Ideas

The Military Won’t Save Us – and You Shouldn’t Want Them To

It’s deeply irresponsible, not to mention organizationally nonsensical, to suggest that Gen. Milley should evict an election-losing Trump from the White House.

Ideas

Biden’s Foreign Policy Would Be Better Than Trump's, But Just Barely

The former vice president lacks a consistent philosophy of when and how to use military force.

Ideas

The Damage That ‘America First’ Has Done

A self-interested strategy will not help the U.S. fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Ideas

Trump’s Iran Strategy Isn’t Working as Well as He Thinks

The killing of Qassem Soleimani upended expectations in useful ways, but the U.S. isn’t in a position to capitalize on the turmoil.

Ideas

Trump's War-Crime Pardons Undermine the Military

Once again, our president has used the military as a political tool to its detriment as an institution.

Ideas

Macron's 'NATO Brain Death' Quote Shows Why the US Has Always Outplayed France

Like Charles de Gaulle, the French president would unify Europe under France’s conception, with Germany footing the bill.

Ideas

Trump Is Complicit in Erdoğan’s Violence

Now the war in Syria has a victor. And it’s not the U.S.

Ideas

A Terrific Deal—For the Taliban

The president should have to answer for the Afghanistan mess in the 2020 election.

Ideas

The Bill for ‘America First’ Is Coming Due

Two of America’s closest treaty allies have announced military efforts explicitly designed to exclude the United States.

Ideas

Worse Than Obama’s Red-Line Moment

Trump has now shown himself just as willing as President Obama to make empty threats that damage American credibility.

Ideas

A Middle East Peace Plan Built on Un-American Principles

Jared Kushner wants to use prosperity as a shiny object to distract Palestinians while their political aspirations are swept away.

Ideas

How a Forever War Ends

Trump might well wrap up the war in Afghanistan, but only by giving up on America’s original goals.

Ideas

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

His capricious decision to withdraw troops from Syria will create havoc.

Ideas

What Other Countries' Experience Tells America About Its Decline

In Twilight of the Titans, two scholars provide a warning to a rising China, and a road map for the United States to regain its standing.

Ideas

Allies Grieve the Loss of the US They Believed In

An international conference takes on a funereal feel as allies realize they can no longer rely on the United States.

Ideas

Trump Needs Help Picking Between His Contradictory Foreign-Policy Desires

Unfortunately, not even a 21st-century version of Eisenhower’s Solarium planning exercise is likely to help.

Ideas

Trump Is Right to Leave The INF Nuclear Treaty

Despite sensible objections, the US could benefit, and it's hard to see how Russia ever would comply.

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

Trump’s North Korea Gamble Is a Real-Time Experiment

Here’s how the president’s bets look when viewed through the lens of behavioral economics.