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Counterterrorism, Foreign and defense policy, Grand strategy, International relations, Israel-Hamas, Israel-Iran, and Middle East

Gil Barndollar

Non-Resident Fellow

Gil Barndollar is a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities and a senior research fellow at the Catholic University of America’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship.

Barndollar served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2009 to 2016, deploying to Afghanistan twice, to Guantanamo Bay, and to the Persian Gulf. Barndollar has written for publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, the BBC World Service, and other national and international media outlets. He holds an AB in history from Bowdoin College and MPhil and PhD degrees in history from the University of Cambridge.

op-edTaiwan, Asia, China

Is an amphibious invasion of Taiwan really imminent?

By Gil Barndollar

August 20, 2025

In an address at National Taiwan University on Aug. 4, virtual reality inventor cum military hardware hawker Palmer Luckey painted a stirring […]

In the mediaGrand strategy

5,000-bed migrant detention center planned for Texas’ Fort Bliss

Featuring Gil Barndollar

July 24, 2025

In the mediaMiddle East, Israel, Syria

On Syria, Trump Defied Israel. A Bigger Middle East Shift Is Still Elusive.

Featuring Gil Barndollar

May 14, 2025

More from Gil Barndollar

op-edTaiwan, Asia, China

Is an amphibious invasion of Taiwan really imminent?

By Gil Barndollar

August 20, 2025

In the mediaGrand strategy

5,000-bed migrant detention center planned for Texas’ Fort Bliss

Featuring Gil Barndollar

July 24, 2025

In the mediaMiddle East, Israel, Syria

On Syria, Trump Defied Israel. A Bigger Middle East Shift Is Still Elusive.

Featuring Gil Barndollar

May 14, 2025

op-edGrand strategy

DOGE Has Its Sights on the Defense Department

By Gil Barndollar

May 9, 2025

op-edGrand strategy, Alliances

Geography has given the U.S. unrivaled security. Trump is destroying it

By Gil Barndollar and Rajan Menon

May 4, 2025

op-edUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

The deep strike dodge: firepower and manpower in Ukraine’s war

By Gil Barndollar

February 26, 2025

Gil Barndollar Past Virtual Events

virtualUkraine‑Russia, Air power, Diplomacy, Drones, Europe and Eurasia, Land power, Military analysis, Russia, Ukraine

Past Virtual Event: Ukraine’s critical choice: Pursue peace or fight on

April 16, 2025
virtualGlobal posture, Grand strategy

Past Virtual Event: Refusing to choose: did the global posture review fail?

December 10, 2021

Gil Barndollar Featured Symposia

ukraine flag
symposiumUkraine, Russia

Lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

February 13, 2023

symposiumAfghanistan

Lessons from Afghanistan

September 10, 2021