Ideas
Maintaining the Edge in the Age of Everything
Ash Carter's message to the Defense One Summit: a new commitment to military, academic, business and scientific partnerships.
Ideas
How ISIS Spread in the Middle East
Tracing the roots of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria—and how to stop it.
Ideas
What It Would Really Take to Knock Out the Power Grid
As our electrical system lifts itself out of the stone age, the defense built around it will require added vigilance.
Ideas
Don’t Call Warlord Territory an ‘Ungoverned Space'
If we are to restore the rule of law to areas held by non-government groups, we must consider the sort of order they provide.
Ideas
The Right Way to Enforce Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea
Patrols must be clearly seen as reinforcing the norms involved, without bias or prejudice to who is claiming the features.
Ideas
Trick or Treat: A Pleasant Surprise for the Defense Budget
The debate over the defense budget is not really about defense. But this is the best possible deal.
Ideas
The History of No-Fly Zones Doesn’t Bode Well for Syria
Tough-talking presidential candidates want a no-fly zone to save Syrians. But nothing in the historical record shows a NFZ would work this time.
Ideas
How Drones Make War Too Easy
A report from the Council on Foreign Relations explores "several reasons why armed drones are unique in their ability to destabilize relations and intensify conflict."
Ideas
Counterterrorism's False Trade-off Between Security and Freedom
Fighting terrorism across the globe involves a dangerous paradox: the better it works, the less we appreciate the need for it.
Ideas
1.3 Billion People Are the Real Losers of India, Pakistan Extremism
More than 70 years of violence has consistently left the citizens of each nation out to dry.
Ideas
Why Do Top Government Personnel Keep Using Private Email for Official Business?
As government breaches continue, it's hard to argue that 'security' alone is a good enough reason to keep official communication on official servers.
Ideas
Kunduz, War Crimes, and the Real Laws of War
The U.S. should embrace an independent investigation of the tragic Afghanistan hospital strike to shed light—and facts—on the laws of war.
Ideas
Why It Matters That Carter Says Iraq Raid Isn't Combat, Then Says It Is
We may not be a nation at war, but U.S. special operators are fighting. And their raids against ISIS most certainly are combat.
Ideas
As Jihadis Gather in Libya, Tunisia Struggles To Fend Them Off
Libyan militants are aggressively recruiting Tunisians, promising a closer fight than Syria — and threatening a Mideast ‘beacon.’
Ideas
This Is the Only Cyber Security Plan Any 2016 Candidate Has Offered
Jeb Bush is a true hawk when it comes to U.S. cyber defense. But only a modest portion of his proposals could be called new.
Ideas
How Budget Battles Undermine National Security
Congress should raise the debt limit and break its dependence on continuing resolutions.
Ideas
Resettling Syria's Refugees Would Be Cheaper Than Widening the War
It would also be morally and practically superior to the West's current selective intervention.
Ideas
Russia is Proving Why Nuclear-Tipped Cruise Missiles Are a Very Bad Idea
Those four cruise missiles that crashed in Iran could’ve been carrying nuclear warheads — which is why the US should ban them, not renew them.
Ideas
A Spate of Violence in Israel, and Then What?
The uptick in tensions between Israelis and Palestinians show that neither the one-state nor two-state solutions are viable.
Ideas