Ideas

The Coronavirus Shows How US ‘Diplomacy’ Is Anything But

Absolutist, America-first approaches isolate us and make us less safe.

Threats

Did the Coronavirus Escape from a Chinese Lab? Here’s What the Pentagon Says

Gen. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, directly addressed ‘rumor and speculation’ that COVID-19 is a made-in-China weapon of war.

Ideas

The US Should Help Iran Get the Coronavirus Under Control

Easing sanctions will help confront a global pandemic and win back some goodwill from ordinary beleaguered Iranians.

Business

Pentagon Orders 60 Machines that Disinfect Desperately Needed N95 Masks

Each Battelle-made machine can clean up to 80,000 masks per day, allowing healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients to reuse them up to 20 times.

Science & Tech

How the Coronavirus Forced the Pentagon to Improve Its IT — and Quickly

New teleworking capabilities — hastily installed to help DoD get work done at home — will stick around after the virus subsides.

Policy

Republicans Seek to Punish China for Coronavirus as Trump Waffles

“Having the relationship I have with China is a good thing,” Trump says. But Republicans say China needs to “pay a price.”

Ideas

Ep. 66: The 1918 flu and the U.S. military

How the U.S. military was battered by, and slowly learned from, the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Ideas

Where is NATO? And Where is Trump?

The virus is destroying economies and paralyzing societies in ways Russian military planners could only dream.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Supercomputers Puzzle Out How to Safely Airlift Coronavirus Patients

And that's just one of the various pandemic-related problems that Defense Department supercomputers are chewing on.

Ideas

Trump Doesn't Know How to Safely Reopen the Country. Here Are 3 Ways to Do It

The president isn't talking about America's need to vastly expand testing and tracking — and the tradeoffs that might require.

Policy

Congress Hears Options—And Concerns—for Using Smartphone Data to Fight Coronavirus

Other countries have been using various forms of location- and proximity-tracing to slow the spread of the disease, with widely varying levels of privacy protections.

Ideas

How Much of the Coronavirus Damage Is Trump’s Fault?

The United States is on trajectory to suffer more sickness, more dying, and more economic harm from this virus than any other comparably developed country.

Science & Tech

The Air Force and Navy Are Testing This App to Stay Fit Amid Social Distancing

A biometric data app is helping the services monitor the health of sailors and airmen stuck at home.

Threats

Wear Homemade Masks If You Can't Get Real Ones, Pentagon Tells Its People

N95 respirators and surgical masks will be reserved for health care workers and patients, the Defense Department said in a series of memos this week.

Ideas

NATO Should Always Work From Home

Alliance leaders are using virtual meetings to make quicker decisions. That’s exactly what Russia should fear.

Business

US Intelligence Agencies Are Told to Be Flexible with Contractors During Coronavirus

New guidance recommends immediate contract modifications to allow some contractors to remain at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.