Ideas

How the Pentagon Should Get into the Coronavirus Fight at Home

Beds, vaccines, money – after protecting troops abroad, Esper should turn DOD's focus to protecting Americans right here.

Ideas

America Is Acting Like a Failed State

The Trump administration has failed to perform the most basic function of a state: to accurately assess a threat to the country.

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The Four Key Reasons the US Is So Behind on Coronavirus Testing

Bureaucracy, equipment shortages, an unwillingness to share, and failed leadership doomed the American response to COVID-19.

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Explainer: How #Flattenthecurve Can Save Lives

Even if every person on Earth eventually comes down with COVID-19, there are real benefits to making sure it doesn’t all happen in the next few weeks.

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Trump Is Peddling Dangerous Disinformation on Coronavirus

Fact-checkers and scientists have scrambled to correct the president's false and misleading statements, which are being amplified by partisan media, digital propagandists, and administration officials.

Ideas

As Coronavirus Explodes in Italy, Doctors Are Forced to Choose Who Gets Care

With patients overflowing hospitals, a leading medical organization offers guidance for military-style triage, including: deny care to people too old to be likely to recover.

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Iran Has Far More Coronavirus Cases Than It Is Letting On

The surprising number of Iranian government officials succumbing to COVID-19 offers a hint that the disease is far more widespread than the official statistics indicate.

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The US Isn’t Ready for What’s About to Happen

Even with a robust government response to the novel coronavirus, many people will be in peril. And the United States is anything but prepared.

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No One Has Tried This Kind of US-Taliban Deal

A study of nearly 200 modern peace accords shows what has worked. The list doesn't include "negotiate withdrawal, then negotiate peace."

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We Can Still Avoid the Worst-Case Coronavirus Scenario

The spread of COVID-19 may be inevitable, but the choices we make now will determine how bad the outbreak will get.

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Don’t Let On-Site Inspections Go Extinct

In-person visits to foreign military bases and weapons facilities improve national security in more ways than meet the eye.

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The US Has Abandoned Its Leadership on Land Mines, and For What?

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says new land mines are needed to “ensure mission success” and “reduce risk to our forces.” What success? What forces?

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The Official Numbers on the Coronavirus Are Wrong, and Everyone Knows It

Because the U.S. data on coronavirus infections are so deeply flawed, the quantification of the outbreak obscures more than it illuminates.

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How an AI Sent an Early Warning about the Coronavirus Outbreak

BlueDot’s algorithm draws on news stories, disease-tracking networks, and even airline ticketing. But such tools are hardly foolproof.

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The US Should Send More, Not Fewer, Troops to West Africa

America’s interests and unique security partnerships in this burgeoning region argue for more help, not less.

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The President Is Winning His War on American Institutions

How Trump is destroying the civil service and bending the government to his will.

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Epidemics Reveal the Truth of the Societies They Hit

A nation’s response to disaster speaks to its strengths—and to its dysfunctions.

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The World Is Experiencing a New Form of Autocracy

Today’s authoritarians use legal measures to subvert constitutional constraints on their power.

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The Federal Government Needs a Military-Style Campaign Against the Coronavirus

A longtime infectious disease specialist says such campaigns are effective against these kinds of infectious diseases because the way viruses operate fits, conceptually. into a military model.

Ideas

America Must Shape the World’s AI Norms — or Dictators Will

Four former U.S. defense secretaries issue a warning about China and a wake-up call to Americans on artificial intelligence.