Ideas
Here’s Why Taliban Talks Will Fail
Afghan negotiators insist peace talks with the Taliban will resume despite the recent collapse of efforts to get them started. Don’t bet on success. By James Kitfield
Threats
An Afghan Game of Chicken
By conducting a public feud, Obama and Karzai are putting their gains at risk in Afghanistan. By Michael Hirsh
Ideas
Hard Choices for the New Middle East
Five strategic dilemmas the administration must address in the Middle East.
Policy
Americans Turn on Obama Over Foreign Policy
Once considered the president's strength, a new poll shows troubling signs.
Science & Tech
Technology Is at the Heart of Obama’s Second-Term Management Agenda
President pledges aggressive pursuit of innovation and accountability.
Defense Systems
Obama signs executive order to boost critical infrastructure security
President Obama has signed an executive order that seeks to better protect the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber intrusions through increased information sharing and the joint development and implementation of a framework of shared cybersecurity practices between government and industry.
Defense Systems
What was the motive behind the secret directive on cybersecurity?
Information recently was leaked to the press and quickly became public about a classified presidential policy directive, PPD-20, that was signed by President Obama just weeks before the presidential election.
Defense Systems
Defeat of al-Qaeda remains top national security priority, says Panetta
To end the continuing threat from al-Qaida will require a modified military footprint, close work with allies and continued U.S. presence in volatile regions, says Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Defense Systems
Presidential election triggered push to finish rules on drone strikes
Before the 2012 presidential election, the Obama administration sped up efforts to develop formal rules for the targeted killing of terrorists by drones so that they would be available if needed by a new president.
Defense Systems
Presidential directive updates military rules for cyber warfare
President Barack Obama has signed a directive that allows the military to take specific offensive and defensive actions necessary to nullify cyberattacks on the nation's government and private-sector computer networks.
Defense Systems
Obama vs. Romney on defense-related issues
See where 2012 presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney stand on foreign policy, terrorism, war and defense spending.
Defense Systems
CIA veteran writes counterterrorism 'playbook' for White House
The Obama administration will soon have formal rules of war for how to carry out targeted killings around the globe against al-Qaeda and its affiliates.
Defense Systems
Lockheed decides not to send sequestration layoff notices
Lockheed Martin issued a statement Oct. 1 in which the company said that it will not send employees correspondence this year warning them about possible layoffs if sequestration occurs.
Defense Systems
Pending guidance on sequestration fosters wait-and-see mindset among contractors
Defense contractors frustrated that Congress still has not found a way to avert automatic budget cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2 might in the days ahead alert thousands of their employees that their jobs are at risk.
Defense Systems
Sequestration creates friction between Congress and OMB
When the House and Senate return from recess in September, lawmakers will only have until Jan. 2, 2013, to pass a spending bill that eliminates $1.2 trillion or more from the federal deficit.
Defense Systems
US took steps to reduce collateral damage from powerful cyber weapons
The Obama administration took considerable care to minimize the risks to U.S. computer security posed by its use of major cyber weapons against Iran and other Middle Eastern nations.
Defense Systems
US will pay heavy price for leaking classified information
We must expect fallout from recent disclosures regarding cyberattacks.
Defense Systems
Obama's 'kill list' dictates who the drones will strike
U.S. President Barack Obama personally oversees a "kill list" of individuals selected to be the target of unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia in a highly secret manner that has given rise to calls for greater transparency in the shadow war against al Qaeda.
Defense Systems
Will commercial space imagery policy get a makeover?
The White House will reexamine its current policy toward how the Defense Department and intelligence community use commercial imagery, which if it downplays the importance of using such imagery in a revised policy would likely further dampen the commercial imagery market.
Defense Systems