Ideas
Fixing The Iranian Missile Problem
It won’t be easy, but Europe and Washington should pressure Iran into suspending missile flight-testing.
Ideas
The US May Seek Defenses Against Russian Missiles. We Need to Talk about That.
If the Trump administration goes down that path, it should boldly declare a change in strategy, not hide behind ambiguity.
Ideas
Trump Is Setting America on an Unpredictable Course in the Middle East
It starts with exiting the Iran nuclear deal without a plan, and it could end with a messy, violent, and unnecessary conflict.
Ideas
Trump’s New Arms-Sales Policy Is Good but Sounds Awful
We must reintegrate arms exports into the U.S. foreign-policy process — and do a far better job of explaining why than the Trump administration has managed so far.
Policy
Macron Mic-Drops on Trump, Offers a New Call to Western Leadership
Defending multilateralism and democracy, the French president gave the best political speech America has seen in years.
Policy
The Politics of Hating (And Loving) France
From freedom fries to fast friends, after the Macron visit will Republicans who choose to stand with Trump continue to stand with France? The war on terrorism may depend on it.
Ideas
How North Korea Learned to Live With 'Fire and Fury'
Kim Jong Un’s concessions on his weapons program suggest that he has adapted to President Trump’s threats.
Ideas
North Korea Is Not De-Nuclearizing
The Trump administration shouldn’t get too excited about Kim Jong Un’s pledge to limit his weapons program.
Ideas
The White House Is Relaxing Drone Exports. Here's a Good Next Step
A 31-year-old arms-control pact governs UAVs as if they were cruise missiles. Our national leadership in the field depends on fixing that.
Ideas
Pompeo’s Secret Korea Trip May Not Save His Nomination, But It Could Save Trump’s Summit
The president needs a "win" somewhere so badly that at the summit he may accept a nuclear freeze and a determined process as a major victory. That is a good thing.
Ideas
The Corker-Kaine Bill Would Codify, not End, the Forever War
The replacement AUMF would formalize a reversal of the Constitution, allowing the president to declare wars and Congress — if it dares — to veto them.
Ideas
Neither Precise Nor Proportionate
Trump’s attack on Syria was unserious but intended to relieve emotional pressure—and in many ways, worse than doing nothing at all.
Ideas
A Trump Doctrine for the Middle East
The region has now been Trump-branded as “a troubled place”—and one America is not particularly interested in helping.
Ideas
Trump's Syria Strategy Actually Makes Sense
And it does not involve a commitment to change the horrible and predictable outcome of the civil war.
Ideas
The Unconstitutional Strike on Syria
AUMF? The Syrian government is not Al Qaeda, nor an affiliate, nor a successor, nor anything except a sovereign nation against which the president has decided to go to war.
Ideas
The Strike May Have Hurt More than It Helped
Far from instilling fear in Assad, it may merely have created a short-term munitions shortage.
Threats
Lawmakers Ask: Where’s the Broader Syria Strategy?
No surprise that Democrats questioned Friday’s retaliatory strike, but even a few GOP defense hawks wondered aloud.
Threats
BREAKING: US, Allies Strike Syrian ‘Chemical Weapons Capabilities,’ Trump Says
The president said deterring the use of chemical weapons is "a vital national security interest” of the United States."
Ideas