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.

Ideas

Don't Raise a New Year's Toast for Defeating ISIS Just Yet

Now we must address America's ambiguity on Syria and the Kurds.

Ideas

Last Year’s Top 5 Worst Nuclear Nightmares (That Aren't Going Away)

Each of these threats has only gotten worse. Take one guess what (or who) I think remains the top nuclear threat to us...

Ideas

Hail the Civil Servant in the Year of Trump

Never before have the roles of government workers taken on such significance. But there could be consequences to using their power to undermine the administration.

Ideas

3 Predictions for Government Tech in 2018

Here's which tech will move from buzzword to implementation.

Ideas

Take Small Steps to Advance the US-India Relationship

India got more mentions in the new National Security Strategy than Japan or South Korea. Here’s what should come next.

Ideas

Where is America Going in the South China Sea?

The new National Security Strategy talks tough — but here are the options the United States actually has, and the pros and cons of each.

Ideas

The National Security Strategy Papers Over a Crisis

The NSS is a stunning repudiation of Trump, and Trump’s speech was a stunning repudiation of the NSS.