Policy
Why Trump and Biden Can’t Cut Troops in Afghanistan Much More
Even ‘bare minimum’ counterterrorism forces require critical intelligence only U.S. personnel can provide, officials warn.
Ideas
Inside the Collapse of Trump’s Korea Policy
When it comes to America’s last-ditch effort to prevent North Korea from becoming a nuclear power, timing has been everything. Now time’s running out.
Ideas
Put US Post-INF Missiles into Production
The U.S. has waited too long to mimic Chinese intermediate-range weapons.
Policy
Democratic Candidates Sound Off on China
Three of the seven 2020 candidates at the debate argued the U.S. needs an international coalition to deal with Beijing.
Ideas
Russia Is Waging Asymmetric Warfare Against the US — And We’re Letting Them Win
We must do more to harden against these attacks on our economy, institutions, and the public.
Ideas
The Trump Administration’s ‘Denuclearization’ Is A Road to Nowhere
U.S. policy will remain stuck as long as the administration continues to convince itself that the North’s nuclear dismantlement can be achieved on Washington’s timeline.
Ideas
Under Trump, the US Has Become a Leading Source of Global Instability
The country is now a known unknown, increasing the risk of crises from the Middle East to East Asia to Central America, a new survey suggests.
Ideas
The FBI Needs to Be Reformed
The inspector general’s report identified real weaknesses, particularly with the policies and procedures that govern investigations of political campaigns.
Ideas
The Foreign-Policy Parallels Between Trump and the Ayatollahs Are Uncanny
Neither the U.S. president nor Iran's leaders are as willing to go toe-to-toe as they might seem.
Ideas
Nixon’s Leniency After My Lai Hurt Veterans. Trump’s May, Too.
A president’s actions in 1971 helped turn public opinion against those who fought the Vietnam War.
Ideas
Democrats Retreat on Nuclear Policy
The 2020 authorization bill fails to check Trump’s worst impulses.
Ideas
We Really Need to Fix the Federal Budget Process
With the 2020 defense policy bill close to done, here are some ideas for next year.
Ideas
If Ukraine Is Impeachable, What’s Afghanistan?
A misguided war that drags on inconclusively for more than 18 years is, I submit, a great crime.
Ideas
The ‘Russia Hoax’ Is a Hoax
A report by the FBI inspector general debunks the claims that the investigation into political interference by the Kremlin was a left-wing conspiracy to depose the president.
Science & Tech
Amazon Says Pentagon Got Almost Everything Wrong in JEDI Evaluation
Company officials say Trump's beef with CEO Jeff Bezos led to “substantial and pervasive errors.”
Threats
Who’s Really to Blame for the ‘Ukraine Did It’ Conspiracy Theory?
Judging on the basis of public evidence, the narrative about Ukraine was propagated first and foremost by Americans, not Russian disinformation puppeteers.
Policy