Ideas
What's Really at Stake for America in Yemen's Conflict
As the Trump administration navigates the risks of escalation, there’s a real danger it will get the calculus wrong.
Policy
The President Is Preventing the Foreign-Policy Debate America Needs To Have
He promised to do both more and less abroad, but his frequent reversals and missteps are derailing efforts to choose one path.
Policy
Trump Wants to Overhaul Federal IT, But He’s Missing the People Who Could Help
Trump’s prepping big plans to modernize and secure government technology, but he’ll need government’s buy in to get it done.
Ideas
Trump Blew It at His China Summit
The U.S. president’s performance last week suggested to his Chinese counterpart that he is all talk, and can be pushed around with subtlety and patience.
Policy
It’s Too Early to See a ‘Trump Effect’ on NATO Spending
The U.S. president's rhetoric may have allies talking about their growing defense spending, but it won’t affect most budget proposals for months.
Policy
Trump Ends Federal Hiring Freeze, but Workforce Cuts Loom
In issuing guidance for reductions, OMB director tells feds not to focus on who will be fired.
Ideas
Trump's Unlawful Attack in Syria
Trump launched an attack on Bashar al-Assad’s government without the legal authority to do so.
Ideas
The Syria Strike Was International Security Theater
It was designed to look as if it would keep us safer, while actually doing nothing of the sort.
Ideas
Easy There, Blob. With Obama, We Faced A Different Syria
Four years ago, everything was different in Syria. I support these strikes, but two of our worries remain the same: escalation and loss of control.
Ideas
Seven Disturbing Implications of Trump's Syria Strike
The attack raises a series of questions about the president’s approach to America’s political processes and institutions.
Ideas
Counterpoint: Trump’s Syria Strike Was Unconstitutional and Unwise
The military intervention solved nothing, while bypassing Congress, betraying the president’s non-interventionist supporters, and highlighting his hypocrisy.
Ideas
The Obama Doctrine, R.I.P.
Under pressure to respond to Assad’s use of chemical weapons, Trump reached for the same playbook that his predecessor resisted opening.
Ideas
America Should Have Hit Assad Four Years Ago
When dealing with mass killing, deterrence is more effective than disarmament.
Policy
Trump's Defense Hike Would Violate Budget Law, Congress' Analysts Confirm
An April 3 report by the Congressional Research Service says the White House’s draft 2018 request does not comply with the $549 billion cap.
Ideas
How Should the US Respond to Assad's Chemical Attacks?
Military intervention—even for the best moral reasons—always has unpredictable consequences.
Ideas
The Silence of Rex Tillerson
Sooner or later, someone needs to explain what Trump’s foreign policy is. But the secretary of state does not seem to understand his job.
Ideas
Egypt and America Are Destined to Disappoint Each Other
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s supporters in Washington are about to get mugged by reality: His regime is alarmingly weak.
Ideas