Ideas
Donald Trump, Dealbreaker
The president's America First policy is causing the U.S. to withdraw from the world.
Ideas
The Real Lessons of Vietnam — and Afghanistan
As the Trump administration reshapes American strategy, they should look to history for guidance, yet understand that it offers no blueprint.
Ideas
Ending America's Paralyzed Iran Policy
Decertifying the nuclear deal without walking away gives the Trump administration an opening to confront the Islamic Republic’s foreign meddling.
Ideas
The 2% Benchmark Is Blinding Us to NATO Members’ Actual Contributions
It is far more revealing to look at the forces and capabilities each country sends abroad on alliance missions.
Ideas
Two Nuclear Deals, Two Countries, Three Decades Apart
Does the failed nuclear agreement with North Korea have lessons for the Iran deal?
Ideas
Should the US 'Send In the Marines' After Hurricanes?
The military can make a big difference right away but humanitarian deployments should generally be rare and brief.
Ideas
Here’s What Concerns the General in Charge of Recruiting America’s Future Army
President Trump’s Army is trying to recruit 80,000 new soldiers, something that hasn’t happened this century without lowering the bar for entry.
Ideas
Ending the Iran Deal is An Invitation to War
Two former Pentagon officials game out the dangerous consequences of de-certifying the agreement.
Ideas
12 Keys to Successful National Defense Strategy Planning
As the Pentagon preps this year's version of the report formerly known as the QDR, a new study gleans practical advice from past efforts.
Ideas
The US Army’s Reset Is Underway — and Threatened by Budget Chaos
Don’t let Congressional fecklessness reverse hard-won combat readiness and upcoming leaps in capability.
Ideas
Don’t Think of Syrian Opposition Groups as ‘Moderates’ vs. ‘Extremists’
The United States and its allies ought to think in terms of 'viable partners,’ ‘irreconcilables,’ and ‘unknowns.’
Ideas
Why Tactical Nuclear Weapons Are Still A Thing
In the debate over low-yield nukes, opposing camps are largely talking past each other. Here are some thoughts about why they remain necessary.
Ideas
The Pentagon Has the World’s Largest Logistics Problem. Blockchain Can Help
DoD should join other logistics-heavy organizations in experimenting with the cryptography-messaging-accounting technology that powers Bitcoin.
Ideas
Closing the Taliban’s Office in Qatar Would Be a Historic Mistake
With no military solution in Afghanistan, the US needs credible interlocutors to end the war — like the ones who secured the Bergdahl deal.
Ideas
Rex Tillerson Must Go
If he does remain, it will be yet another sign of the collapse of self-respect among those who are now willing to serve in senior positions in government.
Ideas
Waltzing Toward a Two-Front Global War
The U.S. just might be one step away from a war with North Korea, and two from a fight with Iran.
Ideas
What Went Wrong With France's Deradicalization Program?
By training at-risk youths in history, philosophy, literature, and religion, the government hoped to fight terrorism at its root.
Ideas
All That Could Go Wrong When Jihadists Return Home — to China
Once separatists, now jihadists, some Uighurs returning from the ISIS battlefield could threaten — and test — Beijing.
Ideas
How Would Reagan’s Defense Secretary View the New Afghanistan Strategy?
Caspar Weinberger’s six principles for using military force are a useful lens on Trump’s newish path in Southwest Asia.
Ideas