Ideas

The Specter of a Chinese Mole in America

The case of a suspected turncoat couldn’t come at a worse time for the intelligence community.

Ideas

Look to Norway? Yes.

Norwegian resistance once held off the Nazis. Today, Norway is resisting Russia’s meddling better than Trump, say some senators. Here's how.

Ideas

Time to Get Serious about Hardware Cybersecurity

The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities should be the kick in the pants that moves the US government past wishful thinking.

Ideas

How the Tet Offensive Undermined American Faith in Government

Fifty years ago, the January 1968 battle laid bare the way U.S. leaders had misled the public about the war in Vietnam.

Ideas

Hawaii's Nuclear Wakeup Call (and Why We Should Take MLK's Advice)

The Cold War brought plenty of false alarms — but nothing like the situation we face today.

Ideas

Shawn Brimley's Town

Washington, D.C., can be an easy city to mock or resent—but it’s full of workers who’ve chosen to serve something larger than themselves.

Ideas

The US Military Needs a Teacher Corps to Train Its Partners

Much of the $70 billion spent to train Afghan armed forces has been wasted. Here’s how to do better.

Ideas

Pakistan Will Try to Make Trump Pay

The country has banked on being treated as too dangerous to fail. But this time could be different.

Ideas

How the Olympics Could Help Defuse the North Korea Crisis

The games give Trump a chance to affirm inter-Korean diplomacy while laying the groundwork for talks with the Kim regime.

Ideas

What to Expect from the Pentagon’s First-Ever Audit

Dramatic surprises are unlikely, but the resulting information should feed better discussions and decisions about national-security spending.

Ideas

Hybrid Star Wars: Lessons from The Battle of Endor

In an excerpt from an upcoming anthology of Star Wars-themed essays, a former NATO supreme commander revisits a forest moon in a galaxy far, far away.

Ideas

What Trump Got Right in Foreign Policy in 2017

For one thing, the Islamic State is largely defeated.

Ideas

American Ideals Beat the USSR. Why Aren’t We Using Them Against Russia?

Without an ideological rival to hold a mirror to its faults, the US is turning away from the ideas and institutions that led to victory.

Ideas

Waiting for the Bomb to Drop

There are sounds, for those who can hear them, of the preliminary and muffled drumbeats of war.

Ideas

Trump's Belligerence Toward Pakistan Isn't Unreasonable

His threatening tweet might signal increased pressure on Islamabad for its support of Afghan militants.

Ideas

Kim Jong Un's Trap for South Korea

An offer of dialogue from the North could be an effort to split the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

Ideas

Why the Iran Uprising Matters

Change will not come easily, peacefully, or soon.

Ideas

Where We're Headed in 2018

You can bet there will be new crises, weapons, leaders, and technologies to come. And, oh yes, there will be tweets.

Ideas

When the War Comes, What Should We Civilians Do?

The military can’t do it all. The US needs a national civilian emergency corps, trained and ready to help in case of the next disaster, be it cyber, nuclear, or natural.