Ideas
Rex Tillerson's Syria Policy Is Sensible—But It's Fanciful
The resources the administration is willing to commit are at yawning variance with its ambitious goals.
Ideas
We Don't Need a Bigger Nuclear Button
The plan outlined in a draft of the Nuclear Posture Review would cost trillions of dollars — and make Americans no safer.
Ideas
Why Are There No Cyber Arms Control Agreements?
With the emergence of a militarized cyber domain that creates the conditions for misperceptions that could lead to inadvertent conflict, why are there no cyber arms control regimes?
Ideas
What if H.R. McMaster Is Right About North Korea?
It’s reassuring to think the country wants only a defensive capability. It could very easily be wrong.
Ideas
Don’t Hold Missile-Defense Hostage to the Illusion of a Perfect Grade
How is North Korea improving its ICBMs so quickly? It’s not afraid of a test failure — or six.
Ideas
The Specter of a Chinese Mole in America
The case of a suspected turncoat couldn’t come at a worse time for the intelligence community.
Ideas
Russian Subs Are Sniffing Around Transatlantic Cables. Here’s What to Do About It
First, realize that they carry more than just phone calls and email.
Ideas
Look to Norway? Yes.
Norwegian resistance once held off the Nazis. Today, Norway is resisting Russia’s meddling better than Trump, say some senators. Here's how.
Ideas
Time to Get Serious about Hardware Cybersecurity
The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities should be the kick in the pants that moves the US government past wishful thinking.
Ideas
How the Tet Offensive Undermined American Faith in Government
Fifty years ago, the January 1968 battle laid bare the way U.S. leaders had misled the public about the war in Vietnam.
Ideas
Hawaii's Nuclear Wakeup Call (and Why We Should Take MLK's Advice)
The Cold War brought plenty of false alarms — but nothing like the situation we face today.
Ideas
Shawn Brimley's Town
Washington, D.C., can be an easy city to mock or resent—but it’s full of workers who’ve chosen to serve something larger than themselves.
Ideas
The US Military Needs a Teacher Corps to Train Its Partners
Much of the $70 billion spent to train Afghan armed forces has been wasted. Here’s how to do better.
Ideas
Pakistan Will Try to Make Trump Pay
The country has banked on being treated as too dangerous to fail. But this time could be different.
Ideas
How the Olympics Could Help Defuse the North Korea Crisis
The games give Trump a chance to affirm inter-Korean diplomacy while laying the groundwork for talks with the Kim regime.
Ideas
What to Expect from the Pentagon’s First-Ever Audit
Dramatic surprises are unlikely, but the resulting information should feed better discussions and decisions about national-security spending.
Ideas
Hybrid Star Wars: Lessons from The Battle of Endor
In an excerpt from an upcoming anthology of Star Wars-themed essays, a former NATO supreme commander revisits a forest moon in a galaxy far, far away.
Ideas
What Trump Got Right in Foreign Policy in 2017
For one thing, the Islamic State is largely defeated.
Ideas
American Ideals Beat the USSR. Why Aren’t We Using Them Against Russia?
Without an ideological rival to hold a mirror to its faults, the US is turning away from the ideas and institutions that led to victory.
Ideas