Mohammad Zain

The freedom to stop fighting is not distributed equally. In August 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan after twenty years of war. Domestic political exhaustion played a real part in that decision. So did a mission whose objectives had grown murkier with each passing year, a shift in Washington’s strategic attention toward China, and the collapse of the Afghan government itself. Six months later, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Kyiv faced no comparable menu of options.

President Donald J. Trump paid a state visit to China along with his cabinet members and a business delegation. This high-level summit between two structurally competing great powers took place from 13th to 15th May 2026. The visit was significant for several reasons, including prospects for economic cooperation and key political issues.

‘He who controls low Earth orbit controls near-Earth space. He who controls near-Earth space dominates Terra’. These words were written by EVERETT CARL DOLMAN is, Professor of Comparative Military Studies in the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, in his seminal work Astropolitik (2002). Space programmes are, in the most literal sense, exercises in long-term thinking. They require a state to invest heavily in the present for returns that may not materialize for decades.