Science & Tech

The Obama Administration Is Struggling to Reform the Security Clearance Process

OPM, ODNI and other agencies are failing to meet their own deadlines on a wide array of measures aimed at sniffing out internal threats.

Ideas

Obama's Record as Commander-in-Chief, By the Numbers

He vowed to end America's wars, but has mostly just changed who’s doing the fighting.

Ideas

The Dangerous Myth of 'America Must Lead'

A world in which the forces of light vie against the forces of darkness, with America charged with ensuring the triumph of good over evil—that isn’t Obama’s world.

Ideas

Why Does Obama Fight Wars He Deems Unwinnable?

The uncertainty he projects about his policies undermine the half-hearted military efforts he undertakes.

Ideas

An Isolationist President, In Love With Drones and Special Forces

Obama’s no realist; history suggests little promise for the path he has chosen for the U.S.

Ideas

The End of the US-Dominated Order in the Middle East

Critics say the Obama doctrine has given Russia the upper hand in the region; the president says Moscow’s welcome to try to use it.

Ideas

The Hidden Costs of Obama's Vision of American Power

Grand strategies are judged by their consequences, not by their intentions, and in the Middle East the consequences are not looking pretty.

Ideas

In Defense of the Obama Doctrine

Obama is still trying to win Washington over to American power as he sees it: limiting military interventions while convening players for peace.

Ideas

Obama's 'Red Line' That Wasn't

Inside the president’s last-minute decision not to bomb Syria in 2013.

Ideas

The Obama Doctrine

The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world.

Business

Obama's Security Clearance Overhaul Lands with a Thud Before Lawmakers

The plan, which tasks the Pentagon with safeguarding new investigations, appears to just be 'window dressing on a broken home.'

Policy

How Guantanamo Is Used in Jihadist Propaganda

Hint: It's less than Obama suggests.

Policy

Obama’s Gitmo Closure Plan: What’s New and Where the Problems Are

The White House’s plan gives Congress 13 different sites to choose from—and just added a lot of fuel to an already heated topic in a national security election year.

Ideas

Obama Punts Controversial War Account to Successor

The president, who decried the Pentagon’s 'dishonest' war chest, will leave office with it firmly entrenched.

Science & Tech

White House Wants to Revamp Cybersecurity In New $19B Plan

President Obama's last budget also calls for a new chief information security officer and $62 million to help hire 10,000 new workers.

Policy

Rubio Proves Obama's Point About Islam and Intolerance in the US

Sen. Marco Rubio accused the president of 'pitting people against each other' in Obama's visit to a mosque this week.

Policy

Obama Confronts the Politics of Religion and Terrorism

The president preached inclusion and hit back at anti-Muslim rhetoric during his first appearance at a mosque.

Science & Tech

The Obama Administration’s Encryption Views Are All Over the Map

Some government officials are focused on catching criminals, while others worry about empowering hackers.

Policy

The Obama Doctrine Has No Heir in Hillary Clinton

As Clinton puts more distance between her foreign policy and President Obama’s, his national security legacy may prove short-lived.

Policy

The GOP's Iran Frustration Signals a Lack of Options in Months Ahead

Republicans are irate over the Obama administration’s handling of Iran—and there’s little they can do to stop it.