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L. Todd Wood

L. Todd Wood

L. Todd Wood, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew special operations helicopters supporting SEAL Team 6, Delta Force and others. After leaving the military, he pursued his other passion, finance, spending 18 years on Wall Street trading emerging market debt, and later, writing. The first of his many thrillers is "Currency." Todd is a contributor to Fox Business, Newsmax TV, Moscow Times, the New York Post, the National Review, Zero Hedge and others. For more information about L. Todd Wood, visit LToddWood.com.

Articles by L. Todd Wood

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gestures as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) ** FILE **

L. TODD WOOD: Kim Jong-un, North Korea leader, says he’s ready for war

In only his fourth public speech since the death of his father, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Friday that he's ready for war: "If invasive outsiders and provocateurs touch us even slightly, we will not be forgiving in the least and sternly answer with a merciless, holy war of justice."

January 2, 2016
In this Friday, Dec. 25, 2015 photo released by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman navigates the Gulf of Oman. Iranian naval vessels conducted rocket tests last week near the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the USS Bulkeley destroyer and a French frigate, the FS Provence, and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 causing new tension between the two nations after a landmark nuclear deal. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class J. M. Tolbert/ U.S. Navy via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Iran continues to taunt U.S.

Iran continues to taunt the United States and the White House continues to do nothing about it. Recently, Iranian warships fired rockets within 1,500 yards of an American aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf in a highly provocative action.

December 30, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia accuses U.S. of protecting ISIS

The Russian Defense Ministry is accusing the Pentagon of fighting the Islamic State in 'word only' after the U.S. military refused to share targeting and intelligence information with Vladimir Putin's forces.

December 28, 2015
The North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un does not appear interested in holding sincere talks on giving up his nuclear arms. (Associated Press) **FILE**

L. TODD WOOD: North Korea able to produce multiple nuclear weapons

A source within the South Korean defense ministry has told the South Korean press on Friday that North Korea has produced at least 88 pounds of plutonium which would allow the Stalinist state to produce multiple nuclear weapons, according to Newsis. The number in questions seems to be anywhere from 6-7 to 22, depending on the design of the weapon.

December 27, 2015
This undated file image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows fighters from the al Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now called the Islamic State group, marching in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Militant Website, File)

L. TODD WOOD: ISIS sanctions human organ harvesting

American forces uncovered a veritable treasure trove of information on a raid in Syria earlier in the year that killed Abu Sayyaf and captured his wife. Abu Sayyaf was a Tunisian militant whose real name was Fathi ben Awn ben Jildi Murad al-Tunisi, according to Reuters.

December 25, 2015
In this image posted online June 26, 2015, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, Islamic State militants fire an anti-tank missile in Hassakeh, northeast Syria. (militant photo via AP, File)

L. TODD WOOD: ISIS has capability to shoot down civilian airliners

It was reported Wednesday that the Islamic State is developing its own anti-aircraft capability in a proving ground near the capital Raqqa with the assistance of Western experts. This announcement was panned by the U.S. Department of Defense, which said it will not impact American operations in the region.

December 24, 2015
In this Friday, May 23, 2014 photo, trucks carrying paramilitary policemen move on a street in Urumqi, China's northwestern region of Xinjiang. Authorities on Saturday announced the first arrest in a bombing in China's Muslim northwest and said they were launching a yearlong anti-terrorism crackdown. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, CREDIT MANDATORY

L. TODD WOOD: Iran pushes China to join axis in Mideast

The vacuum created by President Obama's withdrawal of American forces from Iraq continues to be filled by the new Middle Eastern powers of Iran and Russia. Now Iran is pushing China to join the party.

December 24, 2015
Republican presidential candidate businessman Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd before addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., in this Dec. 21, 2015, file photo. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) **FILE**

L. TODD WOOD: The Left can’t explain Donald Trump’s success — Let me help you

Not having decided who I am going to vote for in the 2016 presidential election, I am not-the-less amused at the Left's (and the Republican establishment's) attempts to explain Donald Trump's success on the campaign trail. Pundit after pundit has opined on the reason Mr. Trump is, in some polls, over 40 percent of the Republican primary electorate.

December 23, 2015
US President Barack Obama delivers the State of The Union address on January 20, 2015, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/POOL/MANDEL NGAN

L. TODD WOOD: Obama’s disrespect for Putin coming home to roost

I find it very disturbing the number of times that President Obama has disrespected Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Obama's behavior is not fitting for a president of the United States, and it has produced serious blowback, which we'll discuss in a minute. But first, how about a walk down memory lane?

December 23, 2015
North Koreans bring floral tributes to Mansu Hill, where bronze statues of their late leaders Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung, stand, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Thousands visited the site to mark the fourth anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

L. TODD WOOD: North Korea shows off new ICBM

North Korea displayed a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), different from designs shown during 2012 and 2013, during a recent military parade in Pyongyang. Although the new missile's performance is probably unchanged from previous models, the reliability is most likely greatly improved.

December 22, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, during their meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, Pool) **FILE**

L. TODD WOOD: Netanyahu confronts new Russian realities

Israel is having to deal with many new realities. The past model of relying on the United States for its security has shown to be a flawed policy under the administration of Barack Obama who has been openly hostile to the interests of the Jewish State. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having to deal with the new reality of Russian control of the Middle East along with Russia's new ally, the Islamic state of Iran, where the Obama administration has opened a path to acquire nuclear weapons.

December 22, 2015
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who is also a member of the Experts Assembly, waves to media with an ink-stained finger, after registering his candidacy for the Feb. 26 elections of the assembly at interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

L. TODD WOOD: Iran has ability to destroy U.S. power grid

Security researcher Brian Wallace has unearthed evidence that the Shia Islamic state of Iran has stolen critical data about American power stations and inserted malware into energy companies' software that could allow it to destroy the American power grid during a time of conflict.

December 21, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during the annual end of year news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Russia is ready to improve ties with the United States and work with whomever is elected its next president. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

L. TOOD WOOD: Why Putin respects Trump, not Obama

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian population felt a great loss. This historically powerful and proud people had spent the last 70 years a superpower; now that was gone, replaced with shame and hardship as their economy collapsed and their geopolitical priorities were humiliated by the West around the world.

December 19, 2015