Author Archive

Kevin Baron

Executive Editor

Kevin Baron
Kevin Baron is the founding executive editor of Defense One. Baron has lived in Washington for more than 20 years, covering international affairs, the military, the Pentagon, Congress, and politics for Foreign Policy, National Journal, Stars and Stripes, and the Boston Globe, where he ran investigative projects for five years at the Washington bureau. He is a frequent on-air contributor and previously was national security/military analyst at NBC News & MSNBC. Baron cut his muckraking teeth at the Center for Public Integrity and he is twice a Polk Award winner and a former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Baron earned his M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University, B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond, and studied in Paris. Raised in Florida, Baron now lives in Northern Virginia.
Ideas

Putin Suddenly Looks Very Small

With Trump out of office, the Russian leader has nobody else. Biden has NATO, the G-7, and the upper hand.

  • Kevin Baron
Policy

Is the Biden Administration Proud of its Pentagon Budget?

If the White House wanted to boast about its spending plans, it wouldn't have buried the news on Memorial Day weekend and given reporters just 10 minutes to ask questions.

  • Kevin Baron
Threats

Today's D Brief: State of Defense 2021; Side deal with Taliban?; Blinken to Ukraine; France’s sci-fi red teams; And a bit more.

  • Kevin Baron and Ben Watson
Ideas

China to US: Back Off and Calm Down

Foreign Minister Wang Yi just delivered a raw, propaganda-tainted rebuke of Washington’s leaders for stoking “fears” of China’s rise.

  • Kevin Baron
Threats

The D Brief: Climate emergency worsens; Russia’s Ukraine buildup; QAnon, weaponized; ‘Do not travel’ warning expanded; And a bit more...

  • Kevin Baron and Bradley Peniston
Threats

Petraeus Trashes Biden Decision to Quit Afghanistan

Pulling out now is an “unforced error,” the former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan said. Other former war leaders say the threat can be managed.

  • Kevin Baron
Ideas

Afghanistan’s Situation Didn’t Change. American Politics Did

The Biden administration says it can fight terrorism in a way that its predecessors called impossible. Can it?

  • Kevin Baron
Ideas

Beware ‘Just Say China’ Politics

Republicans screamed for more spending to counter China. Democrats are claiming their infrastructure bill does just that. It’s a dangerous game.

  • Kevin Baron
Threats

The D Brief: Ukraine requests NATO entry; US, Iran talk, indirectly; Army wants Arctic cars; Open Skies planes, mothballed; And a bit more…

  • Kevin Baron and Bradley Peniston
Threats

Today's D Brief: Afghan withdrawal update; Taliban reax; Escalation in Taiwan, Yemen; SOF under the microscope; And a bit more.

  • Kevin Baron and Ben Watson
Policy

‘We Will Leave' Afghanistan Likely This Year, Biden Declares

But not by May 1. "It's not my intention to stay there for a long time, the question is how and under what circumstance,” the president said, at the White House.

  • Kevin Baron
Featured eBooks
The Cybersecurity Challenge
Army Tech & Trends
Mission: Space
Threats

Today's D Brief: Migrant children at JBSA, Bliss; North Korea wants attention; Taiwan’s new missile; Blinken at NATO; Biden’s drone review; And a bit more.

  • Kevin Baron and Ben Watson
Ideas

The GOP’s Fake Controversy Over Colin Kahl Is Just the Beginning

Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans who call Biden’s Pentagon-policy pick too political are fooling nobody.

  • Kevin Baron
Threats

Today's D Brief: Airstrikes on ISIS caves; A week of mass shootings; Marines’ new formation; NG convoy ambushed in Texas; And a bit more...

  • Kevin Baron and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Kim’s sister warns US; Border surge; Asia-Pacific next-gen arms; TR’s master helmsmen; And a bit more...

  • Kevin Baron and Bradley Peniston
Ideas

Boycott the Olympics? Cancel the Saudis? How Woke Can Biden Really Get?

Classic international relations realism and wokeness are two different things.

  • Kevin Baron
Ideas

Biden Wants to Restore NATO. Macron Is Looking to Move On.

The two leaders appeared to talk past each other at this week’s Munich Security Conference.

  • Kevin Baron
Ideas

Confederate Military Base Names Just Met Their Gettysburg

A Black admiral, a gruff Marine, a never-Trumper, and the maker of a viral video slamming Confederate sympathizers? Say goodbye to “Fort Bragg” and the rest.

  • Kevin Baron
Threats

Biden Calls Putin ‘To Make Clear’ Where US Stands

In a marked change, the president read off a list of grievances — and discussed the potential for additional nuclear arms controls.

  • Kevin Baron
Policy

Biden Orders New Review of Sexual Assault Policies in Military

Combatant commanders are to send plans and best practices within two weeks.

  • Kevin Baron