Policy
On Iran, It’s Trump Vs. Trump
The president’s 2020 reelection campaign looms large over the decision whether to retaliate for a downed drone.
Ideas
Bolton Keeps Trying to Goad Iran Into War
For more than a decade, he’s consistently promoted war with Iran. All that has changed are the pretexts he’s offering to justify one.
Policy
Shanahan Out; Army Secretary Esper to Be Acting SecDef
Trump tweets the news after reports that the FBI was looking into a violent domestic dispute from nine years ago.
Ideas
Iran Has Options and It’s Starting to Use Them
Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign has not forced Tehran to yield—in fact, it’s done the opposite.
Ideas
Deterrence Is Failing — Partly Because Iran Has No Idea What the US Really Wants
Successful deterrence requires clear delineation of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. That needs to start, pronto.
Threats
US Blames Tanker Attacks On Iran; CENTCOM Releases Surveillance Video
Military officials say imagery shows Iranians in boats at the tankers, handling a mine and trying to capture crew members.
Ideas
Trump’s Efforts at Election Tampering Are Growing Bolder
Having exploited foreign assistance in 2016 and gotten away with it, the president is already trying it again in the 2020 race.
Threats
Buttigieg Rips Congress Over War Powers
Navy vet's insurgent campaign has skyrocketed him to 14 percent in an early Iowa poll.
Ideas
Trump’s New Arctic Policy Has a Familiar Ring
Administration officials are talking tough on Russia and China, while picking fights with allies that are making U.S. goals harder to achieve.
Business
Will Trump Object to the Raytheon-United Technologies Merger?
After an analyst said Obama-era opposition to consolidation had dissipated, Trump appeared to signal the opposite.
Ideas
Save This One Piece of the INF Treaty
Preserving the ballistic-missile ban would reduce the danger of leaving the treaty — and light a path to its replacement.
Threats
House Democrats Want To Ban Sending New Prisoners To Gitmo
President Trump has vowed to keep the facility open, promising on the campaign trail to fill it up with “bad dudes.”
Ideas
Allies Try Using D-Day to Remind Trump Who America's Real Friends Are
The U.S. president has expressed affection for authoritarian leaders, so it’s unclear what impression the celebrations will make on him.
Policy
Lawmakers Want the Final Say on Air Force One Paint Job
A House panel has drafted legislation that would require congressional approval if Trump wants to change the Kennedy-era livery.
Ideas
New, More Usable Nukes for Trump? No.
Congress should use the new defense authorization bill to bar the deployment of new, dangerous, and redundant nuclear weapons.
Ideas
The Disturbing Logic of Trump’s Lovefest With Kim Jong Un
“The cheapest concession you can make in a negotiation is to give the other fellow a little respect.”
Ideas
A Middle East Peace Plan Built on Un-American Principles
Jared Kushner wants to use prosperity as a shiny object to distract Palestinians while their political aspirations are swept away.
Policy
Nuclear Experts Beg Congress to Push Back on Trump Administration’s ‘Dangerous Impulses’
A letter asks House and Senate Armed Services leaders to defund small nukes and support an extension for New START.
Ideas
The US-UK Alliance Has Seen Better Days
As President Trump arrives in Britain, the two partners are divided on how to deal with Iran, Huawei, and even Brexit.
Policy