Ideas

‘Silent Warriors’ Speak Out Against Trump’s Syria Turnaround

America’s elite special operators are breaking their wall of silence like never before, 'betrayed' by Trump’s decision to pull back in Syria and erase years of hard work. But are they too late?

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LIVESTREAM: 2019 Global Security Forum Day 1

The two-day conference will explore the security challenges of modern disinformation and its implications for an increasingly interconnected world.

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New Tech Aims to Help Societies Learn to Spot Fake News

Qatar’s QCRI and Finland’s Faktabaari make tools that help users from all over the political spectrum realize when they’re getting played.

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ISIS Is Gloating

The best one could say about America’s abandonment of the Kurds is that they should have known we would sell them out eventually.

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Trump Made His Real Syria Mistakes Months Ago

U.S. involvement should have ended with the recapture of ISIS’ territory and a Kurd-Assad deal.

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To Fight Disinformation, Rethink Counterintelligence

For too long, the focus of U.S. counterintelligence has been safeguarding government secrets and corporate intellectual property.

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The White House Abused the Classification System

The question now is whether Congress can summon the will to hold the president to account.

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Hong Kong Police Intensify Tactics Against Journalists

Local journalists bear the brunt of violence and misinformation, but international reporters have not been spared. I know this firsthand.

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Why Is Turkey in NATO Anyway?

Both sides have been repeatedly disappointed in the decades since Ankara joined the alliance. Is it time to call it off?

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China Bends Another American Institution to Its Will

For all the concern about China’s military strength, economic leverage might be its most powerful weapon.

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'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.