Threats
It's Nearly Impossible to Understand What Motivates Terrorists
Asking how people join terrorist groups is more worthwhile than asking why.
Threats
This Is How Little the US-Led Air War Against ISIS Has Achieved
The U.S.-led coalition has carried out nearly 3,800 airstrikes since August, but that's led to few gains for an Iraqi military that has a long way to go before it can hold territory.
Threats
How Terrorism Prolongs Conflict But Loses the War
Rebel groups that employ the tactic in civil wars seldom win or gain concessions—but they tend to make ending a conflict much more difficult, a new paper finds.
Ideas
Why the New Arab Military Pact Isn't Worth The Ink It Was Written In
The plan drawn up yesterday by the Arab world’s military chiefs is unlikely to go any farther than the Cairo conference room where it was concocted.
Threats
Carter: The US Military Is Training an Iraqi Army That Doesn't Want To Fight
The main problem with Iraq's battered and depleted military is the same one facing Iraq as a whole—the country effectively no longer exists as a unified state.
Threats
The Biggest Trade Deal Ever Could Undermine American Security in the Asia-Pacific
Our 'pivot to Asia' doesn’t need to be anchored by a new preferential trade agreement with China.
Ideas
The 3 Areas Where the Navy Is Adjusting Its Operating Strategy
Facing threats to its existing operating concept, the Navy is adjusting the way it'll pursue surface warfare in the 21st century.
Science & Tech
How the Islamic State Is Disrupting Online Jihad
The Islamic State group’s use of social media for messaging has drawn plenty of attention. But their use of the web to mount terrorist attacks is just as revolutionary.
Threats
What Have 9 Months of Airstrikes Against ISIS Achieved?
There’s no end in sight for an air campaign that has killed some 8,500 militants and cost more than $2 billion.
Threats
How Kenya’s Counterterrorism Effort Turned Counterproductive
Even the staunchest anti-Shabaab Somali community feels alienated by the security forces’ brutal tactics.
Threats
Europe Requires More than Symbolic Defense
A recent 1,200-mile U.S. Army convoy across European roads was a stirring sight, but it won’t be enough to deter Russian aggression.
Ideas
Tomorrow’s Small Wars Won’t Just Be Land Wars
The naval and coastal aspects of counterinsurgency get dangerously short shrift.
Ideas
Everything You Need To Know About No-Fly Zones
Lesson one: there’s nothing easy about setting up or enforcing aerial off-limits areas.
Threats
Saudi Arabia Gives Its Troops a Bonus As It Shakes Up Line of Succession
At a time of political and economic upheaval, Riyadh's King Salman elevates youthful relatives with serious security and military credentials.
Ideas
The United States Needs a Drone Board
If we’re going to keep killing citizens by drone, we need a better form of due process for it.
Ideas
It's Time To Figure Out What Putin Wants
Russian President Vladimir Putin is neither lunatic nor fanatic. He has become a more dangerous phenomenon: a believer in a cause.
Science & Tech
A Global Consensus on Cyber Security Is Gaining Momentum
Here’s what to look for in two meetings that will explore how states with limited capacity can draw upon technologically sophisticated countries.
Ideas
Arming Dictators Will Only Bring Chaos
Obama keeps saying the right things, but doing the wrong ones, by sending weapons to Middle East regimes.
Science & Tech
6 Facts About the Future of the Air Force
Air Force officials wanted to reconstitute the force as the war in Afghanistan wound down. Here's why that will have to wait.
Ideas