Ideas
The Pentagon’s $54 billion bet on autonomous warfare
With new DAWG initiative, the DOD is attempting to fix a historically slow-moving, broken acquisition pipeline.
Ideas
Why the Iran war is breaking the US‑European strategic alliance
The continent is learning that it must not count on Washington.
Ideas
Taiwan is a ‘model ally,’ not trade bait
Trading the island’s security for rhetoric from Beijing would be a strategic blunder of historic proportions.
Ideas
Why the War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents
The "60‑day deadline" has a complex history.
Ideas
The next president must reimagine, not just restore, the administrative state
Careful calibration—not chainsaws—can produce a government that solves problems instead of getting in the way.
Ideas
Trump’s assumptions are running his Iran policy aground—again
His blunders underscore the importance of a vigorous interagency process.
Ideas
How to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
It will take existing, though battered, diplomatic and military frameworks plus some creative thinking.
Ideas
Stop managing NATO. Start rebalancing it.
Three reforms can strengthen the alliance for its next era.
Ideas
Unheeded lessons from the US warship nearly sunk by an Iranian mine
A strangely amnesiac effect seems to surround the threat of underwater weapons that wait.
Ideas
4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the US in the great power game
Trump further strains U.S. alliances while enabling China and Russia to advance regional influence.
Ideas
How would the US Navy counter Iran's mines?
The remaining Avenger minehunters are in Japan, while Pentagon testing has revealed problems with the LCS.
Ideas
How Ukraine’s defense industry innovates at the speed of modern war
The reasons are far more organizational than technological.
Ideas
Don't bottleneck defense-personnel vetting with a small-business set-aside
Screening a million federal employees a year has never been a small job, and it's getting bigger.
Ideas
The National Security Council is missing in action
The Trump administration's lack of a consistent rationale for the war on Iran underscores the importance of a functioning NSC.
Ideas
Iran war shows the strategic limits of tactical strikes
A complex web of economic and geopolitical consequences are keeping victory out of reach.
Ideas
This missile just proved itself in Iran. The US needs more, ASAP
Despite its advantages, the Precision Strike Missile has so far been procured in relatively small quantities.
Ideas
Take the win. Stop the war.
Killing leaders is the easy part. The post-9/11 wars show that it’s what follows that turns into a disaster.
Ideas
The Pentagon moves into the era of affordable mass
Even as cheap drones deplete expensive air defenses near Iran, the U.S. military is working to turn the tables.
Ideas
Why the US went to war without a plan to evacuate DOD civilians, contractors, and others
A diplomatic veteran cites operational secrecy—and describes how things might have gone better.
Ideas