Ideas

Put Our President and North Korea’s Kim in a Room Together

Nothing else is working.

Business

Searching for $1 Billion: Inside the Pentagon’s Struggle to Match Trump’s Air Force One Boast

Details emerge about Boeing’s cost-saving pitches at Mar-a-Lago, and what Air Force leaders are really planning to cut. First to go: aerial refueling.

Policy

Former State Dept. Cyber Coordinator Says It Was a Mistake to Close His Office

Chris Painter worries the United States is stepping back from its role as a global cyber leader.

Ideas

South Korea Is Right

Trump has characterized its policy as “appeasement.” But Seoul’s approach is far more sensible than Washington’s.

Ideas

How Mattis May Get Himself in Trouble With Trump

The secretary of defense could run afoul of his boss if his review of the policy on transgender troops follows the facts to their conclusion.

Ideas

Congress Should Do Its Job, and Get Us Out of Yemen’s Civil War

American support for the Saudi-led coalition is getting us nowhere good.

Policy

Trump Directly Counters Mattis, Military, In Tweet on North Korea

‘Talking is not the answer!’ says president, after threatening ‘all options’ following North Korean missile-launch over Japan.

Ideas

Trump Doesn't Have the Authority to Attack North Korea Without Congress

The decision to engage in armed conflict rests with the legislative branch, a requirement that is neither a formality nor outdated.

Policy

Ordered to Ban Transgender Troops, Pentagon Plans A New Look at Three Factors

The courts will take their own look, thanks to a trio of lawsuits filed in the wake of Trump’s Friday-night memo.

Ideas

How James Mattis Tried to Explain Trump to the World

Just as Mattis sought to reassure nervous allies, back home there were numerous reminders that the populist and intemperate impulses of his boss will not be tamed.

Policy

Trump Cybersecurity Advisers Resign In 'Moral' Protest

Board members also condemned the president’s response to racist violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Policy

‘Believe Me:’ Trump Promises Shutdown if Congress Doesn’t Fund the Border Wall

The president says the wall is getting built, one way or another.

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.