Ideas
America Can Beat China in Space with Safe Nuclear Propulsion
A reactor that heats up and expels non-radioactive gas promises unprecedented mobility in orbit.
Ideas
We Don’t Have Enough Information to Evaluate Arguments for a New ICBM
The Biden administration should follow precedent and commission an independent look at the case for the Ground Based Strategic Defense program.
Ideas
Ten Years After Bin Laden, We Still Need Better Intelligence Sharing
Leaders should still apply the lessons we learned, when contending with China and Russia.
Ideas
Teamwork Led Us to Bin Laden and Can Keep America Safe
As we look back on the Osama bin Laden raid of a decade ago, three lessons stand out.
Ideas
Illegal Fishing Is a National Security Problem
The stability of countries and regions are threatened by the declining health of fish stocks, and by the groups and governments that run lawless fishing fleets.
Ideas
No ICBMs? Big Problems
We must dispel the unfounded fears of false alarms, place the cost in context, and seriously consider the unpleasant consequences of eliminating ICBMs from the U.S. nuclear force.
Ideas
How to Think About Counterinsurgency After Afghanistan
Realistic policy depends on a closer look at costs, benefits, and the objectives of would-be counterinsurgency partners.
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
Biden Must Press Armenia to Hand Over Minefield Maps
Mines in Nagorno-Karabakh are killing civilians and troops.
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