Ideas
America's Longest War—and the Ally That Fuels It
How Pakistan has perpetuated the Afghan conflict.
Ideas
We Don't Need a Bigger Nuclear Button
The plan outlined in a draft of the Nuclear Posture Review would cost trillions of dollars — and make Americans no safer.
Policy
Mattis: Pentagon Shifting Focus to Great Power Competition — ‘Not Terrorism’
The first national defense strategy in 10 years puts on paper what Mattis, McMaster have signaled for months: the U.S. is refocused on China and Russia.
Ideas
What if H.R. McMaster Is Right About North Korea?
It’s reassuring to think the country wants only a defensive capability. It could very easily be wrong.
Ideas
The US Military Needs a Teacher Corps to Train Its Partners
Much of the $70 billion spent to train Afghan armed forces has been wasted. Here’s how to do better.
Ideas
Hybrid Star Wars: Lessons from The Battle of Endor
In an excerpt from an upcoming anthology of Star Wars-themed essays, a former NATO supreme commander revisits a forest moon in a galaxy far, far away.
Ideas
American Ideals Beat the USSR. Why Aren’t We Using Them Against Russia?
Without an ideological rival to hold a mirror to its faults, the US is turning away from the ideas and institutions that led to victory.
Ideas
The National Security Strategy Papers Over a Crisis
The NSS is a stunning repudiation of Trump, and Trump’s speech was a stunning repudiation of the NSS.
Ideas
Three Ways to Read Trump's National Security Strategy
Is it better approached as a sacred text, or examined like the scat of a shaggy, woodland beast?
Policy
New National Security Strategy Sees Rising Russia, Retreat on 'Democratic Peace'
Donald Trump’s first strategy talks about threats and nation-state competition but also signals a reluctance to compete philosophically or morally.
Threats
What Putin Really Wants
Russia's strongman president has many Americans convinced of his manipulative genius. He's really just a gambler who won big.
Ideas
The National Security Strategy Commits the US to a Lonelier and Less Generous Course
As previewed by H.R. McMaster, the new NSS contrasts strikingly to the visions of other recent presidents.
Ideas
The Pentagon’s Next Terrorism Threat (and Solution): Kids
As ISIS-type extremism spreads, counterterrorism commanders are right to be concerned with the youth population bulge. Here’s how to turn a threat into a resource.
Threats
Global Conflicts to Watch in 2018
The U.S. is now the most unpredictable actor in the world today.
Ideas
Trump's National Security Strategy is Decidedly Non-Trumpian
An exclusive preview of the White House's plan highlights the wide gulf between what the president says and what he does.
Ideas
Cyber and Space Weapons Are Making Nuclear Deterrence Trickier
If you can’t trust your networks or satellite communications in a crisis, ‘use-or-lose’ scenarios get a lot closer.
Threats
Can Two Nuclear Powers Fight a Conventional War?
The Pentagon just wargamed that scenario as part of its effort to determine what it needs for 21st-century deterrence.
Ideas
The Middle East Is Nearing an Explosion
Fear is the one thing preventing it—but could also precipitate it.
Ideas
Here’s How the US Army Should Arm Itself for New Threats
Stop hoping for a funding bump and start making existing weapons work better together.
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