Ideas
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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The Whistle-Blower Really Knows How to Write
As an intelligence report, the complaint against Trump holds up well. The author carefully explained where the information came from and left investigators a number of concrete leads.
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Acting DNI Shows Why Generals and Admirals Should Not Become Top Civilians
Joseph Maguire, a retired three-star, was all too desperate to find a higher civilian authority whose orders to obey.
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An Old Idea Could Bring Anti-Aircraft Missiles of Unprecedented Capability
Ramjet SAMs promise interceptions at altitudes and distances far beyond today’s defenses.
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Giuliani: ‘You Should Be Happy for Your Country That I Uncovered This’
As other Trump allies turn on him, President Trump’s personal attorney shouts down questions about his role in the Ukraine scandal.
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The Air Force's Kessel Run Is the John Travolta of Defense Acquisitions
Right now, the much-hyped software-development office is doing fine work. Let’s remember that when the inevitable backlash arrives.
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The US and Iran Are Still Worlds Apart on a Deal
At the UN, America and Iran talk at each other and refuse to meet.
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Ep. 56: 10 trips to Afghanistan, with Kevin Maurer
North Carolina-based author Kevin Maurer talks about his latest trip in January, and how some U.S. soldiers derive meaning from the longest conflict in the nation's history.
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Trump’s Incriminating Conversation With the Ukrainian President
The White House said a transcript of the call would be exculpatory—but the summary it released only adds to the problems facing Trump.
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Why America Needs Ukraine
Trump’s push to get Ukraine’s new president to do his political bidding threatens to undermine a key U.S. partnership in countering Russia.
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Trump's Transactional. And Estonia's President Is Cool With It.
"Thinking back historically, when everybody else said it nicely, we didn’t react,” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid told us.
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America Is Abandoning the International Systems that Made It Great
Though Trump has accelerated its decline, the crisis of multilateralism has much deeper roots.
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On Iran, Trump Needs UN Help. He May Even Know it.
Maximum pressure isn't working. Tehran isn't backing down. Can the president woo a body that laughed at him last year?
Ideas
The Most Dangerous Moment of the Trump Presidency
The U.S. president has never clarified what he wants from Iran. Now all of his real options are bad.
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For Saudi Arabia, What Now?
Riyadh has military options for retaliating against Iran. The Trump administration needs to persuade Saudi leaders not to use them.
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Imagine If Obama Had Done This
Republicans have tolerated plenty of foreign-policy moves by Trump that they would never have let his predecessor get away with. Will that continue with Iran?
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If This Isn’t Impeachable, Nothing Is
Trump reportedly pressured a foreign government for help against a potential electoral opponent.
Ideas
Time to Harden International Norms on Armed Drones
Progress on widely accepted rules has been as slow as the technological advancement has been fast.
Ideas