Business
Scrapped: $24M Plan to Replace Refrigerators On Air Force One
Rep. Joe Courtney says the no-bid deal “didn’t pass the smell test.”
Ideas
The Status Quo Killed 17 US Sailors. The Navy Must Change.
The surface warfare community should embrace, not reject, a congressional mandate to divide new line officers into two specialties.
Ideas
Did Congress Just Shut Down Trump’s War Plans for Iran?
The Senate would do well to follow the House’s lead — and go even farther to shut all the backdoors to war.
Policy
Senate Defense Bill Aims to Scrub Cyber Adversaries from US Military Tech
The bill would require companies to disclose if they’d shared source code with foreign governments.
Ideas
Back Off, Congress: Don’t Meddle With the US Navy’s Command Philosophy
A proposal to force surface-ship officers to specialize would undermine a conceptual pillar of the world’s dominant naval power.
Ideas
America’s New Stealth Bomber has a Stealthy Price Tag
Revealing how much the Air Force’s B-21 is costing won’t help America’s enemies — but will make oversight possible.
Threats
White House Cuts Cyber Coordinator Role But Lawmakers Say Not So Fast
House Democrats charged National Security Adviser John Bolton’s move lowers the White House’s cyber expertise as threats are increasing.
Threats
Congress Wrestles with Foreign Infiltration of US Universities
The latest NDAA tries to stop potential adversaries from recruiting talent and stealing innovative technology on campus.
Ideas
Strip the World’s Worst Actors of a Key Financial Tool
The U.S. and its allies need to rip the veil of secrecy from the anonymous shell corporations that help drug dealers, terror groups, and kleptocratic dictators.
Ideas
Pass the Corker-Kaine AUMF
Its critics misunderstand the 17-year evolution of the fight against violent extremist groups, and risk letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Ideas
The CIA Needs an Independent Thinker—Not Gina Haspel
Her torture-ridden track record suggests a history of poor judgment.
Ideas
The US Does Not Need New Tactical Nukes
There’s a false narrative afoot: that we lack the weapons to deter a Russian nuclear strike.
Policy
Macron Mic-Drops on Trump, Offers a New Call to Western Leadership
Defending multilateralism and democracy, the French president gave the best political speech America has seen in years.
Ideas
Thornberry Is Getting Rolled by the Services
The HASC chairman’s proposed reforms would roll back consolidations that have been saving money for decades.
Policy
House Lawmakers Close Pentagon Budget Hearing to the Public
Mattis and Dunford have open hearings at the Armed Services Committees, but will talk over their $686.1 billion request with House appropriators in private.
Ideas
Thornberry’s Pentagon-Reform Plan to Nowhere
It's pitched as a way to cut waste — but would make the misallocation of our tax dollars more likely.
Ideas
The Corker-Kaine Bill Would Codify, not End, the Forever War
The replacement AUMF would formalize a reversal of the Constitution, allowing the president to declare wars and Congress — if it dares — to veto them.
Ideas
The Unconstitutional Strike on Syria
AUMF? The Syrian government is not Al Qaeda, nor an affiliate, nor a successor, nor anything except a sovereign nation against which the president has decided to go to war.
Threats
Lawmakers Ask: Where’s the Broader Syria Strategy?
No surprise that Democrats questioned Friday’s retaliatory strike, but even a few GOP defense hawks wondered aloud.
Threats