Ideas

Trump’s Secret War on Terror

Drone strikes continue and spread—away from public scrutiny or Congressional oversight.

Ideas

Why the Space Force Is Just Like Trump University

The gap between the hype and reality of the proposed new branch of the military makes the project almost entirely an exercise in misleading branding.

Policy

Pence Makes Hard Sell For Trump's Space Force by 2020

The administration wants a new military service branch, but space mission's future in the Pentagon and Congress is far from certain.

Ideas

What It Would Take for Iran to Talk to Trump

It may not seem like it, but Tehran has a lot to gain from meeting with a U.S. president in search of his own nuclear deal.

Ideas

How Trump Radicalized ICE

A long-running inferiority complex, vast statutory power, a chilling new directive from the top—inside America’s unfolding immigration tragedy.

Science & Tech

Mike Pence’s Cybersecurity Speech, Annotated

The vice president delivered a fiery campaign-style cybersecurity speech at a Homeland Security cyber conference Tuesday. Here’s an explainer.

Ideas

Donald Trump Is Falling in Love With Summits

In offering to meet with Iran’s leader, the president sticks to what’s becoming a familiar pattern.

Ideas

Ep.13: Afghan Ambassador to the US; Washington Post's Josh Rogin and Bloomberg's Eli Lake.

Welcome to our podcast about the news, strategy, tech, and business trends defining the future of national security.

Ideas

Secretary of a State of Confusion

Senators tell Mike Pompeo: We have “serious doubts about this White House and its conduct of American foreign policy,”

Ideas

How to Stop Losing the Information War

No one is in charge of messaging, counter-messaging, and coordinating America’s instruments of information power. Here’s a way to change that.

Ideas

Pulling Security Clearances Is Just the Start

Another norm falls victim to Trump as he turns the power of government against his critics.

Ideas

North Korea Talks Have Entered the Realm of Small Victories

After the summit, the grind.

Ideas

Trump’s Space Force Will Have to Wait

The president has called for the creation of a new military branch. So far, Congress is ignoring him.

Ideas

Trump, Iran, and the Dangers of Presidential Bluffing

Last year, the president’s threats targeted North Korea. The outcome holds lessons for a new round of threats.

Ideas

Donald Trump’s Reckless Iran Tweet

Why would the president threaten war over such relatively inconsequential words?

Policy

US Spy Chief: ‘I Don’t Know What Happened’ in Helsinki

Director of National Intelligence Coats got another surprise Thursday: Putin is coming to town.

Ideas

Trump's Worst Blow To NATO Came at Home

After threatening to withdraw from the alliance, the president is now simply, and devastatingly, suggesting the U.S. won't come to its allies' aid.

Threats

After Secret Trump Meeting, Russia Offers to Resume Military Relations

Did Trump offer to normalize relations? It would be complicated — and Congress gets a vote.

Ideas

Trump Says Russia Isn’t Still Targeting the U.S.—But He’s Wrong

Putin’s government is waging information warfare against America, but the president is ignoring his intelligence advisers as they sound the alarm.

Ideas

There’s No Defending Trump Anymore

The spectacle in Helsinki is over. Now it’s time for Congress—and the American people—to act.