James Kitfield

Stories by James Kitfield

As Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, the big question is if China’s ‘fire’ rhetoric is just hot air

As Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, the big question is if China’s ‘fire’ rhetoric is just hot air
As Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, the big question is if China’s ‘fire’ rhetoric is just hot air

Pelosi’s visit is happening at a sensitive time for Xi. The party leadership is meeting this week at a resort in advance of the party congress due to be held this fall. Xi has made “reunification” with the island state a keystone of his rule.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created NATO’s watershed moment

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created NATO’s watershed moment
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created NATO’s watershed moment

A former chairman of the joint chiefs and two former supreme allied commanders of NATO, among others, lay out how it has come to the point Russia felt it could invade Ukraine.

Afghanistan: The Long, Painful Retreat

Afghanistan: The Long, Painful Retreat
Afghanistan: The Long, Painful Retreat

“I think the countries to the north of Afghanistan such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are also going to be worried about the flows of refugees and perhaps fighters to the north. All of them will see what happens after we leave, how the United States postures itself, and then they’ll decide what to do,” Gen. McKenzie said this week.

Why Those 780 Top National Security Leaders Support Biden

Why Those 780 Top National Security Leaders Support Biden
Why Those 780 Top National Security Leaders Support Biden

Speaking publicly and in alarming terms about a partisan political issue does not come naturally to retired generals and former senior national security leaders. These public servants, many of them wartime commanders and leaders, are not given to histrionics or hyperbole. So when hundreds (it’s now up to 780)  of national security leaders – including 22 retired…

Profile: Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Maj. Thomas Patrick Payne

Profile: Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Maj. Thomas Patrick Payne
Profile: Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Maj. Thomas Patrick Payne

“Every man on the mission that night was engaged in their own unique problem set. My teammates were also looking for some way to liberate those hostages,” said Payne.

Will COVID-19 Kill The Liberal World Order?

Will COVID-19 Kill The Liberal World Order?
Will COVID-19 Kill The Liberal World Order?

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving the tectonic plates of great power competition, weakening the already wobbly international system. For a brief moment it seemed that the worst global pandemic in a century might lead to increased comity between the United States, China and Russia after years of geopolitical eye-gouging. As the virus spread there were…

America Adrift: ‘Bringing The World To Crisis”

America Adrift: ‘Bringing The World To Crisis”
America Adrift: ‘Bringing The World To Crisis”

The Trump administration has watered down U.S. global leadership to coercive deal-making. The dangerous contours of a world in crisis are now coming into stark relief.

Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order

Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order
Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order

The most profound change resulting from China’s military modernization has been in its space capabilities. Back in 2000 China only had 10 satellites in orbit, and this year it will launch more satellites than any other nation on the planet.

Sgt. Bellavia: Knife Fight In The House Of Broken Mirrors

Sgt. Bellavia: Knife Fight In The House Of Broken Mirrors
Sgt. Bellavia: Knife Fight In The House Of Broken Mirrors

The 29-year-old sergeant fought with gun, grenades, and knife in a dark house with sewage flooding the floor and broken mirrors glinting on the bullet-marked walls.

Red Flag 2019: First Great Power Air War Test In Years

Red Flag 2019: First Great Power Air War Test In Years
Red Flag 2019: First Great Power Air War Test In Years

How are Air Force pilots training for a war with Russia or China?

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?
The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

As President Trump pushes Beijing on trade and cyber espionage, the United States and China are on a collision course. The U.S. urgently needs a new strategy to avoid the traditional fate of rising and status quo powers: catastrophic war.

Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks

Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks
Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks

  Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, spoke last week with a small group of traveling reporters after attending a conference of NATO Military Chiefs in Warsaw, including Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield. Dunford described Russia’s strategy for pulling NATO apart and reiterated that Moscow poses the single greatest global threat to the UnIted…

NATO Ops Center Goes 24/7 To Counter Russians: Gen. Scaparrotti

NATO Ops Center Goes 24/7 To Counter Russians: Gen. Scaparrotti
NATO Ops Center Goes 24/7 To Counter Russians: Gen. Scaparrotti

NATO is dusting off Cold War concepts such as deterrence, rapid reinforcement and battle readiness as it faces a Russian destabilization campaign. Our contributor James Kitfield is traveling with Gen. James Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as the Marine general attends the NATO summit in Warsaw. Kitfield spoke with Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, about the Russian threat…

Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor

Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor
Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor

This week the White House will issue its second Medal of Honor in recent months for extreme valor in the Battle for Robert’s Ridge, recognizing one of the most intense and influential firefights of the post-9/11 era. It will be awarded posthumously to Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman. Sometimes at night they huddled over a…

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