Ideas

The Difficult and Probably Only Answer to Iraq and Syria's Problems

Former State and Defense Department official Leslie Gelb sees a way to counter the ISIL wedge that's prying Iraq and the region apart at its seams. It's not easy, but it just might be the most realistic way forward. Interview by Bernard Gwertzman

Ideas

The New Map of the Middle East

Seven years ago, I wrote it was time to redraw the post-World War I borders of the Middle East. ISIS is right, that map that has no future. By Jeffrey Goldberg

Ideas

What the U.S. Could Do to Keep Putin Out of Ukraine

Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski's shares his recent take on the best U.S. and NATO options amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis. By Janine Davidson

Ideas

What Bosnia Can Tell Us About Iraq

Like in the Balkans, the U.S. should get Iraq’s warring sides to the table at all costs. By Nick Dowling

Ideas

Why the Persian Gulf Isn’t Ready for Joint Security

Stop pretending, U.S. partners in the Persian Gulf don’t trust each other or agree on Iran. By Bilal Y. Saab

Ideas

The Moral Argument for American Restraint in Iraq -- and Beyond

A new book by MIT professor Barry Posen calls for a radical rethinking of U.S. foreign policy. By Noah Berlatsky

Science & Tech

The Pros and Cons of U.S. Drone Strikes in Iraq

The easiest option against ISIS politically might also be the least effective. By Patrick Tucker

Threats

Gen. Allen: Obama Should Strike Iraq Insurgents With ‘A Hard Blow’

In an exclusive interview, Gen. John Allen, a former top U.S. military commander in Iraq, urges President Obama to strike ISIS with ‘a hard blow.’ By Stephanie Gaskell

Ideas

Don’t Be Sucked Into War With Iraq, Again

We should not be bullied back to Baghdad by politics, ideology or short-term thinking that this wrong war never should have ended. By Joe Cirincione

Ideas

Turning the Asia Pivot Into a Real ‘Obama Doctrine’

Why the pivot to Asia is the wrong model for an 'Obama doctrine' and how the president can get it right. By Lawrence J. Korb

Ideas

It’s Time for Obama To Re-Engage with Iraq

Just because the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in 2011 doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a vested interest in the worsening violence there. By Aki Peritz

Ideas

What the Army's New COIN Manual Is Missing

The latest incarnation of the military’s counterinsurgency manual underestimates the real challenges of relationships with host nations. By Walter Ladwig III

Ideas

Rebuilding Bipartisan Consensus on National Security

The rough consensus that once guided American foreign policy has shattered. It’s time to put it back together. By Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine

Ideas

Bergdahl and the Impossible Choices Hostages Face

A former Taliban captive explains how to stop the spread of an increasingly successful militant tactic. By David Rohde

Ideas

They Will Never March Down the Champs-Élysées

Seventy years after Normandy, today’s enemies remain far from Paris. By Kevin Baron

Ideas

My Father Was a D-Day Fighter Pilot

Active before, on and after D-Day, my father has as story. And so does my mother. By John Tierney

Ideas

We Did It Before, But Could We Do It Again?

D-Day required a masterpiece of planning, leadership, and willingess to follow. Not that much has changed. By Capt. William J. Parker, III

Ideas

Meet the Insurgency: Inside the Liberal Takeover of U.S. National Security

How a group of progressive security wonks took on the establishment and won.

Ideas

70 Years After D-Day, the Legacy of WWII Veterans Carries On

The stories of valor that took place on Normandy Beach 70 years ago need to be passed on to future generations. Here’s one of them. By Christopher D. Kolenda

Ideas

It's the Afghan War, Not Bergdahl, That America Has Forgotten

It took the murky circumstances regarding a POW's return to remind us we are a nation at war. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon