Ideas
Esper’s Fantasy Fleet
The SecDef’s 500-ship plan is an exercise in wishful thinking that avoids hard choices.
Ideas
Esper’s Reforms: An Interim Report Card
What progress has the defense secretary made on his ambitious goals to reorient the Defense Department?
Policy
All US Troops In Afghanistan To Withdraw By Christmas, Trump Tweets
The bewildering message came just hours after his national security advisor said the United States would draw down to 2,500 by 2021.
Policy
US Charges ISIS ‘Beatles’ In Virginia Court
Kotey and Elsheikh each face 14 charges, all of which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Policy
Esper Plans Fewer Large Carriers, More Subs in a Navy of 500 Ships or More
He says it’s affordable, but key details remain unknown.
Policy
Joint Chiefs In Isolation After Coast Guard Vice Commandant Tests Positive For COVID
But multiple officials suggested that they could return to the Pentagon this week.
Policy
GOP Lawmakers Hammer Trump’s Germany Troop Withdrawals
The top Republican on the Armed Services Committee blamed “a couple of White House staffers” who “hadn’t thought through the consequences.”
Ideas
The Pentagon Is Funding the Destruction of Cultural Heritage
Construction of Trump’s border wall is undermining not just sacred sites but the rule of law itself.
Ideas
Esper's Convenient Lie
The defense secretary's claim that the two decades of countering violent extremism left the U.S. under-prepared for a near-peer fight doesn’t hold water.
Ideas
Combat Leaders Go Through Hell to Learn About Risk. The Acquisition Corps Should Do the Same
One reason the “culture of innovation” hasn’t taken proper hold at the Pentagon is that its buyers aren’t trained over and over to weigh uncertainties.
Ideas
Stumbling Out of the Middle East is No Better Than Stumbling In
It is tempting for the United States to just throw in the towel, pull troops, and abandon allies. More important is understanding what the U.S. strategy toward the Middle East should be.
Ideas
Alexander Vindman: Trump Is Putin’s ‘Useful Idiot’
In his first interview, a key witness in the impeachment trial says Trump goes out of his way to try to please the Russian president.
Ideas
Selling F-35s to the Middle East was Never Going to be Easy
To do it, and preserve Israel’s advantage, Trump must reinvigorate the consultative arms sales process with Congress.
Ideas
Donald Is No Dove
The president’s criticism of military contractors is belied by his commitment to fattening their pockets.
Business
DoD Explains How Contractors Will Get Reimbursed for COVID Expenses — If Congress Cuts a Check
Ellen Lord says the bill would come to $10 billion to $20 billion.
Ideas
Assessing Trump’s National Security Record
How has he done against four main threats our nation faces?
Policy
From Racism to Russia, Top General Says Army Must Change
Gen. McConville addressed the nation’s internal unrest, trust of the military, even QAnon, in a wide-ranging interview with Defense One.
Policy
Army Chief Denies Trump’s Claim That Generals Make War for Arms Makers
“We take this very, very seriously,” Gen. James McConville said in an interview with Defense One.
Policy
Pentagon to Employees: How Can We Boost Diversity?
The request is part of Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s overhaul of personnel practices.
Ideas