Ideas
We’re Losing Our Chance to Regulate Killer Robots
After four years of nearly fruitless debate, nations are gathering once more to talk AI and autonomous weapons.
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Taking Putin's Word For It
Trump wants to believe both the Russian president’s denial of election meddling, and the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies. But he can’t have it both ways.
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Al-Qaeda Has Rebuilt Itself—With Iran's Help
Interviews with al-Qaeda members and bin Laden’s family reveal a pact that allowed the group to prepare for its next phase.
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Bridging America's Civil-Military Gap — At Sea
As a former senior defense official, I wanted to help my undergraduate students learn about the military. Fortunately, so did several of my veteran shipmates.
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The Future Has Arrived for Mohammed bin Salman
But in the wake of his ruthless purge, can he avoid the pitfalls and excesses of a previous generation of Saudi leaders?
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The Middle East Is Nearing an Explosion
Fear is the one thing preventing it—but could also precipitate it.
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Here’s How the US Army Should Arm Itself for New Threats
Stop hoping for a funding bump and start making existing weapons work better together.
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Pentagon: We Want You — to Get Us Into The Cloud Much Faster
We need the private sector's help to vault DOD into the world of elastic computing and machine learning.
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It Took Comfort 39 Days to Get Pierside in Puerto Rico. That's a National-Security Problem.
The hospital ship's poor utilization suggests that the US military's biomedical support doctrine needs shoring up.
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Give ISIS Fighters Due Process
'Even in victory and when stung by injury,' we must hold to the law — lest we grant extremists a victory of their own.
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DoD is Losing the Budget Endgame
Lawmakers have prioritized tax cuts, and now there’s just one way left for the defense budget to recover.
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Russia’s Hybrid Attacks Should, At Long Last, Force the EU and NATO to Team Up
Five ways these largely congruent yet poorly coordinated organizations could start putting their collective capabilities to best use.
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Four New Questions For Trump on Syria
The ISIS fight is nearly over, military leaders say. Is the United States ready to lead what happens next?
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A Former CIA Director Describes the Dangers of 'Trump Unleashed'
John Brennan praises the advisers who restrain Donald Trump’s impulses, calls out the president’s “enablers” inside the White House, and considers the prospect of World War III.
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Ash Carter: Behind the Plan to Defeat ISIS
To its credit, the Trump administration followed the path we set in the Obama administration.
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Washington Still Doesn’t Understand Iraq
The U.S. dream of a democratic and federal Iraq is over. Appointing Iran the next boogeyman won’t help.
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‘Military Options’ Against North Korea Isn’t the Problem—Loose Talk Is
There are a lot of ways for things to go wrong.
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Raqqa After ISIS Still Needs US Help
The group’s ultimate defeat is far from assured, and the United States can play a critical role in precluding the emergence of Islamic State 2.0.
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Trump Isn't the Only Problem with Trump's Foreign Policy
America’s approach to the world is a complicated mess, for reasons that predate the current president.
Ideas