intelligence: What Every Policymaker Needs to Know, a new report from the Center for a New American Security. “AI is enabling the creation of special-purpose machines to replace human cognitive labor for specific tasks,” authors Paul Scharre and Michael Horowitz wrote. “AI has […]