Ideas
The US, Japan, and South Korea Need to Get on the Same Page
As tensions with North Korea heat up, mutual mistrust and diverging priorities make it harder to choose a path forward.
Ideas
Letting Bahrain Buy F-16s Won’t Make It a More Stable Ally
The Trump administration discarded human-rights criteria in approving the sale — and that’s not going to help things.
Ideas
There Is a Peaceful Way Out of the North Korea Crisis
Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and missile programs represent one of the most dangerous challenges since the end of the Cold War. But there are opportunities to stop it.
Ideas
How Trump Could Get China's Help on North Korea
Beijing is not going to pressure Pyongyang just because he tells them to.
Ideas
Normalizing Illegal Action May Be the Only Lasting Effect of Trump’s Syria Strike
A president has broad leeway to send American forces into harm’s way, but Trump has blown past the few constraints that remain.
Ideas
Scuttle the Iran Nuke Deal? That Approach Didn’t Stop North Korea
The Trump administration should learn from George W. Bush’s 2002 decision to tear up an intact, if imperfect, nuclear agreement.
Ideas
Can Trump’s Defense Department Get More For Less?
If the administration’s version of defense reform is to succeed, it must focus on a few key principles.
Science & Tech
The US and Europe Need to Coordinate Their Cyber Weapons
The question isn’t just 'How do we use them together?' but 'Who gets to use them first?'
Ideas
How Should We Treat Our Military Robots?
Increasingly human-like automated weapons demand an honest accounting of our emotional responses to them.
Ideas
South Sudan Needs UN Help. Will Trump’s Ambassador Lead the Way?
The magnitude of the war’s human cost now dwarfs nearly every other global conflict, with the exception of Syria.
Ideas
The Trouble With Brazil's Expanding Arms Trade
With weapons appearing in Yemen and transferring to repressive regimes, Brazil's arms policies are outdated and out of step with its peaceful aims.
Ideas
Don't Let Trump Fool You, He's Still No Interventionist
Despite the cruise missiles in Syria and MOAB in Afghanistan, if you’re anticipating another military campaign the size of Libya’s in 2011, prepare to be disappointed.
Ideas
Here’s What 71 Years of US Presidential ‘Red Lines’ Have Taught Us
The country has walked to the brink of war or beyond with Iran, North Korea, Iraq, and Syria to prevent or stop them.
Ideas
Pentagon Misses the Target When It Comes to Its Workforce
Defense officials can’t tell you how many contractors they employ or at what cost. Finding out is critical to personnel reform.
Ideas
The Case Against Trump Selling Planes to Nigeria for War with Boko Haram
Some in Washington say that the sign of ‘goodwill’ between the two governments is really a vanity project for Nigeria.
Ideas
A Soldier's Dilemma
In 2016, Captain Nathan Smith sued President Obama for issuing an order to engage in the battle against ISIS without congressional approval. Can his case clarify the debate over President Trump’s strikes in Syria?
Ideas
What's Really at Stake for America in Yemen's Conflict
As the Trump administration navigates the risks of escalation, there’s a real danger it will get the calculus wrong.
Ideas
In Lithuania, NATO Troops Set Up Near A Potentially Hostile Border
Just two years ago, it would have been nearly unthinkable for the Western alliance to set up a battalion here, some two hours' drive from Russia.
Ideas