Macron’s Strasbourg Speech: Shaping a Way Ahead for Europe in the Face of the War in Ukraine

05/21/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - President Emmanuel Macron called May 9 in a keynote speech in the European parliament at Strasbourg, eastern France, for a broader European defense and security community, a political project made all the more pressing by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Macron called for setting up…

The UAE, Serbia and European Defense: An Update on the Rafale

04/21/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - The United Arab Emirates has paid a down payment for its order for 80 Rafale fighter jets, aircraft builder Dassault Aviation said in an April 19 statement. “Today, we received the first down payment of the contract for the acquisition of 80 Rafale by the…

The Meshing of Beijing’s Goals With Putin’s War

03/21/2022
By Michael Shoebridge Beijing’s goals, set out in numerous speeches by Xi Jinping and in decisions and actions, are clear now. Number one remains Xi and the Chinese Communist Party staying in power indefinitely as rulers of China’s 1.4 billion people—Xi’s real ‘China dream’. Xi and his acolytes want three…

The Timeline for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Look Back at 2021

03/18/2022
By Robbin Laird In this report, I highlight developments from June 2021 to the Fall of 2021 which made it abundantly clear that action by Putin against Ukraine was in the cards, but what he would actual do was a future question. When perhaps; what perhaps; but not that something…

Fire and Ice: Crisis in Europe

03/17/2022
By Robbin Laird My friend and colleague, New York Times best-selling writer George Galdorisi, has written a political-military thriller that is prescient regarding today’s events. His book, Fire and Ice, published by Braveship Books March 2021, has a high concept that essentially predicted what is dominating our daily news: Putin holding Europe hostage…

Reaping the Results of More than Two Decades of Western Appeasement of Vladimir Putin

03/08/2022
By Brian Morra The War in Ukraine is on the front pages of newspapers and is the top television and streaming story in most parts of the world. It’s delivering a major shock to the Post-Cold War geo-political system. Why is this happening? I think it’s important to understand that…

UK and France Joint Weapons Development Moves Forward: February 2022

02/25/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - France and the U.K. signed Feb. 18 contracts with MBDA for development of next generation cruise and anti-ship missiles, with the weapons due to enter service by 2030, the European missile builder said in a statement. The long awaited agreement for work on risk reduction…

A European Update: Germany to Acquire F-35s?

02/22/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - Germany has yet to decide on whether to buy the F-35 fighter jet, but a decision will be made later this year, a senior German parliamentarian said Feb. 21. "There’s no decision yet, but we will decide this year," the parliamentarian told reporters, here. "There is…