Ideas
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.
Ideas
To Fight Disinformation, Rethink Counterintelligence
For too long, the focus of U.S. counterintelligence has been safeguarding government secrets and corporate intellectual property.
Science & Tech
The Endless Aerial Surveillance of the Border
New reports suggest that drone activity at the southern border is spreading to nearby cities, erasing the line between police procedures and immigration enforcement.
Science & Tech
Esper Condemns ‘War Crimes’; Trump Orders 1,000 US Troops Out of Northern Syria
As Turkey strikes deeper into northern Syria, Trump says ‘let them’ fight.
Ideas
The White House Abused the Classification System
The question now is whether Congress can summon the will to hold the president to account.
Ideas
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.
Science & Tech
The NSA Wants To Help Design Safer Tech Products. Do You Trust Them?
The leader of the agency’s new public-facing group says she’s all white hat.
Ideas
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?
Threats
US Defense Secretary: I Can't Put Forces Between Turks and Kurds
Esper explained why the U.S.-backed rebels will get no air cover or other help. But he couldn't explain why U.S. troops were moved after this particular Turkish threat to invade.
Ideas
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.
Ideas
'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.
Threats
Anti-ISIS Operations In Syria Cease Amid Turkish Assault
“The SDF is clearly focused on the northern border to protect their forces,” a defense official said.
Threats
DHS Opens Civil-Rights Investigation into Harassment of Reporter at Dulles
Watson's account of his interaction with a Customs and Border Protection officer received broad media coverage.
Ideas
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.
Policy
Why US Officials Say Trump is Flexing on Foreign Policy
“Trump has been Trump in foreign policy—but the safety nets are gone,” said one senior national security official, of the president’s Syria decision.
Ideas