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
Is It Time for AFRICOM to Get Its Own Troops?
A key Republican senator thinks so, and is pushing to send one of the U.S. Army’s new advising brigades there.
Business
Mattis to Military: You Have Your Money. Spend It Wisely
The defense secretary warns “results and accountability matter in every expenditure.”
Policy
F-35 Sale to Taiwan Not Worth the ‘Risk,’ Experts Warn
As the Trump administration takes an aggressive stance on China, senators push an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter deal with Taiwan.
Policy
Defense Hawks Soak Up Defense Spending Win. Now What?
The backs of the men and women in uniform — which defense hawks say have so long borne the weight of Congress’s fiscal stumbles — helped carry the $1.3-trillion 2018 spending bill over a key hurdle on Thursday.
Threats
How Much Does Artificial Intelligence Threaten National Security?
One lawmaker proposed a commission to examine the emerging tech through a national security lens.
Policy
Senators Signal Resistance to Proposed Low-Yield Nukes
Several Democratic lawmakers on a key committee are pushing back on the given rationale for a new warhead and cruise missile.
Business
Air Force Secretary: Boeing Is Giving Its Tanker Short Shrift
Pointing to the KC-46 program’s latest problems, Heather Wilson says the company is focusing too much on its civil aircraft.
Science & Tech
NSA Pick Will Develop Cyber Retaliation Plans But Don’t Expect Government to Use Them
The other options for deterring cyberattacks aren't much better, though.
Ideas
Telling the Truth About CIA Torture
Trump’s nominee to lead the agency should answer a number of tough questions about her role in its now-defunct “enhanced interrogation” program.
Policy