Policy

What Would Reagan Do In Iraq?

Rand Paul and Rick Perry each claim to be the Gipper’s heir in the Middle East. Who's right? By Peter Beinart

Science & Tech

Simulating War Might Be the Best Way To Prevent One

Virtual reality training is about to get a lot better and more competitive. But is it falling out of favor? By Patrick Tucker

Business

The VA Paid More Than $40 Million in Improper Claims Last Year

For 2 months in 2013, the Veterans Benefits Administration hurried to eliminate its disability claim backlog. That rush resulted in many costly mistakes. By Bob Brewin

Threats

Why Hamas Chooses Rockets Over Nation Building

With the prospects for a two-state solution looking hopelessly dim, what does Hamas stand to gain by firing rockets at the civilians of its militarily powerful neighbor? By Jeffery Goldberg

Ideas

The One Thing the U.S. Can't Train the Iraqi Army To Do

The U.S. has trained the Iraqi military for years. But there’s one thing you can’t teach an army to do. By Lt. Gen. Robert Gard

Policy

Rand Paul vs. Rick Perry: The GOP’s Battle for the Future of National Security

The bluster between Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Rand Paul is just smoke for the fire that is the GOP’s identity crisis. By Molly O’Toole

Ideas

What Stands in the Way of the Pentagon Keeping Its Best and Brightest?

The Defense Department's impending force drawdown could accelerate the departure of some of its best personnel. Here are a few ideas on how to keep that from happening. By Amy Schafer

Defense Systems

US arrests Chinese aerospace exec in hacking conspiracy

Su Bin, owner of Chinese aviation company Lode-Tech, collaborated with hackers to steal information about military aircraft, the Justice Department says.

Defense Systems

ARL, TARDEC work to defeat laser threats that could blind soldiers

Wavelength-diverse lasers, which are difficult to filter out, could be used to blind tank gunners and attack soldiers’ eyesight.

Defense Systems

Army moving enterprise apps to core data centers

The migration also involves removing unused and redundant applications.

Policy

Lawmakers Want Answers on the Effects of Iraq and Afghanistan's Burn Pits

Some veterans feel the health impacts of Iraq and Afghanistan burn pit exposure demand more study. Some lawmakers aren't giving up on the issue either. By Jordain Carney

Business

Is the U.S. Ready to Patrol the Arctic?

A sobering look at America's ice-cutter fleet as it prepares to chair the 8-nation Arctic Council next year. By Marina Koren

Ideas

Why the Next 'Great War' Won't Happen on China's Doorstep

Today’s rising China is nothing like the threat that rising Germany posed to Europe in 1914. Here's why. By Michael Hunzeker and Mark Christopher

Science & Tech

How the CIA Partnered With Amazon and Changed Intelligence

Amazon is building a cloud for the intelligence community that could bridge the sort of gaps that preceded the 9/11 attacks. By Frank Konkel

Ideas

A Chance to Drive a Wedge Between Jihadists and Sunnis

ISIL’s overreach into Iraq is Washington’s opportunity to shift Sunni allegiances for good. By Dave Miller

Threats

Despite Pentagon Concerns, Obama Requests No New Military for Border Threat

White House agrees the root causes of the border crisis threaten national security, but says the mission is not the military’s. By Molly O’Toole

Defense Systems

3D bioprinting: Repairing burns, other traumatic injuries with new cells

Army researchers, part of a consortium of universities, hospitals and others, work on printing healthy cells onto serious wounds.

Defense Systems

Watch: DARPA unveils guided bullets

Special .50-caliber bullets are able to change course mid-flight and hit offset targets

Threats

How to Punish the Banks that Fund Terrorists

Terrorist financiers will have a harder time laundering money after France's largest bank agreed to an historic settlement for processing transactions from officials in a number of U.S-sanctioned countries. By Jonathan Masters

Business

VA Reform's Surprising 19th Century Roots

Congress's proposal to fix the broken agency risks returning America back to its patronage-job system of President James Garfield's day. By Norm Ornstein