Dave Patterson

A measure named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham awaits the president's signature.

Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump made it clear that he believed it was in the United States' best interest to have a controlling presence in Greenland. He saw the island's immense strategic value in defending the Arctic. China and Russia have begun operating regularly above the Arctic Circle and have established their presence in many areas. Initially, President Trump spoke boldly about invading Greenland or otherwise owning the territory. These aspirations met significant pushback from Denmark. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphatically asserted: “Greenland is not for sale.” How times have changed.

Future air fights will be mostly battles of attrition. Whoever can field the largest number of air-to-air and air-to-ground assets will have the edge. That means many of those aircraft will be unmanned and semi-autonomous “loyal wingmen.” To that end, the US Air Force is banking on fielding what it calls the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCA.

Having one of America's adversaries on this close to home is not comforting. Beijing's presence in the Arctic is no secret – but it is a cause for concern.

Reports of invasion planning could point to the communist island nation. Recent media reporting raises the specter of armed conflict with Cuba.

On September 30, the last of America's combat troops and equipment left Iraq in an orderly and professional fashion. Operation Inherent Resolve was over, and for the US combat mission, it was “goodbye Iraq.”

Keeping the United States at the forefront of artificial intelligence is the objective.

Fighting in Yemen is not new. Conflict there can be traced back to the 2011 Arab Spring protests and street riots that removed President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power. Saleh was the president of unified Yemen for 22 years, succeeded by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who fared no better. Hadi faced political factions, a weakening economy, and the emergence of the Houthi terrorists, a Zaydi Shia religious movement in northern Yemen. The Houthis captured the capital of Sanaa in September 2014, taking over key institutions and forcing Hadi to flee. At Hadi's urging, in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition took on the Houthis with an air assault and a blockade, attempting to re-establish the recognized government. It was unsuccessful and left Yemen devastated.

Could a trilateral meeting create a longstanding peace? It has become increasingly evident that the war between Russia and Ukraine at its current pace is unsustainable.

The COVID-19 era was filled with bizarre Biden administration edicts such as wear masks, don't wear masks, wear two masks, don't stand closer than six feet from another person, close the schools, and numerous other government decrees. Perhaps the government-imposed diktats levied against America's armed forces were among the most injurious.