Ideas

Selling F-35s to the Middle East was Never Going to be Easy

To do it, and preserve Israel’s advantage, Trump must reinvigorate the consultative arms sales process with Congress.

Ideas

Where is NATO? And Where is Trump?

The virus is destroying economies and paralyzing societies in ways Russian military planners could only dream.

Ideas

Don’t Be Surprised the Next Time Trump Ends a US Mission

No one knows why the president pulled the plug on Syria now, but NATO and South Korea should be worried.

Ideas

John Bolton Will Not End Well

Wait until Trump starts working with this swamp veteran with bad press and Pentagon push-back who likes to name-drop Edmund Burke.

Ideas

Let’s Call Trump’s Parade What it Is: Another Dangerous Attempt to Divide Us

I know a thing or two about good military ceremonies, and Trump’s parade is a bad idea.

Ideas

Easy There, Blob. With Obama, We Faced A Different Syria

Four years ago, everything was different in Syria. I support these strikes, but two of our worries remain the same: escalation and loss of control.

Ideas

When the House of Trump Met the House of Saud

The Saudi and Trump families looked cozy in their first state visit, but beneath the gilded surface, don’t expect much to change in U.S.-Saudi relations.

Ideas

Obama and Eisenhower, Two Legacies In Arms

On national security, the most illuminating presidential comparison is the one Obama most often made of himself. Barack likes Ike.

Ideas

As Trump's Foreign Policy Emerges, Watch His Temperament in Washington

By what Trump has shown, even where there's policy continuity the world will see Washington as more erratic and less reliable.

Ideas

Will Obama’s Mattis Be Trump’s Mattis?

In General Mattis, Trump picked an insider warrior-diplomat who worked with the Obama administration, respected Hillary Clinton, and knows the Middle East better than most.

Ideas

Inside Obama's Syria Choices (A Guide for Dissenting Diplomats)

Here are six ways we in the administration could’ve approached Syria differently – and why we didn’t.

Ideas

The Myth of American Disengagement

For too many in the foreign policy debate, "engagement" is code for unilateral military intervention. Here's a more honest way to measure Obama's record.

Ideas

In Defense of the Obama Doctrine

Obama is still trying to win Washington over to American power as he sees it: limiting military interventions while convening players for peace.

Ideas

Don't Chase Putin Out of Syria — Let Him Fail On His Own

Putin is no chess master. He overstretched and misstepped in Syria, and U.S. would be wiser to wait him out than chase him out.

Ideas

We Never Thought Training Syrians Would Be Easy

When it comes to building capable foreign forces, one can have all the will, skill, money, and allies – but no guarantees.

Ideas

America's Allies Want More From the US

The next president has to figure out how to give it to them – more presence, more forces, more aid.

Ideas

After Ukraine, NATO's Chance for a New Normal

Can Defense Secretary Ash Carter and European leaders turn NATO's historic Ukraine response into a new future for the alliance?

Threats

35 Years On, It’s Time to Extend the Carter Doctrine

The upcoming Camp David summit may produce a long-sought framework for security in the Middle East.

Ideas

The Part of Obama’s Arms-To-Egypt Deal That Matters

The shift to cash-flow financing may sound arcane, but it represents the most significant shift in the Washington-Cairo security relationship since 1979.