Threats

The Last of Assad's Known Chemical Weapons Are Now Out of Syria

After multiple missed deadlines, some 1,300 tons of declared chemical weapons have finally been removed from the deeply troubled nation, but questions remain about whether that was really all of it. By Diane Barnes

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Wants To Buy 14 More Ground-Based Inceptor Missiles

The ground-based Midcourse Defense system broke a 6-year losing streak when it took out a simulated missile over the Pacific. Now the Pentagon wants $1 billion to buy 14 more of the interceptors. By Rachel Oswald

Science & Tech

Watch the Global Cyber War Live Right Here

A U.S.-based company that monitors malware and spyware has created a visually stunning map documenting the global cyber war in real-time. By Heather Timmons

Ideas

A Victory in the Battle Against Mass Destruction

There are still plenty of things to be worried about, but one thing is clear: securing and destroying Syria's known chemical weapons stockpile was a major victory. By Joseph Cirincione and Geoffrey Wilson.

Policy

Rand Paul’s Iraq Plan: More Obama, Less Cheney

Rand Paul’s noninterventionism toward Iraq may be the Republicans' best chance to retake security supremacy -- and the White House. By Molly O’Toole

Threats

A Political Solution to Iraq Crisis Won’t Come Easy

Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Iraq to create a new government – but that’s going to take time as ISIL fighters continue to advance. By Stephanie Gaskell

Defense Systems

Army to test low-altitude UAV flights

The Maneuver Battle Lab and Georgia Technical Research Institute will try out software for high-speed, close-to-the-ground autonomous navigation.

Defense Systems

Army adding to its supply of Manpack radios

General Dynamics and Rockwell Collins are delivering 1,500 more of the two-channel, software-defines battlefield systems.

Policy

Iraq Was the Last Thing Obama Needed

Team Obama's next generation worldview -- and national security policy -- have missed time and again. By James Oliphant

Ideas

Maliki Isn’t The Problem. Oil Is.

Oil states are almost always autocracies and rarely politically inclusive, and it’s easy to understand why. By Nora Bensahel

Science & Tech

The Military Now Has X-Ray Guns

Want a handheld blaster to look through walls? Enjoy. By Patrick Tucker

Threats

The Rise of Militarized NGOs

Governments disguising soldiers as civilians and recruiting civilian insurgents are old practices. But in the 21st century, they've acquired unprecedented potential as tools of war. By Moisés Naím

Ideas

Intimidation, Cronyism, Repression: The Unfortunate Legacy of Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki

Maliki’s personal history shaped his winner-take-all view of Iraqi politics. Years of bloody civil war followed immediately by the Arab Spring have only made matters worse. By Mohamad Bazzi

Policy

The GOP Thinks Obama Learned His Lesson On Benghazi

After Benghazi, Republicans are happy to see the president beef up embassy security in Iraq. By Sarah Mimms

Threats

This Is Why Many of Iraq's Forces Dropped Their Weapons

Inside the rapid disintegration of a security force the U.S. spent more than $25 billion to build. By James Kitfield

Ideas

The Difficult and Probably Only Answer to Iraq and Syria's Problems

Former State and Defense Department official Leslie Gelb sees a way to counter the ISIL wedge that's prying Iraq and the region apart at its seams. It's not easy, but it just might be the most realistic way forward. Interview by Bernard Gwertzman

Defense Systems

Marine vehicles could soon have anti-drone laser guns

The Office of Naval Research is leading a program to develop a laser system small enough for a Humvee.

Ideas

The New Map of the Middle East

Seven years ago, I wrote it was time to redraw the post-World War I borders of the Middle East. ISIS is right, that map that has no future. By Jeffrey Goldberg

Ideas

What the U.S. Could Do to Keep Putin Out of Ukraine

Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski's shares his recent take on the best U.S. and NATO options amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis. By Janine Davidson

Threats

Chaos in Iraq's Oil Fields Is Shifting the World's Attention Back to Saudi Arabia

Gains made by marauding extremists in Iraq's north are already shaking up the global energy market. Here's what it could mean for Saudi Arabia's importance to the world. By Steve LeVine