Ideas
'By, With, Through' Was the Best Hope for Syria — And Ending 'Endless Wars'
The U.S. acquiescence to Turkey’s invasion abandons an effective Kurdish partner, but also a creative model that was working.
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On North Korea, the Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost
One of the downsides of highly personalized diplomacy is that when the person in question is debilitated, the diplomacy suffers.
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The Forever War Fought by America’s Allies
The U.S.-backed soldiers who battled ISIS across Syria and Iraq could be locked in the struggle for a very long time.
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Trump Is Killing a Fatally Flawed Syria Policy
Did the president betray the Kurds or help dismantle a contradictory strategy in Syria? Both.
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Does America Need a Space Force?
A new service branch would put more bureaucracy between critical capabilities and the troops who need them.
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'It Didn't Have to Be This Way': Just-Retired CENTCOM General
Trump's decision "threatens to undo five years’ worth of fighting against ISIS and will severely damage American credibility and reliability," writes Joseph Votel, who until March led America's forces in the Mideast.
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Retired Senior Military Officers Unload on Trump
The commander in chief is impulsive, disdains expertise, and gets his intelligence briefings from Fox News. What does this mean for those on the front lines?
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The Syrian Democratic Forces Chief Just Called Me. Here’s What He Said.
“This is going to jeopardize all the achievements we've made with the coalition against ISIS,” said Mazlum Abdi.
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The US Is Trying to Restore Deterrence in the Gulf. That Won’t be Enough
Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a security dilemma. Here are some potential ways out.
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The US Government Keeps Too Many Secrets
American officials classify too much information, from the trivial to the politically inconvenient. The overreliance on secrecy invites abuse.
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A National-Security Problem Without Parallel in American Democracy
Democrats — candidates and lawmakers alike — should make it clear that they will impose consequences on any country that meddles with voting.
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The Hidden Damage of Trump’s Secret War in Somalia
Terrorist activity is not discernably declining, even as U.S. military activity and alleged civilian deaths rise.
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Democrats Should Not Give New Nukes to a President They Want to Impeach
National security concerns about Trump are only the latest reason Sen. Jack Reed should kill the new sub-launched warhead.
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The Strangely Quiet Visit of Germany’s New Defense Minister
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s do-little trip to Washington shows the uncertain state of U.S.-German relations.
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‘We Shouldn’t Be Buying the Taliban’s Excuse’
The Afghan national security adviser wants his government to take over after a failed year of U.S. negotiations. But now the country has an uncertain election to contend with.
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Why the Whistle Was Blown
The National Security Council’s procedures are a practical manifestation of values—and Trump’s disregard for NSC rules reflects his rejection of those values.
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How ‘National Security’ Took Over America
When the two-word phrase became a national obsession, it turned everything from trade rules to dating apps into a potential threat to the United States.
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The Call Was Coming From Inside the White House
After 2016, Americans focused on the threat of election interference from abroad. What they overlooked was the danger at home.
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