Ideas

Unhappy Anniversary: The US ‘Unsigned’ the Arms Trade Treaty a Year Ago

The move has reaped the United States no benefits, and further undermined its international standing.

Ideas

Smart Weapons Need to Be Smarter

No missiles should shoot down civilian airliners by mistake.

Ideas

The US Has Abandoned Its Leadership on Land Mines, and For What?

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says new land mines are needed to “ensure mission success” and “reduce risk to our forces.” What success? What forces?

Ideas

Loosening Firearms Exports Will Tear at a Larger Arms-Control Fabric

But Congress still has time to block the Trump administration’s proposed changes.

Ideas

Democrats Should Debate Arms Policy, Not Just Impeachment

With Congress and the president at odds over Saudi exports and other questions, it’s time to press the candidates about their views.

Ideas

Some Arms Exports Are Riskier Than Others. Here’s a Tool To Tell Which Ones

The problems with selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and Turkey were hardly unpredictable.

Ideas

It’s Time for Congress to Rein in US Arms Exports

A staggering 70 percent of Americans believe that selling American arms abroad makes us less safe at home.

Business

70 Percent of Americans Say Arms Sales Make US Less Safe

A recent Chicago Council survey shows the Trump administration out of step with public opinion.

Ideas

Coming Soon to a Battlefield: Robots That Can Kill

Tomorrow’s wars will be faster, more high-tech, and less human than ever before. Welcome to a new era of machine-driven warfare.

Ideas

The American Exception

The United States is not the only nation to suffer from white supremacism, but in America, it has proved uniquely deadly.

Ideas

Antiques Road Show: The Real State of the US Military

The wars of the future may depend not so much on the kinds of things you can put on parade, but on new technologies that reimagine warfare.

Ideas

How Smaller States are Choosing Sides in the Indian Ocean

From Sri Lanka to Kenya, governments try to balance major-power influence — except in arms purchases.

Business

Fearing Iran, Qatar Continues Building its Missile Defenses

The Middle Eastern nation told the White House it would buy NASAMS and add to its Patriot batteries.

Ideas

US Arms Sales to the Gulf Have Failed

Despite spending billions of dollars on hardware, our regional partners don’t have the capabilities we need.

Ideas

The US Wants to Sell Taiwan the Wrong Weapons

The proposal to send tanks, and not A2/AD weapons, exposes a flawed American strategy.

Policy

Trump Bypasses Congress to Sell Arms to Saudis, UAE

The rare decision, a fallout of last year’s Khashoggi killing, comes as tensions rise with Iran.

Business

US: We’ll Pay Countries to Ditch Russian, Chinese Arms

The State Department wants to go global with a program originally aimed at ex-Warsaw Pact members.