Hostage and wrongful detention cases remain a key US national security priority regardless of the fact that they represent a relatively small number of instances, as their impacts reverberate well beyond the hostage and their family. Countries like China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela have adopted the practice of wrongful detention—hostage-taking by state actors—precisely because they
In Season 2, Episode 6 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi chats with defense researcher Jack Margolin about his new book on the Wagner Group. They focus on its operations in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the country’s central place within the Wagner subculture. They also discuss the ever-present profit motive
A Ukrainian journalist who sought to document the Russian occupation of her country has died in Kremlin captivity. The family of award-winning journalist Victoria Roshchyna received notification of her death from the Russian authorities in early October. No cause of death was given, with reports indicating that she died in mid-September while being moved between
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy finally presented his widely touted victory plan last week, but there is little indication that his ambitious proposal has captured the imagination of Ukraine’s Western partners. Instead, the somewhat muted reaction has underlined the current limitations of Western support for the Ukrainian war effort. Western leaders had the perfect opportunity to
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused North Korea of preparing to send thousands of soldiers to join the Russian invasion of his country, and is calling for a “strong response” from the international community. “In fact, another state is joining the war against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy commented during his traditional daily video address on Sunday evening.
Download PDF A year after the Hamas attacks that led to war in Gaza, there can be no doubt: This latest outbreak of violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict has wrought by far the most significant damage, expanding to include attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis, Israeli operations against Hezbollah in
In 1982, up to six divisions of the Israeli army charged into Lebanon to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). They reached the outskirts of Beirut in nine days, launching a two-month siege of the Lebanese capital that ended with the departure of the PLO. In the 2006 war against Hezbollah, Israel anticipated that
JUST IN Three hundred and seventy-six days later, he is dead. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of last October’s terrorist attack on Israel, which set off a year of war in the Middle East, was killed by Israeli soldiers today in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar’s death follows Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Hamas is headless. On Thursday, Israel confirmed that it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza. The terrorist group’s top commander was the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel has “settled its account” with the Hamas leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the mass abduction of Ukrainian children. The ICC’s allegations made headlines around the world, helping to raise international awareness about the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russia and
