Threats

Trump Won’t Pull US Troops From Afghanistan, Says Afghan President

At NATO Summit, President Ashraf Ghani said Trump gave his full support to coalition leaders and believes he convinced the U.S. president to stay.

Policy

The Pentagon Is Overhauling the Security Clearance Process

That includes a hunt for new ideas and companies to do background checks.

Policy

‘I Believe in NATO’ Says Trump at Summit, Allaying Morning Fears of Pullout

To some surprise, the president gave his strongest backing for NATO yet, minutes after leaving an emergency meeting of alliance leaders to address his threats on spending levels.

Policy

Donald Trump Didn’t Kill NATO, But…

Trump was on relatively good behavior, but NATO leaders acted more like salesmen than statesmen, defending the very existence of the alliance that protected the West for 70 years.

Policy

Trump Not Planning to Threaten US Troop Withdrawal from Europe; Solo Putin Meeting Was His Idea

Previewing the NATO Summit and Putin meeting, officials say Trump has the facts on Russian meddling, wants Putin meeting to start "dialogue."

Ideas

Happy 50th Birthday to the NPT Nuclear Treaty

There’s good reason to celebrate the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968. We’re all still here, aren’t we? But the NPT regime's protections are being tested more profoundly than ever.

Policy

NATO Will Outlive Trump (and Putin), Don’t Worry

Before Trump heads back to Europe, remember that NATO isn’t the G-7 and military relations are much stronger than the political ones they often endure.

Policy

Army Corps of Engineers May Lose Its Domestic Missions

The White House's sweeping reorganization proposal would move the Corps' navigation functions to the Transportation Department, and other civil works missions to Interior.

Science & Tech

In 2020, We’ll Have Digitized Immigration. Until Then, We Have JAG Lawyers

An effort to shrink the case backlog hobbling the immigration system is just getting started.

Policy

What Trump’s Space Force Announcement Means

New plan would create sixth service branch, and annoy the Air Force.

Policy

Has Trump Irreversibly Altered the GOP's Foreign Policy?

He’s reprising a struggle within the party that was fought in the 1950s—with long-term results.

Ideas

Congress May Declare the Forever War

A proposed law with bipartisan support would dramatically weaken the ability of legislators to extricate the United States from perpetual armed conflict.

Policy

Donald Trump Actually Seems to Believe He Denuclearized North Korea

The president claims the nuclear threat is gone, but that's not what he achieved in Singapore.

Policy

Here’s How That $380 Million in Election Security Funding Is Being Spent

State election officials are mostly using new election security money to shore up the basics.

Policy

America Alone?

A bitter end to the G7 summit could have consequences for America’s alliances.

Policy

Trump Goes to War Against the Democracies

Through the G7 summit, the brittle pretense of unity held together. Then came the tweets.

Policy

Congress Says It Doesn’t Need a Tech Advisory Office

Lawmakers voted against reinstating the Office of Technology Assessment, which was defunded in 1995.

Policy

US to India: Buy American, Not Russian

Officials hope Delhi’s $15 billion in US arms deals over the past decade are just the beginning.

Ideas

I'm an Actor and Activist. Silence Is Just Not an Option

After Roseanne's tweets, critics again want to silence all artists. But I'm a 10-year advocate for human rights in Iran and done right political participation should include all people — including celebrities.

Policy

Senate Defense Bill Aims to Scrub Cyber Adversaries from US Military Tech

The bill would require companies to disclose if they’d shared source code with foreign governments.