When we talk about “peace through strength,” the strength side of the equation usually gets the most attention. But before we can determine how to best build and exercise strength, we first must be clear about what we mean by peace, particularly when it comes to China. A peace that has to be compelled through strength alone is not harmonious or even stable. And as much as some may wish, there is not and will never be a decent peace with the Chinese Communist Party...

It serves America well to partner with committed countries — Alliances play a critical role helping to insulate the United States from aggression, multiply our military and economic capabilities, and provide a platform to promote American interests and principles. True partnerships with likeminded nations committed to their own defense, fair and reciprocal economic partnerships, and a free and open international system are unique strategic advantages the United States wields over adversaries like China and Russia.

Read our latest primer for how alliances benefit America militarily, economically, and ideologically.

Energy security is national security — Our campaign against Iran has revealed a critical lesson for U.S. grand strategy: that the United States must achieve energy dominance to ensure affordable, reliable energy at home while also leveraging energy as a strategic asset during geopolitical crises like this one. Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former member of the White House National Energy Dominance Council, and Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board member, joins Vandenberg Flash Focus to discuss energy as it relates to Iran and U.S. grand strategy more broadly.

Terrorists Have Taken Over Iran — Now What? — TVC Chairman Elliott Abrams | National Review | May 18, 2026

Recognition that Iran is run by a terrorist group means beginning to treat it as it deserves — as an outlaw — and beginning to show real solidarity with those who suffer most under it, the Iranian people. The United States showed the way in 2006 by refusing to look away from a transition in power to Hamas in Gaza and continue business as usual. Like the Hamas takeover in 2006, the IRGC takeover of 2026 is a major event that will change Iran’s future and has already changed the Middle East. Policy toward Iran by every nation that claims to oppose terrorism should now change as well.

How To Accomplish U.S. Objectives in Iran — TVC Governance Board Member Michael Singh | The Washington Institute | May 14, 2026

President Trump may worry that a minimalist deal with Iran would be pilloried as a failure, but such a deal should not be viewed in isolation. Rather, it would reflect a transition in the primary U.S. means to address its full array of concerns with Iran. When taken together with other American and Israeli efforts of the past two years, President Trump could credibly claim to have hobbled Iran’s nuclear program, severely degraded its missile, drone, and proxy forces, restored UN sanctions and the international prohibition against Tehran’s uranium enrichment, and decimated the Iranian leadership—while reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Why Xi Invoked the Thucydides Trap — Aaron MacLean | The Free Press | May 14, 2026

Xi’s deployment of the Thucydides Trap at the summit was no friendly expression of a shared desire for peace. It was an entirely unsubtle warning, and even a threat. It is no mystery why Xi Jinping has eagerly embraced Graham Allison’s theory, given how it involves the inevitability of China’s rise and the urgent necessity for America to accommodate it. It is all but the perfect tool of information warfare for targeting an elite American audience—hence Xi’s invocation of it.

Middle East & Gulf

Elliott Abrams: (with Aaron MacLean) (podcast) The New Middle Eastern Balance of Power

Michael Allen: (media) Iran Won’t Budge Without ‘Hard Power’

Behnam Ben Taleblu: (media) Iranian Regime Weaponizes Its Citizens | (media) How Will the China Summit Affect the Iran Conflict?

Bonnie Glick: The Humanitarian Aid Machine Cannot Be Bamboozled by Gaza

Clifford May: Mr. President, Here’s Your Next Iran Speech | (media) Trump Says Xi Offered To Help Broker Iran Deal

Mick Mulroy: (media) What Led Trump To Postpone Iran Strikes

Danielle Pletka: No, We’re Not Losing in Iran… Yet

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Defense & Homeland Security

Mackenzie Eaglen: Iran Destroyed 42 U.S. Military Aircraft in Operation Epic Fury: Lessons Must Be Learned

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China & Indo-Pacific

Joseph Bosco: Trump Should Turn the Tables on Xi’s Taiwan Threats

Victor Cha: (media) Xi Laying Down ‘Red Line in the Sand’ by Warning Trump About Taiwan

David Feith: (media) Taiwan Holds the Key to AI Supremacy in Escalating U.S.-China Rivalry

Jamil Jaffer: (media) This Is the ‘Challenge’ in Trump-Xi Talks

Seth Jones: (media) Xi Jinping’s Warning to Trump Over Taiwan at Beijing Summit

Matthew Kroenig & Michael Pillsbury: (radio) Reciprocity or War? Inside Trump’s 2-Hour Private Meeting With President Xi

Mark Montgomery: Taiwan Is a ‘Model Ally,’ Not Trade Bait | (podcast) Hellscape Taiwan: Drones, Deterrence, and the Future of Asymmetric Defense | (media) Taiwan Is a Critical and Model Ally

Mick Mulroy: (media) What Trump Achieved in Beijing | (media) How Iran, Taiwan Factor Into U.S.-China Summit

Michael Pillsbury: (media) The Left-Wing Media Coverage of the Trump-Xi Summit Was ‘Outrageous’ | (media) Chinese President Xi Issues Warning to Trump About Taiwan | (media) This Was a ‘Stunningly Successful’ First Day

Matt Pottinger: (media) What Does the Future Hold for Taiwan?

Craig Singleton: Trump Plays a Dangerous Game, Bargaining With Taiwan’s Defense | (with Duncan Lazarow) China Is Preparing for a Robot-Led Taiwan Invasion

Michael Sobolik: Defeating Red China

Dan Twining: (with Chris Olsen) Taiwan and the Future of Freedom

Roger Zakheim: (with Michael Stanton) President Trump’s Leverage in Beijing | (media) China Aspired To Be a ‘Geopolitical Heavyweight’

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Europe & Russia

Colin Dueck: Why Donald Trump Should Let European Nationalists Be Nationalists | What the Elections in the UK and Hungary Mean for U.S. Conservatives

Rebeccah Heinrichs: Strengthen NATO, Don’t Wreck It

Mick Mulroy: (media) Ukraine Launches Deadly Attack on Moscow As War Drags On

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Western Hemisphere

Michael Allen: (media) DOJ Reportedly Seeks Raúl Castro Indictment Over 1996 Plane Shootdown

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Democracy, Human Rights, & Humanitarian Assistance

Patrick Quirk: Why We Need Non-Military Tools To Keep Americans Safe and Secure

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Economic Power & Trade

Kelly Ann Shaw: (media) Canada-U.S. “Friction Has To Do With Messaging”

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