Ideas
The Future Has Arrived for Mohammed bin Salman
But in the wake of his ruthless purge, can he avoid the pitfalls and excesses of a previous generation of Saudi leaders?
Ideas
The Middle East Is Nearing an Explosion
Fear is the one thing preventing it—but could also precipitate it.
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Here’s How the US Army Should Arm Itself for New Threats
Stop hoping for a funding bump and start making existing weapons work better together.
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Pentagon: We Want You — to Get Us Into The Cloud Much Faster
We need the private sector's help to vault DOD into the world of elastic computing and machine learning.
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It Took Comfort 39 Days to Get Pierside in Puerto Rico. That's a National-Security Problem.
The hospital ship's poor utilization suggests that the US military's biomedical support doctrine needs shoring up.
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Give ISIS Fighters Due Process
'Even in victory and when stung by injury,' we must hold to the law — lest we grant extremists a victory of their own.
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DoD is Losing the Budget Endgame
Lawmakers have prioritized tax cuts, and now there’s just one way left for the defense budget to recover.
Ideas
Russia’s Hybrid Attacks Should, At Long Last, Force the EU and NATO to Team Up
Five ways these largely congruent yet poorly coordinated organizations could start putting their collective capabilities to best use.
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Four New Questions For Trump on Syria
The ISIS fight is nearly over, military leaders say. Is the United States ready to lead what happens next?
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Ash Carter: Behind the Plan to Defeat ISIS
To its credit, the Trump administration followed the path we set in the Obama administration.
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Washington Still Doesn’t Understand Iraq
The U.S. dream of a democratic and federal Iraq is over. Appointing Iran the next boogeyman won’t help.
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‘Military Options’ Against North Korea Isn’t the Problem—Loose Talk Is
There are a lot of ways for things to go wrong.
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Raqqa After ISIS Still Needs US Help
The group’s ultimate defeat is far from assured, and the United States can play a critical role in precluding the emergence of Islamic State 2.0.
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Trump Isn't the Only Problem with Trump's Foreign Policy
America’s approach to the world is a complicated mess, for reasons that predate the current president.
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US Space Policy Should Aim to Preserve Advantage on the New Frontier
As in the 19th-century American West, the government must recognize its limited yet crucial role in fostering the nation’s interests in space.
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Japan Needs Long-Range Strike Capabilities
Ballistic-missile defense systems alone can’t ward off regional threats. Tokyo needs firepower to deter its enemies.
Ideas
What McCain Knows That Kelly Forgot
One veteran offered a dark picture of a nation estranged from its military—the other, a more hopeful vision of a future brighter than the past.
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A Tale of Two Speeches
Sen. McCain and former President Bush called for Americans to rise to global leadership, and underscored the concrete benefits that have accrued from it. In normal times, this would be unexceptional.
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The Bloody End of the Islamic State's Utopian Dream
The fall of Raqqa this week completed the slow-motion demolition of the world’s only utopian movement worthy of the name.
Ideas