Indo Pacific Conference Dec 11, 2025
Argentina’s Deregulation Plan Unveiled Dec 2, 2025
Cyber Experts Roundtable, Nov 6, 2025
CYBER EXPERTS ROUNDTABLE
This roundtable aims to gather leaders across the public and private sectors to discuss vital issues involving strategy, policy, operations, risk management, partnerships, and workforce development for cyber and digital transformation.
Date: November 6, 2025
Time: 10am–2pm EST
Location: The Homer Building, Washington, DC 20005
Featured Speakers:
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Michael Flynn
GIS ChairmanDr. Chris Porter
Head of International Security Cooperation at Google CloudRear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery
Senior Director, Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD
Former Head of the Cyberspace Solarium CommissionDr. Reuben Egolf
Co-founder and Managing Partner, United States Council on Global DevelopmentBrian Harrell
Former Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection (DHS)
Special Guests and Organizations Invited:
White House National Cyber Director
Office of the Secretary of War (Cyber and Space)
ODNI
FBI
DHS (CISA and Assistant Secretary for CIRRI)
U.S. House Subcommittee Chair for Government Oversight on Cyber, IT, and Innovation
Foreign partners
The roundtable will also discuss plans for a Spring 2026 Maritime and Port Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
Hosted by:
The Gold Institute for International Strategy
Speakers include:
Jeff Hoffman, Senior Cyber Fellow
Eli Gold, President
📧 For more information, contact:
jeff@cipsolutions.org
The Role Of Independent Media in International Affairs, Washington D.C. Oct 30th
The Gold Institute for International Strategy presents:
The Role Of Independent Media in International Affairs, Washington D.C.
October 30th: 10am-2pm
Roundtable discussions followed by team break-out sessions
Last day to buy tickets Wednesday, October 29, 2025 11:59 PM, EDT
The Gold Institute for International Strategy will offer a premier platform for fostering, analyzing and disseminating actionable insights on the role of alternative media relevant to national and international affairs.
The Israel Wedge: The Secret Strategy of America’s Enemies to Undermine the Trump Administration.
Washington DC; Hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy, this virtual briefing brings together leading voices to examine how adversaries of the United States are working to weaken the U.S.–Israel alliance, and why defending that partnership remains vital to America’s strategic strength.
Panelists:
Moderator: Eli M. Gold, President, Gold Institute for International Strategy
Congressman Trent Franks, Distinguished Fellow
Adam Lovinger, Vice President of Strategic Affairs
Saul Montes-Bradley, Vice President of Communications
The discussion explores Israel’s broad contributions to the United States in research and development, biotechnology, agriculture, defense, and intelligence. Congressman Franks highlights the critical role of Israeli defense systems such as the Iron Dome and their partnership potential for the U.S. Adam Lovinger examines how America’s enemies exploit Western institutions to erode support for Israel, while Saul Montes-Bradley addresses emerging trends in media and social platforms that shape public perception.
Moderator Eli M. Gold underscores the need to challenge disinformation and strengthen understanding of Israel’s value as a democratic ally and strategic partner. Together, the panel offers a powerful conversation designed to restore balance to the public debate.
National Security Strategy
The purpose of this National Security Strategy (NSS) is to identify three strategically significant but neglected threats and opportunities that directly impact U.S. national security long-term. The first is an “uncomfortable truth” for much of official Washington. America’s authoritarian adversaries have infiltrated and subverted from within every key American government agency and institution. This is not a new phenomenon, but the current depth, breadth, and ferocity of such is unprecedented. The underappreciated reason for this is that, unlike during the Cold War, America’s authoritarian adversaries see their transformation of America into an authoritarian regime, like them, as a matter of life-or-death for their continued survival.
The second neglected threat addressed by this NSS is another uncomfortable truth. It is a byproduct, or natural consequence, of the aforementioned ideological infiltration of our government and institutions. Today, a significant percentage of America’s most senior leaders, including government and military officials, have adopted Beijing’s and Moscow’s strategic objectives for America as their own. This has resulted in a level of U.S. policy convergence with Beijing and Moscow that is weakening the U.S. and its allies while strengthening our strategic adversaries.
The third threat addressed by this NSS is a natural outgrowth of the second. Like America, most of our democratic allies face a plague of foreign adversary internal subversion. Given this common threat, instead of each ally addressing it alone, we should confront it together and see this shared, persistent, threat as an opportunity to professionalize the crafting and execution of alliance strategy against these and other challenges to our alliances.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: General Mike Flynn Joins Gold Institute for International Strategy as Chairman
Washington, D.C. – March 12, 2025 – The Gold Institute for International Strategy (GIIS) is proud to announce the appointment of General Mike Flynn as its new Chairman. With an illustrious military career spanning over three decades and extensive experience in national security and intelligence, General Flynn brings invaluable leadership and strategic insight to the Institute.
General Flynn, a retired United States Army Lieutenant General, served as National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump. He also served as the 18th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was instrumental in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategies during his tenure. His military accolades include numerous awards such as the Defense Superior Service Medal and recipient of four Bronze Star Metals, highlighting his commitment to national security and excellence in service. He is considered a subject matter expert in Diplomacy, Statecraft, Foreign Policy, Strategy Formulation, Defense, Intelligence, and other areas of national and international security. He served more than 33 years in the Army, Joint, and Special Operations Forces, with multiple overseas combat tours.
He is the author of 7 books, two are best sellers. He holds three master’s degrees, an honorary doctorate and currently serves as the Chairman of America’s Future, which is among the nation’s oldest non-profits.
In his role at the Gold Institute, General Flynn will lead initiatives aimed at addressing pressing global security challenges, fostering strategic alliances, and promoting effective policy solutions. The GIIS is dedicated to enhancing understanding of complex international issues and providing actionable insights to policymakers.
“Eli Gold created, from scratch, an Institute that seeks to promote ideas as well as idealism and to connect disparate communities for a common purpose. That purpose is to establish the Gold Institute for International Strategy as a leader in a global conversation to achieve peace and prosperity by bringing a sense of realism combined with creative policy solutions to solve some of the biggest problems. I am honored to have been part of GIIS from the beginning.” ~ General Mike Flynn
General Flynn added, “In an era marked by evolving threats and geopolitical complexities, it is vital that we work collaboratively to strengthen our national security and international partnerships. I look forward to engaging with our team of experts and contributing to meaningful discussions that will shape the future of global strategy.”
Under General Flynn’s leadership, the GIIS aims to further its mission of delivering practical solutions to contemporary security concerns while advocating for the values that underpin democratic societies.
Eli M. Gold, President of the Gold Institute, expressed enthusiasm about the appointment: “General Flynn’s extensive experience and strategic vision will be pivotal as we navigate the intricacies of international relations. His leadership will enhance our efforts to address critical challenges facing our nation and allies.”
The Gold Institute for International Strategy looks forward to General Flynn’s contributions as it continues its commitment to fostering informed dialogue on national security issues.
About the Gold Institute for International Strategy
Founded in 2019, the Gold Institute for International Strategy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., focused on key aspects of U.S. foreign policy and national security. The Institute engages with policymakers, military leaders, and scholars to provide insights and recommendations on pressing global challenges.
For more information about General Flynn’s appointment or the Gold Institute for International Strategy, please contact us at info@goldiis.org or visit www.Goldiis.org.
China’s Rising Influence in the South China Sea: Implications for ASEAN and Global Stability
Evolving security dynamics in the South China Sea reveal a dangerous and highly volatile mix of aggressive posturing, legal defiance, and strategic manipulation.
As China increasingly asserts its claims over the fraught seascape and the vast mineral wealth lying underneath, the United States continues to demonstrate a military presence of its own, strengthening its relations with India and several ASEAN member states to bolster its position. Complicating this scenario even further are lingering fears that China will materialize a non-consensual unification with Taiwan within the next five years — an invasion that promises devastating losses to both sides.
The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated: whoever controls it, controls the future of East Asia. With an estimated $3.37 trillion of goods – nearly 21% of all global trade – transiting annually, this body of water is not just a regional flashpoint, but a crucial economic lifeline.
Last year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned that misperceptions, diverging interests, and external interferences may give rise to a “new Cold War” in the region. As these tensions continue to grow, it is not simply the future of one of the world’s most vital maritime corridors that hangs in the balance, but the stability of the world order itself.
To download this paper Click Here.
Retired Army General: ‘Somebody Failed to Appreciate the Militarily Significant Aspects of Terrain’
IMAGE: Layout of the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, Butler, Pa., where a sniper fired several shots at President Donald J. Trump, and hit his right ear, during his July 13, 2024, rally there. The shooter was roughly 150 yards away from Trump, and to the left of the president and Secret Service counter-snipers. (RedState graphic by Neil W. McCabe from Google Earth image)
(This article first appeared in RedState.com: https://redstate.com/mccabe/2024/07/14/retired-army-general-somebody-failed-to-appreciate-the-militarily-significant-aspects-of-terrain-n2176868)
By: Neil W. McCabe, Media Fellow
The retired Army general officer who led Kurdish Peshmerga guerilla troops in Iraq and who now serves as a senior staffer for a Florida congressman told RedState, as a military man, the Secret Service must look at what went wrong before the July 13 assassination attempt on President Donald J. Trump.
“They’ve got to do an absolutely serious after-action review, not just for their sake, not just for the sake of any future presidents, but the sake of this country,” said Brig. Gen. Ernest C. Audino, who was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
“They got to figure out where the failures occurred, and it’s got to be an honest after-action or review—no thin skins—and if you fouled up, own up to it because there were failures along the way,” said the general, who is a senior military fellow at the Washington-based Gold Institute for International Strategies.
“My hypothesis is somebody failed to appreciate the militarily significant aspects of terrain,” he said.
Audino said it is his contingent assessment that mistakes made before the rally led to a potential catastrophe affecting the American political system and the world’s geopolitical stability.
Audino: The terrain tells you where threats can make you vulnerable
The general said that the Army has a process for making threat assessments that would have produced for the Secret Service personnel a limited set of locations where a hostile actor could attack the president.
He said the Army calls the battlespace analysis process OAKOC for obstacles, avenues of approach, key terrain, observation and fields of fire, and cover and concealment.
“Without any other information right now, my guess is there were likely failures during the planning and reconnaissance phase,” said the former director of nuclear support for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
“When they received the mission, they should have initiated the reconnaissance out to the area, and someone should have been going through this checklist,” he said.
He said the first item on the checklist is determining the no-go areas on the terrain. These are the places where no one would or could go.
Security personnel next need to figure out the avenues of approach or the go-terrain, he said.
Then, they must determine which pieces of terrain along the avenues of approach that offer advantage to the hostile actor—that’s your key terrain, he said.
Among the sites of key terrain on the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds were the rooftops, Audino added.
“We can say all of those high points in the area like those rooftops, and there weren’t many of them, so it’s not like they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of rooftops. There were only a few that were relevant to the area of operation,” he noted.
Once you have identified key terrain, such as the rooftops in Butler, the military mindset is to determine how the hostile actor could attack, he said.
Audino: Why weren’t the rooftops secured?
“Where could an enemy achieve observation and fields of fire that’s relevant to the mission of this event that’s coming up?” he asked.
Throughout the interview, Audino kept returning to the rooftops, and where a hostile actor could be concealed.
“Once you’ve identified the key terrains, avenues to the terrain, and places in the terrain where the hostile actor could observe his targets and conceal himself, the Soldier is left with a finite set of locations to be secured,” he said.
He said that then you have to find areas where a hostile actor or threat could find cover and concealment.
“Once you’ve identified those areas, then you’ve got to secure them some way,” he continued.
“Why was there no presence on that rooftop or near that rooftop? Why was there no effective fire over watching that rooftop?” he asked.
The general said he understood that security personnel were in position, but they did not stop the attack.
“Was it that they weren’t alert, or they had other sectors they were watching?” he asked.
“There are times when the hostile actor has the advantage because he has initiative, but terrain analysis helps you identify his most likely courses of action,” he said. “But you never have perfect knowledge.”
One factor in the Butler shooting is that law enforcement has a different culture and different processes, he explained.
“From my perspective, the law enforcement mindset is investigatory,” he said.
“It’s a different analysis at some level, first before anything else, the military is looking to destroy the enemy,” he said. “The military is looking across the military aspects of terrain, and they’re accounting for what they know, what they don’t know and what they think.”
“The military approach is to figure out the possible source of threats and how to neutralize the threats,” he said.
Audino: Risk assessment must consider the cost of failure
“In a military operation, the Soldier conducts his risk assessment along with calculating what risks are acceptable and what risks are not acceptable,” the general said.
“We could very well find out that this Secret Service detail wasn’t resourced by the Secret Service commensurate with the threat.”
“Certainly,” he continued, “the assassination of Trump was an unacceptable risk, which meant all the planning had to consider the cost of failure.”
“The threat is significantly higher on this presidential candidate as a former president than virtually any other presidential candidate in history.”
“It’s hard to say much risk here is acceptable because the risk of failure is so high,” the general warned.
“I saw somebody just made a comment publicly that we were one inch away from a civil war–I mean, maybe that’s a stretch, but maybe it’s not.”
Neil W. McCabe is a Washington-based journalist and media consultant. He is a senior NCO in the Army Reserve and Iraq War veteran. Follow him on Twitter: @neilwmccabe2 GETTR/TruthSocial: @ReporterMcCabe
Eli Gold: Is the Pentagon’s Gaza Pier Just a New Way to Deliver Supplies to Hamas?
This article first appeared on RedState.com – https://redstate.com/mccabe/2024/05/17/eli-gold-is-the-pentagons-gaza-pier-just-a-new-way-to-deliver-supplies-to-hamas-n2174339
The founder and president of the Washington-based Gold Institute for International Strategies told RedState he is skeptical about whether the Pentagon’s maritime corridor for Gazan humanitarian aid will improve the conditions for the civilians living there.
“We have all seen the videos of Hamas snipers sitting on top of the trucks—and as people are trying to get near the trucks, they shoot them,” said Eli M. Gold, who founded the Gold Institute five years ago after serving as a senior vice president at The London Center for Policy Research.
“What makes anyone believe this won’t happen just because the aid is coming across a pier that the United States built–because God knows the effectiveness of the United States’ humanitarian efforts in the Middle East,” Gold said.
The problem is that aid is coming in, but Hamas has diverted it to support their resistance to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), instead of distributing it to the general population, he said.
“There’s no evidence to suggest that Hamas will not usurp this aid as they have done with all of the aid coming from Egypt, Israel, or anywhere else until now,” he said.
“In fact, we may have just opened up another way to deliver supplies to Hamas instead of getting it to the Palestinians in need,” Gold said.
“Once there, there is no security of the aid that’s coming across this pier, right?” he said.
Gold, who regularly advises members of Congress and their staffers, said no one is impressed when he talks to people in Washington about the Gaza pier.
“The response that I get from most people is another roll-your-eyes at this effort, which will provide no fruit whatsoever,” he said.
Cooper touts the Pentagon’s success in establishing maritime aid corridor to Gaza
The deputy commander of U.S. Central Command told reporters Thursday that the Pentagon has established its floating pier on the Gazan shore, opening up a new channel for U.S. aid to flow to that war-torn region.
“Let me be absolutely clear: The U.S. military’s only role in this effort is to provide our unique logistics capability to enable the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza by USAID and our international partners,” said Vice Admiral Bradley Cooper, a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
“International efforts are underway to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza through all available routes, including by land, by air, and now by sea,” said Cooper.
“We are focused on flooding the zone with humanitarian assistance. This is the policy of our government,” he said.
The career surface warfare officer said the floating pier, officially called the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, completes a triad of channels for flowing humanitarian support.
“To complement the provision of aid through land routes, which we know is the most efficient and effective pathway to move the necessary volume of assistance,” the admiral said. “We are pursuing multiple methods to deliver aid into Gaza, from the air and now from the sea.”
The admiral said the maritime corridor is ready to go, with ships standing off in the Mediterranean prepared to bring in the aid.
“I think we’re going to get about 500 tons in the next couple of days. That’s a pretty substantial amount, and it’s spread out over multiple ships right now,” Cooper said.
“We’ve got thousands of tons in the pipeline,” he said.
The floating pier, also known as a trident pier, is 1,600 feet long and is estimated to have cost $320 million.
In a May 7 Pentagon briefing, Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the workhorse vessel bringing humanitarian aid to the floating pier is slated to be the 25-foot beam container ship Sagamore, whose route will be the 360-mile round-trip between Gaza and the logistics staging station at Cyprus.
Singh said Army soldiers assembled the floating pier at sea, although there were weather delays.
The humanitarian aid in Cyprus will travel from Cyprus to a temporary floating pier several miles off the coast of Gaza, Singh said. There, at sea, cargo will be unloaded from the Sagamore onto trucks that are onboard Army-owned landing craft utility ships, or LCUs, and logistic support vessels, or LSVs.
Singh said that the Army ships are set to travel toward Gaza, where they will meet up with the trident pier.
The trucks onboard the LCUs and LSVs will drive onto the pier and onto the shore of Gaza, where the humanitarian aid supplies can then be staged for delivery inside Gaza, she said.
Neil W. McCabe is a Washington-based journalist and media consultant. He is a senior NCO in the Army Reserve and Iraq War veteran. Follow him on Twitter: @neilwmccabe2 GETTR/TruthSocial: @ReporterMcCabe