Ideas

The Case for Repealing, and Not Replacing, the Iraq War Authorization

It should be a top priority for Congress to correct its historic blunder of passing the buck when it comes to war and peace.

Ideas

America Has Come Full Circle in the Middle East

“We are opening a Pandora’s Box,” Dwight Eisenhower warned when he ordered the first U.S. combat mission in the region. Little did he know how right he would be.

Ideas

2020 Dems Need To Get Up To Speed on Nuclear Weapons. Fast.

Front-runners have displayed key misunderstandings, while other candidates have shied away from the topic.

Ideas

To Prove Trump’s Bad Faith, Don’t Argue Policy. Show He Subverted the Process.


On Ukraine, the president dodged processes designed to ensure that U.S. foreign policy serves the public interest.

Ideas

Saudi Arabia’s Phone Hacking Shows We Need Better Encryption — Not Backdoors

End-to-end encryption isn’t good enough. Files and cloud backups need strong crypto as well.

Ideas

While ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’ Melts Away, the US Isn't Sure What It Wants Next

Global competition is coming to the northern polar region. U.S. policymakers are not clear on a fundamental question about its future.

Ideas

Who Gets to Tell the Story of the Afghanistan War?

The Washington Post’s ‘Afghanistan Papers’ is the latest contribution to a growing argument over whether the conflict — or any of the ‘forever wars’ — was worth the cost.

Ideas

Donald Trump Stumbles Into a Foreign-Policy Triumph

The president, however inadvertently, may be reminding the world of the reality of international relations.

Ideas

Sending Troops Back to the Middle East Won’t Stop Iran

Knee-jerk deployments only distract from the president’s bigger priorities: China and Russia.

Ideas

The US Space Force Is Not a Joke

It’s not all President Trump promised, but it exists now.

Ideas

Esper Is Attempting the Biggest Defense Reform in a Generation

In two recent memos, the SecDef reveals his intention to change how the Pentagon uses its money, people, and time.

Ideas

Ep. 62: Wagner and Russian private military contractors

How much do we understand about what these groups are up to? And how much should the U.S. and its allies be concerned?

Ideas

The Downed Jetliner Reminds Us that War Spins Out of Control

Mistakes and misperceptions bookended this latest episode in the long conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Expect that not to change.

Ideas

The Pentagon Must Replace Some Hackable Computer Chips

Last year’s vulnerability revelations, combined with the tardiness of manufacturers’ responses, leave the military with an expensive choice.

Ideas

The Global Race for Big National-Security Ideas Is On

The United States faces genuinely new challenges—but tries to understand them using outmoded theories from a bygone era.

Ideas

On Iran, It's Time to Return to Containment

Trump has traded Obama-era appeasement for inconsistent confrontation. What's needed is a strategy of containment, backed by clear and credible deterrence.

Ideas

Russia’s ‘Data Localization’ Efforts May Guide Other Governments

Moscow’s efforts to keep data on home soil are of interest to other authoritarian states — and even some liberal democracies.

Ideas

Trump Broke It. Now He Owns It.

The president withdrew from a flawed deal with Iran, but had no realistic alternative. With that choice comes responsibility for what ensued.

Ideas

Iran’s Smart Strategy

The Iranians chose neither to fold nor to fight. It is not clear at this point who was more deterred by whom.