Ideas

When Netanyahu and Trump Meet, Russia Should Top the Agenda

Moscow’s intervention in Syria is one of the most significant strategic shifts facing Israel in nearly two decades.

Ideas

The US and Iran Are Not Yet on a Course to War

Despite bellicose words, both sides have also demonstrated elements of restraint.

Ideas

There's No One At the Helm of White House Foreign Policy

Flynn’s departure won’t solve the Trump administration’s central dysfunction.

Ideas

President Trump, Viewed through NATO’s Guide to Russian Information Warfare

Russia uses theft, narratives, lies, trolls, and bots to weaken Western governments. The U.S. president is playing into its hands.

Ideas

Beyond Yemen, the Ghost of Anwar al-Awlaki Will Long Haunt US Forces

The enduring propaganda value of a martyr.

Policy

Michael Flynn's Disaster

Trump’s national security adviser’s potentially false statements about his pre-inauguration contacts with Russian officials are a major problem.

Ideas

SOCOM Will Soon Lead the Pentagon’s Anti-WMD Efforts. Here’s What It Still Needs.

America’s special operators know how to catch bomb-makers, but need new expertise on other areas of the fight.

Ideas

Why Did Trump Pick a Fight with Putin Over the Nuclear Weapons Treaty?

President Trump took a hard line over New START with Russia. It's an odd battle to choose -- and a dangerous one.

Ideas

Trump’s Dangerous 'Dishonest' Message to the Troops

It’s politics when a candidate disparages “the media.” But it’s potentially dangerous when the commander in chief tells U.S. troops not to trust the reporters who cover them.

Ideas

US Counterterrorism Strategy Must Be About More than ISIS

Even as Trump focuses on the Islamic State, other dangerous groups need attention.

Ideas

President Trump Sets a Remarkable Bar for Critiquing His Military Operations

The president took to Twitter to argue that publicly discussing the success or failure of a mission 'only emboldens the enemy.'

Ideas

Four Ways to Automate Cyber Defense

Humans aren’t fast enough to respond to network attacks and breaches. Machines can help us, if we help them.

Ideas

Why are US Forces in Yemen at All?

'The truth of the matter is that America is killing people — terrorists and others — because its leaders don’t know what else to do.'

Ideas

'You’re Fired!' Will Not Fix Federal Cybersecurity

Sacking agency heads after a breach won’t make data and systems safer. Here’s what will.

Ideas

The Right — and Wrong — Lessons of Trump’s Yemen Raid

Americans have to allow its elite men and women to be aggressive, to take risks, and to, on occasion, fall short.

Ideas

Welcome to America’s ‘Nuclear Sponge’

If ICBMs are meant to draw enemy missiles toward American soil, it’s time to rethink our nuclear strategy.

Ideas

Making America’s ICBMs Great Again

SecDef Mattis had some questions about the value of the land-based part of the triad. Here are some answers.

Ideas

Truth, Trump, and Security: We Need This Independent Commission Into Russian Meddling

It’s not over, yet. We must restore Americans’ trust in us and their government. Here's my plan.

Threats

Trump's Immigration Order Is a Propaganda Victory for ISIS

The American president has reinforced the victimhood narrative at the core of the Islamic State’s recruitment pitch.

Ideas

15 Questions Trump Should Answer About His 'Safe Zones'

If the president is serious about this, White House officials must clarify exactly what this new and expansive military mission would entail.