- The rise of ISIS underscores Washington's strategic drift in the Middle East. Robert Caruso argues forcefully for the benefits of intensive engagement with the Kurds.
- A glimpse into the Kurdish arms industry, which Australia is now effectively joining.
- 'Over a long enough time span, ISIS's members are pretty much screwed.'
- 'Australia’s core national interests aren’t threatened in Iraq', writes Allan Behm.
- Iraq air strikes a humanitarian operation? Statistics tell a different story.
- Kathleen McInnis identifies four key challenges NATO must face during its summit in Cardiff.
- The hidden costs of war: a ballpark calculation suggests the loss of GDP during the 1920s roughly doubled the total costs of World War I to Britain.
- The PLA Navy is finally making strides in undersea warfare.
- Huge collection of satellite photos, maps and videos explaining the Ukraine conflict.
- From the always excellent Russian Military Reform blog:
Given Russia’s superior military capabilities this is a war that Ukraine cannot win, at least not by military means. The alternatives are to make a deal with whatever terms are possible or to continue the struggle for a long time, hoping that inflicting a high cost on Russian forces will eventually turn Russians against their government’s adventure. The former will lead to the collapse of the Ukrainian government. The latter will take a very long time at best and result in huge numbers of civilian casualties.