Ideas
How to Dampen Escalation Risks As Cyber-Attack Rules Loosen
Create standing rules of engagement and maintain the dual-hatted NSA/CyberCommand.
Ideas
The Woodward Book Comes for James Mattis
A veteran Washington journalist describes the defense secretary as avoiding confrontation and showing respect. But the rest of the book may have blown up that strategy.
Ideas
Donald Trump Sorrowfully Cancels Another North Korea Meeting
For the first time since his summit with Kim Jong Un, the president acknowledged that nuclear talks aren’t going well.
Policy
Trump’s Untested Authority to Revoke Security Clearances
Can the president restrict a person’s access to classified material for any reason he wants? It may take a lawsuit from former CIA Director John Brennan to find out.
Threats
Trump’s Afghanistan War Plan Is Working Despite Recent Attacks, Outgoing Commander Says
Facing renewed criticism, Gen. John Nicholson said the president’s year-old South Asia strategy was bringing Afghanistan closer to peace.
Ideas
This Is the Political Moment to Stop Supporting the Saudi War in Yemen
The deadly attack on a school bus with a U.S. laser-guided bomb should, at last, end Washington's backing.
Policy
Even Trump’s Own Adviser Is Warning About ‘Politicizing’ the Threat From Russia
But the danger he sees is already here.
Policy
The US Will Spend Billions in Syria—Just Not on Rebuilding It
The Trump administration has ended a civilian aid program in the country, but the cost of the counter-ISIS fight far outweighs those savings.
Policy
Trump's Unprecedented Retaliation Draws Unprecedented Rebukes
A dozen former spy chiefs slammed the president after he yanked Brennan's clearance. What comes next?
Business
Pentagon Spending $34M to Make Presidential Jets More Posh
The Air Force is upgrading the interiors of two smaller VIP aircraft to resemble the presidential cabin of Trump’s main Air Force One jets.
Ideas
We Regret to Inform You That Russia Is (Probably) At It Again
For Putin and company, election season in America is open season for meddling.
Ideas
Trump's Turkey Pushback is a Welcome Start
Unlike its predecessors, the Trump administration finally seems to be doing something about a long list of U.S. grievances.
Threats
Talking to the Taliban While Still Fighting the Taliban
Nearly a year since the Trump administration rolled out its South Asia strategy, carnage in Afghanistan continues even as negotiations for peace inch ahead.
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