USA Archives - Page 2 of 21 - Robert Lansing Institute

Probability of a U.S. strike on Iran (late Jan 2026)

What’s pushing the probability up Visible military posture shift: reporting over the past week describes a major U.S. buildup—carrier presence and additional air assets—plus multi-day U.S. aerial exercises in the region under CENTCOM. …

January 28, 2026Iran, Russia, USA

Geopolitics

Russia Revives Its Security Partnership with Syria After Assad’s Fall

Russia is rebuilding its security partnership with Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime and the rise to power of Ahmed al-Sharaa. Despite an initial cooling of relations, Moscow…

January 20, 2026Russia, Syria, USA

Estimates Geopolitics Governance

Trump’s Policies and Politics of Permanent Crisis

Coercion, Credibility, and a Strategic Disconnect in U.S. Foreign Policy The Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy posture toward Mexico, Iran, Cuba, and Denmark reflects a governing logic built around coercion as policy,…

January 19, 2026Cuba, Greenland, Iran, Mexico, USA

Governance

Senior U.S. Cyber Operator Removed from Russia Task Force: Reasons, drivers, and operational consequences for U.S. cyber posture toward Moscow

The removal “for cause” of Air Force Lt. Col. Jason Gargan—commander of a CNMF joint task force aligned against Russia—signals an unusually sharp leadership rupture inside the Pentagon’s elite cyber…

January 15, 2026CNMF, Cyberattacks, USA

Intelligence ops Warfare

Pentagon Acquisition of a Suspected “Havana Syndrome” Device: Evidence Convergence, Russian Signatures, and the GRU’s Directed-Energy Playbook

New CNN reporting indicates that the U.S. Department of Defense—via a covert procurement involving Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)—acquired and tested a portable device believed by some investigators to be linked…

January 14, 2026GRU, Havana Syndrome, Russia, USA

Geopolitics

Moscow’s “Greenland” Provocation: How Russia Raises the Political Cost of the U.S. Arctic Strategy

Dmitry Medvedev’s statements should be viewed as an instrument of information pressure designed to destabilize the U.S. position by imposing a toxic Greenland-related agenda on Washington. Russia is reframing the…

January 14, 2026Greenland, Russia, USA

Drug trafficking Governance National Security Warfare

Trump’s Threats to “Hit Land” in Mexico: Escalation Logic, Operational Limits, and Political Effects

In early January 2026, President Donald Trump signaled that the U.S. would begin “hitting land” against drug cartels, asserting that cartels are “running Mexico,” and suggesting that military action could…

January 9, 2026Mexico, USA

- Geopolitics Nonproliferation

Strategic Asymmetry Before New START Expiry: How Russia Is Weaponizing Transparency Collapse in the Nuclear Domain

Russia’s actions are generating a critical situation of strategic asymmetry in the nuclear domain on the eve of the expiration of the New START Treaty, scheduled for 5 February 2026. Since 2023, Moscow’s suspension…

January 9, 2026nuclear weapons, Russia, USA

Geoeconomics National Security

The Graham Sanctions Bill: Strategic Escalation Against Russia’s Shadow Economy

What the Lindsey Graham Sanctions Bill Is—and What It Signals The sanctions initiative associated with Lindsey Graham represents a qualitative escalation in U.S. economic warfare against Russia. Unlike earlier sanctions rounds that focused primarily…

January 8, 2026Russia, Sanctions, USA

Intelligence ops National Security Propaganda and Disinformation

Patrick Egan’s Media Ecosystem: Orbán’s Anglosphere Weapon and Its Convergence With Russian Interests

Over the past decade, Patrick Egan has emerged as a central node in Viktor Orbán’s international media strategy. An American strategist and media advisor, he is now widely identified as a key Anglosphere…

January 6, 2026Hungary, Russia, USA

USA