Business
As Secret Pentagon Spending Rises, Defense Firms Cash in
Classified spending has edged up faster than overall defense budget requests, and accounts for nearly 11 percent of the $716 billion proposed for 2020.
Policy
Esper Recuses Himself from JEDI Cloud-Contract Review
Nearly three months after he put the program on hold, the defense secretary has concluded that his son's job prevents him from overseeing it.
Business
Just One Bidder Is Vying for Two Pentagon Programs Worth $130 Billion
The defense acquisition chief is looking into the Army’s disqualification of a second bidder to replace Bradley armored vehicles.
Threats
US Intel Aircraft to Remain Over Syria As Ground Forces Pull Out
SecDef Esper heads to Mideast, NATO to talk about the future fight against ISIS.
Ideas
10 Hard Realities of America’s Next Syria Policy
The troops are leaving, but the U.S. still has regional and global interests in what happens there.
Ideas
‘Silent Warriors’ Speak Out Against Trump’s Syria Turnaround
America’s elite special operators are breaking their wall of silence like never before, 'betrayed' by Trump’s decision to pull back in Syria and erase years of hard work. But are they too late?
Threats
US Defense Secretary: I Can't Put Forces Between Turks and Kurds
Esper explained why the U.S.-backed rebels will get no air cover or other help. But he couldn't explain why U.S. troops were moved after this particular Turkish threat to invade.
Policy
Why US Officials Say Trump is Flexing on Foreign Policy
“Trump has been Trump in foreign policy—but the safety nets are gone,” said one senior national security official, of the president’s Syria decision.
Ideas
Retired Senior Military Officers Unload on Trump
The commander in chief is impulsive, disdains expertise, and gets his intelligence briefings from Fox News. What does this mean for those on the front lines?
Ideas
The Syrian Democratic Forces Chief Just Called Me. Here’s What He Said.
“This is going to jeopardize all the achievements we've made with the coalition against ISIS,” said Mazlum Abdi.
Ideas
The US Government Keeps Too Many Secrets
American officials classify too much information, from the trivial to the politically inconvenient. The overreliance on secrecy invites abuse.
Policy
Pentagon’s Top Lawyer to Review All Ukraine-Aid Documents
But a DoD spokesman still won’t say when the department was told about the aid freeze at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.
Ideas
The Hidden Damage of Trump’s Secret War in Somalia
Terrorist activity is not discernably declining, even as U.S. military activity and alleged civilian deaths rise.
Science & Tech
It's Official: The Pentagon Now Runs the Security Clearance Process
The newly renamed Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency now handles 95% of the government’s background investigations.
Ideas
The Strangely Quiet Visit of Germany’s New Defense Minister
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s do-little trip to Washington shows the uncertain state of U.S.-German relations.
Ideas
Why the Whistle Was Blown
The National Security Council’s procedures are a practical manifestation of values—and Trump’s disregard for NSC rules reflects his rejection of those values.
Ideas
How ‘National Security’ Took Over America
When the two-word phrase became a national obsession, it turned everything from trade rules to dating apps into a potential threat to the United States.
Policy
Trump’s New Joint Chiefs Chair Is A Savvy Political Operator
The question is: how will Gen. Mark Milley work with the U.S. president?
Ideas
Acting DNI Shows Why Generals and Admirals Should Not Become Top Civilians
Joseph Maguire, a retired three-star, was all too desperate to find a higher civilian authority whose orders to obey.
Threats