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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping enter the hall during a signing ceremony on May 20, 2026, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)
Middle East
Middle East
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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Armed Taliban security personnel sit atop a Humvee armored vehicle as they ride along a street in Badakhshan on September 1, 2024. (Getty Images)
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin walks with China’s President Xi Jinping and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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USS Essex departs the Pride of California Dry Dock in San Diego, California, on September 8, 2023, following a maintenance period. (United States Navy)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent takes questions during a press conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC, on August 24, 2026. (Getty Images)
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An Iranian national flag waves on a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, on August 23, 2026. (Getty Images)
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A C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft is being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. for the US Navy’s E-130J program in Marietta, Georgia, on September 12, 2024. (DVIDS)
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A US sailor directs a Eurocopter AS-332 Super Puma on the flight deck of USS Abraham Lincoln during a replenishment-at-sea on August 16, 2026. (US Navy)
Experts
James Barnett
Research Fellow
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
