Lebanon is unraveling. Last year's massive public protests over the government's failure to collect trash or provide other key services now seem like minor quibbles. The COVID-19 pandemic has all but wiped out already falling remittances from the Lebanese diaspora. With its economy in a tailspin, the government missed a payment on a $1.2 billion Eurobond in March and effectively defaulted on all outstanding Eurobond obligations, including $2.7 billion in payments due in April and June.

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others are working to assess the problem and offer solutions. But with Lebanon, it won't be easy.

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In a speech to U.S. governors in February, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that China was actively working to exploit American vulnerabilities at all levels. Two can play at that game.

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Amazon.com, Inc., settled with the U.S. Department of the Treasury earlier this month for violating U.S. sanctions by delivering products to Crimea, a region of Ukraine under Russian occupation, and several sanctioned countries. Treasury was justified in targeting Amazon: The U.S. sanctions, which date back to Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, prohibit trade and investment in the occupied territory.

Amazon is worth $1.5 trillion, so it can afford to pay a small fine – a paltry $135,000. But, in some ways, the tech juggernaut was the victim of a system that makes little sense.

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A string of credible reports suggest that Israel recently targeted Iranian forces and infrastructure in Syria. Reporters broadly describe these strikes as a continuation of the "War Between Wars," a campaign whereby Israel erodes the capabilities of its enemies to forestall the next major conflict.

In a December interview shortly before he retired, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot revealed that Israel had destroyed thousands of military targets in Syria, taking credit for very few. Open-source reports suggest that Israeli strikes have continued apace since then. One high-ranking Israeli official, when asked for the exact number, responded: Who's counting?

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In 1950, as Cold War tensions were on the rise, President Harry Truman asked allies to stand and be counted. Israel reflexively stepped up and backed the president who bravely supported the creation of the Jewish state just two years before.

Seventy years later, new cold war tensions are stirring. This time, the adversary is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The White House is once again asking allies to step forward. Israel is expected to oblige. After all, America is its most important ally. But Jerusalem can't afford to move too quickly, this time. Its financial stability is at stake.

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