Threats
Iraq Does Not Want US, British Ground Troops for ISIS Fight
The U.K. defense secretary says the Iraqi prime minister does not want British or American ground troops and that local forces must overtake Islamic State militants on their own.
Policy
Carter to Lawmakers: Don’t Complain About ISIS Strategy When You’re Stalling Funds and Nominations
Responded Sen. John McCain: we won’t keep bankrolling an “absolute failure.”
Ideas
In Town Where Refugees Depart, Trump's Ideas Feel Even More Ludicrous
As Syrian refugee parents fight for food and their children's survival, the policy conversation happening in America could not feel more remote – or more off-base.
Threats
Why Do People Join ISIS? Here’s What They Say When You Ask Them
A marketing communications company gets the Pentagon’s attention by identifying nine reasons.
Business
Carter: US Military May Start Handing Captured ISIS Over to Law Enforcement
U.S. eyeing 'full range' of options, including transfers to international authorities.
Business
The ISIS Fight Is Reshaping US Arms Exports to Its Partners
A slight uptick in approvals for sales to anti-ISIS coalition partners has masked a big shift in the kinds of weapons being sold.
Threats
Obama Doesn't Know What He'll Do When US Troops Capture an ISIS Leader
The president is now sending special operators on ISIS capture missions. He has less than 90 days to tell Congress what he plans to do with them.
Threats
Did Russia Just Shred the Last Hope for Mending Ties with Turkey?
The Russian Defense Ministry is accusing the Turkish president and his family of personally profiting from the oil trade with the Islamic State, a claim Erdogan flatly rejects.
Threats
ISIS Will Remain a 'Serious Threat for Some Time to Come,' Obama Says
And a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to yield any change in Moscow's support for the Assad regime in Damascus.
Business
US Deploying a ‘Targeting Force’ to Iraq, Syria. Expect Unilateral Special-Ops Raids.
Defense secretary: ground operations are more extensive than previously described, and are still growing.
Ideas
Don’t Avenge Paris
Our leaders must avoid ‘feel-good’ retribution, and instead seek paths that will make us safer.
Ideas
Measure Clinton’s Plan for ISIS Against the Lessons of Iraq
A former Army division commander views the candidate’s proposed strategy through a McChrystal lens.
Policy
On the Campaign Trail in New Hampshire with ‘Two Amigos’ Lindsey Graham and John McCain
The longtime national security leaders and besties talk ISIS, the GOP presidential field, and the first time they met with Defense One.
Ideas
The War on ISIS: What’s the Endgame?
Nobody’s focused on winning the peace. That’s a big problem.
Policy
Hollande Tries to Rally the World to France’s War on ISIS
But many countries have their own reasons, and strategies, for fighting the terror group.
Ideas
Here’s What’s Keeping the World from Uniting Against ISIS
People need a common story before they will go to war with an enemy. ISIS has one. The rest of the world does not.
Science & Tech
ISIS-Endorsed Encryption Provider to Begin Screening Customers
The software company Silent Circle hopes to mitigate nefarious use of encryption by closely monitoring how it's clients pay for the service.
Ideas
The Unintended Consequences of Containing ISIS
The Paris attacks have prompted calls for a stronger military response to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But restraint may be the better course of action.
Ideas