Ideas
Five Questions About Nukes To Ask at the Next Debate
Three minutes’ discussion among two candidates is a pitiful amount of time to devote to a truly existential threat.
Ideas
How Long Can Trump Keep Ignoring Kim’s Missile Tests?
It’s becoming harder for the president to overlook the fact that the man with whom he claims to have fantastic chemistry is literally going ballistic.
Ideas
The Missing Debate about Afghanistan
The president’s talk about “wiping” the country “off the face of the earth” highlights the need for a serious talk about U.S. goals and strategy.
Ideas
Antiques Road Show: The Real State of the US Military
The wars of the future may depend not so much on the kinds of things you can put on parade, but on new technologies that reimagine warfare.
Ideas
The Bill for ‘America First’ Is Coming Due
Two of America’s closest treaty allies have announced military efforts explicitly designed to exclude the United States.
Ideas
Ep. 50: Cyberwarfare yesterday
This episode, we survey the history of cyberwarfare — from the ascent of Chinese hackers this century to the arrest of a Soviet-linked hacker 30 years ago, and a lot in between.
Ideas
About that Counter-Iran Coalition...
The Trump administration called for help, but Washington's friends have shrugged and calculated it is safer to stay away from "maximum pressure." There is a better way.
Ideas
If New START Dies, These Questions Will Need Answers
There’s little public indication that the Trump administration is thinking about several things that will happen if the last strategic arms agreement is allowed to expire.
Ideas
No, Lyme Disease Is Not an Escaped Military Bioweapon
The Lyme bacterium was living in the wild decades before the disease was even identified. And there's plenty more to disprove the conspiracy theories.
Ideas
Let the US Air Force Move Ahead with Its Heavy-Lift Rocket Program
Lawmakers' attempt to force the service to allow more companies to bid on satellite launches would do more harm than good.
Ideas
Don't Trust the Taliban With Afghanistan’s Cultural Preservation
The group continues to attack sites and antiquities. Here are five ways peace negotiators can ensure that Afghanistan’s past will contribute to its future.
Ideas
The Future of Conflict is Proxy Warfare, Again
A new CNA study offers seven lessons from America’s experience with supporting one side from afar.
Ideas
Should Cyber Arms Be Treated Like Bioweapons?
A recent paper suggests that the two are more closely related under international law than previously thought. But the analogy, while useful, is not exact.
Ideas
The Arguments for Weakening Encryption Aren't Any Better Under Trump
Law-enforcement backdoors would still make everyone less safe, even as U.S. officials set their sights on broader access to data.
Ideas
Iran Is Acting Like the International Villain of Trump’s Prophecy
Any number of relatively mundane scenarios now have the potential to escalate U.S.-Iran tensions—from a fire at a militia base to the seizure of an oil tanker to the signal-jamming of a drone.
Ideas
How Smaller States are Choosing Sides in the Indian Ocean
From Sri Lanka to Kenya, governments try to balance major-power influence — except in arms purchases.
Ideas
Trump Says US Troops Shouldn’t Be ‘Policemen’ in Afghanistan. So Why Are They There?
In a puzzling Oval Office press conference, the commander-in-chief throws his purported strategy into doubt.
Ideas
Where’s the Coverage of Civilian Casualties in the War on ISIS?
New studies reveal important gaps in coverage of this aspect of the anti-ISIS operation, largely a war of air strikes.
Ideas