Ideas
Why Saturday's strike on Iran was perfectly timed
The president waited until Israel set the conditions for success.
Ideas
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.
Ideas
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.
Ideas
Is gun violence depressing military recruiting?
Perhaps the problem is not that young people are insufficiently patriotic, but that they have been fighting a war, daily, for their entire lives.
Ideas
The military must remain nonpartisan. America depends on it
The soldiers who cheered partisan applause lines at Fort Bragg, and their leaders, erred in a spectacular way.
Ideas
SecDef wants to insource work—but doesn't understand why it was outsourced
The Pentagon has been hemorrhaging internal talent for years. Fixing acquisition starts by fixing that.
Ideas
The ‘buy-American’ push is backfiring
It’s time for U.S. and European policymakers to be smarter and more cooperative.
Ideas
Ukraine’s daring drone raid exposes American vulnerabilities
Will U.S. leaders learn from the new playbook, or ignore it at our peril?
Ideas
Russia aims to ride the BRICS to AI victory
The United States must firm up its own coalition of AI collaborators.
Ideas
Ukraine and the future of deception in war
If the U.S. military and its partners cannot master today’s emerging tools, they may fall behind in a critical field.
Ideas
Don’t limit defense innovation by capping small-biz awards
A proposed change to the Small Business Innovation Research program would deprive the military of some of its best problem-solvers.
Ideas
The nation needs a ‘security clearance ready reserve'
A list of cleared, vetted people would serve as a strategic hedge against attrition, espionage and workforce volatility.
Ideas
Norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder
The India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise the fact that philosophy, proliferation, and U.S. inattention are working against it.
Ideas
State defense forces can fill a homeland gap
With just a few changes, these volunteer military units can do much more to help with Army and Guard missions.
Ideas
In Yemen, Trump risks falling into an ‘airpower trap’
Bombing campaigns are cheaper than ground incursions—but history shows that the former can lead to the latter.
Ideas
Forging a new national security alliance
The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command wants to knit traditional and non-traditional government, industry, and academic partners.
Ideas
A lesson from 1958 could help deter China from taking Taiwan
After China began shelling a nearby island, a four-pronged U.S. response led to decades of cross-strait peace.
Ideas