Ideas
Deciphering Obama’s Necessary Message to the Intelligence Community
President Obama’s NSA speech was what the public, and intelligence workers, needed to hear. The president of one intelligence group explains why. By Joseph R. DeTrani
Ideas
The Mideast Is Overshadowing Obama's Pivot to Asia
Four experts from the Council on Foreign Relations offer perspectives on how Asia is reacting to President Obama's renewed focus on the region amid the turmoil in the Mideast. By Beina Xu
Ideas
How Hollywood Helps Recruit for the Military
War films like Lone Survivor are essentially multi-million dollar recruitment videos. By Calum March
Ideas
Why It Matters that Gates Questions Obama’s Will in Afghanistan
Bob Gates’ memoir confirms what many long knew – the Obama administration has not embraced its own Afghanistan policies. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Ideas
Hagel’s Nuclear Site Tour Is a Good Start
Perhaps Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has come around on nuclear disarmament in visiting the troops this week. It’s a good bet he won’t like what he hears. By Rep. Mike Rogers
Policy
The Egyptian Revolution Has Failed
Recent press crackdowns by the government mirror the tactics used by Mubarak’s authoritarian regime. By Shaheen Pasha
Threats
Why Al-Qaeda in Iraq Is Maliki’s Problem, Not America’s
Arming Iraq’s civil war will do little to solve Iraq’s political dysfunction. Unless Maliki agrees to power sharing in his own country, Maliki is on his own. By Peter Mansoor
Ideas
South Sudan Needs More Than Peacekeepers
The young country's security won't be solved with peacekeepers alone - putting the state under a trusteeship could help stabilize South Sudan. By G. Pascal Zachary
Threats
The Global Conflicts to Watch in 2014
From a cyberattack against the United States to a civil war in Iraq, here are the threats to worry about in 2014. By Uri Friedman
Ideas
Why the Central African Republic Crisis Is a Security Problem for the U.S.
The Central African Republic is poor, landlocked and politically broken. But the U.S. still has a responsibility to help end the violence there. By Madeleine Albright
Ideas
Top Seven National Security Books from 2013
You nominated them, so National Journal interviewed the authors of seven must-reads for security junkies. By Sara Sorcher
Ideas
Predictions for Afghanistan in 2014
Five experts forecast the war's drawdown, elections, foreign aid, democracy, and Pakistan -- all challenges for Kabul next year. CFR.org Interview By Zach Laub
Ideas
It’s Time to Bring Iran in from the Cold and End Sunni-Shiite Rhetoric
The Geneva nuclear deal with Iran could be the precise thing we need to end the Sunni-Shia rhetoric I grew up with. By Fariborz Ghadar
Ideas
Get the Message: Military Compensation Reform Is Sacred No More
That Congress was willing to touch the third rail of military retirement pay shows times are changing, as they should. By Maren Leed
Ideas
New Year, New Missions: Eight Challenges Awaiting the Pentagon in 2014
The New Year means new challenges for the Pentagon. Here’s a look at what’s ahead for 2014. By Stephanie Gaskell
Ideas
Power or Persuasion: More Sanctions or Bombs for Iran?
In the art of coercive diplomacy, sanctions and military pressure go hand-in-hand and must be feared, but they still have limits. By James Kitfield
Ideas
Obama’s Syria Policy in Disarray, Is Counterterrorism Next?
Syria’s opposition imploding “is a big problem,” warns Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Are U.S. counterterrorism operations inevitable? By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Ideas
How a Rock Concert Turned Nelson Mandela into a Cold Warrior
In standing for justice, Nelson Mandela helped end 20th-century totalitarianism. His 1988 birthday concert was a shot fired.
Ideas
Why Economics, Not Military Might, Is the Future of Foreign Policy
The story is the same around the world: the prospect of money, and not military power, is driving state-state relations. By David Rohde
Ideas