Ideas

Trump OKs Ukraine Aid — But That’s Not the Right Choice

America doesn’t gain anything by escalating an unwinnable war on Russia’s border.

Policy

US Might Still Sanction Turkey For Buying S-400 From Russia

Any punishments would supplement Ankara’s ejection from the F-35 program.

Science & Tech

Sneak Preview: First Draft of Russia's AI Strategy

The draft, produced by the country's largest bank, focuses on data, training, and ethics. The final version is due next month.

Ideas

Coming Soon to a Battlefield: Robots That Can Kill

Tomorrow’s wars will be faster, more high-tech, and less human than ever before. Welcome to a new era of machine-driven warfare.

Threats

Why the 2020 Campaigns Are Still Soft Targets for Hackers

Three years ago, Hillary Clinton's campaign chief clicked on a link that allowed Russia into his Gmail account. It could easily happen again.

Ideas

What Happens After the INF Treaty?

Deterrence and arms control have long shaped U.S. national security policy. A negotiator of the 1987 agreement asks: What now?

Threats

US Wargames to Try Out Concepts for Fighting China, Russia

Joint Staff-led exercises will test new communications gear and new ideas for getting past “industrial-age” synchronization of forces.

Science & Tech

How AI Will Predict Chinese and Russian Moves in the Pacific

As Pacific Air Forces builds a picture of normal traffic, they'll start looking for suspicious patterns — and even predict what's coming.

Ideas

Happy Birthday, Nuclear Arms Race

If we remember how we could have stopped it, we may yet find a way to do so.

Threats

The US Just Launched a Long-Outlawed Missile. Welcome to the Post-INF World

Sunday’s test sent a ground-launched missile more than 500 kilometers, a test that would have been illegal last month.

Science & Tech

Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missiles Are a Terrible Idea. Russia’s Test Explosion Shows Why

A flying unshielded nuclear reactor would spew massive amounts of radiation, and that’s if it’s working correctly.

Ideas

Trump's Thin Skin Is Hurting US National Security

The president’s aides are reluctant even to broach the dangers of white racist violence and electoral interference with him.

Ideas

Here’s What Foreign Interference Will Look Like in 2020

The incentives for foreign countries to meddle are much greater than in 2016, and the tactics could look dramatically different.

Ideas

Ep. 51: Magnus Nordenman on Russia, the U.S., and "The New Battle for the Atlantic"

Magnus Nordenman explains how America's strategic and operational environment in the North Atlantic has changed since the Cold War, and quite a bit more.

Ideas

The INF Treaty Lapses Tomorrow. Trump & Putin Should Save It

Stability will ebb and danger rise if the U.S. and Russia allow the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to lapse on Aug. 2.

Ideas

Ep. 50: Cyberwarfare yesterday

This episode, we survey the history of cyberwarfare — from the ascent of Chinese hackers this century to the arrest of a Soviet-linked hacker 30 years ago, and a lot in between.

Ideas

If New START Dies, These Questions Will Need Answers

There’s little public indication that the Trump administration is thinking about several things that will happen if the last strategic arms agreement is allowed to expire.

Ideas

Let the US Air Force Move Ahead with Its Heavy-Lift Rocket Program

Lawmakers' attempt to force the service to allow more companies to bid on satellite launches would do more harm than good.