Policy

The World According to H.R. McMaster

Why is he so worried about North Korea?

Ideas

Pakistan Will Try to Make Trump Pay

The country has banked on being treated as too dangerous to fail. But this time could be different.

Policy

Pakistan's Week Keeps Getting Worse

The administration suspended security aid for what it says is Islamabad’s failure to take “decisive action” against terrorists.

Ideas

What Trump Got Right in Foreign Policy in 2017

For one thing, the Islamic State is largely defeated.

Ideas

Waiting for the Bomb to Drop

There are sounds, for those who can hear them, of the preliminary and muffled drumbeats of war.

Ideas

Trump's Belligerence Toward Pakistan Isn't Unreasonable

His threatening tweet might signal increased pressure on Islamabad for its support of Afghan militants.

Ideas

Where We're Headed in 2018

You can bet there will be new crises, weapons, leaders, and technologies to come. And, oh yes, there will be tweets.

Ideas

When the War Comes, What Should We Civilians Do?

The military can’t do it all. The US needs a national civilian emergency corps, trained and ready to help in case of the next disaster, be it cyber, nuclear, or natural.

Ideas

Last Year’s Top 5 Worst Nuclear Nightmares (That Aren't Going Away)

Each of these threats has only gotten worse. Take one guess what (or who) I think remains the top nuclear threat to us...

Ideas

Hail the Civil Servant in the Year of Trump

Never before have the roles of government workers taken on such significance. But there could be consequences to using their power to undermine the administration.

Ideas

Where is America Going in the South China Sea?

The new National Security Strategy talks tough — but here are the options the United States actually has, and the pros and cons of each.

Ideas

The National Security Strategy Papers Over a Crisis

The NSS is a stunning repudiation of Trump, and Trump’s speech was a stunning repudiation of the NSS.

Ideas

Three Ways to Read Trump's National Security Strategy

Is it better approached as a sacred text, or examined like the scat of a shaggy, woodland beast?

Threats

What Putin Really Wants

Russia's strongman president has many Americans convinced of his manipulative genius. He's really just a gambler who won big.

Policy

Trump Just Signed a Dire Warning about Climate Change

The 2018 NDAA acknowledges and anticipates climate change as an urgent threat, in sharp contrast to his administration’s past denials.

Ideas

The National Security Strategy Commits the US to a Lonelier and Less Generous Course

As previewed by H.R. McMaster, the new NSS contrasts strikingly to the visions of other recent presidents.

Policy

Allies Are Key, Says Trump’s National Security Strategy

The document, to be unveiled next week, will be the latest administration policy position that looks beyond “America first.”

Ideas

The North Korea Debate Sounds Eerily Familiar

Trump’s national-security officials are making many of the same arguments Bush’s did in 2003.

Ideas

Trump's National Security Strategy is Decidedly Non-Trumpian

An exclusive preview of the White House's plan highlights the wide gulf between what the president says and what he does.