Randy Flay

Check out my latest article: Gap Analysis - 2026 Annual Threat Assessment vs. National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Strategy (NDS) & Defense/Foreign Ops Budget linkedin.com/pulse/gap-anal… via @LinkedIn

What are the global consequences of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran — and how does it end? @CarnegieCorp has rounded up must-read analyses from @CFR_org, @RANDCorporation, @CarnegieEndow & more. 🔗 Start here → lnkd.in/dNp3vEQe #Iran #InternationalSecurity #Geopolitics

📢 We're hiring! @CarnegieCorp is looking for a Senior Content Editor & Writer in NYC. 💰 $125K–$135K ✍️ Long-form, digital, print & social content 🎯 Focus areas: education, democracy & intl peace Apply + portfolio: lnkd.in/e5tHZKiz #hiring #communications #contentjobs

#FY26NDAA has been signed into law! Our team worked on this year’s package and once again delivered a successful NDAA that included eight of our sponsored bills. Learn more about this year’s NDAA below⬇️ bacon.house.gov/news/documents…

Russia will not choose peace without pressure, and negotiations do not absolve Congress of its duty to act. Today, I introduced the bipartisan Peace Through Strength Against Russia Act, joined by a broad bipartisan coalition of leaders—@RepGregoryMeeks, @RepDonBacon, @RepMikeTurner, @RepTomSuozzi, @RepMikeLawler, @RepStenyHoyer, @USRepKeating, and @RepMarcyKaptur—united in the belief that Congress must act decisively. This legislation turns diplomacy into decisive action: standing unequivocally with Ukraine, imposing real costs on Russia’s war machine, and making clear that aggression will never be normalized or rewarded. This isn’t just about ending one war. It’s about whether America still enforces the rules that keep peace possible. Peace. Through. Strength. 🔗 Read more: fitzpatrick.house.gov/2025/12/fitzpa…

The U.K. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee has published its first annual report since 2023. It does not make for reassuring reading. isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/upl…

"If we allow Russia to swallow sovereign Ukrainian territory, other nations are going to draw the obvious conclusion: they need nuclear weapons to be safe. That is a deterrence failure that we can’t afford." -@SenatorShaheen

The 2025 Reagan National Defense Survey captures Americans’ views on defense and deterrence at a critical moment. Across party lines, Americans agree on the importance of: 🇺🇸 Strong U.S. leadership on the world stage 🛰️ Military and technological overmatch 🌍 Supporting partners like Ukraine and Taiwan 🏭 A robust defense industrial base 🛡️ Investing in deterrence and homeland security 🤝 Strong alliances President Reagan’s enduring belief that American strength is essential to preserving peace and protecting freedom still resonates today with Americans of all stripes. Explore the full results >> reaganfoundation.org/reagan-institu…

The Wilson Center Research Fellowship Program is open. Ideal for mid-career scholars, practitioners, journalists, and public intellectuals advancing a major, nonpartisan research project. • Twelve-month fellowship • Monthly Stipend • Remote work with opportunities for visits to Washington • Collaboration with Wilson Center experts + Congressional education briefings. Deadline: January 16, 2026. Please share widely with your network! wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson…

@KobeissiLetter There’s never a free lunch.

BREAKING: President Trump says his new Fed Chair pick will be announced "early next year." US Treasury Secretary Bessent adds that "substantial tax refunds" are coming in Q1 2026. Rate cuts, tax refunds, and stimulus checks are coming. Own assets.

An important contribution by the @RealLifeLore22 team to understanding the roots and extent of the crisis in Sudan. Take a moment and tune in. The Worst Horror On Earth You Aren't Being Told About youtu.be/iMVGVJFyggY?si… via @YouTube

When it comes to foreign policy, while every generation is important, certain generations have lived on this earth during times that have proven to be much more critical to the preservation of world peace than others. We are currently at one of those inflection points—a critical fork in the road. So which path will we choose? In making our choice, we need not hypothesize as to which is the better path—history has already answered that question for us, time and time again. We can choose Peace Through Strength, or we can choose War Through Weakness. History has already recorded our predecessors’ choices. And history will now record ours.

This is a plan that actually makes sense.

U.S. and Russian officials have reportedly drafted a 28-point peace plan meant to end the war Russia started in Ukraine. In a recent article, Bush Institute Executive Director David J. Kramer writes: “The United States should not be discussing the future of U.S.-Russian relations while Russian missiles and drones continue to wreak havoc on Ukraine, killing innocent civilians and trying to freeze and force the population into submission with winter coming. “The 28-point plan should be dropped and replaced with a simple one-point plan: Russia, get out of Ukraine!” Read more: bushcenter.org/publications/e…

Statement by Ambassador Thomas J. Barrack, Jr. On the Historic Visit of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House This week marks a decisive turning point in the modern history of the Middle East - and in the remarkable transformation of Syria from isolation to partnership. I had the profound honor of accompanying Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House, where he became the first Syrian Head of State ever to visit since Syria gained its independence in 1946. President Trump on May 13th indicated he would remove all U.S. sanctions in order to give Syria a chance. In a warm and substantive meeting this week, President Donald J. Trump and President al-Sharaa reaffirmed a shared conviction: that the time has come to replace estrangement with engagement, and to give Syria -and its people- a genuine chance at renewal. I, together with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, witnessed in the Oval Office President al-Sharaa’s commitment to President Trump to join the D-ISIS coalition, which stands as a historic framework marking Syria’s transition from a source of terrorism to a counterterrorism partner - a commitment to rebuild, to cooperate, and to contribute to the stability of an entire region. Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC, Hamas, Hizballah, and other terrorist networks, and will stand as a committed partner in the global effort to secure peace. In a pivotal follow-on trilateral session with Secretary Rubio, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan of Türkiye, and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani of Syria, we mapped the next phase of the U.S.–Turkish–Syrian framework: integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian economic, defense and civic structure, redefining Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations, and advancing the alignment that underpins the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as well as various Lebanese border issues. Türkiye’s tireless role deserves special acknowledgment - a testament to the quiet, steadfast diplomacy that builds bridges where walls once stood. The expanded alliance of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye supporting the resurgence of a Syrian nation state for the entire region and all of its tribal, religious and culture constituencies has been a magic elixir. The Middle East is, by its very nature, a living mosaic: a region woven from countless cultures, faiths, tribes, and traditions. Within it, Syria stands as a mosaic within that mosaic, a land where diverse peoples and religions have for centuries shared the same soil, suffered the same storms, and now seek the same peace. In the delicate interplay of these layers lies both the challenge and the promise of the region’s renewal. President Trump’s leadership is forging a realignment built on “security first, prosperity next” - a future defined not by the shadows and horrors of the past, but by the promise and hopes of a new and redefined future.  That former adversaries can become ardent allies is not new to history or to this region; what is new - and extraordinary - is that it is being achieved by the regional nations themselves rather than Western mandates and dictates. The path will not be smooth. Integration is a process, not an event, and the vision of one man is now shared by many and can become a reality.  This is a testament to all the teams across every nation who are the mortar holding these building blocks together. The next step in truly “giving Syria a chance” is the full repeal of the Caesar Act. We call upon and urge Congress to take this historic step. We have come far but now need one strong final push to empower the new Syrian government to restart its economic engine and allow the Syrian people and their regional neighbors to not only survive but to thrive. This was a week to remember.

🚨ATROCITY ALERT 🚨 1) Most remaining civilians have not fled El Fasher - likely trapped or dead 2) RSF continues mass killings 3) Displaced people visible in Garni, location of reported gross human rights abuses. #KeepEyesOnSudan 🛰️@vantortech @AirbusDS medicine.yale.edu/lab/khoshnood/…

I’m horrified by the atrocities of the ongoing civil war in Sudan and the recent reports of ethnic cleansing and the murder of thousands of civilians by the RSF and allied militias around El-Fasher. The U.S. must act now to hold the RSF accountable, protect innocent civilians, and bring this conflict to an end.

I applaud this strong statement from the @USUN condemning RSF’s genocide in Darfur. I have been outspoken about the RSF's horrific intentions since the war began in 2023, and with my resolution recognizing genocide in Darfur in 2024. This conflict needs to end. usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-u…

The Lesson of Munich In 1938, European leaders gathered in Munich to make peace. Hitler promised that if he were given the Sudetenland—just a slice of Czechoslovakia—his ambitions would end there. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned home waving the agreement, declaring “peace for our time.” Less than a year later, Hitler devoured the rest of Czechoslovakia. Within months, he invaded Poland, joined by Stalin under a secret pact that divided Eastern Europe between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The world plunged into its bloodiest war. The appeasement meant to “avoid conflict” only convinced the aggressors that the free world would not fight back. Every concession fed their appetite. Every delay cost lives. Appeasement failed not because peace was unworthy, but because peace built on denial is an illusion. The lesson of Munich and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is clear: when tyrants see hesitation, they see opportunity. When they see moral compromise, they see permission. To “appease” Russia today, as it bombs homes and kills civilians in Ukraine, would not bring peace—it would invite more slaughter. True peace requires resistance to evil, not accommodation of it.

America should be embracing trade opportunities and peace vs. advocating for the neocon agenda of war with Russia. Why would we alienate a superpower when we could have open dialogue for peace and negotiate trade that would benefit all Americans?

This week, SFRC passed several pieces of legislation in a business meeting. These bills will deter China’s aggression towards Taiwan, further drain Russia’s resources to wage war against Ukraine, and strengthen our partnership in AUKUS. Learn more below: foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/rele…”