Threats
Obama Doesn't Know What He'll Do When US Troops Capture an ISIS Leader
The president is now sending special operators on ISIS capture missions. He has less than 90 days to tell Congress what he plans to do with them.
Policy
Obama Quietly Signs Guantanamo Freeze Into Law — But Hints at Executive Action
The president gave the defense authorization bill his signature, but rejected what he called unconstitutional restrictions on his push to close the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
Policy
On the Campaign Trail in New Hampshire with ‘Two Amigos’ Lindsey Graham and John McCain
The longtime national security leaders and besties talk ISIS, the GOP presidential field, and the first time they met with Defense One.
Policy
‘After Paris,’ Graham and McCain See a Whole New 2016 Race
Lindsey Graham, stumping with his friend John McCain, believes recent attacks will boost his quixotic quest for the White House.
Policy
Conflicting Claims Over Downed Russian Warplane
The incident continues to strain relations between Moscow and Ankara.
Policy
Hollande Tries to Rally the World to France’s War on ISIS
But many countries have their own reasons, and strategies, for fighting the terror group.
Policy
What Vietnamese Refugees in New Hampshire Think of the Syrian Backlash
As 2016 hopefuls arrive with pledges to block refugees from Syria, Vietnamese-American voters here respond with a conflicted mix of caution and compassion.
Policy
Why Obama Is Standing by the Syrian Refugees
The president isn’t speaking to his opponents—he’s talking to history.
Policy
Jeb Bush Struggles to Clarify Response to Syrian Refugee Backlash
In a week meant to burnish his national security credentials, the GOP candidate calls for “added measures” to the vetting process but says he doesn’t know what that process is.
Policy
Clinton Details A More Aggressive US Plan for Middle East, Terrorism
The Democratic front-runner calls for an ‘intelligence surge,’ increased special operations, and more of nearly every U.S. tool to fight terrorism.
Policy
Ben Carson's National Security Ignorance May Not Matter to US Voters
While it isn’t news that Carson is untutored on foreign policy, his rise in the polls coupled with the Paris attacks have brought a new focus to his lack of experience.
Policy
Syrian Refugees Caught Between Political Rhetoric and Reality After Paris
Fear mongering may be 2016 politics, but it denies reality: Syrians seeking refuge in the U.S. undergo some of the strictest scrutiny in the world.
Policy
Do the Democrats Have a Strategy Against ISIS?
In the next presidential debates, Democrats should try laying out a plan to defeat the terrorist group instead of changing the subject or issuing vague platitudes.
Policy
Here's Why Assad and ISIS Hate France's Stake in the Middle East
With both the terror group and the brutal president blaming the Paris attacks on French foreign policy, it's worth asking: what is that policy?
Policy
Creating Terror Is Easier Than Fighting It
Obama’s critics are hard-pressed to explain how they would lead a war-weary public against ISIS.
Ideas
What Will Change Now?
After Paris? By now, the war in Syria has become so complicated that 'this doesn't change anything.'
Policy
White House Delays Plan to Close Guantanamo, Again
The long-awaited plan, due this past week, has been delayed indefinitely.
Policy
Pentagon Transfers 5 Guantanamo Detainees to the UAE as Battle Over Closure Heats Up
Days ahead of signing a legislative freeze on Guantanamo into law, the president defiantly moves five from Cuba.
Policy
The Mindless Logic of Republican Foreign Policy
A country’s strength isn’t measured by how many bombs it drops, or how many armies it funds.
Policy