Beyond the Water's Edge

January brought new hope to freedom fighters around the world as the United States extracted Nicolás Maduro to face justice for his crimes against humanity and Iranian protestors organized to directly challenge the tyrannical regime in Tehran after 46 years of repression.

According to The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets—a new book by David Shedd and Andrew Badger—one critical but often overlooked explanation for China’s meteoric rise has been the scale, scope, and pace of its unprecedented state-sponsored espionage campaign.

2026 has started with a bang. Some good, some bad, but it has not been dull: The stunning success of Operation Absolute Resolve. Greenland. Phase 2 of the President’s Gaza Peace Plan. The Board of Peace floated as a potential alternative to the United Nations.

While all eyes were focused on the Western Hemisphere two weeks ago, many have begun to look back eastward to Iran. In what appear to be the largest protests in the history of the Islamic Republic, Iranians of all backgrounds and ages have flooded the streets.

For the debut episode of our new video series “The Beacon of Liberty: 250 Years of American Foreign Policy,” we highlight a speech that changed the course of U.S. foreign policy: Senator Arthur Vandenberg’s “Speech Heard Round the World.”

It has been quite the week for those of us who have spent most of the last few years focused on Venezuela. Operation Absolute Resolve was a resounding success for American military might and justice – and a clear warning to America’s adversaries that our will and capability remain the best in the world.

Shortly after President Trump was inaugurated, I gave a presentation at the Special Competitive Studies Project on China. The President’s decision on TikTok, I argued, would be a bellwether for his broader approach towards China.

The Vandenberg Coalition was pleased to host Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI) for an on-the-record discussion about his views on the Future of Conservative Foreign Policy. How pervasive is the Chinese Communist Party’s presence in the United States?

If you have been fortunate enough to spend time in the American West, it is very likely you’ve watched in wonder as the expansive wings of a red-tailed hawk glide across the never-ending blue sky. These majestic beasts are assertive, agile, and strong, fiercely defending their nests and territories.

Given last week’s holiday, let’s talk Turkey. Not the bird this time – the country. Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel for the first time since 2018, and unsurprisingly, the key theme was the future security of the Israeli state. While there was much discussion on Gaza and Hamas, another potential threat loomed in the background: Turkey.

As many in Washington seek to clarify President Trump’s objectives toward Venezuela, there is one leader whose vision needs no interpretation: Maria Corina Machado. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina recently outlined her “Freedom Manifesto”

For the fifth month in a row, The Vandenberg Coalition and GOP polling firm TargetPoint surveyed a sample of Trump voters to gauge their perspectives on salient foreign policy challenges. President Trump’s foreign policy remains very popular with his voters, but they especially approve when he takes tough action against our adversaries.

This week, I’ve been thinking about democracy. The reason we are such fierce defenders of a strong American foreign policy is because it ultimately defends our own nation — our sovereignty, our democracy, our values. What was the secret sauce that made our democracy so successful, when so many others have collapsed?

Earlier this month, Grace Jin Drexel received the heart-wrenching news that her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, was rounded up and detained as a part of the largest coordinated nationwide crackdown against an urban house church in over 40 years in China.

Last week, our hearts were lightened with the return of 20 living Israeli hostages who spent the previous 738 days under Hamas captivity. 738 days. An unimaginable horror. While much remains to secure a lasting peace in the Middle East…

For the fourth month in a row, The Vandenberg Coalition and GOP polling firm TargetPoint surveyed a sample of Trump voters between September 22–29 to assess their attitudes on the pressing foreign policy challenges…

Another shutdown. While it is true that one of the hardest lessons to learn in DC is that politics and policy are irrevocably linked, it is nevertheless disappointing to see when partisanship so clearly places party over country.

Last week, President Trump laid out his vision of American foreign policy – and his criticisms of the United Nations. While what most people will remember about the President’s speech is the escalator incident, the teleprompter, or the President’s colorful line that “all your countries are going to hell,”

The Vandenberg Coalition wishes a Shana Tova Umetukah to all of those observing Rosh Hashanah. May this year bring blessings of peace and security and serve as a celebration of the beauty and sweetness of life. Honest Candor will be back next week.

Today is Constitution Day. 238 years ago, our founders signed the document that enshrined within it both our contemporary system of governance and the rights we continue to hold dear.

As international leaders gather once again in New York to cosplay diplomacy at the UN General Assembly, it’s an opportune moment to reflect on the history – and the future of the international system. President Trump has been accused of breaking the “rules-based liberal international order,” but in truth his actions have simply highlighted that order broke long ago.

While President Trump rightly promised toughness against our leading adversary – with some even worrying the focus on China would be so all-consuming it would exclude confronting other challenges abroad – so far it feels more like a rapprochement. Just within the past few weeks, we have seen the White House create an official TikTok account

This special edition highlights recent national security books by Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board members, covering U.S. foreign policy, military strategy, China, nuclear deterrence, Israel, and global challenges shaping today’s strategic debates.

After the Reagan administration, the issue of human rights has come to be captured and dominated by the left, with it now being seen as largely synonymous with progressive policy preferences rather than the fundamental rights that align with our founding principles. Some on the right are now highly skeptical of whether human rights as an issue can be salvaged.

Trump voters overwhelmingly back “Peace Through Strength,” with strong support for U.S. global dominance, sanctions on Russia, and military aid to Israel. Additional features highlight TikTok’s risks and foreign policy commentary.

With the future of the global order hinging on the outcome of today’s great power competition, a group of multi-aligned states has emerged with a growing ability to influence the outcome of this competition. Effectively engaging these ‘global swing states’ will be essential if the United States is to succeed in preserving an international order that favors American interests and principles.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge highlights strategies for confronting authoritarian threats—urging stronger sanctions on Russia, exposing Iranian regime brutality, and warning against revisionist movements on the American right.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge spotlights North Korea’s alliance with anti-American powers, evolving UN reform debates, and escalating threats from China and Iran — with expert insight and commentary throughout.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge explores polling on Trump’s foreign policy base, Iran’s covert threats in the Americas, U.S. strategic mineral policy, and the shifting dynamics of global alliances.

In this week’s Beyond the Water’s Edge, experts unpack China and Russia’s deepening “no-limits” partnership, assess U.S. strikes on Iran, and explore strategic shifts across the Middle East and Africa.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge analyzes U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, evaluates the risks of premature celebration, and explores vulnerabilities exposed by allied operations against Russian and Iranian assets.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge examines Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, its strategic impact on Iran’s nuclear program, evolving Iran-China ties, and what Washington must learn from this moment.

This edition of Beyond the Water’s Edge explores Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, China-Qatar ties, Taiwan’s defense, and why U.S. policymakers must stay vigilant in deterring global threats and authoritarian expansion.

For the debut episode of “The Other Superpower,” we analyze the fast-evolving relationship between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Though historically foes, these two nations have moved steadily closer over the last 20 years.

President Trump’s eventful trip to the Middle East marked the first major international visit of his second term, featuring stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Framing the visit as a break from the legacy of the so-called “nation-builders” he has long derided, President Trump returned to Washington

The support of the United States for liberty and human rights isn’t a problem that needs to be solved or a weakness in our relations with other nations. It’s an asset, and so understood by our enemies as well as our friends.

Reflecting on V-E Day’s legacy, this edition explores the enduring threat of authoritarian regimes, instability in Haiti, and U.S. strategic challenges with China, Russia, and Iran under Trump’s leadership.

Last week, The Vandenberg Coalition hosted a discussion with Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) as part of our Future of Conservative Foreign Policy series. Senator Banks, current member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and former Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed

As the rogue Iranian regime charges forward in their quest to produce a nuclear weapon, the United States needs to respond with a tough and principled approach during the current negotiations. Repeating the same mistakes as the Obama Administration

President Trump is pursuing a deal with Iran while it is at its weakest strategic point in decades. Its proxies—Hamas and Hezbollah—have been decimated by Israel. Sunni states, like Saudi Arabia, are readying for normalization with the Jewish state

As tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait following China’s latest round of large-scale military exercises, questions surrounding Taiwan’s defense readiness and deterrence in the region are once again front and center. Beijing claims these drills are a “severe warning”

Since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has frequently been mentioned as a good candidate to govern Gaza when the war ends.

While China could grow its influence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) over the course of the next four years, there are four principal reasons to cast doubt on this emerging narrative, at least in the short to medium term.

Emboldened by its patron, Iran, Houthi drone and missile attacks have disrupted international shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023. In response, the Trump administration has launched a series of “decisive and powerful” airstrikes against the Houthis, with President Trump declaring that any future Houthi attack will be treated as an attack

The independence of the Dalai Lama’s country has not survived, but his leadership has ensured that its people, culture, and religion have remained visible—crying out against oppression, demanding attention, and seeking only peaceful support

The Arab plan adopted on a March 4 Summit in Cairo, which has no answer to the threat of Hamas, instead uses a hundred pages to take us back to pretty pictures of Arab architecture, nice charts and maps,

To America’s detriment, policy makers have neglected the challenges facing the U.S. Department of Defense. From the military recruitment crisis to persistently inadequate defense budgets, the Pentagon finds itself without…

On February 7-9 2025, the Vandenberg Coalition worked with award-winning polling company J.L. Partners to survey 1,017 registered voters on their views on the controversial Chinese app, TikTok. As Trump’s search for a deal continues, the American public’s views are clear:

Trump has wonderfully challenged the Arab view of Gaza as central to the “steadfastness” needed against the Zionist enemy, and he has rightly called it inhuman. In fact, he has jettisoned the view that the most important thing about Gaza is its role in the “two-state solution” that will produce a new sovereign state of Palestine alongside Israel. It’s fanciful, and very, very unlikely.

For two decades, what American policymakers have called “stability” has meant the preservation of the situation in which Gaza was entirely under Hamas control, Hezbollah dominated Lebanon,

The Vandenberg Coalition has been an active voice in favor of preserving American security since our founding in 2021. There is no greater national security threat than the Chinese Communist Party

The Vandenberg Coalition assembled a working group of Middle East experts to identify critical policy recommendations for the new administration to strengthen U.S. policy towards the Middle East and place that policy squarely in line with America’s interests.

Despite the high-minded and noble ideas upon which they were founded, multilateral institutions like the United Nations have been hijacked by actors adversarial to the United States, such as China, Russia, Iran, and terrorist organizations.

On Friday, January 10th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for TikTok Inc. and ByteDance v. Merrick Garland. The Vandenberg Coalition is proud to have commissioned an amicus brief in support of the U.S. government’s effort against TikTok’s attempt to challenge

The right path forward for the new Trump administration is not to give in to Iranian and Houthi attacks by removing our troops from Iraq and Syria, nor by removing the U.S. Navy from international waters in the Middle East — the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.