Ideas

The Four Key Reasons the US Is So Behind on Coronavirus Testing

Bureaucracy, equipment shortages, an unwillingness to share, and failed leadership doomed the American response to COVID-19.

Threats

Iranian Proxies Killed Americans In Iraq, Pentagon Leaders Say

The attack has reignited tensions between the U.S. and Iran — and raised questions about whether the former is “deterring” the latter.

Policy

Pentagon Suspends Troop Travel in Affected Countries; Trump Limits Travel from Mainland Europe

Defense Secretary orders 60-day ban on troops, civilians, and families traveling “to, from, or through” Germany, South Korea, Italy, France, others.

Ideas

Trump Is Peddling Dangerous Disinformation on Coronavirus

Fact-checkers and scientists have scrambled to correct the president's false and misleading statements, which are being amplified by partisan media, digital propagandists, and administration officials.

Threats

The US Has Tested Fewer than 5,000 People for the Coronavirus — and That's a Big Problem

By this point in its outbreak, South Korea had tested more than 100,000 people. The lack of data hurts U.S. government, corporate, and personal attempts to make decisions.

Policy

Afghanistan Withdrawal Begins Amid Taliban Attacks on US Allies

Critics say the withdrawal deal puts too much faith in the Taliban.

Ideas

The US Isn’t Ready for What’s About to Happen

Even with a robust government response to the novel coronavirus, many people will be in peril. And the United States is anything but prepared.

Ideas

We Can Still Avoid the Worst-Case Coronavirus Scenario

The spread of COVID-19 may be inevitable, but the choices we make now will determine how bad the outbreak will get.

Policy

Exclusive: House Bill Tries To Force Trump To Keep Troops In Africa

The legislation from Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., raises constitutional concerns but might still be a useful messaging tool for lawmakers.

Policy

Explainer: The US-Taliban Deal in Afghanistan

What's in the recent agreement between the United States and the Taliban? What might still derail it?

Policy

Judge: Acting Immigration Services Director Was Unlawfully Appointed

Ken Cuccinelli — also acting DHS secretary — was named acting head of USCIS without having first served in a subordinate position.

Ideas

The President Is Winning His War on American Institutions

How Trump is destroying the civil service and bending the government to his will.

Ideas

The World Is Experiencing a New Form of Autocracy

Today’s authoritarians use legal measures to subvert constitutional constraints on their power.

Ideas

Enacting Trump’s Revenge Campaign at the NSC

The cuts to the National Security Council have less to do with making government better than with making it purer.

Ideas

Beware a Peace Deal That May Spell War

There are important questions still to be answered about Afghanistan and the United States.

Policy

Lawmakers Fire Back at Trump’s Plan to Divert Military Funds to Border Wall

But the bipartisan team of Smith and Thornberry have attracted few other GOPers to the effort.

Ideas

Trump Freezes Hiring at Another DHS Agency

TSA is the second Homeland Security component agency to suspend taking on new employees.

Ideas

Trump’s War on the Intelligence Community Is Also About US Elections

With a loyalist as acting director of national intelligence, the official line on issues like Russian election meddling could bend closer to the president’s.

Ideas

Trump Is Politicizing the Intelligence Community

The president spent the week reshaping America's IC to serve his political needs. What does that mean for the 2020 election, and for national security?