Ideas

Talking to Russia Cannot Save Syria

Putin and Assad make ISIS look hesitant by comparison when it comes to mass homicide.

Ideas

No, Social Media Isn’t Hurting the Army

In a rebuttal to ‘Unplug, Soldier!’, one officer explains how online time builds bonds in more ways than one.

Ideas

Unplug, Soldier! Too Much Online Time is Hurting the Army

A West Point scholar says team bonding — the bedrock of military effectiveness — is being undermined by electronic distractions.

Ideas

On the Cyber Frontier, Hacking Back is Ethical — and Even Desirable

Governments could treat retaliatory cyberattacks as ‘frontier' incidents, which are not necessarily escalatory.

Ideas

Rein in the National Security Council

Created as a coordinating body, the NSC has become a policymaking powerhouse whose White House status hides it from oversight.

Ideas

Progress or Oppression—You Decide, Obama Tells the UN in His Final Address

From mass migration to North Korea’s nukes, Obama’s lofty speech contained little guidance about how to resolve the world’s intractable problems.

Ideas

How Mistakes and Mission Creep Are Shaping Libya’s Future

Lost in the din of developments at the UN this week is a British report on the ‘failed’ intervention that has turned the country into an 'unmitigated disaster.'

Ideas

After Mosul Falls, How Much Rebuilding Help Should the US Give?

Restoring stable governance means creating a government that can supply basic services — and there are several ways the United State can provide assistance.

Ideas

What to Do About Zero-Day Hacks? Try A Middle Road

A system of government incentives will keep us safer than trying to buy up all newly discovered vulnerabilities, or outlawing their sale.

Ideas

The Other Front Line: Iraqi Schools Need Our Help

The ultimate success of the coming military assault on Mosul will depend on reviving a shattered educational system.

Ideas

Powerful Countries Don't Nuke First

A no-first-use approach toward nuclear weapons is the policy of Goliath, not Gandhi.

Ideas

The True Costs of America's Credit-Card War on Terror

The bills will be coming for decades, in the form of debt-service interest, veterans’ medical expenses, and forgone opportunities.

Ideas

How Much Really Changed About Terrorism on 9/11?

Three founders of modern terrorism studies reflect on what the world has learned about political violence—and what remains unknown.

Ideas

Six Steps to Starting Over After a Civil War

How do you dismantle the animosities of a half-century war and create peace in a country known for its absence?

Ideas

Nuclear Test No. 5: How North Korea's Compares to Other Countries'

Here's what other nuclear powers achieved, and what that reveals about Kim Jong Un's progress.

Ideas

Trump's Defense-and-Budget Plan Has Been Tried Before

The GOP candidate's proposals for irresponsible tax cuts and uncapped defense spending look quite a bit like George W. Bush's.

Policy

Hillary Clinton Fails to Offer a Foreign-Policy Vision

At a candidate’s forum on Wednesday night, the Democratic nominee served up loads of specifics—but no positive story to weave them together.

Ideas

The Global Threat That Went Undiscussed at the G20 Summit

Our fight against cyber crime must grow beyond passive defense and unenforceable indictments — but it won't if leaders don't even talk about it.

Ideas

The Dangerous Myth of an 'Icebreaker Gap'

The U.S. fleet of icebreaking ships is already too small to handle its Arctic duties. Don't stretch it further with a made-up military mission.

Ideas

Duterte Shakes Up Relations with US, Shores Them Up with China

The Philippines' new president is cozying up to Beijing and sending mixed messages on existing U.S. troop agreements.