Ideas

Preserve the Jones Act

China’s burgeoning fleets underscore the importance of legislation that bolsters our own.

Ideas

As the US Slumps Away, China Subsumes African Security Arrangements

Organizations created to fight terror groups after 9/11 are becoming conduits for Beijing’s surveillance and influence.

Ideas

The Right’s Disinformation Machine Is Getting Ready for Trump to Lose

QAnon has become a linchpin of far-right media—and the effort to preemptively delegitimize the election.

Ideas

What We Don’t Know About Military Innovation

It’s time to take stock of the Pentagon’s various rapid-acquisition efforts.

Ideas

To Reboot Arms Control, Start with Small Steps

Stop accusing. Set aside questions of structure. Start talking.

Ideas

Why Donald Trump’s Debt is a National Security Risk

If you owe someone a lot of money, they have leverage over you. To whom, exactly, does the U.S. president owe this money?

Ideas

The Third Coronavirus Surge Has Arrived

This week’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations make clear that the U.S. is once again sinking deeper into the pandemic.

Ideas

'Esper's Lie?' I Don't Think So

After nearly a generation of dominating focus on counterinsurgency operations, the U.S. military is underprepared in 2020 for great power competition.

Ideas

Washington Should Avoid a Self-Inflicted Wound in the Sinai

Withdrawing from the Multinational Force and Observers might be penny-wise, but would certainly be pound-foolish.

Ideas

Will Commanders Trust Their New AI Weapons and Tools?

A study of DOD’s artificial-intelligence efforts reveals a key gap.

Ideas

China or Your Soul? Pompeo’s Thunder Falls Flat on Corporate Ears

Companies keep choosing to serve the Chinese market — and that’s likely not good news for the Pentagon.

Ideas

A 21st-Century Reality Is Dawning on NATO

In today’s security environment, non-kinetic threats pose as grave a danger as kinetic ones.

Ideas

The 20th Year of the Afghanistan War Should Be America’s Last

U.S. national security interests do not depend on the outcome of the peace talks. It’s time to come home.

Ideas

Esper’s Fantasy Fleet

The SecDef’s 500-ship plan is an exercise in wishful thinking that avoids hard choices.

Ideas

Esper’s Reforms: An Interim Report Card

What progress has the defense secretary made on his ambitious goals to reorient the Defense Department?

Ideas

The Coming F-35 Fiasco

Now that Qatar is asking for the jet, it’s time to consider an entirely different approach to helping Gulf nations defend themselves.

Ideas

Harris and Pence Failed the Global Leadership Question

People vying to become, or stay, vice-president should be ready to explain their vision of America’s role in the world.

Ideas

What Biden Told Me on the Train After Trump’s First UN Speech

In the Biden-Harris vision, my multi-ethnic family is the fulfillment of America’s promise to the world.

Ideas

The Future of Chinese Power

The policies and practices of the country’s dynasties offer insights into how modern Chinese leaders may wield their strength.

Ideas

Worth Preserving: US Military Posture in Germany

Any adjustments to U.S. force posture in Europe should focus first and foremost on sustaining or strengthening readiness.