Ideas

China to US: Back Off and Calm Down

Foreign Minister Wang Yi just delivered a raw, propaganda-tainted rebuke of Washington’s leaders for stoking “fears” of China’s rise.

Ideas

The Bloated Pentagon Budget Isn’t Just Wasteful. It’s Racist

In this era of racial reckoning, national security policy and defense budgets cannot be exempt from the scrutiny of their effects on communities of color.

Ideas

Why the US Military Is Leading the Charge on 5G

It’s not unlike the way that the armed forces invested in radar technology during World War II.

Ideas

The Original Sin of the War in Afghanistan

How Biden viewed the start of America’s post-9/11 wars may inform his future decisions on the use of force.

Ideas

How Cyber Ops Increase the Risk of Accidental Nuclear War

Five factors exacerbate a U.S.-Chinese security dilemma.

Ideas

$264B for ICBMs That Would Be Destroyed in the Ground? No, Thanks

Creating a spiffy new “nuclear sponge” makes neither fiscal nor strategic sense.

Ideas

Countering China’s Military Challenge, Today

Denying the PLA its objectives in the 2020s requires diversification, distribution, and resiliency across posture and mission.

Ideas

Germany’s Military an Unexpected Star in Pandemic Relief

The Bundeswehr’s ubiquity and effectiveness in various facets of the COVID response has created an unusual problem.

Ideas

Biden Should Sink This Proposed Nuclear Weapon

None of the arguments for the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile hold water.

Ideas

Afghanistan Will Know No Peace Without Pressure on Pakistan

Inconsistent global powers, foreign politics, and indifference to Pakistan’s Taliban sponsorship continue to frustrate Afghans and spoil peace efforts.

Ideas

Release the Last ‘Low-Value’ Afghanistan POW Held at Gitmo

International law required the U.S. to release Asadullah Haroon Gul five years ago. Now there is truly no reason to hold him.

Ideas

The USAF’s Bad Bets on Pilot Retention Show It Needs Outside Help

Service leaders think the same old tactics can reverse a pilot shortage in a resurging economy.

Ideas

No F-35s for UAE, Please

The sale is likely to deepen existing conflicts and further enmesh the U.S. in the region.

Ideas

Can the US and Russia Agree to Disagree?

The relationship is cold, but there are still some areas of mutual interest.

Ideas

It Was Never All or Nothing in Afghanistan

This is not something we hoped to see from national security leaders and a president we admire so much.

Ideas

Afghanistan’s Situation Didn’t Change. American Politics Did

The Biden administration says it can fight terrorism in a way that its predecessors called impossible. Can it?

Ideas

What a Real People-First Pentagon Budget Would Include

Family-support and mental-health services need a long-overdue plus-up.

Ideas

The Intelligence Community’s Deadly Bias Toward Classified Sources

Its willful blindness to publicly available information is hurting national security.