Ideas

Wanted: A Post-War Watchdog for Nation-Building

The U.S. may be ending big wars, but military 'stability operations' and expensive nation-building projects will continue. The U.S. inspector general in Iraq argues the Pentagon needs someone to oversee contingency spending. By Stuart Bowen

Business

Hagel Presses Congress with Grim Alternatives to Sequestration

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's SCMR lays out tough choices for Congress on how to cut the defense budget without sequestration. By Stephanie Gaskell

Business

The Government's Real Problem With the Bradley Manning Trial

Despite a guilty verdict on most counts, the government still can't share intelligence. By Matthew Cooper

Ideas

Ash Carter Got it Right in Aspen, Top DOD Nuclear Weapons Official Responds

Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter was accurate about nuclear weapons costs, but arguing misses the point. The U.S. needs them and can afford them. By Madelyn Creedon

Business

Let Air Force Run the Military Satellites, Watchdog Argues

It’s been a long time since TSAT. A new report says the Pentagon should let the Air Force control the next-generation MILSATCOM architecture to save money and add security. It’s not that simple, though. By Kevin Baron

Ideas

What Ash Carter Gets Wrong about Nuclear Weapons Spending

It’s hard to imagine how Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter could get it so wrong in Aspen about nuclear weapons spending. But wrong he is. By Kingston Reif

Policy

Is the Military Underrepresented Among Top Administration Officials?

In the first term, 12 percent of top officials surveyed by National Journal had military experience. Now, that figure is 9 percent. By Brian Resnick and Brian McGill

Ideas

Goodbye Anti-War, Hello Anti-Secrecy

Unable to stop war, the peace movement believes information freedom could be next. To them, Snowden, Manning and Assange are heroes. And it’s not just a cause, it’s an identity. By Kevin Baron

Business

Interview with Chuck Hagel's 'Alter Ego'

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Chuck Hagel's self-proclaimed 'alter ego,' talks about the big picture and channeling his boss. By Sara Sorcher

Business

Largest Obstacle to Clean Federal Books Is the Pentagon, GAO Chief Says

No one knows exactly how much money the government wastes.