Trump’s declaration to “run Venezuela” after Maduro’s capture is a seeming promise of a sudden cure to Venezuela’s ills. However, it ignores the nation’s terminal diagnosis of a century of plunder. The rhetoric of imminent revival on the basis of the speedy return of international oil capital and the promise of 100 billion US dollars in reconstruction funds made the intervention seem like a unique opportunity.
Although the SDMA does not identify an adversary, effectively functioning as a deterrent, it cannot be viewed in isolation from the Israeli belligerence in the Middle East. Israel’s war against Hamas has expanded beyond the genocide of Gaza; it has bombed the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and recently Qatar. Tel Aviv’s campaign under the banners of ‘anti-Semitism’ and ‘terrorism’ has engulfed the whole Middle East in a war-like situation, which has generated new enemies and has deepened the instability of the region.
On 15 January 2026, the Pakistani defence production minister confirmed that an agreement for a new trilateral defence deal between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye is in the pipeline, other than the Pakistan-Saudi bilateral deal announced last year.
In October 2025, a JetBlue Airbus A320, flying from Cancun to Newark, encountered an inadvertent pitch down, creating panic and injuries onboard. The crew managed to regain control of the aircraft and made a safe emergency landing at Tampa, Florida. Initial investigations attributed the incident to a malfunction of the aircraft’s ELAC flight computer software, responsible for controlling primary flight controls (elevator and aileron surfaces).
Economic dysfunction has been a consistent reason for riots in recent years. Countries such as Bangladesh, Srilanka, Nepal, and most recently Iran witnessed mass protests emanating from economic turmoil. Unemployment, inflation, and mismanagement of resources led the masses to express their discontent through protest and strife.
The May 2025 India-Pakistan war played a pivotal role in eroding India’s long-standing notion of conventional superiority. Seven months ahead, the echoes of the conflict continue to shape military choices. The post-crisis environment shows predictable trends, marked by sabre-rattling via hawkish statements by the civil and military leadership, followed by military procurements. Most recently, India has signalled a mega aircraft deal, with the announcement of the induction of 114 Rafales.
The recent account by the Center for Military History and Perspective Studies (CHPM), Switzerland, on the May 7th conflict between Pakistan and India reflects an over-simplification of a complex issue. The historical account suffers from selective framing and a lack of empirical verification, which skews the understanding of the Indo-Pak conflict.
In modern conflicts, the fog of war does not clear as ceasefires commence; it only gets thicker and becomes a fog of narratives. It is in this post-conflict situation that military historians have the responsibility of undertaking impartial analysis as they scramble to find coherence in chaos. As a caution, they should avoid prematurely echoing any one side’s narrative and instead endeavour to interrogate all claims with balanced scepticism. The Centre for Military History and Perspective Studies’ (CHPM) exploratory note on Operation Sindoor falls short of this mark.
Perhaps the most consequential aspect of any military campaign or national policy is strategic planning. Unfortunately, these decisions are often driven by ideological and political motives rather than reason
Necessity is a dark cloud which tends to give birth to innovation in the turbulent arenas of contemporary conflicts. Having said that, a very low profile yet dramatic change is underway in the airspace of conflict zones, which is being used by terrorist and insurgent groups using commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
All views and opinions expressed or implied are those of the authors/speakers/internal and external scholars and should not be construed as carrying the official sanction of CASS.