Ideas

In Defense of the Obama Doctrine

Obama is still trying to win Washington over to American power as he sees it: limiting military interventions while convening players for peace.

Ideas

US Ballistic Missile Defense Needs A Boost

Amid ominous tests by Iran and North Korea, why is the Missile Defense Agency’s budget shrinking?

Ideas

Do ‘Guardian Forces’ Belong in the Military?

More and more national security workers in and out of uniform never get close to combat. It's time to rethink their place in the system.

Ideas

The US Government Is Secretly Huddling With Tech Firms to Fight Extremism

A coalition of civil rights groups wants to be included in the closed-door meetings to keep the feds in check.

Ideas

Let Russia's Planes Keep Flying Over US, Just Like Ike Wanted

The Pentagon dithered while Moscow upgraded. It’s time to catch up — not scrap the Open Skies Treaty.

Ideas

What the 2016 Presidential Candidates Get Wrong About the Future of War

They fail, they lack, they misunderstand, they pander, they don’t get, and they just don’t know national security – not according to our Future of War roster of experts.

Ideas

China Is Watching the FBI-Apple Battle Very Closely

Even if the U.S. government abandons its insistence on a backdoored iPhone, Beijing may not.

Ideas

Russian Subs Are Reheating a Cold War Chokepoint

As the GIUK gap returns to importance, NATO must look to regenerate its anti-submarine forces.

Ideas

How NATO Can Disrupt Russia's New Way of War

Here are a few things the West can do against Moscow’s potent combo of special forces and electronic warfare.

Ideas

The US Needs to Whip Its Disaster-Response Plans Into Shape

It's time to digest the lessons of Haiti and Ebola and get ready for the mega disasters ahead.

Ideas

When the Enemy Is Everywhere: The Rise and Fall of the 'Kill Box' in US Military Strategy

Once a hallmark of state-on-state conflict, simply finding oneself inside of an American kill box in today's counterterrorism wars is enough to be retroactively defined as guilty.

Ideas

Don't Fall for Obama's $3 Billion Arms Buildup at Russia's Door

There is no Russian resurgence. Washington is playing on your Cold War fears to get you to pay for something the U.S. does not need and can’t afford.

Ideas

America's 'Plan B' for Syria Has a Very Ugly Past

Dividing Middle Easterners along ethno-religious lines has a deeply troubled history. There's little reason to believe similar 'last-ditch' plans for Syria would be any different.

Ideas

Securing Syria Region-by-Region from the Bottom Up

We’re too focused on fighting ISIS and Assad and not enough on finding and uniting the Syrians who will govern after the war.

Ideas

Central Americans May Be Ready for Their Own Arab Spring

The spread of gangs, the U.S. narcotics trade, and rampant corruption are major factors contributing to mass migration and alarmingly high levels of violence.

Business

Livestream: Supporting the Warfighter

Join us today — Tues., Feb. 23 — for a livestreamed conversation with DoD civilian leaders about their methods and challenges in maintaining a strong civilian workforce.

Ideas

China is Cruising for a Bruising

The U.S. Navy must get ready for big new Chinese ships that will try to ram Americans who approach their fake islands.

Ideas

Bernie Sanders Looks Pretty Darn Establishment on Nuclear Weapons

Sanders is no outside-the-margin liberal on keeping up America’s nuclear arsenal.

Ideas

Beyond Syria’s Ceasefire, Activists Nervously Preparing for Post-War Politics

Egypt’s pro-democracy leaders hope Syrians are better prepared for the day after the dictator.

Policy

Trump is Wrong, ISIS Doesn't Want Rome

Trump's claim that Rome is 'ISIS’s ultimate trophy' deserves correction, just in case he thinks it’s true.