Ideas

Iran Hawks Are the New Iraq Hawks

Many of the assumptions that guided America’s march to conflict in 2003 still dominate American foreign policy today.

Ideas

Fixing The Iranian Missile Problem

It won’t be easy, but Europe and Washington should pressure Iran into suspending missile flight-testing.

Ideas

The US May Seek Defenses Against Russian Missiles. We Need to Talk about That.

If the Trump administration goes down that path, it should boldly declare a change in strategy, not hide behind ambiguity.

Ideas

Trump Is Setting America on an Unpredictable Course in the Middle East

It starts with exiting the Iran nuclear deal without a plan, and it could end with a messy, violent, and unnecessary conflict.

Ideas

Moscow Has Little Reason to Return to the INF Treaty

The incentives that led Gorbachev to sign the pact are gone. The U.S. needs to prepare for a post-INF world.

Ideas

We Need a NATO for Infowar

Western countries have pitifully few defenses against ever-more-powerful disinformation campaigns. Banding together can help.

Ideas

Terrorists Are Going to Use Artificial Intelligence

Machine-learning technology is growing ever more accessible. Let’s not have a 9/11-style ‘failure of imagination’ about it.

Ideas

The Dead Metaphors of National Security

To grapple with today’s complex security environment, we must first think about it realistically. Our terminology — not our technology — is key.

Ideas

Netanyahu and Iran's Atomic Archive: What's New and What's Not

Among the new bits: Tehran's nuclear planners envisioned an arsenal so small as to make Kim Jong Un giggle.

Ideas

Trump’s New Arms-Sales Policy Is Good but Sounds Awful

We must reintegrate arms exports into the U.S. foreign-policy process — and do a far better job of explaining why than the Trump administration has managed so far.

Ideas

The Difference Between a Killer and a Terrorist

Two mass murders reveal how difficult—and important—it is to correctly identify terrorism when it occurs.

Ideas

The Iran Regime-Change Crew Is Back

That probably spells doom for the nuclear deal.

Ideas

The US Does Not Need New Tactical Nukes

There’s a false narrative afoot: that we lack the weapons to deter a Russian nuclear strike.

Ideas

Thornberry Is Getting Rolled by the Services

The HASC chairman’s proposed reforms would roll back consolidations that have been saving money for decades.

Ideas

How to Plan for the Coming Era of Human-Machine Teaming

Militaries must understand the different forms it will take, and how it will change just about everything they do.

Ideas

How North Korea Learned to Live With 'Fire and Fury'

Kim Jong Un’s concessions on his weapons program suggest that he has adapted to President Trump’s threats.

Ideas

Thornberry’s Pentagon-Reform Plan to Nowhere

It's pitched as a way to cut waste — but would make the misallocation of our tax dollars more likely.

Ideas

North Korea Is Not De-Nuclearizing

The Trump administration shouldn’t get too excited about Kim Jong Un’s pledge to limit his weapons program.

Ideas

The White House Is Relaxing Drone Exports. Here's a Good Next Step

A 31-year-old arms-control pact governs UAVs as if they were cruise missiles. Our national leadership in the field depends on fixing that.