Ideas

Livestream: Defense One Outlook 2020 Main Stage

At Defense One’s annual look into the future, we'll discuss global threats, industry trends, advanced technology, national-security policy and more.

Ideas

It’s Not All Trump’s Fault: Syria Shows the Danger of War on the Cheap

America’s surprise withdrawal is deeply destabilizing, but so is the proxy war that Western countries have fought for five years.

Ideas

America’s Military Is Misdirected, Not Underfunded

U.S. strategy should be more focused on preventing conflict with nuclear-armed China than on spinning out elaborate war-fighting scenarios.

Ideas

The Current US Approach to Terror Is a Recipe for Forever War

Defusing terrorist groups requires helping the communities they exploit, not just shooting their leaders.

Ideas

The US Has One Last Chance to Halt Its Withdrawal from the Middle East

The next president must do what is wise, not what is easy.

Ideas

Ep. 58: Wargames

All about one of the safer, cheaper ways to figure out who’s going to win a war.

Ideas

Killing Terrorist Leaders Gets Attention, But It Doesn’t Stop Terrorism

Baghdadi’s death is indeed a turning point in the War on Terror, just as Osama bin Laden’s was in 2011. It’s just not clear what the war is turning to.

Ideas

The Consequences of Donald Trump Washing His Hands of the Middle East

The short-term costs have been brutal, but the longer-term ones could be far more significant.

Ideas

What the US Can Learn From Iranian Warfare

Tehran's approach to proxy wars offers a surprising lesson.

Ideas

China Has Begun to Shape and Manage the US, Not the Other Way Around

US policymakers long sought to export American values to China. The reverse is happening instead.

Ideas

LIVESTREAM: 2019 Global Security Forum Day 2

The two-day conference will explore the security challenges of modern disinformation and its implications for an increasingly interconnected world.

Ideas

LIVESTREAM: 2019 Global Security Forum Day 1

The two-day conference will explore the security challenges of modern disinformation and its implications for an increasingly interconnected world.

Ideas

The US Is Trying to Restore Deterrence in the Gulf. That Won’t be Enough

Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a security dilemma. Here are some potential ways out.

Ideas

Ep. 56: 10 trips to Afghanistan, with Kevin Maurer

North Carolina-based author Kevin Maurer talks about his latest trip in January, and how some U.S. soldiers derive meaning from the longest conflict in the nation's history.

Ideas

The White House’s Impossible Job

The problem is not that Trump failed to get along with John Bolton—it’s that he doesn’t want a national security adviser in the first place.

Ideas

‘One Belt One Road’ Is Just a Marketing Campaign. And Yet...

China’s giant project is a poorly coordinated branding effort posing as an infrastructure initiative. But it is also a new kind of strategic challenge for the United States.

Ideas

At Guadalcanal, the US Won Through Cost Imposition. Our Adversaries Do Much the Same Today

The WWII battle has plenty to teach us about 21st-century conflict.

Ideas

How 'Great-Power Competition' Became Washington's Favorite Frame

In just a few years, GPC went from being an arcane term to approaching a cliché.

Ideas

The US Wants to Sell Taiwan the Wrong Weapons

The proposal to send tanks, and not A2/AD weapons, exposes a flawed American strategy.

Ideas

Two Decades of War Have Eroded the Morale of America’s Troops

After nearly 17 years of war, service members have seen plenty of patriotic displays but little public debate about why they’re fighting.