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Lessons from this year’s unfunded priority lists
Just 15% of the value would go toward near-term readiness.
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How to write a defense strategy that sticks
Seek clarity always, specificity sometimes—and produce a yardstick that can be used to measure decisions.
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‘Fund first, ask questions later’ is a bad way to go
Handing $156 billion to the Pentagon with no clear plan invites not just waste but danger. Here's why.
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Who should coordinate Europe’s defense buildup?
The best candidate, at least for the near term, has granular understanding of existing forces and informal links to suppliers.
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‘The Bomb Lady’ shows how immigrants power national defense
Just when the United States should be nurturing this source of strength, we are doing the opposite.
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To build 'peace through strength,' restore this pillar of US power
Administration cuts are breaking the federal-academic partnership that incubates U.S. technology and talent.
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How China’s new rare-earth export controls target the Pentagon—and the world
The licensing system replaces a cruder, less flexible means of economic leverage.
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The Trump administration’s lie-detector campaign is more likely to hurt than help national security
Pseudo-scientific polygraph tests may discourage internal candor and divert investigative energy while failing to stop leaks.
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How the National Guard’s domestic missions build deterrence
The Guard’s citizen-soldiers and -airmen boost American resiliency, complicating any adversary’s calculations.
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Defense reconciliation bill begins rebuild and transformation of our military
The cost of deterring war will always be dwarfed by the cost of fighting one.
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The Army’s role in the Pacific
Deterrence can’t be achieved with maritime or air systems alone.
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What the R&D budget proposal says about the future of war
The Pentagon’s research-and-development section heralds several quiet, monumental shifts.
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The Israel-Iran war may have saved both countries’ embattled leaders
External threats tend to heal internal divisions—and shatter dreams of “regime change.”
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The White House is looking for savings in the wrong place
The main acquisition challenge isn’t how the military buys weapons, but what it aims to do with them.
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Why Saturday's strike on Iran was perfectly timed
The president waited until Israel set the conditions for success.
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For 250 years, it’s been ‘change or lose’ for our military. Here’s what needs changing now
A former commandant and a futurist take stock of Spider’s Web, Rising Lion, and more.
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China's burgeoning drone arsenal shows power of civil-military fusion
Trump's recent executive orders are just one step in a race against a competitor with a very long lead.
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