Ideas
The Intelligence Fallout From Trump’s Withdrawal in Syria
The chaotic withdrawal from Syria will severely weaken U.S. efforts in the country—and could also be a boost for Russia and Iran.
Ideas
Donald Trump Looks More and More Like Oliver North
Iran-Contra was also about a foreign policy run from inside the White House and outside the law.
Science & Tech
DISA Wants a Pentagon-Wide Identity Management System
The Enterprise Identity Service would let Pentagon officials oversee the access credentials and online activity of every user who touches its networks.
Ideas
China Has Begun to Shape and Manage the US, Not the Other Way Around
US policymakers long sought to export American values to China. The reverse is happening instead.
Ideas
Trump Is Complicit in Erdoğan’s Violence
Now the war in Syria has a victor. And it’s not the U.S.
Ideas
‘Silent Warriors’ Speak Out Against Trump’s Syria Turnaround
America’s elite special operators are breaking their wall of silence like never before, 'betrayed' by Trump’s decision to pull back in Syria and erase years of hard work. But are they too late?
Ideas
New Tech Aims to Help Societies Learn to Spot Fake News
Qatar’s QCRI and Finland’s Faktabaari make tools that help users from all over the political spectrum realize when they’re getting played.
Ideas
ISIS Is Gloating
The best one could say about America’s abandonment of the Kurds is that they should have known we would sell them out eventually.
Ideas
Trump Made His Real Syria Mistakes Months Ago
U.S. involvement should have ended with the recapture of ISIS’ territory and a Kurd-Assad deal.
Ideas
To Fight Disinformation, Rethink Counterintelligence
For too long, the focus of U.S. counterintelligence has been safeguarding government secrets and corporate intellectual property.
Ideas
The White House Abused the Classification System
The question now is whether Congress can summon the will to hold the president to account.
Ideas
Hong Kong Police Intensify Tactics Against Journalists
Local journalists bear the brunt of violence and misinformation, but international reporters have not been spared. I know this firsthand.
Ideas
China Bends Another American Institution to Its Will
For all the concern about China’s military strength, economic leverage might be its most powerful weapon.
Ideas
'By, With, Through' Was the Best Hope for Syria — And Ending 'Endless Wars'
The U.S. acquiescence to Turkey’s invasion abandons an effective Kurdish partner, but also a creative model that was working.
Ideas
On North Korea, the Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost
One of the downsides of highly personalized diplomacy is that when the person in question is debilitated, the diplomacy suffers.
Ideas
The Forever War Fought by America’s Allies
The U.S.-backed soldiers who battled ISIS across Syria and Iraq could be locked in the struggle for a very long time.
Ideas
Trump Is Killing a Fatally Flawed Syria Policy
Did the president betray the Kurds or help dismantle a contradictory strategy in Syria? Both.
Ideas
Does America Need a Space Force?
A new service branch would put more bureaucracy between critical capabilities and the troops who need them.
Ideas
'It Didn't Have to Be This Way': Just-Retired CENTCOM General
Trump's decision "threatens to undo five years’ worth of fighting against ISIS and will severely damage American credibility and reliability," writes Joseph Votel, who until March led America's forces in the Mideast.
Ideas