Frontlines Updates

Conflict Israel Middle East Security & Defense

Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, its allies, and partners. Our work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources the United States needs to deter and, if necessary, prevail in future

In late March, Ukrainian MP Ihor Guz unfurled the flag of the Belarusian Kalinouski Regiment in the Ukrainian Parliament and paid tribute to the Belarusian volunteers helping to defend Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. This gesture was a reminder that Belarusians currently make up one of the largest contingents of foreign nationals fighting for Ukraine. Their

Ukraine carried out one of the longest range drone strikes of the war so far on April 2, hitting an oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan region approximately 1300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The attack was the latest in an expanding campaign of drone strikes that have inflicted significant damage on Russia’s oil and gas

NATO will mark its seventy-fifth anniversary on April 4 as history’s most successful military alliance. However, its future as a credible deterrent to aggression now lies in the success or failure of Russia’s unjust and brutal invasion of Ukraine. NATO’s past successes are unquestioned and impressive. It was NATO that enabled the transatlantic community to

Even before October 7, 2023, Jordanian authorities faced considerable pressure. Unemployment across the Hashemite Kingdom had climbed to approximately 22 percent. An Arab Barometer poll showed that 63 percent of Jordanians between the ages of 18–29 were considering emigrating due to economic woes, a higher percentage than nearly insolvent Lebanon and conflict-ridden Iraq. On the

Conflict Israel Middle East Security & Defense

Corruption has long been a favorite weapon in Vladimir Putin’s arsenal. He used it extensively against Ukraine over a number of years to help prepare the ground for the full-scale invasion of February 2022. The Russian leader now appears to be employing the same weaponized corruption tactics honed earlier in Ukraine to undermine Europe and

Among the benefits that come with military service, military retirement pay is often at the top of the list. Even better, military retirements enjoy protection from inflation through annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). Let’s look at what makes up military retirement pay. Then we’ll cover why it’s important, and how to make the most

According to senior military officials and independent analysis by the Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC), which provides data to the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, most attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used in the world today originate from Iran. Notably, the GTTAC data do not include Iranian drones used by Russia as part of