Ideas

Donald Trump Has No Plan

Thousands are dying each week, the economy is cratering, and the president is at a total loss.

Ideas

Ep. 69: “The World: A Brief Introduction,” with Richard Haass

The president of the Council on Foreign Relations explains why the world needs to be reintroduced to a general audience in 2020.

Ideas

To Compete With Russia and China at Sea, Think Small

Great power competition requires more than preparing for great power conflict.

Ideas

US, China Should Pursue Peace, Not Military Brinkmanship

Neither side wants to appear weak, but recent actions and rhetoric by both sides has put all of us in greater danger of U.S.-China military tensions sliding into armed conflict.

Ideas

What If the Pentagon Skipped 5G?

The answer to the headaches and security risks of next-generation mobile communications just might be a technological leap past them.

Ideas

There’s One Big Reason the U.S. Economy Can’t Safely Reopen

The country faces the same problem today that it did two months ago: There are not enough tests to contain the virus.

Ideas

Ep. 68: How Americans view the U.S. role in the world, with Ivo Daalder

Are Americans ready, willing, and able to be the global security leaders of this century?

Ideas

The Post-Pandemic Military Will Need to Improvise

We don’t mean Pentagon-style “innovation.” We mean like the chefs on the reality show “Chopped.”

Ideas

Why Michael Flynn Is Walking Free

The former national security adviser figured out that loyalty to Trump is now a better bet than loyalty to the rule of law.

Ideas

What’s Behind South Korea’s COVID-19 Exceptionalism?

Seven weeks ago, South Korea and the U.S. had the same number of virus deaths. Today, South Korea has fewer than 300, and the U.S. has more than 70,000.

Ideas

Time to Rethink Security Aid to Egypt

More than $40 billion over three decades has bought only dubious benefits to U.S. security.

Ideas

Trump’s Nuclear Policy Has Failed

Recognizing that blunders and bad ideas have undermined stability and security is the first step toward recovery.

Ideas

Can China Use the Pandemic to Displace the US?

Distrust of Beijing may be growing, but so too is alarm over Washington's ineptitude.

Ideas

Pull US Troops, not Diplomats and Development Experts, from Afghanistan

America’s interests are no longer furthered by military might in the country, but we can still help in other ways.

Ideas

Amid Pandemic, China Is Working to Lead the World Trump Abandoned

Administration officials don't understand the significance of the chaos they have created in place of what used to be American foreign policy.

Ideas

Propaganda, the President, and the ‘Reopen’ Protesters

The military’s nostalgic WWII-style posters urge face masks and national unity, but they’re not reaching Trump and his disbelieving followers.

Ideas

The US Takes a Small, Insufficient Step To Help Iran Control Its COVID Outbreak

A leaked USAF intelligence report highlights growing concern about the impact of sanctions amid the global pandemic.

Ideas

Do You Miss Baseball? Here’s How the Pentagon Might Have Predicted the Nationals’ World Series Upset

Red teaming can help spot flawed assumptions, root out dangerous biases—and explain how oddsmakers got the Nats-Astros matchup so wrong.

Ideas

Unhappy Anniversary: The US ‘Unsigned’ the Arms Trade Treaty a Year Ago

The move has reaped the United States no benefits, and further undermined its international standing.