Dave Patterson: Sudan Remains the Most Under-Reported Foreign Policy Crisis

Thousands have been killed, and there looks like no end to it.

Headlines and major stories focus on the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Iran, and what appears to be a growing tariff dispute with Canada. There’s another deadly international conflict, however, that the American media has barely covered: the civil war in Sudan. The fighting has been going on for nearly four years and has claimed a reported 59,000 lives – probably an estimate on the low side. Furthermore, secondary consequences include more than 13 million people being displaced and enormous areas of Sudan suffering famine.

Dave Patterson: Where Does the US Stand With Iran?

President Trump has let it be known that he is not putting up with Tehran’s negotiating games. In response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) surprise attack, launching numerous ballistic missiles at American military facilities in Jordan on Tuesday night (July 28), America’s commander-in-chief said the strikes would be answered with ferocity. All incoming missiles were intercepted, and no damage was done, nor were US service members killed or injured. What the attack did accomplish, however, was to motivate the US president to act decisively. As Fox News reported: “The United States resumed airstrikes inside Iran Wednesday night in retaliation for Tehran’s attempted surprise ballistic-missile attack on American forces, as an Iran expert warned that the regime has become increasingly willing to test Washington despite its weakened military capabilities.”

Dave Patterson: Can the US Fight Iran and the Houthis at the Same Time?

The Iran-sponsored Houthis, a Yemeni militant terrorist organization, control much of northern Yemen and remain a persistent problem in the Middle East. Houthis are engaged in regional upheaval using asymmetric attacks, including cruise missiles, drones, anti-ship missiles, and general maritime harassment. On July 20, the Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi oil exports from Yanbu, located halfway up the western Saudi Arabian coast along the Red Sea, through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the Gulf of Aden. Saudi officials have pledged to protect their shipping. Will the United States get dragged into this conflict? That is the question.

Dave Patterson: Are the Baltic States Ripe for a Russian Invasion?

Poland and the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia believe they are the targets of Russian hybrid warfare. Russia is, in fact, at war with these countries, each of which has an eastern border ripe for an invasion similar to that which took place in April 2014 in the Ukrainian Donbas region and Crimea. Prior to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Kremlin troops in February 2022, Russia carried out a campaign of disinformation, sabotaging Ukrainian infrastructure and cyberattack operations.

Dave Patterson: China Rapidly Building Missile Launching Pads

China is preparing to deploy its own Golden Dome. Satellite photographs show a network of air defense missile launch pads designed to protect Beijing’s intercontinental ballistic missile silos from a nuclear first strike. When your enemy begins to ensure that its offensive nuclear capability is protected, it is confirmation that the US's massive missile defense program has some validity.

Dave Patterson: North Korea Quietly Menacing as the World Watches Iran

Though headlines around the world are focusing on Iran’s conflicts in the Middle East, North Korea has been quietly up to mischief in the Indo-Pacific. North Korea has taken the opportunity to carry out multiple missile tests while the attention of most of the world is on the Middle East and Ukraine. Additionally, North Korea is strengthening its military and diplomatic ties to Russia and China in order to portray itself as a world power with which to be reckoned.

Dave Patterson: Iran Is Out of Time

President Donald Trump has run out of patience with Iran. In an abrupt turn, the US president canceled a planned trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet with an Iranian negotiating team to attempt to find an end to the Iran conflict. It has become clear that Tehran is using the meetings to simply string the US along, and now Trump has had enough. So, as things stand, the US controls the Arabian Gulf, and Iran does not.

Dave Patterson: Technology Theft - How American Tech Keeps Showing up in China

On Wednesday, April 22, the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony on the topic “Stealth Stealing: China’s Ongoing Theft of US Innovation.” Witnesses included Mark Cohen, Senior Fellow at the University of Akron Law School's Intellectual Property Institute; Tom Lyons, Co-Founder of the 2430 Group; and Helen Toner, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University. The issues included blatant theft of US technology and intellectual property, as well as intense competition with China for dominance in the field of artificial intelligence. And this theft by the CCP is nothing new.

Dave Patterson: Sudan Civil War - A Horrendous Human Crisis

While the world’s attention has been captured by the Iran conflict and the Russian-Ukrainian war, lives are being lost at a horrendous rate in Northeast Africa. The Sudan civil war is entering its fourth year with no end in sight. Sides have been established, and fighting is continuous and brutal. The losers have been hundreds of thousands of hapless Sudanese caught in the middle.

War Continues in Sudan

Dave Patterson: Big Risks, Big Rewards for Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade

When the talks between the US and Iran failed, the Trump administration took direct action. The United States Navy will establish a traditional blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, preventing transit into or out of the waterway. Historically, blockades are seldom used, since they require a significant number of naval resources to be effective. When they are used successfully, however, they make a difference. “Throughout the history of warfare and into the present, blockading continues to prove itself one of the most effective ways of pressuring an enemy,” observed Army Major Joshua Howard in his monograph, From Napoleon to Netanyahu: Blockading Through Two Centuries.

American Blockade – A Rare But Effective Choice

Dave Patterson: Is Putting Troops on the Ground in Iran a Good Idea?

As the conflict in Iran continues, a debate is ongoing as to whether the US should put combat troops on the ground in Iran. Naysayers claim such an escalation is unnecessary and puts ground forces at risk. Those who favor the action are as resolute that without soldiers occupying Iranian real estate, there is no winning. Both positions are at opposite poles of the argument. Those against envision an invasion force storming the beaches and airdropping from the skies with enormous casualties. Those in favor believe that there is no opportunity to bring the Tehran government to submission without significant US forces on the ground. Neither position is necessarily right.

Dave Patterson: Is an End to the Iran War in Sight?

The raining of bombs, missiles, and other munitions from the skies onto Iran that began in February is in its fourth week. Following exhaustive talks, the United States and Israel had had enough, and on Feb. 28, they began an air assault, which has systematically and relentlessly destroyed the rogue country’s leadership, governing structure, air defenses, navy, and ballistic missile, drone, and cruise missile capability. Now, there may be an end in sight.

Dave Patterson: Trump Wants Help Securing the Strait of Hormuz

Securing and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is a key objective of the war against Iran. It’s a big job that requires the suppression of Iranian anti-ship missiles and drones and the destruction of Iran’s capability to produce more such weapons. Though the United States is capable of doing the job, other countries, particularly those in Europe and NATO, have an interest in ensuring the strait remains secure. Consequently, President Donald Trump is asking for assistance in protecting ships transiting the Hormuz Strait. Initially, he received a cool reception.

Dave Patterson: Are Air Attacks on Iran Seriously Depleting US Munitions?

The war in Iran erupted nine days ago, and as the US continues hammering the Middle Eastern nation with air strikes, many are wondering if such attacks are depleting US military supplies. The short answer is no. Even with the massive amount of munitions being expended on ground targets inside Iran and in air defense against Iranian ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles, the US is not running out of ordnance. But US forces are phasing in certain types of munitions where stockpiles are plentiful, suggesting good stewardship of air combat capabilities.

Dave Patterson: The Time for Talk Is Over - US, Israel Strike Iran and Kill Khamenei

The time for substantive talks between the US and Iran has come and gone. At 1:15 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, the US and Israel launched a massive airstrike against targets in Iran. Operation Epic Fury was the American name for the attack, while Israel’s code name was Roaring Lion. Unlike similar strikes in the past, Iran’s senior leadership was targeted, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a Truth Social post, President Trump announced: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead.” The objective was to decapitate Iran’s leadership immediately in order to provide the Iranian citizens the freedom to rise up against a leaderless government. Much of that job now appears to be done.

Talks With Iran Were Going Nowhere

Dave Patterson: Venezuela After Socialism

What will the United States do to ensure there is no Maduro redux?

Smoldering buildings and destroyed military vehicles — the targets of US air attacks in the early-morning hours of January 3 — are the only evidence remaining that American military forces had swooped in and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. That may be a problem. Without a strong US presence on the ground in Caracas and throughout Venezuela, can a government emerge that will be democratically constituted, cordial to the United States, and focused on ridding the country of transnational organized crime and terrorism, and the likes of Hezbollah? These are the challenges to be faced in the next few months.

An Opportunity for Venezuela

Dave Patterson: China Ends 2025 With Large Provocation

As the calendar year 2025 ended, China conducted one of its most provocative exercises, threatening Taiwan. In the final days of December, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a joint training operation called Justice Mission 2025 in the Taiwan Strait and other waters surrounding Taiwan. This was the second such exercise that year, simulating a blockade of major Taiwanese ports to shut down transportation to the island as a prelude to an invasion. The first was called Strait Thunder-2025A, conducted April 1-2 of last year, and it had similar objectives.

China Is Stepping Up Its Taiwan Blockade Exercises

Dave Patterson: Hezbollah and Iran Narco-Terrorists on US Back Porch

Dangerous Middle East networks thrive in Central and South America.

If you thought that Hezbollah was just Israel’s problem, think again. Iran’s proxy and Iran are well established in America’s southern neighbor countries, and, without intervention by the United States, they are there to stay. A tropical islet in northeast Venezuela called Margarita Island – also known as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “Terror Island” – is a safe haven for Hezbollah and Iranian operatives. They move freely, participating in narco-terrorism, human trafficking, money laundering, terrorist training, and arms trafficking.

Dave Patterson: The Greatest Threat in Western Hemisphere? Transnational Terrorists

The single largest threat to the US in the Western Hemisphere is transnational terrorist criminal organizations, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This point of view is consistent with the US National Security Strategy that places the Western Hemisphere, America’s backyard, as a priority for geostrategic emphasis. To that end, the Trump administration has adopted a robust and many-faceted set of actions to address the threat.

Dave Patterson: When Putin Visits India, the White House Pays Attention

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has developed a fragile relationship with India as a counterweight to China and Russia. So the White House watched closely when Russian President Vladimir Putin joined Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit to assess what strategic agreements the two leaders had forged.