Ideas
‘We Shouldn’t Be Buying the Taliban’s Excuse’
The Afghan national security adviser wants his government to take over after a failed year of U.S. negotiations. But now the country has an uncertain election to contend with.
Ideas
Why the Whistle Was Blown
The National Security Council’s procedures are a practical manifestation of values—and Trump’s disregard for NSC rules reflects his rejection of those values.
Ideas
How ‘National Security’ Took Over America
When the two-word phrase became a national obsession, it turned everything from trade rules to dating apps into a potential threat to the United States.
Ideas
The Call Was Coming From Inside the White House
After 2016, Americans focused on the threat of election interference from abroad. What they overlooked was the danger at home.
Policy
Trump’s New Joint Chiefs Chair Is A Savvy Political Operator
The question is: how will Gen. Mark Milley work with the U.S. president?
Ideas
Acting DNI Shows Why Generals and Admirals Should Not Become Top Civilians
Joseph Maguire, a retired three-star, was all too desperate to find a higher civilian authority whose orders to obey.
Ideas
Giuliani: ‘You Should Be Happy for Your Country That I Uncovered This’
As other Trump allies turn on him, President Trump’s personal attorney shouts down questions about his role in the Ukraine scandal.
Threats
Pentagon Caught In The Middle Of Trump's Ukraine Scandal
Some presidential allies want to hang the security-aid freeze on the Defense Department. There’s no evidence for that.
Threats
White House Used Classified System to Hide Trump’s Phone Call: Whistleblower
The IC employee wrote that the July 25 call to Ukraine was not the only time documents had been improperly hidden in codeword-level systems.
Threats
Read the Whistleblower Complaint
The House Intelligence Committee released a redacted version of the complaint about President Trump's alleged attempts to solicit election-related favors from foreign powers.
Science & Tech
Favor #2: Trump Also Asked Ukraine to Revive a Hillary Conspiracy Theory
By mentioning Crowdstrike in the phone call, the U.S. president was trying to get Russia off the hook for the 2016 email hacks.
Ideas
The US and Iran Are Still Worlds Apart on a Deal
At the UN, America and Iran talk at each other and refuse to meet.
Policy
Trump Has Approved Arms to Lots of Problematic Regimes Besides Ukraine. Here's The List
The president said he withheld military aid for Ukraine over corruption concerns.
Ideas
Trump’s Incriminating Conversation With the Ukrainian President
The White House said a transcript of the call would be exculpatory—but the summary it released only adds to the problems facing Trump.
Ideas
Why America Needs Ukraine
Trump’s push to get Ukraine’s new president to do his political bidding threatens to undermine a key U.S. partnership in countering Russia.
Policy
House Democrats Announce Formal Impeachment Probe — Sort Of
It’s far from clear whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s go-slow strategy has changed.
Ideas
Trump's Transactional. And Estonia's President Is Cool With It.
"Thinking back historically, when everybody else said it nicely, we didn’t react,” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid told us.
Threats
Trump Delivers Populist Message to the UN — and US Voters
The president put 2020 politics front and center in his third address to the General Assembly.
Ideas