Image Source: Eurasianet The unrecognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is experiencing its first period of peace in nearly fifty years. The Taliban-run state now must balance its desire for good relations with its neighbors with its need to provide basic necessities like water to its citizens. While Afghanistan regularly courts the occasional Kazakh dignitary in … Continue reading A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Afghanistan

Image Source: National Geographic “You can’t fireproof the forest,” John Gould, former smokejumper and manager of the Alaska Fire Service, told me. There is simply too much land to manage and not enough people to devote to the task. In this resource-constrained environment, the United States’ response to wildfire has typically been reactive and ad … Continue reading Pyrophobia: Confronting a National Resistance to Proactive Fire Use

Image Source: Bloomberg The November 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco spurred renewed collaboration against the global fentanyl crisis. Notably, U.S. President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in separate bilateral meetings, intending to mend deteriorated diplomatic relations that in recent years hindered … Continue reading Fentanyl and National Security: How the Opioid Crisis Intersects with Foreign Relations

Image Source: U.S. Fire Administration Wildfire in the United States is reaching a crisis point. As global climate change continues, every fire season is becoming longer and drier. However, despite the growing risk, the United States still relies on old methods of firefighting and inefficient organizations to coordinate responses. To prepare for a fire-filled future, … Continue reading Burnt Out: Rethinking U.S. Wildfire Fighting Strategy