Ideas

Foreign Leaders Have Realized Trump Is a Pushover

The president’s reported disclosure of classified information to Russia is only the latest example of the self-proclaimed great negotiator conceding to officials from overseas everything they want.

Ideas

Trump's Disclosures Are Another Win for Russia

Putin has long used the pretext of counterterrorism cooperation to get what he wants from the West. It just paid off again.

Ideas

The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures

The consequences of the president’s reported divulgence of top-secret codeword information to the Russians are only beginning.

Ideas

A Defense Budget Increase is No More Needed in 2018 than It Was Last Year

A former assistant defense secretary argues the Trump administration’s bump-up was unnecessary, and in fact counterproductive, to national defense.

Ideas

The Army Wants to Let Troops off the ‘Digital Leash.’ That’s Easier Said Than Done.

Gen. Mark Milley’s injunction against IT-enabled micromanagement will require leaders at all levels to re-think what it means to be part of the profession of arms.

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

The Fatal Flaw in Trump's ISIS Plan

Can he keep both the Turks and the Kurds on his side?

Ideas

Congress, the President, and the Dwindling Oversight of War

Lawmakers’ tacit approval of modern military actions encourages more boundary-stretching.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.

Ideas

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.