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Guermantes Lailari

Guermantes Lailari is a retired USAF Foreign Area Officer specializing in the Middle East and Europe as well as counterterrorism, irregular warfare, and missile defense. He has studied, worked, and served in the Middle East and North Africa for over 14 years and similarly in Europe for six years. He has also worked and traveled in Asia.  He was a US Air Force Attaché in the Middle East, served in Iraq and holds advanced degrees in International Relations and Strategic Intelligence.  After retiring from the USAF, he worked as a contractor in variety of positions including for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD-SOLIC) Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) and managed a US forward based missile defense radar in the Middle East.  He researches authoritarian and totalitarian regimes that threaten the US, including examining strategies and policies to understand and respond to China, Russia, and Iran.

He was selected as a JPC Fellow in 2021, as a 2022 Taiwan Fellow, and is continuing his research in Taiwan as a Visiting Scholar at National Chengchi University.

Articles By Guermantes Lailari

Avoiding Traps set by Iran and China

October 11, 2023

Breaking Defense published an article entitled “‘Menu of options’: What the Ford carrier strike group brings to Israel’s defense.” The Breaking Defense article questions the US ability to sustain providing weapons to Ukraine, Taiwan, and now Israel. This article argues that we should be aware that Iran and China could be setting traps to overextend […]

Video: Chinese Military Activity Near Taiwan – Is 2023 Different?

August 9, 2023

Suppose Chinese leader Xi Jinping finds himself in a box of his own making and, to break out, decides to do the unexpected? Connecting the dots of recent developments analyst Guermantes Lailari for one would not be stunned by a Chinese surprise that happens as early as this month. A former U.S. Air Force foreign […]

Southeast Asian Reactions to a Taiwan Strait Crisis

July 6, 2023

If China moves against Taiwan or otherwise expands its borders, what happens to US alliances in Southeast Asia, what can the American military do with other allies and friends to deter Beijing and which side are Southeast Asian countries likely to take? Positive Security Agreements In the last decade, but mostly in the past few […]