HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE DEAD DROP: If 2026 is anything like 2025, there will be no shortage of headlines full of absurdities, oddities and just plain hard-to-believe reporting and analysis. You can count on us to call it out. In other words, we're here for you.
WAR MACHINES OF THE FUTURE: Forbes recently reported that a Silicon Valley startup called Foundation Futures Industries plans to build as many as 50,000 humanoid robots by the end of 2027. The company is aiming to enlist the U.S. military as a big customer. At 5’9”, 180 pounds, the devices dubbed “Phantom,” could be called on to undertake missions too hard or too dangerous for flesh and blood soldiers. CEO Sankaet Pathak wants to lease the devices to the military (at about $100,000 a year each) and he says that if the military had 100,000 in service “it would by and large end a lot of wars before they start” – which is a killer sales pitch, but which may or may not be on target. In case you’re wondering, China is already a long way down this path - with some analysts saying Beijing’s Robot Army is already here.
HOLD YOUR HORSES: In case you were thinking the Army is galloping headlong into the future and not looking back, here is an item to rein in that kind of thinking. According to Task & Purpose, the Army has said whoa to plans to get rid of their working horse programs that had been headed to the barn at the end of 2026. The Army announced that they will continue the “working equid” programs at Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Hood, Texas. They are efforts that include not just horses but also mules and donkeys. You might remember that just six months ago, the Army said they were ending the program in order “to align more resources with warfighting capability and readiness.” In keeping the program alive, the Army did not trot out any claims that the horses would end any wars before they start, however.
HOLD YOUR HORSES: PUTIN LIED? The CIA is reportedly pouring cold water on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dramatic claim that Ukraine tried to attack one of his rural residences with drones. According to The New York Times, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told President Trump that Kyiv wasn’t behind any such attack, directly contradicting what Putin insisted to Trump during a phone call. Trump hasn’t said much about the intel itself, but he did share a New York Post editorial casting doubt on Russia’s story and arguing that Putin is the real obstacle to a peace deal. That’s a noticeable shift from Monday, when Trump said he was “very angry” after Putin complained about the phantom attack even while admitting he had no proof. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wasted no time calling the claim what it seemed to be - a pretext for more Russian strikes and more stalling at the negotiating table.
IRAN’S SPY CRACKDOWN SETS A GRIM RECORD – Iran is recording its highest number of executions in roughly two decades, with nearly 2,000 carried out in 2025, according to human rights monitors. The UK’s The Telegraph reports that many of those who were put to death were accused of espionage following closed proceedings and confessions that were reportedly obtained under coercion. The spike comes amid heightened tensions with Israel and persistent domestic unrest, underscoring how broadly Tehran now defines “national security.” In practice, espionage has become a flexible, fast, and fatal charge.
FROM GALLOWS TO GLOBAL TARGET LISTS – Tehran has had a busy year. While busy executing people at home, Iran’s reach abroad is keeping counterintelligence professionals busy as well. According to The Jerusalem Post, the FBI is investigating a suspected Quds Force operative who officials believe is linked to directing attacks and threats targeting current and former U.S. and European officials. It doesn’t stop there - with some targets believed to be as far away as Australia and Mexico. What does this tell us? That Tehran’s approach to “national security” spans from public hangings to international terrorism: a reminder that when paranoia meets power, both the domestic population and foreign targets may find themselves on the regime’s radar.
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