Ideas
A Pledge for More of the Same at the Pentagon
James Mattis has no new ideas for solving America's most intractable conflicts. Neither does congress.
Ideas
Obama and Eisenhower, Two Legacies In Arms
On national security, the most illuminating presidential comparison is the one Obama most often made of himself. Barack likes Ike.
Ideas
Still Fighting, US Troops from Syria to Afghanistan Await Trump Orders
Special operators move ahead with plans for the press to Raqqa, but uncertainty clouds US war plans.
Ideas
Trump vs. the Spies
In this digital age, it is reasonable to ask just what America’s intelligence community still brings to the table. The answer is a lot.
Ideas
As Trump's Foreign Policy Emerges, Watch His Temperament in Washington
By what Trump has shown, even where there's policy continuity the world will see Washington as more erratic and less reliable.
Ideas
Weaponized Narrative Is the New Battlespace
And the U.S. is in the unaccustomed position of being seriously behind its adversaries.
Ideas
America’s Cyber Security Dilemma — and A Way Out
The network era has changed the rules of arms buildups.
Ideas
Trump Inherits ‘The Good War’
Many Afghans desire a fresh U.S. approach. All must wait to see what policy emerges from the New York businessman’s scattered thoughts.
Ideas
What the US Should Learn from Israel’s Silicon Valley
The world’s hottest cybersecurity market is powered by a unique collaboration of government, industry, finance and academia.
Ideas
Trump’s Bid to Remove NATO Official Could Easily Backfire on the US
A strong alliance needs strong staff, like Rose Gottemoeller.
Ideas
Trump, Putin, and the Art of Appeasement
The famed deal maker seems intent on giving away American leverage for nothing.
Science & Tech
The Invisible Costs of Cyber Weapons
For kinetic weapons like tanks, production costs generally outweigh research and development. For cyber weapons, R&D is almost everything.
Ideas
Trump, Taiwan, and The Fantasy of a Phone Call
China will fight back. Taiwan’s backers should never forget that.
Ideas
Washington's Dangerous Drums of War on North Korea
Bombing North Korea’s missile sites would be a ‘monumental act of folly.’
Policy
Trump Republicans See Putin's Russia As a New Front Line Against Islam
Conservatives are divided on whether Putin’s Russia is a totalitarian enemy or a defender of the Christian West.
Ideas
Russia and the Threat to Liberal Democracy
Nothing will more profoundly shape our world than how the Trump administration responds to the challenge.
Ideas
Want to Hurt the Taliban? Legalize Opium in Afghanistan
Economics explains how anti-drug operations have undermined the war on terror.
Ideas
Will Obama’s Mattis Be Trump’s Mattis?
In General Mattis, Trump picked an insider warrior-diplomat who worked with the Obama administration, respected Hillary Clinton, and knows the Middle East better than most.
Ideas
The Jihadi Thinker Who Ushered in the Era of ‘Anything Goes’ Warfare
Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir died in a recent airstrike, but his ideas will shape Islamic State and al-Qaeda tactics for years to come.
Ideas