Ideas
How American Special Operators Gradually Returned to Somalia
A U.S. soldier was killed in the country this month for the first time in more than two decades. What was he doing there?
Ideas
Trump’s Afghanistan Reset Needs a Soft-Power Mission, Too
Reconciliation and peace-building can only occur if there is an open dialogue and people are working towards a shared, communal interest.
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Don’t Fear Pakistan’s Participation in China’s ‘New Silk Road’
U.S. interests can be served no matter whether the mega-project’s subcontinental branch succeeds or fails.
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Congress, the President, and the Dwindling Oversight of War
Lawmakers’ tacit approval of modern military actions encourages more boundary-stretching.
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So Trump Is Arming Kurds...Then What?
Trump’s latest decision orders more US military intervention than Obama wanted. The more Americans and allies fight this war, the more they deserve a plan for the peace.
Ideas
Time Warfare: Threats to GPS Aren’t Just About Navigation and Positioning
The U.S. military needs to get serious about assuring access to precision timing.
Ideas
Diplomacy with North Korea Can Work
But success will require the Trump administration to learn some lessons from the last nuclear agreement with Pyongyang.
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Four Reasons Why Talking to North Korea Would Be Smart Strategy
Trump is right to try and negotiate — if his administration does it the right way.
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Can Russian Safe Zones Solve Syria?
If a potential negotiated solution to the Syrian conflict exists, something in the spirit of Russia’s plan for decentralization and ceasefires might be it.
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America’s Allies Are in Decline. Here’s How the US Should Adjust
As global power shifts, Washington needs a new strategy, and a new way of managing its alliances.
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Yemen Could Be the Key to Solving the Iran Problem
A proposal to transfer control of a Red Sea port could have wide-ranging effects on regional tension.
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Who Is In Charge of US National Security?
The administration’s flip-flopping on North Korea is only the latest incident to raise this question.
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The US, Japan, and South Korea Need to Get on the Same Page
As tensions with North Korea heat up, mutual mistrust and diverging priorities make it harder to choose a path forward.
Ideas
Letting Bahrain Buy F-16s Won’t Make It a More Stable Ally
The Trump administration discarded human-rights criteria in approving the sale — and that’s not going to help things.
Ideas
There Is a Peaceful Way Out of the North Korea Crisis
Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and missile programs represent one of the most dangerous challenges since the end of the Cold War. But there are opportunities to stop it.
Ideas
How Trump Could Get China's Help on North Korea
Beijing is not going to pressure Pyongyang just because he tells them to.
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Normalizing Illegal Action May Be the Only Lasting Effect of Trump’s Syria Strike
A president has broad leeway to send American forces into harm’s way, but Trump has blown past the few constraints that remain.
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Scuttle the Iran Nuke Deal? That Approach Didn’t Stop North Korea
The Trump administration should learn from George W. Bush’s 2002 decision to tear up an intact, if imperfect, nuclear agreement.
Ideas