Compiled by Athena Smith.
Articles
What Washington Got Wrong About the Houthis—and What It Must Do Now
Nadwa Al-Dawsari argued that Washington and its regional allies should not see the Houthis as simply an Iranian proxy but instead address the regenerative roots of the Houthi resistance. Due to the Houthis’ recent seizure of Yemen’s Red Sea coast—and the internationally recognized government’s Operation Dawn of Yemen to retake Houthi-held territory—Al-Dawsari noted that diplomacy and military action should support a broader goal of reducing the Houthis’ territorial, economic, and military base.
The experience of the past decade points to a basic conclusion: The United States cannot bomb its way out of the Houthi problem, but diplomacy without leverage will not solve it either. The missing element has been a strategy aimed at the source of Houthi resilience—the territorial base that allows them to recruit fighters, generate revenue, control ports and smuggling routes, manufacture and store weapons, and rebuild capabilities degraded by air strikes and sanctions.
The Many Open Questions About the Trump Administration’s New De Facto AI Model Licensing System
Adam Conner described how President Trump’s June 2026 Executive Order 14409 on Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation and Security raises many questions about the text of its AI framework, which designates a threshold for covered frontier models but has been kept secret from the public. Conner explained that Trump’s sole discretion over the release of frontier U.S. AI models—without authorization from Congress—reduces transparency and safety around AI.
But it is worth stepping back and asking, What is the intent of the administration’s actions? The June AI EO was entitled “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” A secret de facto licensing regime is possibly the worst way to promote AI innovation and security. The secrecy is counterproductive because it undermines any ability to assure the public of the safety or security of new AI models at a time of growing concern, particularly as the government appears to have the opportunity to misuse unreleased models for its own purpose. Keeping this framework secret does nothing to reassure the public, other AI developers, Congress, U.S. allies, or even the nation’s enemies.
The Mercenary Exception That Never Existed
Lucas Gualtieri examined the Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice’s (STJ) ruling in the case of Lucas Passos Lima, a Brazilian national who surveyed synagogues for Hezbollah. The STJ reversed an earlier judgement by the Regional Federal Court of the Sixth Circuit, holding that one cannot escape liability for terrorism just because there were monetary incentives behind an action. The reversal signals an opportunity for greater international cooperation to prosecute the transnational networks used by Iran and Hezbollah.
Legal systems that focus only on the inner beliefs of the paid operative may miss the organizational relationship that gives their conduct meaning. The relevant distinction is not between ideologues and mercenaries. It is between a person who unwittingly provides an ordinary service and one who knowingly and voluntarily contributes to a terrorist plan. Payment may be evidence of recruitment, task allocation, and control. It should not become an immunity mechanism.
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