Ideas

Trump Tried Partisan Applause Lines Inside the Pentagon. Nobody Applauded.

The president uses a missile-defense policy rollout to bash Democrats before the military’s senior leaders.

Ideas

The US Needs a New Public Shipyard

Warships are waiting for repairs at America's creaky government drydocks. And no, privatization isn’t the answer.

Ideas

Trump’s Wall Fixation Is Impeding Border Security

The president’s push to “build the wall” fails to grasp the role of modern technology in policing U.S. borders.

Ideas

Donald Trump's Pattern of Deference to the Kremlin Is Clear

Any specific incident might be explained away fairly easily. As a pattern, they’re too weird to dismiss with a shrug.

Ideas

What Kissinger Knew That Pompeo Does Not

Don’t promise the world if you can’t deliver.

Ideas

Shipmates, Information Management Is a Life-or-Death Proposition

In the U.S. Navy, using and protecting data isn't just for "the IT guys" anymore. Everyone needs to get on board.

Ideas

The Shutdown and the Damage Done

America's institutions are withering, says one longtime Foreign Service Officer who's calling it quits.

Ideas

Bolton’s Big Iran Con

There’s no evidence behind the national security adviser’s dire warnings about Tehran’s nuclear intentions.

Ideas

What Someone Needs to Explain to Trump About ‘National Emergencies’

It’s not just the likelihood that he will lose in court—it’s how he will lose that matters.

Ideas

America’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East is Not What Pompeo Claimed

In Cairo, the secretary touted stronger U.S. engagement in the region, all evidence to the contrary.

Ideas

Moscow’s Little-Noticed Islamic-Outreach Effort

Russia is promoting Islamic moderation in unison with Arab powers—and further cementing its position in the Middle East.

Ideas

Why China’s Military Wants to Beat the US to a Next-Gen Cell Network

For Beijing, the race to 5G has always been linked to its national strategy for military-civil fusion.

Ideas

The US Isn’t Really Leaving Syria and Afghanistan

Even if American troops come home in a timely fashion, they will likely return before long.

Ideas

Democrats Are Wrong About Defense Spending

The need for investment is only likely to grow in the coming years.

Ideas

The Truth About the Soviet War in Afghanistan

Trump mischaracterized it in an attempt to justify his own disastrous policy in the region.

Ideas

China, Huawei, and the Coming Technological Cold War

2019 might be the year that splinters the global technology system into distinct spheres of influence.

Ideas

Fill the Cracks in NATO's Maritime Strategy

If Russia decides to attack the Western alliance, it would do so along several fissures that need shoring up.

Ideas

Trump Escalates His Assault on Civil-Military Relations

The president’s public disparagement of retired generals compounds the damage he has done.

Ideas

Meet the New (Acting) US Defense Secretary

With no military experience and just a year and a half in government, the former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan has yet to develop a foreign-policy vision of his own.