L. Todd Wood

L. TODD WOOD: U.S. would block sale of Russian SU-30 aircraft to Iran

Is the White House starting to show some backbone on Iran? It has been well advertised by the Kremlin, that upon lifting of the sanctions against Iran by world powers, Russia is primed to sell lots of sophisticated weapons to the Islamic Republic, once they are flush with $150 billion.

L. TODD WOOD: Vietnam seizes Chinese ship in Gulf of Tonkin

China has been upping the ante with its neighbors by claiming international waters as Chinese sovereign territory and exhibiting aggressive naval behavior against countries in the region.

L. TODD WOOD: Over 50 ISIS supporters with security badges at Brussels airport

Belgian airport police are threatening to go on strike due to the existence of more than 50 supporters of the Islamic State who are working as cleaners and baggage handlers at the Brussels airport.

L. TODD WOOD: Why does the world respect Putin? Because political correctness is dead

There is a difference between tolerance or inclusiveness, and stupidity. There is a difference between loving your country or your culture, and xenophobia. The world understands this. It's OK to love your country, your culture, where you came from. It's OK to celebrate it, even if it's European, African, Russian or yes, American.

NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR THREAT: In Putin’s chess game with the West, North Korea is a pawn

Make no mistake, the Stalinist North Korean regime is no close ally of the Kremlin but simply a pawn in Russia's great geopolitical game with the United States and the West.

L. TODD WOOD: Vladimir Putin used mercenaries In Ukraine and Syria for deniability

It seems when Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were no Russian troops in East Ukraine, fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists, he may have technically been telling the truth. A Russian newspaper reported recently that the Kremlin used mercenaries to fight in Donbass and also in Syria. The report also says the group's casualties were concealed and medals awarded in secret, many times posthumously.

L. TODD WOOD: Russian arms manufacturers score big in Syrian campaign

Russian armament manufactures experienced a marketing bonanza in Vladimir Putin's Syrian expedition. TASS, the Russian state news agency says negotiations are now going on with countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

L. TODD WOOD: King Abdullah: Israel and Jordan confronted Russian aircraft near Syria’s border

King Abdullah II of Jordan told U.S. congressmen that Jordanian and Israeli F-16s confronted Russian fighter aircraft as they approached the southern Syrian border during the recent Russian air campaign in the Middle East against anti-Assad rebels. Haaretz reported King Abdullah made the claim on Jan. 11th of this year.

L. TODD WOOD: Russia employs old Soviet playbook in Georgia

When Ukraine's Maidan Revolution broke out in 2014, Western leaders should have recognized right at the outset that Russia would employ the same playbook there as it has in another vulnerable slice of the old Soviet Union -- Georgia.

L. TODD WOOD: ISIS has sent 400 fighters to Europe to cause maximum damage

While President Obama does the wave with communist murderers at a baseball game in Cuba, the Associated Press reports the Islamic State has trained over 400 fighters and sent them into Europe with the refugee wave to cause maximum damage and terror on the continent. The terror cells are independent and overlapping enabling the killers to cooperate but remain hidden and agile, evading detection by authorities.

L. TODD WOOD: Iran-supported Hezbollah threatens to attack American forces in Iraq

Israel has long been worried that Hezbollah will be emboldened by access to sophisticated weapons in Syria provided by the Russian military, concerned that once the Syrian opposition has been vanquished, Hezbollah would turn its focus to the Jewish state.

L. TODD WOOD: Obama administration made it easy for Iran to launch ballistic missiles

It seems puzzling that the Obama administration is now calling for sanctions against Iran for launching ballistic missiles able to carry nuclear warheads in an obvious bid by the Islamic Republic to develop this capability. The new sanction demand is puzzling because the White House softened language in the agreement that absolutely prohibited Iran from doing so.

L. TODD WOOD: In and out: Putin’s masterful Syria ploy

Vladimir Putin stunned the West with his announcement this week that Russia was removing the bulk of its expeditionary force fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country's civil war.

L. TODD WOOD: Israel worried Russia’s Syria departure will embolden Iran, Hezbollah

The Israeli president traveled to Moscow Wednesday in order to receive assurances from the Kremlin that Russia's pullout from Syria will not embolden Iran and their proxy army, Hezbollah, in threatening Israel.

L. TODD WOOD: North Korea could go tactical with backpack nukes

North Korea may be on the verge of developing tactical nuclear warheads. These weapons could be placed on artillery shells, aircraft delivered bombs, land mines, etc.

L. TODD WOOD: Palestinians reject secret Netanyahu offer for West Bank control

The Palestinian leadership has rejected an Israeli offer for control of parts of the West Bank under Israeli military rule since the second intifada after the turn of the century.

L. TODD WOOD: Why Putin orders substantial Russian military withdrawal from Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the Russian military had largely accomplished its mission in the Syrian civil war in support of the Assad regime, ordered the Russian military to begin withdrawing a substantial amount of forces from the region.

L. TODD WOOD: France says what John Kerry won’t: Iran should face additional sanctions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Sunday that Iran could face additional sanctions from Europe in response to recent ballistic missile tests that are in violation of United Nations sanctions and the nuclear agreement signed last year with the Islamic Republic. "If necessary, sanctions will be taken," reported AFP on the minister's remarks made after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

L. TODD WOOD: Rocket fire from Gaza begins anew toward Israel

The Israeli border with Gaza was a very dangerous area in 2014 during the height of the war between the Jewish state and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

L. TODD WOOD: Iran committed 2013 cyber attack on NY dam