Ideas
This Is Not Your Parents' Military. We Can’t Fund It the Same Way
The price of arms and personnel has risen far faster than inflation.
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Ep. 73: Monuments, terrorism and the American white power movement
'Each time the white supremacist movement has surged in the U.S., that surge has been mirrored by a similar increase within the armed forces.'
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There’s a Bigger Threat Than Big Tech. It’s Big China
As lawmakers grill U.S. technology CEOs, they should ask not just about their near-monopoly power today, but also about staving off Chinese dominance tomorrow.
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Why Isn’t the US Compensating Families Torn Apart By Its Air Strikes?
The military’s first report on ex gratia payments reveals a dangerous stinginess.
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Trump’s All-Stick, No-Carrot Approach Has Brought Two US Adversaries Together
The blooming China-Iran bilateral relationship serve as a warning to U.S. policymakers.
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OCO Must Go
Lawmakers should rally behind House appropriators' effort to eliminate a funding vehicle that allows the Pentagon to evade budget caps.
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Four Functions the Intelligence Community Should Rethink
The pandemic and new challenges abroad require change.
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US Air Force, Space Force: Here Is Your New Arctic Strategy
America’s most active services in the region have a four-part plan to support the National Defense Strategy.
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Tomorrow's Presidential Daily Briefing, By a Former PDB Writer
What must the president's morning threat assessments look like these days?
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Force Won’t Much Slow Iranian Nuclear Progress, But Something Else Can
The historical record shows that diplomacy can do what force alone has not.
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The US Is Out of Position in the Indo-Pacific Region
A truly joint approach is needed, and the Army has several particular roles to play.
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Congress Needs a Veto, Not a Notification, on Arms Sales
The Trump administration’s efforts to evade oversight show why more is needed.
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Happy Birthday to the Bomb
If we want to avoid nuclear destruction for the next 75 years, we must take the president’s finger off the button.
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The Pandemic Shut Down Other DoD Innovation Efforts, So We Took Ours Online
Hackathons sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network are going virtual, starting with an urban-warfare challenge.
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Ep. 72: What “China” means in 2020
An exploration of what we mean when we talk about China today.
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The US Needs a Global Coalition to Defeat COVID
Only a multinational effort can meet this unprecedented threat, say the authors, who led U.S. troops and international coalitions in the Middle East and Asia.
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How a Tiny Indian Ocean Island Could Force a US-UK Rift
Will the U.S. choose its closest ally over the international rule of law?
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Russia Wants Its Civil and Military Sectors to Cooperate. So Far, Not So Much
So U.S. policymakers should watch out for Russian efforts to avoid sanctions through trade with China.
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13 Lessons from the Crozier Controversy
A retired Navy commodore dissects how the captain mishandled the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
Ideas