Ideas

Why the US attack on Iran is unlikely to produce regime change in Tehran

A conversation with veteran diplomat Donald Heflin, a leader at Tufts University's Fletcher School.

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Expect Iranian regime to respond to US‑Israeli strikes as existential threats

The response to last year's strikes on nuclear sites was muted. Don't expect this one to be the same.

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Defense One Radio, Ep. 204: “Until the Last Gun Is Silent” by Matthew Delmont

A historian explores patriotism, U.S. foreign policy, and the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era.

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Defense One Radio, Ep. 203: Fictional intelligence

The authors of a new series discuss how they're exploring the future of conflict through short stories.

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'Mission ahead, heavens above'

Welcome to Fictional Intelligence, the first of a monthly series that explores the future through short stories.

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Pakistan’s burgeoning arms industry is a strategic opportunity for the US

A defense-industrial partnership could benefit the Pentagon while mitigating Chinese influence.

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Space-based interceptors make even less sense now

The Pentagon and its Golden Dome contractors are proposing to replace one showstopping problem with another.

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Our allies passed your test, Mr. President. Would we?

A former U.S. infantryman responds to Trump’s amnesiac take on Afghanistan.

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Defense One Radio, Ep. 202: The known perils of regime change

A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad.

Ideas

Bombing Iran would shore up its regime

External attacks stir up nationalism and redirect public anger outward, a “rally-around-the-flag” effect long documented by political scientists.

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Trump’s Greenland threat has already hurt US security—but far worse may come

A hostile takeover would shatter America’s key alliance, limit its military’s global reach, and invite economic reprisal.

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Ukraine’s future may turn on upcoming votes in Congress

As lawmakers sprint to fund the U.S. government, America’s support for Kyiv hangs in the balance—and could determine how the conflict ends.

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Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacy

Trump is the latest to reach for a military solution of the kind that rarely produces durable peace. 

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Trump’s new ‘battleship’ should not carry nukes

Producing a new nuclear missile for the Navy would leave us less safe.

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Now you can train for the next drone war on simulated Ukrainian front lines

A public version of the simulator used by thousands of Ukrainian drone pilots offers a terrifying glimpse into modern warfare.