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.

Threats

The US Once Wanted Peace in Afghanistan

Now it’s setting its sights much lower.

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?

Threats

Trump’s New Spy Chief Failed to Report $100,000 from a Group Funded by Hungary

Richard Grenell’s past clients could raise concerns about his access to state secrets, according to his own office’s rules.

Ideas

It’s Time to Talk About Taiwan

Washington’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity is increasingly likely to inflame the kind of crisis it was meant to deter.

Policy

Pentagon Defends Handling Of Traumatic Brain Injuries In Iranian Attack

TBI symptoms are often “nonspecific,” the Joint Staff surgeon said.

Ideas

Trump’s New Spy Chief Worked for a Foreign Politician Accused by the US of Corruption

Richard Grenell did not disclose payments for advocacy work on behalf of a Moldovan politician whom the U.S. later accused of corruption. His own office’s policy says that could leave him vulnerable to blackmail.

Ideas

The American Public Wants a Sustainable Middle East Policy

Despite the mainstream narrative presenting a deep lack of appetite for another war in the Middle East, the United States will never be able to ignore the region completely.