Policy

Pentagon presses Congress to enable AUKUS' next stage

AI-powered subhunters, quantum gear among areas for cooperation under 'Pillar Two' of the trilateral tech-research pact.

Ideas

‘If We Don’t Sell Them Arms, Someone Else Will’ Is a Myth

Some of the assumptions that underpin this familiar refrain don’t hold water.

Policy

Why Congress Can’t Stop the CIA From Working With Forces That Commit Abuses

The Leahy Law prohibits the U.S. military from providing training and equipment to foreign security forces that commit human rights abuses, but it does not apply to U.S. intelligence agencies.

Ideas

Fully Fund America’s International Affairs Budget

Few investments reap larger rewards than the less-than-1% we spend on diplomacy and development.

Ideas

CENTCOM’s Got a New Mission. It Needs More Support.

Ending free-ridership and promoting regional security cooperation requires policy coherence from Washington.

Ideas

House’s ‘Irregular Warfare’ Provision Risks Unintended War

It’s not clear how many of the lawmakers who passed the House defense policy bill were aware of a dangerous provision in it.

Policy

Ukraine Aid Oversight Hindered by Pentagon Record-Keeping, Watchdog Says

The IG report follows congressional concerns about oversight and efforts to coordinate with State and USAID.

Ideas

Could Ukraine Offer a Template for Better US-Gulf Security Relations?

The outpouring of aid to Kyiv shows that a formal defense alliance is inessential to effective wartime assistance.

Ideas

Add Natural Conservation to Security-Cooperation Efforts

Protecting ecosystems can reduce destabilizing refugee flows, resource insecurity, and more.

Ideas

ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Sub-Saharan Affiliates Are Poised for Growth in 2021

A rundown on jihadi groups’ expansion in the Sahel and Nigeria, the Horn of Africa, and the continent’s southeastern Swahili coast.

Ideas

Don’t Discount America’s Interest in Keeping Africa Safe

As the Pentagon removes more troops, consider what its modest investment has garnered.

Ideas

As the US Slumps Away, China Subsumes African Security Arrangements

Organizations created to fight terror groups after 9/11 are becoming conduits for Beijing’s surveillance and influence.

Ideas

How a Tiny Indian Ocean Island Could Force a US-UK Rift

Will the U.S. choose its closest ally over the international rule of law?

Ideas

Two Ways to Stop Secrecy from Undermining US National Security

Keeping America safe in the 21st century means sharing more information with allies and partners. Here’s how to start.

Policy

Trump Appointee to Foreign Aid Agency Has Denounced Liberal Democracy and 'Our Homo-Empire'

USAID's new deputy White House liaison has condemned the “tyrannical LGBT agenda” and celebrated Hungary’s right-wing prime minister as “the shining champion of Western civilization.”

Ideas

US Arms Sales to the Gulf Have Failed

Despite spending billions of dollars on hardware, our regional partners don’t have the capabilities we need.

Ideas

‘Cost Plus 50’: Welcome to the US Mercenary Force

All the ways Trump’s proposed allied-protection scheme would undermine our national security.

Ideas

A French Officer Speaks the Truth about the War in Syria

Half measures are having predictably ill effects, Col. Legrier wrote. Why are U.S. military leaders silent?