Ideas

How Can Iraq Rebuild?

Winning the peace means paying for reconstruction — and inevitably, losing money to corruption.

Ideas

Trump Gave the Military More Power, But Here’s What Really Concerns Us

A recent major conference on the civ-mil divide revealed a more nuanced picture of America and its armed forces.

Ideas

At Trump-Putin Meeting, Start with New START

If the treaty is allowed to disappear, so will the Pentagon’s best tools for divining facts about the Russian nuclear arsenal.

Ideas

North Korea Just Called Trump's Bluff. Here's What the US Can Do

Now that Kim Jong-Un has an ICBM, it's time for 'the least of the bad options.'

Ideas

How Poland Sets Trump Up for Success With Putin

Trump’s Poland visit could give the American president a strong message – and momentum – for his Putin meeting later this week.

Ideas

What Did North Korea's Missile Test Really Change?

When potential death tolls are unthinkably high, it’s like multiplying infinity.

Ideas

Why Trump Should Embrace America's Immigrant Soldiers

Immigrants have been part of the armed forces since the Revolutionary War. The administration is considering ending a program that grants some of them citizenship in exchange for their service.

Ideas

How ISIS Will Go On Without Mosul

Long after the city is back in the hands of the Iraqi government, it will continue to be a prop for the Islamic State—although an altogether different one.

Ideas

How to Adapt Military Risk to an Era of Hypercompetition

DOD needs to change how the defense enterprise describes, identifies, and assesses risk in an age of persistent disruption.

Ideas

Should the US Reassess Its Alliance with South Korea?

Washington's relationship with Seoul makes it a target for the Kim regime.

Ideas

By Hoarding Bugs, the NSA Is Weakening Security for Everyone Else

The NSA hordes exploits and bugs, a policy that imperils cyber security for everyone else.

Ideas

It’s Time for NATO to Look North

The alliance’s six-year old maritime strategy quickly needs updating for the new (and more Russian) age.

Ideas

Why Congress and the Pentagon Should Bypass Trump’s Defense Spending Bill

The NDAA markup is a chance for leaders on Hill and the Pentagon to show they are the badly-needed adults in the room on defense spending.

Ideas

Cherry Picking Intelligence For War in the Middle East? Here We Go Again

Will Trump follow the Bush playbook and start a war with Iran?

Ideas

I Could Kill You with a Consumer Drone

As a former intelligence soldier who now sells drones for a living, I can tell you that this problem is bigger than almost anyone realizes.

Ideas

Educating Afghanistan's Youth Is the Only True Solution to Terrorism

Widespread illiteracy undercuts not only security, but also development projects that could help lift the country out of 16 years of war.

Ideas

America's Military: Overcommitted and Underfunded

The administration wants to expand the armed forces’ commitments, even while contracting spending.

Threats

The Danger of Yemen's Secret Prisons

Black sites in the war-ravaged country help ensure that it will remain fertile ground for terrorists for years to come.

Ideas

Calm Your Russia War Drums Over This ‘Deconfliction Line’

Yes, the fight is hotter. But we were told this was coming, US and Russian leaders are deconflicting aplenty, and nobody wants war.

Ideas

Don’t Loosen the Rules on Civilian Casualties During Drone Strikes

The Trump team may eliminate the “near certainty” clause, which would do far more damage to US counterterrorism than retaining it.