Ideas
Turkey’s Potemkin Defense Industry
Why does President Erdogan want the appearance of a self-sufficient defense industry more than the actual existence of one?
Ideas
What Happens When No One Believes American Threats?
In the long term, it does America no favors for its president to establish a reputation for hyperbole and unrealistic threats.
Ideas
America Is Not Ready for a War in North Korea
If loose words about fire and fury are a mere negotiating tactic, they will not deliver what the United States desires.
Ideas
Why Trump Is Wholly Unsuited to the North Korea Crisis
The president confronts a situation that calls for a trustworthy, careful, decisive leader drawing on all available expertise.
Ideas
Summer Reading 2017: Defense One’s Top Picks
Here are some big ideas for you while soaking up the sun or just relaxing on your summer vacation.
Ideas
Easing A Flashpoint for War in the East China Sea
U.S. leaders must lay the diplomatic groundwork for long-term solutions — or risk falling into conflict, World War I style.
Ideas
Transgender Soldiers Want the Dignity of Serving Their Country
A CIA officer writes about the men and women in uniform alongside whom she serves.
Ideas
How Green Energy Will Help Slow Nuclear Proliferation
The move to renewable energy offers the ability to delineate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nuclear actors in a way that we simply can’t today.
Ideas
Can Trump's National Security Council Handle a Real Crisis?
The people in the Situation Room inevitably neglect basics that will keep them, and the rest of us, alive. In this White House, the risks are especially high.
Ideas
What America Should Learn from North Korea's Latest Missile Test
Preventive war, if it was ever a viable option, certainly isn't now.
Ideas
How the US Can Help Ukraine Help — and Defend — Itself
When Secretary Mattis arrives for his upcoming visit, he should bring promises of arms for the military and support for anti-corruption forces and the country’s defense industry.
Ideas
It’s Long Past Time to Rethink US Military Posture in the Gulf
The rift between Qatar and other Gulf nations should prompt a long-overdue review of what the Pentagon keeps in the region, and where.
Ideas
Improve Hawai’i’s Missile Defenses — Now
The islands need interceptor missiles to fend off possible attack from North Korea.
Ideas
What’s Left to Sanction in North Korea?
It’s already one of the most isolated countries in the world. Can further financial punishment really change its decisions?
Ideas
The Downsides of John Kelly's Ascension
The former Marine general is unlikely to succeed in his new job, even as his appointment contributes to the decay of American civil-military relations.
Ideas
Give Up on Denuclearizing North Korea
The question now is how to convince it not to use its weapons.
Ideas
The US Air Force Needs More Bombers Than It's Asking For
The only problem with the B-21 Raider acquisition strategy is that the minimum purchase should be 164 of the stealthy jets, not 100.
Ideas
US Cyber Diplomacy Has Bigger Problems Than the Closure of its Coordination Office
The Trump administration isn’t making it a foreign policy priority.
Ideas