Beyond the Water's Edge


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- Beyond the Water's Edge -

Peace Through Sanctions

As Russia continues its brutal assault against Ukraine, one thing has become unmistakably clear—Vladimir Putin does not want peace. Putin continues to obstruct efforts to reach a negotiated peace while drastically escalating attacks against Ukrainian civilians, even as Russia only is achieving menial gains in territory and suffering significant casualties. The Kremlin’s war machine is sustained by the substantial revenue Russia reaps from its vast oil and gas supply, revenue primarily coming from China and India. By expanding and enforcing U.S. sanctions against Russian energy exports, an approach supported by Trump voters, the United States can impose real and meaningful financial costs for Putin’s intransigence and force Russia to take peace negotiations seriously. Read our latest primer outlining the case for increased sanctions against Russia here.

Vandenberg Flash Focus

Ep. 44 | The Right's 1939 Project

A small but loud faction of the New Right has attempted to hijack the conservative movement to normalize age-old hatreds, conspiracies about U.S. national security, and historical revisionism. Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns felt by many Americans who serve as their audience and lead to us to embrace the better angels of our nature, this faction seeks to shackle Americans to their current lot in life and fill them with rage, a sense of victimhood, and a target for their blame: the globalists, the elites, the Jews, and the United States. Rebeccah Heinrichs, Vandenberg Advisory Board member, Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute, and author of the landmark article "The Right’s 1939 Project," joins Flash Focus to discuss the concerning growth of this movement, its origins, and how we can push back against these narratives.

Honest Candor

How to Force Russia to the Negotiating Table

TVC Senior Policy Director Corban Teague | The National Interest | July 23, 2025

Bottom Line: In order to bring Russia to the negotiating table and stop Putin’s needless violence, President Trump should pursue a “peace through sanctions” strategy. Russia has reoriented its economy to fight this war, creating financial incentives for influential people and industries to support Putin’s continued brutality. Reversing these financial incentives is a critical leverage point to force Putin to take peace negotiations seriously. If peace in Ukraine is to have a shot, now is the time for President Trump to drop the sanctions hammer.

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Confronting the Iranian Regime Helps the Women It Oppresses

TVC Director of Government Affairs Anne Lord | National Review | July 18, 2025

Bottom Line: It is true that the women of Iran don’t need saving. They have shown in the face of grave peril that they are strong and resilient. Yet Israeli and American efforts to degrade the military, nuclear, and oppressive capabilities of Iranian regime demonstrate solidarity with the nation’s oppressed women. Attempts to portray them differently have little to do with the supporting Iranian women and far more to do with pushing anti-Israeli and American narratives.

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The Right’s 1939 Project

TVC Advisory Board Member Rebeccah Heinrichs | The Free Press | July 16, 2025

Bottom Line: While Donald Trump reaffirms the principles that underpinned his first term, he is increasingly out of step with a critical constellation of right-wing influencers, podcasters, and contrarian intellectuals. For them, America’s history as a global superpower is morally suspect, if not outright criminal. For now, the people behind the 1939 Project have increasing cultural power online, but on policy outcomes, they are losing. What remains entirely uncertain is whether Republican leaders will have the courage to see what’s unfolding in front of their eyes, and then the courage to publicly and loudly reject it.

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Iran Is Out to Assassinate Trump

TVC Advisory Board Member Behnam Ben Taleblu & Saeed Ghassminejad | The Wall Street Journal | July 17, 2025

Bottom Line: Not a day goes by in which Iranian religious or political officials don’t threaten the life of President Trump. As long as the regime lives, so will the threat. Should Mr. Khamenei and his clerics outlast or outlive the Trump administration, the fate that befell Salman Rushdie may befall President Trump, and Tehran’s warrant of death will follow him.

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Tyrants Need Buffers: China Is Not a Monolith. That’s an Opportunity for the West.

TVC Advisory Board Member David Stilwell | Washington Examiner | July 18, 2025

Bottom Line: Rather than focus on China’s strengths in the Taiwan Strait and eastern seaboard, the buffer regions highlight the inherent weakness of an unpopular, authoritarian government. Disaffected groups inside China, and diaspora who fled annexation, like the Dalai Lama, and now sit just outside the western border, are looking for rhetorical and material support from the outside—and the United States should provide this support.

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