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.

Ideas

Anti-Trump Hysteria Isn’t Helping

The president’s performance in Helsinki wasn’t defensible—but neither was it treasonous.

Ideas

Trump’s Meeting With Putin Draws Alarm at Home and Abroad

The president’s remarks casting doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 election drew rebukes both implicit and explicit from those close to, and within, his own administration.

Ideas

The End of All Illusions

Trump said nothing new in Helsinki—but his remarks clarified and distilled into a single frame his appalling disregard for an assault on America.

Ideas

The Trump-Putin Summit Made a Mockery of Public Diplomacy

The Russian may at least have projected strength, but the American delivered a dangerous muddle.

Ideas

Why American Spies Worry When Trump Meets Putin

Just as the Russian leader has unleashed his intelligence and security services, the American president has kneecapped and undermined his own.

Threats

Trump Won’t Pull US Troops From Afghanistan, Says Afghan President

At NATO Summit, President Ashraf Ghani said Trump gave his full support to coalition leaders and believes he convinced the U.S. president to stay.

Ideas

Russia Must Know That NATO is Unified

And President Trump needs to tell him so.