A new round of nuclear swagger, a fraying arms control regime, and a grinding war in Ukraine have pushed global risk back into everyday conversation. We bring James Carden of The Realist Review back to map how we got here—starting with the choices made in 1992, when Washington bet on an inevitable democratic future and ignored repeated warnings from Moscow. That post–Cold War confidence collided with NATO expansion, economic turmoil, and a parade of torn‑up treaties, leaving both sides more suspicious and less protected.

We unpack the unraveling of ABM, INF, and Open Skies, and why New START’s uncertain future matters more than any headline sound bite. Carden argues that treating Ukraine as the single prism for U.S.–Russia policy is a mistake, and makes the case for delinking nuclear risk reduction from unresolved territorial questions. Expect clear-eyed takes on whether additional aid can change the battlefield, what a realistic endgame might look like, and how incremental agreements—prisoner swaps, deconfliction, infrastructure safeguards—can keep doors open when a grand bargain is out of reach.

Then we head south and interrogate the rhetoric branding Venezuela a “drug caliphate.” We trace the legal gymnastics behind labeling cartels as terrorists, the dangers of mission creep, and the historical record that shows kinetic strikes don’t fix supply chains or demand. Instead, we outline smarter tools: targeted financial enforcement, precursor controls, regional coordination, and avoiding regime‑change traps that rarely deliver lasting security.

If you care about nuclear stability, pragmatic diplomacy, and avoiding another forever conflict in our own hemisphere, this conversation is for you. Follow, share with a friend who tracks world events, and leave a review to tell us where you think policymakers should draw the next red line.

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