Ideas

Ep. 47: Mosul, revisited (part two) with Mike Giglio and Dan Gabriel

We continue our remembrance of the Iraqi and coalition forces pushing the Islamic State group out of Mosul two years ago this week.

Ideas

The US-Saudi Alliance Is on the Brink

The relationship has survived for seven decades. A Democratic president could change that.

Ideas

Melians’ Revenge: How Emerging Tech Can Fortify NATO’s Eastern Flank

AI, 3D printing, commercial drones, and more can give the alliance’s easternmost nations a surprisingly potent defensive punch.

Ideas

Ep. 46: Mosul, revisited (part one) with Omar Mohammed of Mosul Eye

This episode we travel to Paris to meet the Iraqi historian behind secretive dispatches during the Islamic State group's occupation of Mosul.

Ideas

We’re Not Playing Acquisition Pac-Man Anymore

Today’s defense acquisition officials have freedom of movement akin to an open-world game. They need to use it.

Ideas

‘End Forever Wars’ is a Sound Bite, Not a Security Policy

More and more Democratic candidates are echoing Trump’s pledges to withdraw from conflicts abroad. Few say how to do it, nor how it will make us safer.

Ideas

Not Even Trump Has Any Idea What His Iran Policy Is

The president canceled a strike because it was “not proportionate,” and then vowed “obliteration.”

Ideas

We Don’t Need Airstrikes to Restore Deterrence in the Strait of Hormuz

Recent history shows that a restrained, multilateral military response can help restore stability.

Ideas

Trump Goes After Iran’s Supreme Leader

Having pulled back from a strike on Iran, the White House is trying sanctions on Ali Khamenei.

Ideas

A Water-Stressed World Turns to Desalination

More cities rely on desalination, which remains expensive and creates its own environmental problems.

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Women are Critical to Ending Wars—and the Trump Administration Agrees

A new law should kickstart long-overdue efforts to include more women in peace and security leadership roles.

Ideas

Is There Still a Deal to Be Done With Iran?

Below the surface, there are faint signs of how both parties can exit the crisis.

Ideas

Worse Than Obama’s Red-Line Moment

Trump has now shown himself just as willing as President Obama to make empty threats that damage American credibility.

Ideas

A Closer Look at the Arguments against the Low-Yield SLBM

Why should the U.S. forgo a modest technical adjustment that improves forces supporting its strategy for deterring limited nuclear war? 

Ideas

US Arms Sales to the Gulf Have Failed

Despite spending billions of dollars on hardware, our regional partners don’t have the capabilities we need.

Ideas

Ep. 45: Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter

Carter sat down with Defense One to talk about China, what it takes to succeed in the Pentagon, how not to waste a $750 billion-dollar defense budget — and much more.

Ideas

Trump Might Not Want War, but the Military Is Steering His Iran Policy

The buildup in the Middle East is coming at the request of the forces responsible for the region.

Ideas

Bolton Keeps Trying to Goad Iran Into War

For more than a decade, he’s consistently promoted war with Iran. All that has changed are the pretexts he’s offering to justify one.