Ideas

The US Talks A Lot About Strategic Complexity. Too Bad It’s Mostly Just Talk.

The pandemic sidelined a national security community that gives only lip service to a vital concept.

Ideas

Biden’s Interim National Security Guidance Is a Good, If Small, First Step

Next come the big questions: what is America’s current status, and where do we want to go?

Science & Tech

Splitting NSA, CyberCom Now Could Reduce Military Access to Intelligence, Milley Says

The Joint Chiefs chairman says the organizations have not yet worked out how to keep the data flowing after the long-awaited split.

Policy

Biden Nominee For Top Policy Post Grilled On Iran, Tweets

"I really believe that the controversy over your nomination is essentially a proxy war” for the Iran nuclear deal, said Sen. Kaine.

Ideas

Building a China Strategy Starts by Answering These Questions

To begin, we must question our perceptions and eliminate our biases.

Ideas

A Solid Plan to Compete with China in Artificial Intelligence

The NSCAI’s new report should also be taken as the first plank in a national technology strategy.

Ideas

Modeling Software Once Led Us to the Precipice of Nuclear War. What Will AI Do?

The Pentagon must heed the lessons of RYAN and Able Archer amid its artificial-intelligence aspirations.

Policy

Should the Pentagon Reform Its Bid-Protest Rules?

Microsoft's president told senators yes, but bid protests hit a 10-year low last year.

Ideas

What Can the Pentagon Realistically Get from Its Advisory Boards?

A former chair says the boards provide a lot, could do better — and help weed out impractical or oversold ideas.

Business

Antitrust Regulators Extend Review of Lockheed’s Proposed Purchase of Aerojet Rocketdyne

The announcement comes the day after Raytheon’s CEO said his firm would challenge the deal.

Ideas

China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy: What to Expect in the Next Five Years

Even as the term has all but disappeared from official documents, its tenets are being strengthened and extended.

Threats

One-Third of US Troops Are Refusing the COVID Vaccine. History May Help Explain Why

After botching anthrax shots decades ago, the Pentagon’s hands are tied. Only the president can order troops to take new vaccines.

Ideas

Want to Shed Older Weapons? You Need a Solid Plan

To overcome Congressional resistance, the Pentagon needs to work with combatant commanders and industry to ensure that new systems will be ready to take the place of existing ones.

Ideas

Confederate Military Base Names Just Met Their Gettysburg

A Black admiral, a gruff Marine, a never-Trumper, and the maker of a viral video slamming Confederate sympathizers? Say goodbye to “Fort Bragg” and the rest.

Ideas

The Pentagon Needs Budget Agility to Compete with China

It can take two or more years to shift funding from a failing program. That’s more than a money problem.

Policy

Only a Tiny Fraction of Sexual Assaults Against DoD Civilians Are Being Documented, GAO Says

Over a recent half-decade, DoD recorded 357 cases of sexual assaults that involved civilian employees. But a survey of employees indicated that thousands may have occurred.