Strategy

Once again, Trump declines to describe desired end-state to his Iran war

In a primetime address, the president doesn’t list military objectives or what the U.S. wants from Tehran.

  • Meghann Myers

The National Security Council is missing in action

The Trump administration's lack of a consistent rationale for the war on Iran underscores the importance of a functioning NSC.

  • Gregory F. Treverton, The Conversation

The D Brief: 6 die in tanker crash; Russia’s US-war windfall; Iran’s industry ‘functionally defeated’; Escorts for Hormuz vessels?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Bradley Peniston, Meghann Myers and Lauren C. Williams

The D Brief: War aims keep shifting; First week’s cost; ‘Ruthless’ JAG review; Ukraine’s China-free drones; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: More mixed messaging on war; Airstrike pricetag; DOD civs pressed to seek border duty; Anthropic sues Hegseth; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Take the win. Stop the war.

Killing leaders is the easy part. The post-9/11 wars show that it’s what follows that turns into a disaster.

  • Will Walldorf

The D Brief: US toll rises to 8; Iran’s new leader; Building military-specific AI; Counting the rationales for war; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: War on Iran; Retaliation throughout the Gulf; Friendly fire downs F-15s; Anthropic ejected from federal service; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: Reports: Caine has concerns; USAF mobility chief; Senators seek boat-strike info; Arrest in China-training case; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Thomas Novelly

The D Brief: Competing views on Iran; $151B spending plan; 44th boat strike; B-21 production deal; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Defense One Radio, Ep. 203: Fictional intelligence

The authors of a new series discuss how they're exploring the future of conflict through short stories.

  • Ben Watson and Patrick Tucker

The D Brief: Firefights across Mexico; Iran situation, still unclear; Tariff decision shakes foreign policy; What to expect at AFA symposium; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Bradley Peniston and Thomas Novelly
Insights & Reports
Why file trust fails at the tactical edge and how Zero Trust solves it
Presented By Carahsoft
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The Next Five Years of Fraud: We Better Get Ready Now
Presented By Socure
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The D Brief: Iran buildup’s unclear aims; Army’s drone contest; Board of Peace, convened; More UFO info?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson

Men lie, strategies lie—numbers don’t

The word counts of the new National Defense Strategy.

  • Peter W. Singer

The D Brief: Pentagon’s industry performance reviews; CNO’s fighting instructions; Marine Corps’ clean audit; DOD’s new AI tool; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: Shutdown watch; Lingering defense-strategy qs; JAGs’ unusual new jobs; Secret drone’s recent mission; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson

The D Brief: CBP report belies ‘terrorist’ charges; Rubio threatens Venezuelan leaders; ‘Unsustainable’ national-security strategy?; EU, India near trade deal; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Trump’s national defense strategy is unlike anything that’s come before it

It touts an end to interventionism and regime change, despite adventurism in Venezuela and Greenland.

  • Meghann Myers
Featured eBooks
Golden Dome Insights & Updates
Intel and Analytics
Special Ops Technology

The D Brief: Feds kill again in Minnesota; National Defense Strategy drops; New USAF deployment concept; Space Force wants more troops; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Defense One Radio, Ep. 202: The known perils of regime change

A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad.

  • Ben Watson and Monica Duffy Toft

Russian hybrid warfare has become indistinguishable from politics

The war of realities in 2026 will determine the reality of war in 2027.

  • Patrick Tucker