Ideas
Putin Just Gave Trump the Arms Race He Sought
'Let it be an arms race,' Trump said, two years ago. Now we have one. It doesn't have to be this way.
Ideas
The Pentagon Just Revealed How Much It Spends Helping Foreign Militaries
DoD’s first-ever summary of 27 security-cooperation programs deserves praise. Now tell us more.
Ideas
The US Will Spend $500M on Syrian Kurds This Year. For What?
The Trump administration is embarking on a state-building project with no clear strategy, benchmarks, or goals.
Ideas
It’s Time for a National Security Cooperation Strategy
The current way the U.S. government approves what weapons get exported and where is fragmented and slow. That undermines American leadership and interests.
Ideas
America and Russia Aren't Morally Equivalent
There is no comparison between Russian efforts to undermine elections and American efforts to strengthen them, a former Obama official writes.
Ideas
Russia Is a Great Power Once Again
Putin’s Syria intervention saved Assad. But is he ready for what comes next?
Ideas
Russia Is Abetting Mass Murder in Syria
By standing by and watching a slow-motion Rwanda unfold, the U.S. risks becoming an accessory to evil.
Ideas
The Dark Arts of Foreign Influence-Peddling
The Mueller investigation is showing the extent of Russian operations. But its real import extends far beyond that.
Ideas
America Is Teaching Syria a Dangerous Lesson
Bashar al-Assad seems to have gotten the message that he can do whatever he wants short of using sarin gas.
Ideas
We’ve Lost the Opening Info Battle against Russia; Let’s Not Lose the War
Our defenders must understand not just media technology but the critical historical and societal contexts that give it power.
Ideas
Trump's Aimless War in Afghanistan Expands, Again
Why is the U.S. bombing Chinese separatists, and what does it say about the flailing war effort in Afghanistan?
Ideas
Global Elites Cannot Save a World In Turmoil
Last weekend’s security conference in Munich was a stark reminder that this class has nothing of substance to offer a world in turmoil.
Ideas
After ISIS, the US Faces Its Next Battle: Syria's Erupting Fault Lines
Without leadership, Washington’s options are limited in the chaos of the civil war's end game.
Ideas
Putting the Pentagon's Pennies in Perspective
$80 billion is a lot of money. And that's just the "modest" increase on this year's defense budget.
Ideas
Foreign Disinformation is a Threat to Military Readiness, Too
Troops — and their families — need training to spot and discard false narratives and information.
Ideas
Don't Waste the New US Water-Security Strategy
President Trump should order the inclusion of water issues — a major driver of security problems — in the national defense and security strategies.
Ideas
Putin Is Playing a Dangerous Game in Syria
Is he in control in Syria, or stuck in the sand? The honest answer: a bit of both.
Ideas
Will the Israeli-Iranian Showdown Be in Syria — or New York?
Iran's various rivals and opponents are seeking a UN resolution that would return Tehran to pariah status and undermine its regional gains.
Ideas