Ideas
The Silence of Rex Tillerson
Sooner or later, someone needs to explain what Trump’s foreign policy is. But the secretary of state does not seem to understand his job.
Ideas
America's Foreign-Policy Voice Is Fracturing. Trump’s Cuts Would Make Things Worse
The post-9/11 explosion in security-assistance funding has muddied the roles of diplomats and generals. A re-empowered State Department could help fix that.
Policy
ISIS War Generals to Congress: We Need the State Department
One week after Trump proposed shifting billions from the State Department to the Pentagon, two of the top U.S. generals in the Middle East and Africa say they need diplomatic help.
Ideas
Want to Win Wars? Fund Soft Power, Trump’s Generals Say
The president’s proposal to boost military spending at the expense of diplomacy and foreign aid won't lead to victory.
Policy
Trump’s State Department Anxiously Awaits its Future
Shaken up and set adrift, a foreign-policy bureaucracy confronts the possibility of radical change.
Ideas
Mapped: America's Collective Defense Agreements
The United States has agreements to come to the defense of more than 50 other nations.
Policy
'We Are Better than this Ban': US Diplomats Plan Official Dissent
White House to State Department: “They should get with the program or they should go.”
Ideas
In Colombia's Hope, Afghanistan's Future
Donors meeting in Brussels should remember Colombia in the 1990s looked a lot like Afghanistan today.
Threats
'We Are Not Frozen in a Nightmare,' Says Defiant John Kerry
The secretary of state insisted America is more engaged in global conflicts with deeper impact than ever before, in a sweeping speech at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Ideas
Inside Obama's Syria Choices (A Guide for Dissenting Diplomats)
Here are six ways we in the administration could’ve approached Syria differently – and why we didn’t.
Ideas
America's 'Plan B' for Syria Has a Very Ugly Past
Dividing Middle Easterners along ethno-religious lines has a deeply troubled history. There's little reason to believe similar 'last-ditch' plans for Syria would be any different.
Threats
Washington OKs Controversial F-16 Sale to Pakistan
The Pentagon says new warplanes will help Islamabad fight al Qaeda, but U.S. lawmakers don’t want taxpayers footing the bill.
Science & Tech
US Approves $2B in Bombs for Iraqi F-16s
Five months after Iraq began flying its F-16 fighter jets against ISIS, the Obama administration has approved a $2 billion cache of guided bombs and missiles that will make them far deadlier.
Science & Tech
America’s New Plan to Fight ISIS Online
The State Department will diversify its one-way approach, while other agencies reach out to Silicon Valley.
Science & Tech
State Department Says Hackers May Have Stolen Sensitive Data
The revelation, buried in a new inspector general report, is the first acknowledgment that foreign spies might have grabbed national secrets during a months-long campaign last fall.
Policy
The Benghazi Committee's Missed Chance at Clinton's Real Record
Both sides pledged they wouldn’t. Both went after each other anyway.
Policy
Hillary Clinton: Come Clean or Get Out
If Clinton won't say how and why she hid her State Department emails related to national security, why should the public--much less the FBI--believe her on anything?
Business
State Department Wants To Compile Cybersecurity Playbook
Agency turns to industry for expert advice on both offensive and defensive approaches.
Ideas
Drifting Down The Nile: US, Egypt Prepare to Talk
The upcoming strategic dialogue will seek to expand the relationship beyond security issues—or maybe just get things back on track.
Policy
From ‘No Deal is Better Than A Bad Deal’ to ‘This Deal or War’
Senators bristle at White House warnings, calling them an attempt to force the Iran nuclear agreement down U.S. lawmakers’ throats.
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