Beyond the Water's Edge


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- Beyond the Water's Edge -

New Episode of The Vandenberg Coalition's "The Other Superpower" Series

Episode 3: China-Russia — The “No-Limits Friendship”

On the third episode of “The Other Superpower,” we dissect one of the most consequential partnerships between our adversaries to emerge in recent years: the relationship between China and Russia. These two powers are now as close as ever, as indicated by the “no-limits friendship” declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping weeks before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Rebeccah Heinrichs, Vandenberg Advisory Board Member and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative at Hudson Institute, and Mary Kissel, Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute and Executive Vice President at Stephens, join to discuss the implications of this partnership.

You can listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Honest Candor

Why Calling the Iran Strike ‘Iran’s Pearl Harbor’ is Dangerous

TVC Director of Government Affairs Anne Lord | 19FortyFive | July 1, 2025

Bottom Line: Pearl Harbor was a tragedy not because of the number of ships and aircraft lost, but because the surprise assault took the lives of many Americans. Not only is labeling significant attacks on a member of the axis of adversaries their “Pearl Harbor” an imperfect historical analogy, but it also fundamentally misunderstands how Americans think about Pearl Harbor. We should exercise great caution when using historical analogies from the American story to describe current events, as this may fundamentally alter America’s narrative.

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America’s Long Road From Osirak to Fordow

TVC Chairman Elliott Abrams | The Wall Street Journal | June 25, 2025

Bottom Line: The combination of dangers and experiences brought the United States to act on the principle presidents had enunciated decade after decade: Iran could never be permitted to build a nuclear weapon. This time, Israeli action wasn’t condemned or tacitly approved but followed and built on. Forty-four years after Israel was left to deal with the Iraqi nuclear threat alone, the Iranian nuclear-weapons program is in ruins thanks to America’s help.

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Where Was Xi Jinping in Iran’s Hour of Need?

TVC Advisory Board Member Craig Singleton | The Wall Street Journal | June 26, 2025

Bottom Line: China’s no-show in Tehran’s hour of need revealed the China-Russia-Iran axis for what it is: a grouping bound by grievance, not the capacity to fight together. With the cease-fire in effect, Washington should turn Israel’s tactical gains into strategic leverage. Tightening sanctions on the Chinese refiners, shippers and banks that bankroll Iran’s oil trade would drain Tehran’s reconstruction funds and lay bare that China underwrites Iran chiefly for cheap barrels, not commitment.

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Israel Hardly Controls America

Daniel Samet | Jewish News Syndicate | June 26, 2025

Bottom Line: Hyper-online conspiracists have a problem with the only Jewish state and its close relationship with America. They fixate on Jewish power, seeing Israeli Svengalis and Shylocks pulling the strings at every turn. The reality is far less conspiratorial. Israel has limited clout in Washington, as Trump’s recent actions show. Some would rather accuse the Israelis of setting U.S. policy than acknowledge that it’s much more accurate to say that it is the Americans who set Israeli policy.

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Trump Has Once-in-a-Century Opportunity in Africa

TVC Advisory Board Member Dan Runde | Newsmax | June 26, 2025

Bottom Line: With Beijing in retreat and multilaterals reengaged, President Donald Trump has the opportunity to stamp "Made in America" on the biggest energy build of the century. Done right, the Congo's Grand Inga Falls can uplift 1.5 billion Africans, create business opportunities for American firms, secure mineral supply chains, and tilt the balance of economic influence in a region where China has spent a decade deepening its footprint through the Belt and Road Initiative.

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