Threats
Security Clearance Backlog Hits Long-Awaited ‘Steady State’
About 200,000 people are waiting for background investigations, which lawmakers called a welcome, "sustainable" level.
Threats
As Toll Mounts, Trump Downplays Injuries Suffered in Iranian Attack
The president's dismissive statements about the brain trauma suffered by U.S. troops at Al Assad may reflect a considered attempt to de-escalate – or not.
Ideas
The US Navy’s Three Great Intellectual Challenges
Design the force, wrestle with change, buy ships.
Science & Tech
US Army’s High-Powered Skull Study May Yield Better Helmets
Protecting soldiers' brains is the ultimate aim of a joint effort by the Army Research Laboratory, Argonne National Lab, and Northwestern University.
Ideas
The War-Crimes President
When violence is directed at those Trump’s supporters hate and fear, they see such excesses not as crimes but as virtues.
Ideas
How Trump Turned the Military Against Itself
The president’s repeated interference in a Navy SEAL’s case shows that he cares about only one kind of military discipline: obedience to Trump.
Ideas
As the Rich Get Richer, the Ambassadors Get Worse
Gordon Sondland embodies an age-old problem—one that the flood of donor money into American politics is only exacerbating.
Science & Tech
At DHS, an Exodus of Tech and Cyber Leaders
The rotating cast of officials in top tech and cyber jobs could hinder the department’s ability to develop and execute a consistent digital strategy.
Ideas
Trump Wants His Fighters Unbound by the Laws of War. That's Not Going to Help Us
One reason more than 80 countries allied to fight ISIS is that they flagrantly ignored these laws. Now we do too.
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.
Science & Tech
The World Needs Twice as Many Cybersecurity Pros, Report Says
In the U.S., an industry nonprofit found that two of every five cybersecurity jobs is going unfilled.
Ideas
National Security Is Made of People
We need a way to measure the readiness of our civilian national-security workforce. Then we need to fix it.
Ideas
We Don't Know Enough about How Women's Perspectives Help Achieve Military Missions
Plenty of anecdotes show the benefits of bringing female perspectives to U.S. military missions. What's needed is data.
Threats
DHS Opens Civil-Rights Investigation into Harassment of Reporter at Dulles
Watson's account of his interaction with a Customs and Border Protection officer received broad media coverage.
Threats
Harassing Journalists Is ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’: Acting CBP Commissioner
Morgan spoke several days after a passport control officer at Dulles airport held up a Defense One editor until he said he wrote "propaganda."
Ideas
Retired Senior Military Officers Unload on Trump
The commander in chief is impulsive, disdains expertise, and gets his intelligence briefings from Fox News. What does this mean for those on the front lines?
Threats
US Customs Officer Harasses Defense One Journalist at Dulles Airport
Repeating “You write propaganda, right?”, officer held passport until he received an affirmative answer.
Science & Tech
It's Official: The Pentagon Now Runs the Security Clearance Process
The newly renamed Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency now handles 95% of the government’s background investigations.
Science & Tech
AI Will Tell Future Medics Who Lives and Dies on the Battlefield
Machine learning, sensors, and next-generation vision equipment will tell medics where to spend their resources — before they get off the evac chopper.
Ideas
The White House’s Impossible Job
The problem is not that Trump failed to get along with John Bolton—it’s that he doesn’t want a national security adviser in the first place.
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