In a brazen display of military might, the CCP sought to make all parties aware that, from their point of view, the reunification of Taiwan with mainland China is inevitable and, as President Xi put it, “unstoppable.” Just days ago, the People's Liberation Army wrapped up intense live-fire drills dubbed “Justice Mission 2025” that effectively simulated a blockade. They encircled Taiwan's main island with the navy, air force, rocket force, and coast guard, deploying over 200 warplanes (the highest in more than a year), firing 27 missiles close to its coastline, and keeping dozens of ships lingering afterward. This not only has tremendous practical implications for countries all throughout the world, it also reflects a tremendous shift in what we might call the mood of geopolitics. For years the world was held together by a power arrangement which made the interests of the West, as expressed by the United States, the commonly understood lay of the land. This meant, for instance, China could desire Taiwan but would never be able to reunify it because it went against the interests of Western powers. However, China is all grown up now, the West has imploded in terms of its strategic prerogatives, and it appears what has been described as the multipolar world is blossoming. I think this shifting dynamic will return the world to operating under what we might call regional hubs which function quasi-hegemonically in their respective spheres of influence. All my digression aside, this clearly stands out to me as the most important thing that happened last week in terms of global politics.

In terms of national politics, the most important story has to be the tension regarding the attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In a meticulously planned operation involving Delta Force, CIA assets, and massive air support (including airstrikes on Venezuelan air defenses and military sites), U.S. special forces stormed Maduro's fortified compound in Caracas, rehearsed on a mock replica, and extracted him and his wife after they surrendered. This came after months of buildup with carriers, warships, and thousands of troops, all underscoring that the U.S. still packs the overwhelming might to enforce its will right in its own backyard. I have routinely condemned the imperial behavior of the United States in Latin America and applauded Maduro’s unwillingness to kowtow to the demands of the American government. I saw his disposition as an important evolution in the developing world, as it is increasingly necessary that these nations come to understand that their countries ought to be governed as though they’re meant to serve the interests of their citizens. That said, it is somewhat unsurprising that the U.S. has essentially overthrown the regime, as the same attitude I’ve applauded made the behavior of the regime (and by extension the country) intolerable for the United States. Softer measures were implemented but ignored by Maduro, and eventually it seemed the U.S. was going to make sure everyone was aware that it had the might and will to see its interests advanced in the western hemisphere. I sit here quite torn thinking about the decision to ultimately capture and try Maduro. Nonetheless, this story is not only the most important of the week but an early candidate for the most important national story of the year.

The situation in Minnesota has been extremely controversial and revealing of several shifts in American politics. Federal officials have now frozen hundreds of millions in childcare funding, citing blatant and rampant fraud schemes. This includes a massive $250-300 million pandemic food program scam where dozens were convicted, and allegations that half or more of billions in safety-net funds since 2018 may have been stolen, all enabled by shockingly lax oversight and regulations that let this go on for years. One is that the lax nature of regulations over public funds is truly out of control and must be reined in if the respective governmental bodies in this country want to be taken seriously. We can no longer allow politicians to wave away their critics by claiming their interest in the mismanagement of public dollars is rooted in some type of nefarious intent. The second thing I think this reveals is the problematic nature of an over-reliance on identity politics. We have gotten far too comfortable in this country thinking and talking in terms of groups, which I think is not only fundamentally anti-American and even carries the risk of danger (like politicizing the freeze to attack the Somali diaspora or blanket accusations), even as most of the convicted defendants in these schemes are from the Somali American community. Somalians, as a group, should not be punished no matter how widespread the fraud is within the Somali community. We hold individuals, not groups, accountable, and this means we would be best served by curtailing our reliance on group dynamics to explain political and social ongoings.