Vital Interests
This is the archive page for Vital Interests, which is no longer actively sending. Once each week, Thomas Joscelyn, who is sought out by the nation’s top foreign policy and national security policymakers, sent a deeply researched but highly readable analysis of American power on the world stage.
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What We Know—and Don’t Know—About ISIS-K
The group has claimed responsibility for the bombing outside the Kabul airport.
No, Mr President. Al-Qaeda Is Not ‘Gone’ From Afghanistan.
The Taliban has freed many al-Qaeda fighters in jailbreaks. And then there’s the Haqqani Network.
The Taliban Has a Military Solution for Afghanistan
As the State Department pays lip service to a ‘political settlement’ between the insurgents and Kabul, the Taliban is closing in on provincial capitals.
Turkey Continues to Harbor and Sponsor Extremists
New sanctions on Turkey remind us of the country's unsavory connections to the terrorist underworld.
Xi’s Broken Promises on Cybersecurity
He vowed in 2015 that his government would not support cybercrime. He never intended to honor that commitment.
How Iranian Intelligence Hunts Down Dissidents While Protecting Al-Qaeda
Court documents show that the regime has long been trying to kidnap an Iranian journalist living in Brooklyn.
Xi Jinping Doesn’t Want to Admit He’s an Autocrat
His rhetoric is a mishmash of different concepts, some directly at odds with one another.
The Situation in Afghanistan Is Much Worse Than You Realize
The U.S. military is downplaying the Taliban’s gains, and the U.S. and U.N. are pretending there is a viable peace process.
What Happened at the Biden-Putin Summit? Not Much.
The two discussed Afghanistan, cyberattacks, and more.
What to Expect From the Biden-Putin Summit
Biden wants ‘stable and predictable’ relations with Russia. Is that possible?
Al-Qaeda Is Still in Afghanistan, and It’s Fighting for Victory
The problem with Joe Biden’s ‘over the horizon’ strategy for fighting terrorism.
Only the Chinese Communist Party Knows the Origins of the COVID Pandemic
And it has been withholding, deflecting, and obfuscating the entire time.
The Taliban and Al-Qaeda Are Closing In on Afghanistan’s Provincial Capitals
Plus, the Biden administration designates Iranian-backed Houthi leaders as terrorists.
What We’re Learning About China’s Use of Social Media for Propaganda
A new report shows how much CCP diplomats are using Facebook and Twitter. But we don’t know how effective those efforts are.
