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US-China war is not inevitable (Video)

But calls for 'strategic clarity,' demanding US defense guarantees for Taiwan, would be the worst approach possible.

Analysis | Video Section

Washington is increasingly abuzz with talk of “strategic clarity,” which is code for committing American troops to defend Taiwan, marking a major shift in policy that fundamentally goes against U.S. commitments about how it will respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

But at what point does deterrence become a provocation?

Is a war with China as inevitable as many politicians seem to suggest? What if it isn’t?

There are steps the U.S. can take to avoid a disastrous war with China. Check out this video, produced by QI's Khody Akhavi, here:


US-China war is not inevitable (Video)
US-China war is not inevitable (Video)
Analysis | Video Section
Donald Trump Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
Top photo credit : Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Why Trump ghosted Israel: He likes 'winning'

Middle East

President Donald Trump's recent whirlwind tour of the Middle East was a spectacle of calculated opulence and diplomatic signaling, highlighting the significance of the visit to the Gulf monarchs.

Fighter jets escorted Air Force One into Saudi, Qatari, and Emirati airspace, and once on the ground, the president’s hosts unfurled lavish displays of hospitality: traditional sword dances, Arabian horses, and gleaming military salutes.

Yet, amid this carefully choreographed fanfare, Israel, the United States’ long-declared major strategic partner, was conspicuously absent from the itinerary. The decision to bypass Israel, particularly at a time of acute regional tension as a result of the Gaza conflict, reveals a core tenet of Trump's approach to statecraft: the relentless pursuit of headline-grabbing “wins” and achievable outcomes that can be quickly packaged for political consumption.

The Gaza quagmire, a gordian knot of historical grievances and harsh contemporary realities, offers no such low-hanging fruit. Speaking in Doha on May 15, President Trump himself condemned the October 7 Hamas attack as "one of the worst, most atrocious attacks anyone has ever seen." Yet, these strong words were delivered from Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, not from Jerusalem (which Trump controversially recognized as Israel's capital during his first term).

With ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas repeatedly stalling, the prospect of Trump brokering a breakthrough remains increasingly distant. For a president who thrives on the image of a dealmaker, a visit to Israel under current circumstances only risks highlighting impotence.

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Top photo credit: Inmates remain in their cell, during a tour in the "Terrorism Confinement Center" (CECOT) complex, which according to El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, is designed to hold 40,000 inmates, in Tecoluca, El Salvador October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

Bukele's dirty secret: He made deals with the worst gangs

Latin America

A cacophony of right-wing commentators now believes that El Salvador, under Nayib Bukele’s dictatorship, is the “safest” country in the Western Hemisphere. Bukele himself certainly wants us to believe it’s because he’s gone to war with the gangs.

They’re all wrong — and disastrously so.

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POGO
Top image credit: Project on Government Oversight

For the DoD, really bad news comes in threes

Military Industrial Complex

The Bunker appears originally at the Project on Government Oversight and is republished here with permission.

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