Ideas
Trump’s Path to Indefinite Afghan War
President Trump’s much-anticipated Afghan policy rightly avoids troop withdrawal timelines but offers little prospect for progress against the durable Taliban.
Policy
Tell Me What an Afghanistan 'Win' Looks Like
Campaign-trail rhetoric aside, his inability to define victory was the most troubling part of his speech.
Policy
Full Transcript: Donald Trump Announces His Afghanistan Policy
“No place is beyond the reach of American might and American arms.”
Threats
Will Anyone Care About Trump's Barely-Different Afghanistan War Plan?
Pull out. Stay in. Double down. It’s the military’s war until elected officials make it America’s war. And Americans won’t care by Wednesday, anyway.
Ideas
America Needs to Stay in Afghanistan
'U.S. Afghan policy for 15 years has not been nation-building, but exit-seeking.'
Threats
At 7 Years Old, CYBERCOM Becomes a Full Combatant Command
An order by President Trump triggered its elevation from U.S. Strategic Command, which has been in the works for months.
Ideas
It's Time To Make Afghanistan Someone Else's Problem
A full withdrawal of U.S. forces will force Iran, Russia, and others, to step up.
Ideas
Why Military Chiefs Are Condemning White Supremacy
The U.S. armed forces have had troubles with extremists enlisting in the past, and they don’t want it to happen again.
Threats
Why North Korea Walked Back Its Threat on Guam
Signs of a conflict with the U.S. may have been overblown.
Threats
How US Military Leaders Are Reacting to Charlottesville
While the president wavers in his criticism of white nationalist protesters, military leaders are speaking out against racism and intolerance in America’s ranks.
Ideas
What Happens When No One Believes American Threats?
In the long term, it does America no favors for its president to establish a reputation for hyperbole and unrealistic threats.
Threats
When Words Risk Provoking War
Words especially matter between societies that poorly understand each other’s motivations and intentions, as do North Korea and the U.S.
Policy
Are Mercenaries Really a Cheaper Way of War?
The founder of Blackwater says privatizing the 16-year war could save taxpayer money. History, both recent and farther back, suggests a different outcome.
Ideas
America Is Not Ready for a War in North Korea
If loose words about fire and fury are a mere negotiating tactic, they will not deliver what the United States desires.
Ideas
Why Trump Is Wholly Unsuited to the North Korea Crisis
The president confronts a situation that calls for a trustworthy, careful, decisive leader drawing on all available expertise.
Ideas
Can Trump's National Security Council Handle a Real Crisis?
The people in the Situation Room inevitably neglect basics that will keep them, and the rest of us, alive. In this White House, the risks are especially high.
Policy
The US Balance-of-Power Strategy in the Gulf is Collapsing. But It Never Had a Chance Anyway
The Qatar dispute deals a death blow to Trump Administration dreams of an Arab NATO arrayed against Iran.
Policy
Why Leaking Transcripts of Trump's Calls Is So Dangerous
When the president’s opponents violate norms to undermine him, they do lasting damage to American security.
Business
Here Are the Jets That May Become Air Force One
The USAF has a deal in the works to turn a pair of Boeing 747 jetliners abandoned by a bankrupt Russian airline into the next presidential transport. Here’s what they look like.
Business