Threats

Milley Meets With Taliban In Fragile Peace Negotiations

The Joint Chiefs chairman's meeting comes at a profound moment of uncertainty for the U.S.-brokered talks on Afghanistan.

Threats

NATO Gears Up for Biden, Big Decisions on Afghanistan, China

“We are faced with a very hard and difficult dilemma,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an exclusive interview.

Ideas

Biden’s First Move on Nuclear Weapons

When Putin calls to congratulate the new U.S. president, Biden should seize the opportunity.

Exclusive Policy

Trump Officials Reviewing DOD Support To CIA

Some officials familiar with the review see it as an effort to cut vital DOD support to the agency.

Exclusive Policy

White House Shipbuilding Plan Would Shrink Ford Carrier Class Over Navy Objections

Critics say the bulked-up fleet plan would cut dangerously into Army, Air Force budgets — if Congress and the Biden administration followed it.

Ideas

The Problem With the SecDef Purity Test

You don’t want a general, a man, a war veteran — and everyone in the defense industry is evil?

Policy

Biden Selects Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Defense Secretary, Reportedly

Austin, the last commander of the Iraq War, would be the nation's first Black defense secretary.

Exclusive Policy

Trump Admin to Rename Two Bases for Space Force Over Military Objections

The Air Force had quietly agreed with Congress not to change anything until the NDAA settles a way forward on Confederate base names.

Policy

2021 NDAA Would Create a National Cyber Director

If the bill passes next week and is signed into law, another amendment would codify cybersecurity roles for sector-specific agencies.

Policy

US Has Achieved ‘Modicum of Success’ in Afghanistan, Top General Says

But years of military stalemate make negotiating with the Taliban the only option, Gen. Mark Milley says.

Exclusive Policy

EXCLUSIVE: Details Revealed in Trump’s Lame-Duck Pentagon Budget Draft

Some of the numbers are “fabricated,” says one official. But they shed light on GOP lines of attack awaiting Biden.

Policy

Dems See GOP Electioneering in Air Force Choice of Georgia for C-130 Base

A Trump appointee wants Air National Guard planes sent to the state that holds the key to Senate control.

Policy

IC Vets, Dem Lawmakers Applaud Selection of Haines as Intelligence Director

Biden picks an Obama administration intelligence community veteran to be the first woman to serve in the role.

Policy

Personality, Not Policy, Will Determine Top House Armed Services Republican

The pick may telegraph whether the GOP intends a cooperative or combative approach to the Biden administration.

Ideas

As Spotlight Fades, What Next for Special Operators?

Under Trump, the Pentagon's ‘service secretary’ in charge of SOF has changed hands eight times between seven people.

Policy

CBP Proposes to Expand Biometric Data Collection at Border

A proposed rule would allow the program to expand beyond pilot sites and collect more data from more people.

Threats

The Firing of Chris Krebs Is What an Attack On Democracy Looks Like

After helping to keep the election secure from hackers, the CISA director turned to refuting the baseless claims of the president.

Policy

Rolling Back Trump's Workforce Policies Won't Be Simple

President-elect Biden has vowed to rescind on his first day a series of Trump-era directives aimed at weakening federal labor unions and politicizing the civil service, but repairing the damage could take much longer.

Threats

Outgoing Syria Envoy Admits Hiding US Troop Numbers; Praises Trump’s Mideast Record

‘We were always playing shell games,’ says Amb. Jim Jeffrey, who also gives advice to President-elect Biden.