Ideas

Russian-Style Kleptocracy Is Infiltrating America

When the U.S.S.R. collapsed, Washington bet on the global spread of democratic capitalist values—and lost.

Ideas

Ep. 37: Beyond South China Sea tensions, part one: The Tinderbox

The episode is broken up into three parts: how did it all begin?; what's in it for Beijing?; and where to go and what to know from here.

Science & Tech

China’s Rapid AI Development Has Its Limits: Report

Chinese artificial-intelligence researchers are aware of ways their work lags the United States’ — and Beijing is working to fix those.

Policy

Diplomats Aren’t Following the State Department’s Social Media Rules, Watchdog Says

At least 20 ambassadors have used their personal Twitter accounts for diplomatic activities.

Defense Systems

DARPA exploring new levels of mobile security

DOD's research arm is getting ready to test mobile devices that permit information-sharing across multiple security levels from a single platform.

Ideas

Startups Should Love Government Work

New pathways to federal business are helping young companies thrive — and the government to get what it needs.

Ideas

South Korea Becomes a Testing Ground for Trump’s Grievances With Allies

The motto for the U.S.–South Korea alliance isn’t “We go together, if I get enough money as reimbursement,” one analyst observed.

Ideas

Two Ways the Venezuelan Crisis Might End

President Maduro seems likely to hold power only as long as he can pay off military elites.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Pushes for Speed in Cloud Strategy

The Defense Department expects multiple providers to support the different kinds of clouds of its missions.

Threats

Trump: US Will Be Working with Mideast Partners ‘For Many Years to Come’

The president acknowledged that the Islamic State continues to pose a threat even though U.S.-led coalition forces have retaken 99 percent of its territory.

Threats

Federal Agencies Ramp Up Classified Plans to Protect 2020 Elections

The departments of Justice and Homeland Security delivered their joint review of meddling during 2018 to the White House.

Defense Systems

DISA digs into blockchain as a service

The Defense Information Systems Agency is considering adding blockchain as a service to its infrastructure platform.

Policy

Trump Announces Second North Korea Summit in State of the Union

The president stuck to the teleprompter in his 82-minute SOTU speech, the second-longest in history.

Policy

Senior Officials Downplay Trump Plan to Keep Troops In Iraq to ‘Watch Iran’

Some Baghdad watchers say the president’s remarks could imperil the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s First AI Strategy Will Focus on Near-Term Operations — and Safety

The document is intended to make commander think through the implications of their new artificial-intelligence tools.