David Priess
@davidpriess.bsky.social
Intelligence, geopolitics, and learning | Global Head of Training & Education, Emergent Risk Interrnational | Senior Fellow, Hayden Center | Former CIA & State Department | Duke poli sci PhD | Author, The President’s Book of Secrets
Pinned
David Priess
@davidpriess.bsky.social
· Dec 26
Welcome, new arrivals!
I served at CIA and the State Dept, followed by non-profit & private sector leadership roles. I offer info/insight on nat’l security, intelligence, and the presidency & how it all intersects with history and culture.
Celebrating books, all things Arctic, space, and dogs.
I served at CIA and the State Dept, followed by non-profit & private sector leadership roles. I offer info/insight on nat’l security, intelligence, and the presidency & how it all intersects with history and culture.
Celebrating books, all things Arctic, space, and dogs.
Reposted by David Priess
This is quite a view as well, with twin lava fountains at Kīlauea right now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0t... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqmp...
November 9, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This is quite a view as well, with twin lava fountains at Kīlauea right now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0t... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqmp...
Reposted by David Priess
Mars - Valles Marineris - Orbit 25 - Hope Mission - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2mzhnbG
November 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Mars - Valles Marineris - Orbit 25 - Hope Mission - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2mzhnbG
Reposted by David Priess
The CCP is doubling down on decoupling. Western business leaders must abandon the illusion: meaningful access to China’s market is ephemeral.
Any corporate strategy that depends on China for primary growth and profits is destined to fail.
Any corporate strategy that depends on China for primary growth and profits is destined to fail.
The Chinese Communist Party’s new five-year plan emphasizes self-sufficiency and advanced manufacturing as a rivalry with America looms large
www.wsj.com/world/china-...
www.wsj.com/world/china-...
China Gears Up for More Tech Confrontation With U.S.
China will seek to become more self-sufficient technologically over the coming five years, the ruling Communist Party said in a new economic blueprint.
www.wsj.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The CCP is doubling down on decoupling. Western business leaders must abandon the illusion: meaningful access to China’s market is ephemeral.
Any corporate strategy that depends on China for primary growth and profits is destined to fail.
Any corporate strategy that depends on China for primary growth and profits is destined to fail.
As usual, @phillipspobrien.bsky.social cuts through the BS:
“In the short term the Trump administration has actually helped Russia. It has provided a four week grace period for foreign companies to buy as much Russian oil as they possibly can.“
phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-new-us...
“In the short term the Trump administration has actually helped Russia. It has provided a four week grace period for foreign companies to buy as much Russian oil as they possibly can.“
phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-new-us...
The New US Sanctions Move Actually Protects Russia For Now
Think Four Weeks, Not Two
phillipspobrien.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:40 AM
As usual, @phillipspobrien.bsky.social cuts through the BS:
“In the short term the Trump administration has actually helped Russia. It has provided a four week grace period for foreign companies to buy as much Russian oil as they possibly can.“
phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-new-us...
“In the short term the Trump administration has actually helped Russia. It has provided a four week grace period for foreign companies to buy as much Russian oil as they possibly can.“
phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-new-us...
Reposted by David Priess
For context on how big a sale this is for Sweden:
Ukraine will purchase about 1.5x the size of the entire Swedish Gripen fleet.
~95 Gripen currently in the 🇸🇪 Air Force:
60 New Swedish orders of Gripen E to phase out older C/D (just started being delivered).
120-150 Gripen E to Ukraine
Ukraine will purchase about 1.5x the size of the entire Swedish Gripen fleet.
~95 Gripen currently in the 🇸🇪 Air Force:
60 New Swedish orders of Gripen E to phase out older C/D (just started being delivered).
120-150 Gripen E to Ukraine
Sweden will sell up to 150 JAS Gripen E to Ukraine! This is the newest model of the Saab Gripen.
This is not a donation of planes today, but a delivery over several years.
#Gripens4Ukraine
Source: www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...
This is not a donation of planes today, but a delivery over several years.
#Gripens4Ukraine
Source: www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
For context on how big a sale this is for Sweden:
Ukraine will purchase about 1.5x the size of the entire Swedish Gripen fleet.
~95 Gripen currently in the 🇸🇪 Air Force:
60 New Swedish orders of Gripen E to phase out older C/D (just started being delivered).
120-150 Gripen E to Ukraine
Ukraine will purchase about 1.5x the size of the entire Swedish Gripen fleet.
~95 Gripen currently in the 🇸🇪 Air Force:
60 New Swedish orders of Gripen E to phase out older C/D (just started being delivered).
120-150 Gripen E to Ukraine
“Vladimir Putin’s war is already costing Russia thousands of lives a day. It’s time it also costs him billions,” @adamkinzinger.substack.com writes.
“If the free world has the courage to act, the math will do the talking.”
adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
“If the free world has the courage to act, the math will do the talking.”
adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
How to Make Putin Pay: The $2 Billion-a-Day Plan That Could End the War
By using Russia’s own frozen assets to arm Ukraine, the free world could force Putin to calculate every new day of war as another billion-dollar loss — in both money and men.
adamkinzinger.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:21 PM
“Vladimir Putin’s war is already costing Russia thousands of lives a day. It’s time it also costs him billions,” @adamkinzinger.substack.com writes.
“If the free world has the courage to act, the math will do the talking.”
adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
“If the free world has the courage to act, the math will do the talking.”
adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
Reposted by David Priess
Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom. n.pr/48AUON2
The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump's ballroom
Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom.
n.pr
October 21, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom. n.pr/48AUON2
🙄
Chinese lawmakers told members of the European Parliament that NATO shouldn’t exist, and spouted Russian talking points about the war in Ukraine at a rare meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
www.euractiv.com/news/nato-sh...
www.euractiv.com/news/nato-sh...
NATO shouldn't exist, China told MEPs | Euractiv
The first EU-China meeting of parliamentarians since 2018 was marred by a dispute over the war in Ukraine
www.euractiv.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:12 PM
🙄
Reposted by David Priess
Hi All, my latest book, War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why, is being released in North America in two weeks. The Publisher, Basic Books/Hatchette, has just released a discount code for 20% if you buy through them. Code is WAR&POWER (not case sensitive). www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/phill...
War and Power
A bold, revisionist study of modern warfare, showing that military victory is rooted not in large armies and decisive battles, but in the full spectrum of ec...
www.publicaffairsbooks.com
October 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Hi All, my latest book, War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why, is being released in North America in two weeks. The Publisher, Basic Books/Hatchette, has just released a discount code for 20% if you buy through them. Code is WAR&POWER (not case sensitive). www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/phill...
Reposted by David Priess
”US intelligence helps Kyiv shape route planning, altitude, timing and mission decisions, enabling Ukraine’s long-range, one-way attack drones to evade Russian air defences”
🇺🇦🇺🇸
on.ft.com/3KMwsWG Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
🇺🇦🇺🇸
on.ft.com/3KMwsWG Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
Trump administration has supported Kyiv’s operations since summer in a co-ordinated push to weaken Moscow
on.ft.com
October 12, 2025 at 7:26 AM
”US intelligence helps Kyiv shape route planning, altitude, timing and mission decisions, enabling Ukraine’s long-range, one-way attack drones to evade Russian air defences”
🇺🇦🇺🇸
on.ft.com/3KMwsWG Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
🇺🇦🇺🇸
on.ft.com/3KMwsWG Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
Reposted by David Priess
Hi all, Just sent out my free weekend update. It ended up being focussed on the strategic air war. Russia, once again, is trying to make Ukrainian cities unliveable in winter. They have benefited by the US slow walking air defense--though Europeans are helping more. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Weekend Update #154: The Strategic Air War And The Approaching Winter
Russian Attacks, Ukrainian Options for Defense, and F-16s
open.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Hi all, Just sent out my free weekend update. It ended up being focussed on the strategic air war. Russia, once again, is trying to make Ukrainian cities unliveable in winter. They have benefited by the US slow walking air defense--though Europeans are helping more. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
A point in her favor
The new leader of 🇯🇵 Japan’s LDP, Sanae Takaichi, loves heavy metal!🤘
“Since drumming in a college band, the 64-year-old politician has remained a fan of groups like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. She used to play so hard that she carried four pairs of sticks as back-up in case they snapped.”
“Since drumming in a college band, the 64-year-old politician has remained a fan of groups like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. She used to play so hard that she carried four pairs of sticks as back-up in case they snapped.”
Japan’s aspiring leader drums to relieve stress. She has many reasons to reach for her sticks | CNN
Staunch conservative and longtime lawmaker Sanae Takaichi is days away from becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister, and she inherits a daunting list of challenges.
edition.cnn.com
October 12, 2025 at 12:16 PM
A point in her favor
Well, I certainly have exceptional reading lined up for the next few weeks!
Congrats to three great authors on these great new books!
Congrats to three great authors on these great new books!
October 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Well, I certainly have exceptional reading lined up for the next few weeks!
Congrats to three great authors on these great new books!
Congrats to three great authors on these great new books!
Reposted by David Priess
Bottom line, stop blaming renewables, blame the grid for the outage. Very useful report.
New stuff from @ember-energy.org on the Iberian blackout. drive.google.com/file/d/1UHSt...
Iberian Blackout - Factsheet for journalists.pdf
drive.google.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Bottom line, stop blaming renewables, blame the grid for the outage. Very useful report.
Reposted by David Priess
Straight out of BLACK ICE
Instead of navigating south, the ship steered a course through the frigid Arctic Ocean using the Northern Sea Rout - a major step forward in China’s quest to build a “Polar Silk Road” across the top of the world...
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/03/c...
Instead of navigating south, the ship steered a course through the frigid Arctic Ocean using the Northern Sea Rout - a major step forward in China’s quest to build a “Polar Silk Road” across the top of the world...
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/03/c...
This sea route has been dismissed as too treacherous. China’s taking the risk. | CNN
The Arctic journey is billed as the first step in China’s quest to open a “Polar Silk Road,” a commercial shipping route across the top of the world, and it’s only made possible by climate change.
edition.cnn.com
October 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Straight out of BLACK ICE
Instead of navigating south, the ship steered a course through the frigid Arctic Ocean using the Northern Sea Rout - a major step forward in China’s quest to build a “Polar Silk Road” across the top of the world...
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/03/c...
Instead of navigating south, the ship steered a course through the frigid Arctic Ocean using the Northern Sea Rout - a major step forward in China’s quest to build a “Polar Silk Road” across the top of the world...
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/03/c...
Reposted by David Priess
IC 1396 "Elephant Trunk" Nebula in SHO (Hubble Palette) - From Ryan Kinnett (rkinnett.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2m8Jm1w
October 3, 2025 at 2:00 AM
IC 1396 "Elephant Trunk" Nebula in SHO (Hubble Palette) - From Ryan Kinnett (rkinnett.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2m8Jm1w
More of this please
Russia is causing tremendous damage in Ukraine.
It is not right that anybody else should pay for it.
At today’s European Council, we will discuss a reparations loan, backed up by frozen Russian assets, to help Ukraine defend itself.
My doorstep ↓
It is not right that anybody else should pay for it.
At today’s European Council, we will discuss a reparations loan, backed up by frozen Russian assets, to help Ukraine defend itself.
My doorstep ↓
October 3, 2025 at 1:26 AM
More of this please
More of this please
October 3, 2025 at 1:24 AM
More of this please
More of this please.
💥 Russia: Ukraine struck the UralChem Azot chemical plant that supplies ingredients for explosives in Berezniki, Perm region — over 1,700km from Ukraine.
October 3, 2025 at 1:23 AM
More of this please.
“Unlike many of its allies, Australia has no published national security strategy; this should be rectified as a priority.”
Great @engelsbergideas.bsky.social essay by @warinthefuture.bsky.social:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aus...
Great @engelsbergideas.bsky.social essay by @warinthefuture.bsky.social:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aus...
Australia must confront the perils that lie ahead
Like America's allies in Europe, Australia cannot afford to be complacent about the demands of the Trump administration or the aggression of authoritarian powers.
engelsbergideas.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
“Unlike many of its allies, Australia has no published national security strategy; this should be rectified as a priority.”
Great @engelsbergideas.bsky.social essay by @warinthefuture.bsky.social:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aus...
Great @engelsbergideas.bsky.social essay by @warinthefuture.bsky.social:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aus...
Reposted by David Priess
NATO figures show Europe and Canada are catching up with the US: their share of #NATO defence spending rose from 28% in 2015 to 36% in 2024, and is expected to reach 38% this year.
⬇️ Felix Gasper reviews current defence spending by each NATO ally: icds.ee/en/defence-s...
⬇️ Felix Gasper reviews current defence spending by each NATO ally: icds.ee/en/defence-s...
Defence Spending: Who Is Doing What? September 2025 - ICDS
According to NATO's latest figures, most Allies have increased their defence spending compared to July 2024, when we last examined the data. But most also have a long way to go if they are to meet the...
icds.ee
September 16, 2025 at 10:22 AM
NATO figures show Europe and Canada are catching up with the US: their share of #NATO defence spending rose from 28% in 2015 to 36% in 2024, and is expected to reach 38% this year.
⬇️ Felix Gasper reviews current defence spending by each NATO ally: icds.ee/en/defence-s...
⬇️ Felix Gasper reviews current defence spending by each NATO ally: icds.ee/en/defence-s...
Reposted by David Priess
Total lunar eclipse (Blood Moon) from Bangka Island, Indonesia.
It was very cloudy, I almost gave up. Then in the last few minutes before the totality ended, the wind suddenly changed direction and I saw the faint sight of the moon.
It was very cloudy, I almost gave up. Then in the last few minutes before the totality ended, the wind suddenly changed direction and I saw the faint sight of the moon.
September 7, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Total lunar eclipse (Blood Moon) from Bangka Island, Indonesia.
It was very cloudy, I almost gave up. Then in the last few minutes before the totality ended, the wind suddenly changed direction and I saw the faint sight of the moon.
It was very cloudy, I almost gave up. Then in the last few minutes before the totality ended, the wind suddenly changed direction and I saw the faint sight of the moon.