In this episode, Chris, Melanie, and Zack, discuss a recent Council on Foreign Relations special report which explores varies grand strategies, and proposes an alternative known as "Resolute Global Leadership." Is this strategy realistic? Does it accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives? And what did the report leave out, or fail to develop adequately, to ensure that it will succeed where others failed? Grievances for what Jeff Bezos has done to the Washington Post, to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for their doomsday clock, and to Donald Trump for weighing in on the Japanese parliamentary elections in favor of Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party. Attas to Takaichi for her stunning and unprecedented victory, to Javier Milei for turning around Argentina's economy, and to Anduril's Palmer Luckey for admitting that the Pentagon spends too much on the wrong stuff.

Show Links:

America Revived: A Grand Strategy of Resolute Global Leadership, Council on Foreign Relations, January 2026
Monica Pitrelli and Sydney Goh, U.S. can spend billions less on defense, says Anduril Industries founder, CNBC, February 6, 2026
Benjamin Mullin, Katie Robertson and Erik Wemple, Washington Post Cuts More Than 300 Jobs, The New York Times, February 4, 2026
Commission on the National Defense Strategy
Jack Butler, "A Doomsday Crock," Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2026.

Is Resolute Global Leadership the Right Grand Strategy for the United States?

Net Assessment