Author Archive

Peter Zwack

Peter Zwack, a retired Army brigadier general, writes from the Institute for National Strategic Studies within the National Defense University. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the United States' senior defense official and attaché to Russia. He has traveled extensively throughout Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East.
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Donald Trump is No Jack Kennedy. Or Khrushchev.

The president lacks the experience, character, credibility, and confidence to navigate our country through a Cuban Missile Crisis. We need Joe Biden.

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Three Questions from Last Month’s Giant Vostok Exercise

What should American strategists take away from China’s participation in Moscow’s biggest annual wargames?

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US and Russian Military Leaders Are Meeting Again, Breaking a Long and Dangerous Drought

Over three years had passed without direct senior-level contact between the world’s preeminent nuclear powers.

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Breaking Down US-Russian Distrust With Time, Talk, and Meals

A recent session of the long-running Dartmouth Conference shows how non-governmental dialogue can ease tense relations.

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In Aleppo, Echoes of Guernica and Global Disorder

Nearly 80 years ago, a shattered town rang a death knell for international order. We must not let it happen again.

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Death of the GRU Commander

An American general remembers Russia's complex military intelligence chief, who shaped the Ukraine incursion — and worked hard to bridge the East-West gap.

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It's High Time for US, Russian Militaries to Start Meeting Again

It is increasingly dangerous in this cyber-fast world for the nuclear-tipped nations to have such a dearth of contact.